The second-leg matches next weekend, on 1 and 2 May, will confirm the EHF European Cup Men 2025/26 finalists.
- GRK Ohrid suffered their first loss in the competition this season
- Celje’s Gal Gaberšek collected 12 saves at 31.58 per cent efficiency against Ohrid, two more than his counterpart Kristian Pilipovic for the Macedonian side, who placed at 27.03 per cent
- HC Izvidac could become the first EHF European Cup finalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina; their semi-final opponents, MOL Tatabanya KC, would claim the same milestone for Hungary
- Fahrudin Melic, Diano Ćeško and Amer Sahinovic netted 24 goals combined for the Bosnian side
SEMI-FINALS, FIRST LEG
Top scorers: Aljuš Anžic 8/12 (RK Celje Pivovarna Laško); Darko Đukić 5/9 (GRK Ohrid)
A flying start by Ohrid and a scoreless beginning for the hosts in the first nine minutes resulted in a 0:6 lead on the scoreboard for the guests. Centre back Tilen Strmljan netted three of the first six goals for the visitors and added one more in the second half. The hosts eventually found their offensive rhythm, outscoring Ohrid by 15:5 until half-time. Aljuš Anžic scored five of his eight goals in the first 30 minutes of the game.
Celje maintained a four- to six-goal advantage at the start of the second half. An 8:3 run by Ohrid between minutes 42 and 51 cut their deficit to two goals (25:23). After both teams went scoreless for four minutes, Nikolaos Liapis netted to make it 25:24. Following two crunch-time saves from Celje goalkeeper Gal Gaberšek, the hosts had the chance to take a three-goal lead into the second leg. However, Aljuš Anžic’s shot was saved and Darko Đukić scored four seconds before the buzzer to end the match at 27:26.
