Macedonian experience was the key of the match
Comments from the mixed zone after FYRO Macedonia won against Bosnia and Herzegovina 25:22 at the Ali Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah Arena
Naumche Mojsovski (MKD):
It was a bad game from our side. When we went up 6: 1 we thought it would be easy. But they have good players and this is immediately reflected in their 6: 6 comeback. We are the type of team that if Kire (Lazarov) is not in the game we all play bad and that was the case today. It will certainly be a little tougher. We must be on top of our game. We have not played against them in a major competition for some time now. We hope that we will play a good match."
Nemanja Pribak (MKD):
"In a tough match like this every goal is important, but, OK I am happy because I scored the one which sealed our victory. We feel we are a big team and sometimes we can win without playing the best handball. Tonight we had some positives in defence and offence. And most importantly we managed to beat a good and competitive opponent. It was a derby between two neighbours, but there wasn't any tension. We are friends and I have a lot of respect for them. They were unlucky because two of their most important players got injured and didn't play their best. It is Croatia next, one of the best teams in the world. I think that they will reach the final stages and even the final, hopefully against us. They are the favourites, but we can give them a game."
Kiril Lazarov (MKD)
"It has been a tough game for us. Although they are newcomers in the competition, the Bosnians have a good team. However, we beat them and it is a very big victory for us. We are only thinking of the next game which is against the mighty Croatia. It will be tough, but I think that we can beat them and be first in the group. We won all three games so far, and we have confidence that we will storm into the second round."
Borko Ristovski (MKD)
"I tried to do my best, it is the basic duty of a goalkeeper. For me it is not important that they consider me one of the best goalkeepers in the world. What counts is the win. We are not in a hurry. One game at a time that's key in a long tournament. Fighting spirit, heart, strong defence, play with maximum power in any game."
Muhamed Toromanovic (BIH)
"I am very disappointed because we felt that we had the game in our hands and we lost. We missed a lot of opportunities, especially in 6 vs 5 situations that killed us. Maybe this is the reason because we had too many turnovers and didn't take advantage of easy opportunities, but I don't want to use it as an excuse for the today's defeat. We didn't come here only for the pride of the participation, but to advance to the second round and try to get the best possible results."
Nikola Prce (BIH):
"We lost again because of our lack of concentration in two or three attacks. We can't afford to make such silly mistakes in the future. We would have been able to win this game but with ten minutes to go the game was already over. We have more matches and have to pick ourselves up, keep our heads high. We will be ready for the next game."
Dejan Manaskov (MKD):
"We had a great start, but they came back to take the lead and then was a very balanced match. We played better in defence in the second half and thankfully got the win. Now we have one day of rest to get prepared to play against Croatia."
Ivica Obrvan (MKD):
"Congratulations to Bosnia and Herzegovina, because they were very competitive, but also congratulations to my players for another win. We had an impressive start and took an early five-goal lead, but it didn't last. I am just happy we managed to have snatched a victory and we now have six points."
Dragan Markovic (BIH):
"I am satisfied with what we showed tonight, especially the character which allowed us to come back from being five goals down. We are not a weak team and we proved it tonight against a powerful team. I think that, despite the lack of international experience, we deserve to advance to the second round."
