HC ALKALOID – CHC OHRID 29-26 (17-12)

Venue: Avtokomanda in Skopje. Referees: Nenad Nikolovski and Ismail Metalari. Delegates: Dragan Nachevski and Dushko Kamishevski

HC ALKALOID: Kizikj 1, Trajkovski, Djonov, Petrov 1, Mladenovikj, Serafimov 8, Stojkovikj, Gjorgiev 4, Velkovski 4, Ivanovski 6, Bingo 1, Francisco 1, Petkovski 2, Savrevski 1, Garbeski

Seven-meter throws: 3/3 Suspensions: 8 min.

CHC OHRID: Chanevski, Ojleski 4, Jukic 3, Ristevski, Risteski, Taseski, Safranko 2, Jotic, Kukoski, Pesic 4, Kukulovski, Orjonikidze 9, Vinicius 2, Cirar 2, Gjorgeski

Seven-meter throws: 4/5 Suspensions: 10 min.

HC Alkaloid enters the Macedonian Super League Playoffs with a solid two-point advantage, thanks to their 20 wins in the regular season. In tonight’s final round of the first phase, they triumphed 29-26 over CHC Ohrid, finishing the championship tied with HC E. Pelister and HC Vardar 1961.

The match took place at the Avtokomanda arena, where a moment of silence was held before the game to honor the victims of the Kochani tragedy.

Despite missing several key players, Alkaloid’s performance remained unaffected, leading to a well-earned victory.

The team started strong, dominating the game early on. Although CHC Ohrid showed resilience in the first 15 minutes, Alkaloid kept a steady lead.

In the 18th minute, a dangerous tackle by CHC Ohrid’s Nikola Jukic on Ivan Djonov resulted in a red card for Jukic, while Djonov did not return to the court for the remainder of the match.

Alkaloid’s play flowed smoothly, and by halftime, they had established a comfortable 17-12 lead. However, a series of uncharacteristic technical mistakes allowed CHC Ohrid to equalize at 18-18 early in the second half. Despite this, Alkaloid quickly regained their composure, with goalkeeper Blagojche Trajkoski and playmaker Martin Ivanovski leading the charge. The team soon pulled ahead by three goals, maintaining their advantage until the final whistle, securing a 29-26 victory.

The playoff draw will take place tomorrow, and before the second part of the season begins, HC Alkaloid will face Romanian side Minaur Baia Mare in the second leg of the EHF European Cup quarterfinals this Sunday. The first match ended in a 31-31 draw.

HC MINAUR BAIA MARE – HC ALKALOID 31-31 (19-15)

Venue: Lascar Pana in Baia Mare, Romania. Referees: Anatoliy Novikov from Ukraine and Mindaugas Gatelis from Lithuania.

HC MINAUR BAIA MARE: Al-Khafadji, Terekhov, Nagy 4, Chis, Botea 2, Racolta, Cumpanici 4, Dahlin 4, Kotrc 3, Sinku, Kozakevych 4, Burzak 4, V. Pop, E. Pop 4, Da Silva 2, Fotache

Seven-meter throws: 4/7 Suspensions: 4 min.

HC ALKALOID: Kizikj, Galevski, Djonov 1, Petrov 1, Markoski, Mladenovikj, Serafimov, 7 Stojkovikj, Gjorgiev 4, Ivanovski, Bingo 2, Velkovski 2, Francisco 5, Petkovski 7, Savrevski

Seven-meter throws: 5/5 Suspensions: 10 min.

HC Alkaloid’s players observed a minute of silence and wore black armbands to honor the victims of the tragedy in Kochani, before facing HC Minaur Baia Mare in the first quarterfinal of the EHF European Cup.

After a gripping 60 minutes of play, the match ended in a 31-31 draw, with the hosts equalizing in the final seconds via a seven-meter throw, following a foul committed on the opposite side of the court as the buzzer sounded.

