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HC Alkaloid secured a 42:37 victory over HC Runar Sandefjord in the first leg of the EHF European League semi-final. After the match in Skopje, both coaches and a player from each team shared their thoughts at the post-game press conference.

Kiril Lazarov (HC Alkaloid): “I expected a tough game; we had plenty of material on Runar. They’ve played well all season, both domestically and in the European Cup. We respect them. We won by five goals, but we have seven days to prepare properly for the rematch. I’m sure the return leg will be much harder than this match. Perhaps we deserved the win, but not by five goals—maybe one or two, but no more.”

Ivan Djonov (HC Alkaloid): “I want to congratulate our opponents, Runar. They’re a strong team playing fast handball; it was hard to keep pace with them, but we managed to prevail. They can play well 7-on-6, so we’ll have to prepare thoroughly for the rematch.”

Bjarte Myrhol (HC Runar Sandefjord): “First, congratulations on the match. It unfolded just as we expected. We analysed Alkaloid and knew they play fast handball like us. We struggled defensively to contain their attack. Conceding 42 goals is too many. About going head-to-head with Lazarov, whom I once played alongside, I can say that Kiril has always been one of the smartest players and today he executed a game plan that effectively isolated us. I expected a tactical battle, given what was at stake for both sides. However, in international handball there are many changes, and we saw that he knew how to isolate us and catch us off-guard. It was an honour to play in Skopje against Lazarov and Alkaloid.”

Lars Gurrich (HC Runar Sandefjord): “We played a fast-paced game. Alkaloid managed to isolate us very well. We must improve for the rematch and prepare better.”

The return leg between HC Alkaloid and HC Runar Sandefjord is set for April 27 at 17:00 in Norway, with the Italian refereeing pair Francesco Simone and Pietro Monitillo, and delegate Hlynur Leifsson from Iceland.