11/06/2016 01:06
Young Bulgarians come from behind to edge Denmark in European League home debut
2016 CEV Volleyball European League - Men
Varna, Bulgaria, June 10, 2016. Action in Pool A of the 2016 CEV Volleyball European League – Men started on Friday in Varna where last year’s silver medallists Former Y.R. of Macedonia cruised to a 3-0 victory in their matchup with rookies Albania before hosts Bulgaria came back from two sets down to edge Denmark in a dramatic tie-break. The competition continues on Saturday on the shores of the Black Sea where the 2016 European League Final Four tournament will be taking place on July 1-2.
Albania vs. Former Y.R. of Macedonia 0-3 (17-25, 23-25, 18-25)
Albania started the match in the best way whereas the players of the Former Y.R. of Macedonia needed some 10 minutes before they eventually found their rhythm. Aleksandar Ljaftov scored three aces in a row and paved the way for this team’s comeback in the opening set. Team captain Nikola Gjorgiev was just unstoppable and scored as many as six points in the first set, always finding the right timing and chemistry with setter Filip Despotovski. Gjorgiev was Despotovski’s preferred choice in the key moments of the set and this strategic vision resulted in a comfortable 25-17 win for the Former Y.R. of Macedonia.
Though they had slowed their pace down towards the end of the first set, Albania’s players showed what they are capable of right from the outbreak of the second frame. They served and blocked well to get a three-point lead at the first technical time-out. Albania’s outside spiker Alvi Shurdhi finished the longest rally of the match up to that stage to move the score to 20-18 for his side but the Macedonian players responded with their well-known fighting spirit. They saved some tough balls in defence and this provided them with great opportunities to side out. Towards the end of the set back-up setter Gjorgi Gjorgiev made his European League debut this year – he is well-known to the Bulgarian fans for being a four-time national champion with Marek Union-Ivkoni DUPNITSA. He eventually closed the second set out (25-23) with a great block while his brother Nikola added another nine points to his personal tally in the match.
Everything went just easy for the Former Y.R. of Macedonia in the third set. The players coached by Zarko Ristoski dominated in all aspects of the game, especially with the help of Nikola Gjorgiev and some terrific serves provided by Ljaftov. On the other hand, the players of Albania made a way too many unforced errors as they looked nervous and ran out of fuel. This resulted in an easy set win for the Former Y.R. of Macedonia whose players could celebrate their first victory in this year’s European League.
Quotes
Albania coach Jovan Melka said: “This is our first participation in this competition and obviously it’s a challenge for us. We have a lot of pressure and the players feel it. Today we played against last year’s finalist. We had some information about their new players but the final result stems from the too many mistakes we made. We started the first set in a good way but after leading 17:13 we made too many mistakes and after that we lost confidence. And in Volleyball you can’t afford this. When you make errors, you immediately end up paying the toll. We made some changes in the second set and we had opportunities to close it but in the end we also made a crucial mistake. We will have two tough matches tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. So we need to relax now and to come back here even stronger.”
Albania outside spiker Gazmend Husaj: “Congratulations to Macedonia. They played better than us and they deserved to win. We started out really good in each of the three sets we played. However, we ended up having problems with our side-out. This is normal for our team because this year we have five, six young players who have joined the roster for the first time. So for them this was a real challenge but playing this kind of matches certainly helps their development and this way they can grow and become better players. Now we need to keep our chin up and to think about the next matches. I hope our team will play better than we did today.”
Former Y.R. of Macedonia coach Zarko Ristoski: “As opposed to the last two years this season we have six new players in the team. It was really tough for us at the beginning of the match. This year we didn’t have any preparation matches before the start of the European League, so this is also a big problem for us. But during the match, set after set, we managed to find our game and to win. In the end we showed the kind of performance we have been hoping for. Obviously, in this first tournament our game will not be on the highest level but match after match we will improve our skills and we will play better and better. The Albanian team has two very good players but today we stopped both of them. I think that we deserved this victory. It’s always good to start a tournament with three points. I believe in this young team and I hope this year we can achieve another good result in the European League.”
Team captain Nikola Gjorgiev said: “We knew that this was going to be a tough match. We didn’t have any matches during our preparation for this tournament. I remember our first match in the European League last year, when we played against Estonia and they beat us 3-0. Today we knew that this match was going to be a battle. It was clear that we would have a tough start because this starting six with myself playing as opposite is totally new. Also we have some new young players, without experience. So we expected this kind of troubles, but we showed a good reaction as the match progressed. We played really well set after set. We got three points and now we need to think about the match against Denmark tomorrow. This will be like a final for us. I hope in the next match today the biggest favourite of the group, Bulgaria will beat them. And tomorrow we and Denmark will be playing for first or second place in the pool. I’m so happy to be here in Varna. This is my first time here and everything is just amazing. The hotel, the city, the hall. I hope to come back again for the finals. This is my goal in the European League this season.”
Click here for a short video clip of the final rally
Bulgaria vs. Denmark 3-2 (24-26, 22-25, 25-21, 27-25, 16-14)
Later in the evening a young Bulgarian side came back from two sets down to claim a dramatic 3-2 victory in their home debut with Denmark to the delight of some 1,100 fans in attendance at Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna.
Bulgaria coach Miroslav Zhivkov: “First, I want to congratulate the players of both teams. With their performance today they delivered a really good match. This is important. Denmark have players with a lot of experience. In our team the story is quite different. We are a young team with young players. And in some moments we made too many individual errors. We started nervous but we made a great comeback. I want to congratulate my players because we won as a team and this is the most important thing!”
Bulgaria team captain Velizar Chernokozhev: “Before the match I said that all teams competing here are very solid and play good Volleyball. All the teams have good players. Some of them are playing in big European clubs and have a lot of experience. So it will not be easy for us. Every match will be a close battle. We are an absolutely new team. We have been together for one month. Today we showed a great team spirit. You need to have this if you want to win matches like this one. It was hard, but we didn’t stop to fight and managed to win in the end. It’s great and I’m really happy for the crowd which has been supporting us with so much passion. They are behind us in every match and it’s really important for our good performance.”
Denmark coach Mikael Trolle: “I think it was a great comeback for Bulgaria, because we pretty much did stick to the same game plan from the beginning to the end and all sets were really close. It could actually have finished 3-1 for Bulgaria or 3-1 for Denmark. I think it was a very competitive match and we are proud of the level we displayed because we are one of these small countries which want to play against the best teams and Bulgaria even with these young players remains a very, very good team. I think we played a very good match in many parts of the game. It was an exciting match for everybody in the hall, so it’s always good for the spectators and Volleyball as well. Of course, we are disappointed now, but we have taken one point from this match, so this can be really important because our main goal is to qualify for the Final Four and to come back here. I think that we have a team which can achieve this.”
Denmark opposite player Peter Trolle Bonnesen: “It was a very, very tough game. They managed to change the course of the match. They changed a little bit their starting six and guys who came from the bench did really well. There have been moments where by looking in their eyes you saw the fire and a great desire to win. Also the crowd here wanted this, they started to scream and after all I can tell that Varna is a really hard place to play. Tomorrow we will play against the Former Y.R. of Macedonia. Last year we beat them 3-2 and lost 1-3, so I expect a tough match also. Now we need to relax. Our staff have watched them so they will prepare us in the best way. They will tell us everything that we need to know for tomorrow.”
Click here for a short video clip of the final rally
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the matches
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