The game unfolded with the home team holding a four-goal lead at halftime, finishing the first period 19-15. However, in the second half, HC Alkaloid mounted a strong comeback. With six minutes remaining, they led 27-24, and with just two minutes left, they were ahead 31-29, before the final equalizer brought the game to a 31-31 draw.

Aleksandar Petkovski and Martin Serafimov both contributed seven goals, emerging as the match’s top scorers.

The return leg will take place in Skopje on March 30, where the winner will secure a place in the semifinals.

MHC KUMANOVO – HC ALKALOID 27-41 (10-19)

Venue: Pero Nakov in Kumanovo. Referees: Spasko Kjaev and Gligor Kjaev. Controller: Vladimir Sazdovski

MHC KUMANOVO: Trajkovski, Dimevski 6, Soares 2, Dimitrov, Vujichevski, Cvetkovski, Jakimovski, Stojanovski 2, Lazarevski, Henn 7, Matacic, Da Silva 4, Mitrevski, Simonoski 3, Mihajlovski, Arsovski

Seven-meter throws: 2/4 Suspensions: 2 min

HC ALKALOID: Kizikj, Galevski, Djonov 3, Markoski, Mladenovikj, Serafimov 2, Karasmanakis 4, Stojkovikj 4, M. Mitev 3, Gjorgiev, Velkovski 1, Ivanovski 1, Francisco 2, Petkovski 12, D. Mitev 3, Savrevski 1

Seven-meter throws: 1/1 Suspensions: 4 min

HC Alkaloid played its final away match of the first phase of the season in Kumanovo. With a dominant 19th championship victory, the blue and whites ensured their place in the Top 3 of the standings for this phase, regardless of the outcome of the last round.

From the outset, HC Alkaloid took control, quickly establishing a lead of 4-1, which grew to 7-1 and then 10-5, before the home side briefly managed to steady the game.

The home team’s best effort came when they reduced the deficit to 7-10, but that was as close as they got. HC Alkaloid maintained their advantage, and by halftime, they were comfortably ahead, 19-10.

At the start of the second half, HC Alkaloid increased their advantage to double digits (20-10). While the outcome of the match was never in doubt, the game continued at a steady pace, with the difference remaining between 9-10 goals.

The home team couldn’t maintain that pace to the end, with HC Alkaloid increasing the margin to a final 14-goal victory (27-41).

Aleksandar Petkovski was HC Alkaloid’s top scorer leading the charge with 12 goals, followed by Marko Stojkovikj and Valentin Karasmanakis, who both netted 4 shots.

HC Alkaloid’s next league match will be at home against CHC Ohrid. Prior to that, they will face Romanian side Minaur Baia Mare in the quarter-finals of the EHF European Cup.

HC ALKALOID – HC PROLET 62 35-26 (14-10)

Venue: Avtokomanda in Skopje. Referees: Viktor Andonov and Stojanche Jovanovski. Controller: Leri Mirchevski

HC ALKALOID: Kizikj, Galevski, Djonov 3, Markoski, Mladenovikj, Serafimov 3, Karasmanakis 1, Stojkovikj, M. Mitev 1, Gjorgiev 4, Velkovski, Ivanovski 5, Petkovski 6, D. Mitev 11, Savrevski 1

Seven-meter throws: 9/9 Suspensions: 8 minutes

HC PROLET 62: Daskaloski, Petkovski, Fichorski 2, Jovevski 1, Gligorov 1, Vasilevski, Dodevski 1, Shilegov 2, Andonovski 3, Majnov 3, Drpljanin 1, Stojanoski 5, Stoilevski 3, Atanasovski 1, Palevski 3, Spasovski

Seven-meter throws: 4/5 Suspensions: 8 minutes

HC Alkaloid earned a dominant 35-26 victory over HC Prolet 62, securing their 18th win of the season. This result propelled them back to the top of the Super League standings ahead of the 20th round of matches.

HC Alkaloid played with a mixed lineup, giving more playing time to those players who typically don’t feature as much.

The team met the expected goal of securing a convincing win, with Damjan Mitev leading the charge with 11 goals. He was closely followed by Aleksandar Petkovski, who scored six goals, and Martin Ivanovski with five.

