Macedonia Conquers Slovenija

[poiuytrewq0987]

Just beat Slovenia 28-27. This win secured our fifth place finish and 2012 Olympics spot.

[Kanuni]

Damn Dušan how many threads do you intend to open for unimportant handball matches.

[poiuytrewq0987]

Damn Dušan how many threads do you intend to open for unimportant handball matches.

I find handball interesting, so if you don't find it interesting like I do then don't post here... simple enough, no?

[poiuytrewq0987]

Macedonian happy ending


In a tense game with a thrilling final FYR Macedonia stopped the success story of the Slovenians and with a close victory, the east Europeans finished on fifth place, whilst their counterpart ended the continental event as sixth.

The Macedonian win means that coach Zvonko Sgundovski´s team reached the Olympic Qualification Tournament as well as the best ever result in both European and World Championships.

The Slovenians now rely on Serbia. If the hosts win the gold medal at the EHF EURO 2012, then they will receive a Olympic Qualification Tournament berth as well.

With a place for the Olympic Qualification Tournaments at stake, it was clear from the start that both teams would give absolutely everything they had. Both Slovenia and FYR Macedonia went on court with great enthusiasm, and it was a high-tense game from the very first moment.


With two Dragan Gajic goals Slovenia started better, but the Macedonian spectators pushed their team loudly and with their backing coach Zvonko Shundovski´s boys turned the match.

Kiril Lazarov and his team-mates took full advantage of two penalty saves from outstanding goalkeeper Borko Rostovski and with five straight strikes the red-yellow team marched ahead by three goals.

The Macedonians once again increased the pace of the game, and their spectacular shots from the back court combined with goals by line player Stojanche Stoilov made Slovenia very nervous. Being four goals behind their coach Boris Denic went for a time out to implement new tactics.

The young Slovenians saved face after the one minute break, scoring several goals, so Uros Zorman and his team-mates trailed only by two at 23 minutes.

However, in Macedonian attack line player Stoilov, who endured a continuous quality performance throughout the championship, made the line his playground, scoring five goals in the first period.

The red-yellow team remained very focussed in defence, and Slovenian coach Denic switched to a more aggressive 5-1 and 4-2 formation, meaning that his side often defended on the nine metre line.

Thanks to their high-profile transition from the classic defence to a more aggressive and unorthodox formation, the Slovenians staged a fantastic comeback and with five straight goals turned the match, FYR Macedonia remained goalless for seven minutes.

Two straight Filip Mirkulovski goals meant that the southerners were back in the game again. With his sixth goal in the game to a Macedonian 23:22 lead sharpshooter Kiril Lazarov finally broke the record to become the top scoring player ever in a single Men’s EHF EURO event since 1994.

The 31-years old Atlético Madrid player broke the current record of Icelandic Olafur Stefansson, who was top scorer at the EHF EURO 2002 in Sweden with 58 goals.

When the Macedonians extended their lead to three goals, the arena went crazy. Five minutes before the final whistle the determined Slovenians came as close as one goal, the game was completely open again.

The tense game continued at a high pace with FYR Macedonia trying hard to keep their one goal advantage in the dying minutes. Slovenia had the possibility to level the match, but they missed their last shot only seconds before the buzzer, so the Macedonians were the ones dancing on the court at the end of the match as the Slovenians left with their heads hanging low.