Zagreb looking for their first ever SEHA win in Presov

Slavko Goluza

Tatran Presov will on Saturday (17.15 CET) in the first leg of their SEHA - Gazprom League Quarter final clash welcome Croatian champions PPD Zagreb. It will be a duel of two teams that have been a part of SEHA League from its very beginnings.

PPD Zagreb finished the regular part of the season on second position in group B which means coach Vujovic and his guys managed to secure a direct place for themselves among eight best teams in the league. Tatran Presov on the other hand finished third in group A after which they were in eighth-finals better than Spartak Moscow.

Duels between two teams are always narrow and tense and there is no reason to think this one will be any different. It will be interesting to see whether ‘Lions’ will finally manage to grab what would be their first ever win in Presov or will Tatran secure an advantage before the duel in Zagreb which will decide everything.  

Slavko Goluza, Tatran coach:
Firstly we need to see which players will be available to play because we're dealing with a few injuries at the moment. Regardless of who ends up suiting up, what matters the most is that players give their best, leave everything they have out there. PPD Zagreb is a big club, they have six national team players who recently brought home medals from EHF Euro 2020. Clash will surely attract a lot of fans and I'd like to use the opportunity to invite them all. We have a short roster at the moment but despite of that we want to give our best at home and travel to Zagreb with an advantage.

Leon Vucko, Tatran player:
In such matchups every goal is important. We are fully aware Zagreb have numerous national team players who have managed to win silver for Croatia on a recently ended European Championship. There is no doubt about their qualities. Our goal is to fight for 120 minutes and see what it eventually brings us. PPD Zagreb are favorites but we'll do our best to reach final tournament. I hope fans will once again be there to support us.

Veselin Vujovic, PPD Zagreb coach:
We're facing the toughest Quarter final opponent in my opinion. Tatran have a high-quality roster led by one of the best handball experts in Croatia, Slavko Goluza. If we think about our past matches we can't really boast with good results. Goal is, however, to reach Final 4 in Zadar and we'll give our best to achieve that in these two games.

Filip Vistorop, PPD Zagreb player:
We've been working really hard throughout the week to prepare for this game. Coach is asking for full focus knowing how dangerous and good Tatran is. I believe we will find good offensive solutions for their defense. Win in the first match away from home would, of course, make our job back home a lot easier.