"Morača" remains an impregnable fortress

On Monday evening, about 10 minutes before 22 p.m., it seemed that Montenegrin handball players would surely take the maximum four points to Skopje.

With less than nine minutes to go, Spain led 20:16 and had an attack, but Poland responded fantastically, turned it around with a 6:0 run and celebrated 22:21.

This prolonged the uncertainty for the "lionesses", who tonight (18 p.m.) must also overcome the Polish women in order to welcome group II of the main stage of the 15th European Championship with a perfect score.

If that's the case, maybe just one win in duels with France, the Netherlands and possibly Romania in the capital of North Macedonia will be enough for them to play their first semi-final of a major competition in eight years.

"It will be an extremely difficult match. Poland showed how they play, especially in the last game, when they came back from a four-goal deficit. We have to go into the game strong and I think we will continue the series like that", said Matea Pletikosić.

Although it came from the first hat, Poland was the outsider of group D. But it recorded its first victory at the championships of the Old Continent since that very year in 2014, when Montenegro played the last semi-final, and also tormented Germany in the 1st round (lost 25: 23, or 23:23 three minutes before the end).

"They are very good players, and they played very well against Germany. They have a solid defense, but I hope that it will not distract us and that we will continue to play our game", said the Buducnost Bemax center back.

Matea hasn't played a lot of minutes so far, it seems that she lacks a little self-confidence when she enters the field, that she is not as sure of herself as she is when she plays for the Podgorica club. When asked if perhaps Bojana Popović was hiding it as a secret weapon, she just shrugged her shoulders and answered with a smile:

"I don't know, but I'm really happy to be a part of all this. The teammates presented everything as it should, so there was no need for me to enter".

The first two games, especially the one against Germany, were physically demanding, exhausting, and there was little time for recovery.

"It's certainly difficult and exhausting, but when you enter the hall and come out in front of so many fans, in full 'Morača', we are carried away by euphoria. Then we forget about fatigue and everything that is difficult for us. It's the best feeling anyone can have, especially when playing in front of their fans. I hope it will be the same tonight. We are happy, proud and grateful that they come to support us in such numbers".

It is not easy for Pletikosić to fight for playing time, because Milena Raičević is the first choice in the middle back position and she is playing exceptionally well. In the first game, she had as many as 14 assists, and in the second game, she was chosen as the player of the match.

"She's playing at a high level, I'm very happy for her that she's back in full swing. She has had a difficult year behind her, I hope she will continue like this and bring us many more happy moments", said the 24-year-old from Sinj.