Can Vojvodina take advantage of Vardar’s rough schedule?

Nemanja Ratkovic

Vardar will on Monday (20.15 CET) in Macedonian capital welcome Vojvodina. History is, without any doubt, on Vardar's side in this one but despite of that, as we all know, everything is possible in SEHA - Gazprom League. 

This will be the second match of a back to back set for the 'Red&Black' who will on Sunday, as a part of VELUX EHF Champions League, face off against Meshkov Brest – also in Jane Sandanski sports hall. However, in case Vardar want to stay in the race for the first place they have to keep on winning matches, especially in front of their fans. 

Both teams are dealing with some injuries at the moment. Vojvodina will arrive to Skopje without four first-team players which means some of the younger players will see uptick in minutes. Speaking of Vardar, Pavel Atman, Sergey Gorpishin and Sergei Gorbok will all be game-time calls for this one. Gleb Kalarash has also been complaining on an injury last few days but the good news are that their captain Stojanche Stoilov will be back for this one. 

Eduard Koksharov, Vardar coach: 
We know Vojvodina are one of the best teams in Serbia and that they have really improved recently. We see this match as a chance to work on some things that obviously have to be improved but we also want to win this match and win three more important points.

Stojanche Stoilov, Vardar player: 
We are obviously favorites in this one playing in front of our fans. Hopefully, some of our first-team players will have a chance to get some additional rest with the second unit taking some extra load of their shoulders in this one. However win remains the No.1 priority!

Boris Rojevic, Vojvodina coach: 
It's a great honor to play European champs on their court. Unfortunately, we still have 5-6 injured players and four of them most definitely won't even travel to Skopje. However, we're slowly getting used to that and what's clear is that younger players will once again be given a chance to prove what they're capable of. 

Nemanja Ratkovic, Vojvodina player: 
Every player wants to compete against such a team. It's a great opportunity, especially for younger players to see where they are compared to Europe's finest and we can't wait to get out there on Monday. We have nothing to lose.