In all Greek derby Iraklis THESSALONIKI vies for Challenge Round berth

2009/2010 CEV Cup - Men

Thessaloniki, Greece, February 2, 2010. There is pretty much at stake on Wednesday night with the return match of the Greek derby featuring Iraklis THESSALONIKI and E.A. PATRON in the 4th finals of the Men’s CEV Cup. The match will start at 19.00 and will be held at the “EG Mikra” sports hall. Both Greek teams want to qualify for the next round of the competition to play there Belgium’s Noliko MAASEIK. After having suffered a defeat in the first match, Iraklis needs to score a 3:0 or a 3:1 – in this case with the addition of a golden set - to continue its campaign in the European Cups.
Yesterday night Iraklis had an additional training session and completed the preparation for the derby. All the players of Iraklis team are determined to give their best.
In comparison with last year’s campaign in the CEV Indesit Champions League, Iraklis changed completely its roster with only captain Andrej Kravarik and Gerasimos Kanellos having stayed in Thessaloniki. Gkortsianiouk, Cala, Baranek, Prousalis, Bampalioutas and Kral were all transferred this past summer to complete the composition of the team.
In this game Iraklis will present a new player. The captain of the Venezuelan national team Thomas Ereu Santander will make his debut with the jersey of Iraklis.
Slovenian opposite Mitjia Gasparini expects a very difficult return match: "It is certainly a difficult game where we must give everything to be able to get the qualification for the next phase. Having seized one set last week in the away match, we still have very good chances to make it to the Challenge Round. We must give our best and go for the victory”.
In the Greek national league Iraklis notched last Saturday a difficult match against Kifisia in five sets and with 37 points is currently ranked fourth, with a four-point gap from the upcoming opponents of E.A. PATRON.