Tatran will on Saturday (17.00) have a chance to host SEHA Gazprom League leaders with Macedonian Vardar Skopje coming to visit. Raul Gonzales’ team is coming to Slovakia after a loss last weekend on road in Croatia against PPD Zagreb in Champions League and a redemption victory a day later against NEXE in Nasice. It is clear that Macedonians are favorites to take another win and make additional step towards F4 tournament but it is also known that Presov can sometimes be a rough court to play on, even for favored sides with Tatran always delivering better performances playing in front of their fans. By that, they will also look to catch Metalurg on League’s table after they failed to do it 10 days ago in their last SEHA Gazprom encounter in Zagreb losing with a clear 5 goal margin.

Rastislav Trtik, Tatran coach:
Vardar Skopje is one of the best teams in Champions League. They are also top favorites in SEHA Gazprom League. They have a roster doubled or even tripled on some positions with high quality players. They are currently sovereign leaders of SEHA League. Despite of having a lot of injury problems we will fight hard and try to keep up with our tactics and reach a positive result. I would like to invite our fans to come to TATRAN Handball Arena on Saturday. We are looking forward to their support. They will definitely enjoy an exciting game against one of the best teams in the world.

Leon Vucko, Tatran player:
We will host one of the strongest teams in the world. Vardar are clear favorites of the match, but we’ll play at home. We will definitely not give up. In away game in Skopje we’ve suffered a heavy defeat which means we have to learn from that game and play stronger in defense. Our goal is to keep the match tied for as long as it is possible. We urge our fans to come and support us. We will do our best on the court and try to surprise Vardar. 

Raul Gonzales, Vardar coach:
We are currently top-positioned and we’ll do our best to stay there. We are in a good position at the moment and that’s only an additional reason for us to take this match seriously and grab a win ahead of international break. We have to remain focused and remember last season when we’ve managed to grab a narrow win. Tatran was back then playing very well and we have to remember it and take it as a sign of how dangerous they can be if underestimated. Vardar will play with some young players and I believe they will use this opportunity to show their potential.

Luka Cindric, Vardar player:
We’ve managed to win the first match by a large margin but I believe that the result wasn’t a real indicator of what was happening on the court. They are a good team which can be very dangerous when in front of their fans. We expect a tough match but we will be focused to take this win before the international break and join our national teams in a positive atmosphere.