New champions to be crowned in final EHF European Cup Men showdown

FINAL, FIRST LEG

GRK Ohrid (MKD) vs MOL Tatabanya KC (HUN)

Sunday 31 May, 20:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
First leg: 29:28

• GRK Ohrid collected their 10th win in the competition this season and have only lost once; MOL Tatabanya suffered their third loss in this EHF European Cup season, with the two previous losses coming in away matches
• Ohrid controlled the first leg for 47 minutes thanks to the best defence in the competition and a phenomenal Kristian Pilipovic between the posts
• a 7:1 run from Tatabanya levelled the match with six minutes to go (26:26); after taking their only lead of the game, the Hungarian side were stopped twice by Pilipovic, who helped his team secure a narrow 29:28 away win
• the top scorers of the reverse fixture were Benedek Éles with nine goals for MOL Tatabanya KC, as well as Ante Ivanković and Darko Đukić, who netted seven times each for GRK Ohrid
• for the second consecutive season, a team from North Macedonia could win the EHF European Cup Men, after HC Alkaloid won the trophy last season; this title would place North Macedonia in fourth position among the title-holding nations, equalling Denmark, Serbia, Sweden, Greece and Norway
• Tatabanya could become the first Hungarian team to claim the title in this competition and its predecessors
• the current top scorers of both sides, Benedek Éles (MOL Tatabanya) and Ante Ivanković (GRK Ohrid), have climbed into the top eight of this season’s list with 47 and 49 goals, respectively
• RK Celje centre back Aljus Anzic remains the top scorer of the competition with 62 goals

The stats favour Ohrid — rotation key for Tatabanya 

GRK Ohrid’s one-goal advantage might seem small at first glance. However, the Macedonian side is unbeaten at home this season, while Tatabanya have already suffered two defeats on the road. Ohrid showed once again in the first leg that their defence is hard to get past, and even if Tatabanya found a solution, the guests can rely on the goalkeeper with the most saves this season, Kristian Pilipovic.

Tatabanya have also proved that they are mentally strong and could use this to their advantage. They have more options to rotate in the back court, which could come in handy for them in a crunch-time situation for the trophy. Almost erasing a six-goal deficit in 13 minutes shows that the Hungarian side will be in contention until the final buzzer in Sportska Sala Biljanini Izvori on Sunday evening.

Photos © MOL Tatabanya KC