The match’s outcome highlighted HC Alkaloid’s stronger play as the first half drew to a close and their solid performance throughout the second half.

Although HC Prolet 62 was competitive in the first half and even held the lead at times, HC Alkaloid took control towards the end. After a 10-10 tie, Alkaloid surged with a 4-0 run, establishing a more commanding lead and shifting the momentum in their favor. In the second half, Alkaloid maintained a consistent lead of 5-7 goals and extended their advantage as the match progressed.

Before the league takes a break for international fixtures, HC Alkaloid will play one more match away against MHK Kumanovo, followed by the final round of this Super League stage with a home game against CHC Ohrid, and the EHF European Cup Quarter-finals against Romanian team Minaur Baia Mare.

After securing six victories in the ongoing European season, HC Alkaloid has earned a spot among the top eight teams in the EHF European Cup. Following the draw in Vienna, the team now knows the other seven emerging teams and its opponents for the upcoming quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals, HC Alkaloid will face Romanian side Baia Mare. The winner of this two-leg tie will advance to the Semi-finals, where they will meet the victor of the match between Olympiacos of Greece and Runar Sandefjord from Norway.

The first leg of the quarterfinals is scheduled to take place in Romania on March 22/23, with the return leg in Skopje on March 29/30.

Should HC Alkaloid advance to the Semi-finals, they will face the winner of the Olympiacos vs. Runar Sandefjord clash on home ground on April 19/20, with the second leg set for April 26/27 at the away venue.

QUARTER-FINALS:

CS Minaur Baia Mare – HC Alkaloid
AEK – HC Partizan
Olympiacos SFP – Runar Sandefjord
Haukar – HC Izvidac

SEMI-FINALS:

CS Minaur Baia Mare – HC Alkaloid vs. Olympiacos SFP – Runar Sandefjord
AEK – HC Partizan vs. Haukar – HC Izvidac

HC EUROFARM PELISTER – HC ALKALOID 33-20 (16-11)

Venue: Boro Churlevski in Bitola. Referees: Gjorge Nachevski and Slave Nikolov. Controllers: Dragan Nachevski and Aco Nikolovski

HC EUROFARM PELISTER: Mitrevski 1, Ivic, Ristevski, Kuzmanoski 4, Tajnik 3, Borzash 1, Radivojevic 8, Kuzmanovski 11, Kosteski, Abutovic, Petar Atanasijevic, Peshevski, Hosni 3, Pavle Atanasijevic 1, Shebib 1

Seven-meter throws: 8/10 Suspensions: 8 minutes

HC ALKALOID: Kizikj, Galevski, Djonov 1, Markoski 2, Mladenovikj, Serafimov 8, Karasmanakis, Stojkovikj 2, Mitev 2, Gjorgiev, Velkovski 1, Ivanovski, Bingo, Francisco, Petkovski 1, Savrevski

Seven-meter throws: 4/5. Suspensions: 10 minutes

HC Alkaloid came away from the 19^th round Super League derby against HC Eurofarm Pelister in Bitola without any points.

The home side started strong, quickly taking a 5-1 lead in the first ten minutes, setting the tone for the match. HC Alkaloid gradually found their rhythm after a shaky start, reducing the deficit to three goals on several occasions (3-6, 9-12). However, missed opportunities prevented them from fully closing the gap. HC Eurofarm Pelister capitalized on these chances and went into the break with a 16-11 advantage.

In the second half, HC Alkaloid faced difficulties in the attacking phase, allowing the opposition’s goalkeeper to settle in, and the gap widened. Eurofarm Pelister, fuelled by the support of their enthusiastic fans, managed to control the pace and maintain a comfortable lead until the final whistle. With this loss, HC Alkaloid still has three games left in the current phase of the Super League. If no major shifts occur in the standings, they will carry two points into the playoffs, just like their rivals HC Vardar 1961, while HC Eurofarm Pelister will take three points into the next phase.