LEKIĆ: "TIME TO BITE THE OPPONENTS"

Krim’s top scorer Andrea Lekić talks about the fight for the semi-final places, pressure and defence work.

Krim Mercator's Serbian playmaker Andrea Lekić is Krim's most reliable goal scorer In the top scorer list of the EHF Women's Champions League she is on third position with her 57 goals.

ehfCL.com talked to her about the difficult upcoming Main round match against Budućnost on Friday and about how her dreams could come true.

ehfCL.com: One of the most important games is coming up on Friday, a victory is vital. Did you learn anything from the three goal defeat in Podgorica?

Andrea Lekić: Of course we did. First half was terrible, our defence was not as good as we had hoped. Allowing Budućnost’s strong back court players to come very close to our goal and then just leave it all to our goalkeeper to solve was doomed from the start.

We will have to play aggressively on Friday, producing more fouls and blocks. We have been talking about this for over a week so I hope that this second match against Budućnost will turn out completely different to the first one.

ehfCL.com: Your Main Round results so far are one victory and two defeats. Is that satisfying?

Andrea Lekić: In my opinion none of the teams of Group 1 – except for Itxako – has showed a good performance. Krim can play much better. Not only on Friday but also in the other two remaining games we want to prove in what way we are capable to play. If we want to go through to the semi-finals, we do not have any other options except for winning.

ehfCL.com: Group 1 is really interesting now and Itxako is leading. Would you have imagined that ranking before the start?

Andrea Lekić: No, not at all. But this is what makes our sport and games particular attractive – it is the sweetness of the EHF Champions League. It makes visible how little difference there is between all four teams. I am sure two semi-finalists will not be known until the very last minute of the last round. A fact that might make fans happy, but it doesn’t make us players too happy.

ehfCL.com: Where do you see Krim Mercator’s biggest potential?

Andrea Lekić: Our defence and our superb goalkeepers – everything begins there, with protecting your goal. We could not perform a lot of quick counter attacks this season, we were practically without fast breaks due to the poor defence we produced. But not anymore, now it is time to 'bite' the opponents.

ehfCL.com: how do you cope with the pressure coming with the responsibility on court?

Andrea Lekić: Pressure is the main substance of sport. Who ever wants to achieve top results must be able to cope with pressure. You must take it for granted in order to get over it. I do not like losing games, but if I do, I try to get out some good lessons of it for the future. I always ask myself after the game what my team mates and I could improve next time. There is no such thing as a perfect match or a perfect performance, it could always be better.

ehfCL.com: Often enough you have repeated that it is your dream to win the EHF Champions League. Can this dream come true this year?

Andrea Lekić: We will have to go step by step. Still I would be the happiest person on earth if I won the EHF Champions League title with Krim.

ehfCL.com: When playing the away game against Budućnost you experienced a frenetic atmosphere in the Moraća sports hall. Can we expect a similar ambience in Ljubljana’s Stožice?

Andrea Lekić: Playing in sold out halls is wonderful. This is why I initially started to play handball. It is ecstasy! I really regret that Stožice is not sold out at Krim matches. It makes a big difference if playing in a full hall or in one with fewer fans. It does make a difference for the opponents, too. Therefore I hope that our important match against Budućnost game will attract more spectators than ever.

ehfcl.com