Ohrid joins Tatabanya in European Cup Finals after penalty shoot-out

• Tatabanya have a long history of European cup competitions compared to GRK Ohrid, who only play their second season on the European level
• Both teams have reached the final stage of a European competition for the first time, qualifying for the EHF European Cup Finals
• Tatabanya won against Izvidac by a single goal on aggregate, after losing the first leg 31:33; Demis Grigoraș, scoring nine, Patrick Toniazzo Lemos, who was perfect with 6/6, and goalkeeper Arián Andó with nine saves, were crucial for the Hungarian win on Friday
• Ohrid lost by one in the first leg, and has won by one against the 2004 Champions League winners Celje, deciding a winner on a penalty line; the winning penalty of Darko Đukić and 55:54 on aggregate meant the Macedonian side stays in the fight for the trophy  

SEMI-FINALS, SECOND LEG 

MOL TATABANYA KC vs HC IZVIDAC 37:34 (20:19)

First leg result: 33:31; MOL Tatabanya KC won 68:67 on aggregate
Top scorers: Demis Grigoraș 9/12 (MOL Tatabanya KC); Fahrudin Melic 7/9 (HC Izvidac) 

Three goals difference was all that Tatabanya needed to reach the finals of the European Cup against Izvidac, but this was not an easy feat after they lost the first leg with 31:33. The hosts opened the match with a steady offence, but at minute 10, the guests levelled the result and started building a lead that has endangered Tatabanya's chances to qualify for the finals in front of the home crowd. Izvidac's Fahrudin Melic and Diano Ćeško were among those leading Izvidac's offence and creating space for the four-goal lead, which was stamped by Kerim Semic just 10 minutes later. 

By the end of the first half, Tatabanya went on to take the lead one attack at a time, with four goals from Demis Grigoraș, but the fight was not over yet. The second half was as exciting as the first one, and neither of the teams was ready to lose the finals. For a brief moment in the second half, Izvidac had the lead, but Tatabanya displayed a better game than in the first half, and in the final five minutes of the match, managed to secure the three-goal lead for the final 37:34 that keeps them in the race for the trophy. 

GRK Ohrid vs RK Celje Pivovarna Laško 29:27 (11:11)

First leg result: 27:26; GRK Ohrid won 55:54 on aggregate
Top scorers: Kosuke Yasuhira 9/11 (GRK Ohrid); Luka Peric 8/9 (RK Celje Pivovarna Laško)

When GRK Ohrid signed Serbian head coach Boris Rojevic in March 2025, who has been at the helm of HC Vojvodina for eight years, they set high aspirations that yielded success already in the first season. One of them is the final stage of the EHF European Cup competition, secured in the semi-finals against a long-time EHF Champions League participant and 2004 winner, RK Celje Pivovarna Laško. 

Both the first and second leg matches have been nail-biting 60 minutes of handball drama, in which both teams ended the game with a one-goal lead, meaning that the winner would be decided from a penalty line. When the buzzer signalled a 25:24 win for Ohrid, while Celje had a 26:25 win from the first leg, the nerve test came knocking on the door. Kosuke Yasuhira, Goce Ojleski, and Alen Kjosevski scored for Ohrid, as have Uroš Milićević, Luka Peric and Filip Rakita for Celje, but since they missed two, the decision was in the hands of Darko Đukić, who scored the last penalty for Ohrid and the eruption of joy in Sportska Sala. 

Main image: MOL Tatabanya KC