AEK Athens and HC Alkaloid throw off EHF European Cup final

FINAL, FIRST LEG

AEK Athens HC (GRE) vs HC Alkaloid (MKD)
Sunday 18 May, 18:00 CEST

• the tie is a meeting of experience and an up-and-coming new force: AEK Athens play their third final in the last seven years, while HC Alkaloid are in a European final for the first time in only their second season
• AEK were the inaugural winners of the EHF European Cup in 2021 when they beat Ystads IF 54:46 on aggregate
• for the second consecutive season, a team from Greece has reached the EHF European Cup Men final; one year ago, Olympiacos SFP lost against Valur after a dramatic penalty shootout
• for only the second time in history, a Macedonian team has reached the European Cup final; Eurofarm Pelister lost 44:54 on aggregate against Skjern Håndbold in the EHF Challenge Cup 2002
• Athens have won eight of their 10 matches in the competition this season, only losing in the second legs against RK Partizan and HC Izvidac in the quarter and semi-finals
• Alkaloid have also won eight of their 10 matches in the competition this season, drawing in the first leg of the quarter-finals against CS Minaur Baia Mare and losing the semi-final second leg against Runar Sandefjord
• both teams have experienced penalty shootouts this season; AEK Athens HC won theirs 7:6 against RK Partizan in the quarter-finals, HC Alkaloid won 3:1 against Runar Sandefjord in the semi-finals
• HC Izvidac left back Diano Neris Cesko leads the top-scorer list with 77 goals; Alkaloid’s Martin Serafimov (62 goals) and Aleksandar Petkovski (54) are in second and third, but would have to outscore their average goal counts of the season to catch the Croatian international

An offensive spectacle in front of frenetic fans

“Defence wins championships” is a well-known cliché in sports, but can this even come true with these two teams?

HC Alkaloid have scored 36.8 goals per match over this EHF European Cup campaign. AEK Athens HC’s numbers are not far off with 34.6 goals per match. However, there is a big gap regarding the defensive performances, as the Greek side have conceded only 26.4 goals per match, while the Skopje-based side have conceded 30.9 goals per match.

So, could the old saying come true once more? The frenetic fans in Athens and Skopje will at least make sure the matches are thrillers.

Photos © Filip Viranovski, Eurokinissi Sports