From the special reporter "Vijesti"
The day for resting and summarizing the impressions from "Morača" has passed, yesterday at 10.30:XNUMX a.m., Montenegrin handball players met in the small hall of SC "Jane Sandanski", where mini-preparations for the big derby of Group II began.
The hall named after the tragically killed president of Macedonia, Boris Trajkovski, will be the scene of the showdown with France tomorrow from 20.30:XNUMX p.m.
As was the case against Spain before the start of Group D in Podgorica, the "lionesses" will meet the duel with the handball superpower with a 10-year streak without a win in mutual matches.
The last triumph was registered in the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games in London (23:22), after two minutes that the fans will never forget - the lost ball, the throw to it by Bojana Popović, the assist for Majda Mehmedović and the chosen seven, which was realized by Katarina Bulatović.
6 consecutive victories were recorded by France against Montenegro at major competitions - three in the group stage at the European championships in 2014, (24:20), 2018, (25:20) and 2020, (24:23), three at the world championships - in 2015. in the match for 7th place (34:23), in 2017 in the quarter-finals (25:22) and in 2021 in the group (24:19)
An end to that black streak would practically take Montenegro to the final weekend in Ljubljana, as they would have two points more than France, and four more than all the other teams in the group. Even in case of defeat, everything would be open, because it seems that the "reds" are currently better than both Romania and the Netherlands, with whom they play on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
"None of us came here to calculate, to think that a victory over the Netherlands will be enough for us. We have always played well with France, we know them. It's a fantastic team, they've won everything. After that we have Romania, which we know well, because a lot of us play in that country. We will give more than 100 percent, we will certainly not calculate. These four points that we took are important, but in every game we will go hard, 'on our heads', so we will see how far we can go", said Marta Batinović.
In the "Boris Trajkovski" hall yesterday, Germany easily defeated the Netherlands, and Romania was better than Spain. The atmosphere was truly theatrical, there were not even 500 people in the stands, and perhaps this change will disturb the "lionesses", who had fantastic support in the first three matches.
"It was a beautiful feeling in Morača, I will never regret anything in my career than not playing the entire championship in Podgorica. I think that such a spectacle is rarely experienced by anyone. It was wonderful, "Morača" was definitely our eighth player. "Honestly, we expected to take all four points to Skopje, but real hell awaits us here," goalkeeper Gloria Buzau points out.
16 goals scored by Montenegro against France at the World Cup in Serbia in 2013, which is their second worst attacking performance in major competitions. She only had a goal at the European Championship in Sweden in 2016, when she lost to Hungary 21:14.
The French team no longer has Amandine Leyno, Alison Pinot, Alexandra Lacraba..., but if anyone knows how to make champions, it's Olivier Krumboltz. The legendary coach won 12 medals in 21 years at the helm of the national team, and last year at the Olympic Games in Tokyo he won the only gold that was missing from his collection.
"There has been a change of generations, but even if five players go to France, young, good players with an excellent mentality can come. The team is of high quality, carries the coat of arms of a country that has won everything and knows what it is fighting for. We have to be at 100 percent, just so that there are no injuries," Batinović said.
17 the "lionesses" conceded goals in that match in Belgrade in 2013, and only on three occasions did they take the ball out of their net less times - against DR Congo in the same competition (35:9), China at the World Cup in Brazil in 2011 (42:15 ) and Hungary at the Planetary Championship in Denmark in 2015 (32:15)
Except in the duel for 7th place at the World Championship in Denmark, when Dragan Adžić's team was without motivation and lost 34:23, there were not more than 47 goals in any duel between tomorrow's rivals. It is clear, then, that defense is key.
"If we are correct and play defense as we know how, it will be much easier for me and Marina in goal. We have to stop their counterattacks and try not to defend their goalkeepers, so that the wings don't 'fly'. "Whoever has a better defense and a higher percentage of blocked shots will win."
According to official statistics, Batinović had only one save against Poland, although she stopped three shots. Live, it seemed that this number was higher, although the Polish women often missed due to the good positioning of the 32-year-old who stood between the posts for the entire 2nd half.
"Afterwards, when I saw the statistics, as well as the coaches, I was surprised. Anyone who has watched and knows handball knows that a good goalkeeper position is also important. I would like us to position ourselves well, so that everything goes off the mark. During 15-20 minutes against Poland, I felt and saw the fear in their eyes to kick, they started to miss. I was waiting for them, it was obvious that they were afraid to go towards the goal. That's where we broke the game. Against France, Romania and the Netherlands, there will be much better shots, we have to play defense and defend at a high level. Without the defense of the goalkeeper, nothing can be done".
Do you believe you can win a medal?
"Who would be happier than us? It is the dream of all athletes, including ours," concluded Marta Batinović.
THE MONTENEGRO DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AND THE VARDAR TANDEM
The biggest legend of Macedonian women's handball, Indira Kastratović, attended the training of the "lionesses" in SC "Jane Sandanski", the hall built by the former president of Vardar, Sergej Samsonjenko.
The woman whom Bojana Popović has repeatedly said is the best right back in history is the wife of the former head coach of the Lions, Zoran Kastratović.
At the end of the training, in the small hall of the sports complex that also has a hotel, spa center, gym and tennis courts, Vardar handball players appeared, and among them two famous faces - Vardar's goalkeeper coach, Aleksandar-Fuga Roganović from Cetinje, and a young middle back Andrej Dobrković, son of the former representative of Montenegro, Marko Dobrković.
Vardar, European champions in 2017 and 2019, are not playing in the Champions League this season precisely because of debts from the Samsonenko era.
THE DEFEAT OF THE NETHERLANDS AND SPAIN ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF "LIONICE"
The results of the first day in group II were as if they were "drawn" by the Montenegrin handball players - Germany defeated the Netherlands 36:28, and Romania defeated Spain 14:15 with a goal by Bianca Bazali from 28-27 meters before the siren.
So now four teams have two points each, so the "lionesses" would almost certainly be in the semi-finals if they beat France. If they lose, they would have two more chances - against Romania on Tuesday and the Netherlands on Wednesday.
Bonus video:
