Almost a month after a valuable victory over Alingsas in Sweden, Nexe continues to compete in the EHF Europa League on Tuesday, November 17 (18:45). In the 3rd round, the Croatian runner-up will play his second match – the opponent is one of the biggest favorites for the highest ranking, French Montpellier, with whom Nexe will play in Nasice in front of empty stands.
Despite that handicap, coach Hrvoje Horvat believes that the European champion from 2017 is not invincible.
– It is a great pity that we are playing against such a rival in front of empty stands, it should not be emphasized how much the fans, and we, would enjoy this game with a roar from the stands. The hall would be full, it would be a real handball holiday. We will have to bravely and as a team oppose a team with such an individual quality as Montpellier has. I hope that we will be able to win without our fans. When you play against such an opponent, the pressure we had in previous games also drops. That is why I expect us to play well, without the nervous start we had in some previous games. I think that the defense will be the one to decide the winner on Tuesday, and we will be stronger in that part for the returnee Tomić, who is very important for our defense. All six players in the defensive zone must breathe together, act like a school of fish, because only with such a collective defense can we match the individual quality of Montpellier – announced Horvat