DUNAFERR’SHARD-EARNED VICTORY IN PODGORICA

Buducnost had old scores to settle with the Hungarian Champions:last year they suffered a straight defeat by them in their formidable homearena. Both sides have changed since then: some of Podgorica’s players retiredfrom handball (Bulatovic) or transferred to other clubs (Savic, Knezevic),while the visitors have lost their international star line player, AnitaKulcsár in a tragic car accident…

The home team took the lead in the 2nd minute, but itwas the last time they were ahead in this clash. Backed by the usual high-classperformance from goalkeeper Pálinger, Dunaferr’s defence was quite efficient.Dragutinovic equalised in the fourth minute (2-2), while the visitors’ leftwing, Ivett Nagy excelled in fastbreaks, scoring two goals in a row. On thesecond one however, her cruciate ligament was torn, and she’s expected to beaway for the rest of this season.

The match brought a great battle of defencetacticians. Perhaps the game was less spectacular on account of the few goals,but handball fans could enjoy mature defence play, coordinated team effort aswell as fine saves from both goalkeepers. The Montenegrin squad could rely on aprolific performance from their Polish international, Puchacz, while Radulovicstook the lion’s share of scoring on the visitors’ side. The latter set thehalftime score of 10-12.

The twocoaches probably fine-tuned their defences even better in the break, as therewas only one goal in the first seven minutes of the second half. Puchaczequalised in the 42nd minute (14-14), so the home side had the chance to turnthe course of the game as two Dunaferr players were suspended in succession.However, Pálinger and the visitors’ defence performed even better underpressure. Buducnost did their utmost to win, but the more experiencedHungarians had the upper hand in the final minutes and won by two goals.

Text: SándorJoó

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