Velenje is all set to
host one of the most important battles which will decide which 4 teams will
participate in this season’s SEHA Gazprom F4 tournament with Gorenje hosting
Meshkov Brest on Saturday (18.00 CET). Despite of the fact that hosts stand no
chance of catching a place on final tournament they will most certainly deliver
best performance they can in order to stun Belarusian champions and boost their
fellow Slovenian team’s - Celje PL - chances of qualifying for the final phase.
Meshkov’s situation is on the other side quite clear as in case they wish to
catch a F4 train they have to celebrate in both remaining regular season
matches - away against Gorenje and PPD Zagreb.
Borut Plaskan, Gorenje Velenje coach:
In our opening three
matches of the year we’ve had our chances to reach some points but we missed
them. We see upcoming two home matches against Meshkov and Tatran as a chance
to get back on positive track seeing home-court as a big advantage. Belarusian
team needs a win in this one in order to keep their F4 chances alive and they
must be under big pressure. We remember the match in Brest in which we were
able to stay close to them all the way until final minute and I hope we can
once again deliver our best on Saturday. Meshkov are experiencing quite tough
schedule losing to RN Löwen last Wednesday. We’ve seen that match and we know
it won’t be easy but we will try to show our best in front of our spectators
and hopefully celebrate together in the end.
Niko Medved, Gorenje Velenje player:
After a short break in January
our form is not back yet and as a result we’ve lost last three matches. We are
obviously not happy with our performances and we will try to get back on track.
Match against Meshkov on Saturday will surely be tough as they are aiming to
keep their F4 chances alive with a victory in Velenje.
Sergey Bebeshko, Meshkov Brest coach:
Time has come for final
two regular season matches. Gorenje are not a weak team, we’ve struggled to
beat them in Belarus. Unfortunately, many of our players are injured at the
moment which means we’ll have to prepare even better from the tactical corner
for their 3-3 system. Our defense must be better in this one than it was in
Brest in our premier encounter. We’ve arrived here a bit earlier than usually
so we’ll have time to prepare.
Simon Razgor, Meshkov Brest player:
Gorenje are a strong
team. We do remember how tough our match in Brest was, so one should expect an
interesting game. All players are aware of the importance of remaining games in
SEHA Gazprom League. We must win despite of the fact that many players are
missing.
Velenje je pripravljeno na eno najbolj pomembnih tekem, ki bodo odločale o štirih potnikih na finalni turnir najboljše četverice Lige SEHA Gazprom. V soboto se boo b 18. Uri domače gorenje pomerilo z Meškovom Brestom. Kljub dejstvu, da so gostitelji že pred časom ostali brez možnosti za napredovanje v končnico, bodo v soboto zagotovo skušali prikazati kar najboljšo predstavo in tako pomagati svojim športnim prijateljem iz Celja, ki se prav tako borijo za napredovanje na finalni turnir. Položaj beloruskih prvakov je povsem jasen, če se želijo prebiti v polfinale, morajo zmagati obe preostali tekmo - sobotno proti Gorenju velenju in kasnejšo proti PPD zagrebu.
Borut Plaskan, trener Gorenja Velenja:
Na prvih treh tekmah Lige SEHA Gazprom v tem koledarskem letu smo imeli možnosti, da bi si priborili kakšno točko, a nam to zaradi takšnih in drugačnih razlogov ni uspelo. V naslednjih dneh se bomo ekipama Meškova in Tatrana zoperstavili na domačem igrišču, kjer smo delali težave tudi že bolj kakovostnim ekipam. Ekipa iz Belorusije bo zagotovo zahteven tekmec, saj nujno potrebuje zmago za preboj na finalni turnir najboljše četverice. Zaradi tega bodo sobotni tekmeci zagotovo nosili večje psihološko breme od nas. Od naše ekipe pričakujem borbeno predstavo. V Brestu smo se tekmecem dobro upirali skoraj do konca, zato ne vidim razloga, da temu ne bi bilo tako tudi v Velenju. Za Meškovim je zgoščen ritem tekem. V sredo je gostoval pri Rhein-Neckar Löwen, bil v igri za zmago vse do konca tekme, na koncu pa nesrečno klonil le za gol. To priča o tem, da so njegovi igralci dobro pripravljeni, obenem pa da nas čaka težka tekma. Ne glede na vse bomo mi skušali prikazati največ, česar smo v tem trenutku sposobni ter s tem razveseliti naše navijače, ki, tako kot mi, že nekaj časa čakajo na zmago.
Niko Medved, rokometaš Gorenja Velenja:
Decembrske pripravljenosti nam preko premora ni uspelo prenesti v februar. Posledica tega so trije porazi, ki zagotovo niso bili v naših načrtih. Z njimi ne moremo biti zadovoljni. Zašli smo v niz, ki ga želimo čim prej prekiniti. Zavedamo se, da bo to v soboto zelo težko, saj se Meškov bori za mesto na finalnem turnirju ter da mu je pomembna vsaka zmaga, a te mu v domači dvorani ne mislimo kar tako prepustiti.
Sergej Bebeško, trener Meškova Bresta:
Napočil je čas za zadnji tekmi rednega dela sezone. Gorenje Velenje ni slaba ekipa, z njo smo se namučili že na tekmi v Belorusiji. Žal je kar nekaj naših rokometašev poškodovanih, kar pomeni, da bomo morali pripraviti še toliko boljšo taktiko na njihov system 3-3. Naša obramba bo tokrat morala biti boljša kot na prvi tekmi v Brestu. V Velenje smo prispeli nekoliko poprej kot običajno, zato smo imeli za pripravo na tekmece nekoliko več časa.
Simon Razgor, rokometaš Meškova Bresta:
Gorenje Velenje je dobra ekipa. Dobro se spominjamo, kako zahtevna je bila tekma v Brestu, zato tudi tokrat pričakujem zanimivo tekmo. Vsi igralci se zavedamo pomembnosti zadnjih tekem v rednem delu Lige SEHA Gazprom. Ne glede na to, da nam manjka kar nekaj poškodovanih igralcev, moramo zmagati.
