After eliminating HIT Innsbruck, the players shared their joy with their devoted fans.
Despite dropping the first leg 26-25, the Black and White managed to win the second leg 25-24 and advanced to the Challenge Cup quarterfinals on away goals rule.‘‘Beşiktaş is the only club in Istanbul that has invested heavily in handball. With this opportunity I would like thank all our players and technical staff for their outstanding performance. I am sure they will be successful in the next round as well,’’ said Mr. Ertunç Soğancıoğlu having so many titles such as Deputy President, Executive Board Member and Treasurer.
Our Board Member in Charge of Volleyball, Handball, Rowing and Box Branches added:
“We are extremely pleased for being the only Turkish team that has made it to the quarterfinals of this prestigious cup. I must admit our fans played a major role in our victory with their non-stop cheering tonight. I hope they show same kind of enthusiasm in our quarterfinal matches. This team has all the means to reach the final. I doesn't matter who we play against in the next round; I am sure we’ll come out on top.”
One of the architects of tonight’s victory, player Utku Ergüder: “We have accomplished to lead in the last 20 minutes tonight. We first managed to erase the 5-goal deficit and then pull out a stunning victory at the buzzer. I would like thank all our fans who did not lose their faith in us until the end.”
Top scorer Vladimir Zelic: ‘‘It was a tough game; but we forced them to bow out in the end with the help of our fans. Now we must focus on our next games and find a way to reach the final.’’
Mr. Tarık Cengiz, the President of Turkish Handball Federation: ‘‘Up until now, Beşiktaş has managed to reach the quarterfinals stage twice. It is the only team that has shown deep interest in handball while most clubs have opted to shy away from it. It also constitutes the backbone of our international squad. This year, I am going to hand out the Challenge Cup trophy. I sincerely would like to see Beşiktaş up there.''
