Handball players of PPD Zagreb clinched on Saturday an important point in the fight for the sixth position in B Group of the Champions League, the last one that leads into playoffs. Zagreb played away in the 11th round in Belarus against Merškov Brest, with the final score 21-21 (9-11)
In a very even game the hosts were in the lead almost all the time, but never with more than three goals ahead. Zagreb lead for the first time in the 49th minute (18-17) with a goal by Cingesar, Jutarnji List wrote on February 18, 2017.
Four minutes before the end Rastko Stojković scored a penalty for Meškov’s lead 21-19 and it seemed Zagreb was set to lose another game in the very end. This wasn’t the case, with Domagoj Pavlović scoring the first and David Miklavčić the second goal to equalize at 21-21.
Meškov had 40 seconds for the last attack, but Zagreb players managed to defend and win a point.
The high scorers in PPD Zagreb were Stipe Mandalinić with 4 goals, while Igor Vori, Darko Cingesar and Dobrivoje Marković scored three each. The Meškov team was lead by Hungarian national team member Jamali with 7 goals, while Ostrouško scored three.
Zagreb is currently last with five points, the same as Celje Pivovarna Laško, while Swedish Kristianstad has six points. On Sunday Kristianstad is hosting the favoured Rhein-Neckar Löwen, while Celje is hosting the European champion Kielce.
By the end of the competition Zagreb will host Kristianstad and Celje and play away at Pick Szeged, so there is still a chance to clinch the sixth place in the group and move on to playoffs.
