Szeged’s last victory against the Macedonian powerhouse dated back to 2004. In the two previous seasons, the teams faced each other four times, and all matches were won by the Skopje side.
Now with the help of their home crowd, Szeged hoped to end this negative series and ultimately earned a point in an extremely tight and dramatic game.
However, the draw leaves a somewhat bitter taste for the Hungarian side as they were leading throughout the whole match, albeit mostly by just one or two goals.
As many as ten Szeged's players put their name on the scoresheet, including Sergey Gorbok, who used to play in Vardar's colours.
Szeged's goalkeeper Jose Manuel Sierra also played a good game and his saves were among the factors contributing to the hosts' slight superiority during the 60 minutes.
Vardar show character
By the 27th minute, they built on a three-goal margin (13:10), yet Vardar drew level and could go in front, but Sierra denied Luka Cindric.
Richard Bodo managed to score in the last seconds, giving Szeged a half-time lead (14:13).
The closing stage of the second half was no less entertaining. Three minutes from the final buzzer, Szeged were up 26:24, yet Vardar did not give up and showed character as Vuko Borozan and Jorge Maqueda drew level.
Timur Dibirov had a huge chance to bring the Macedonian side the victory from a fast break, but his shot went over the bar, as did Szeged's free throw at the buzzer.
