Ohrid enters the return leg against Spor Toto with a 12-goal lead from 36:24, the match is on October 24 at 18:30
Mate scored 10 goals and goalkeeper Slavić made 15 saves in the first leg of the EHF European Cup second round.
The Macedonian handball club GRK Ohrid, the defending champion of the EHF European Cup, began its 2026–27 campaign with a convincing 36:24 win over Turkey's Spor Toto in the first leg of the second round. That gives it a 12-goal lead going into the return leg.
The return leg is scheduled for October 24 at 18:30 in the “Biljanini Izvori” hall in Ohrid. According to Telma, Ohrid is only nominally the away side, since it is played in the same hall. That makes the return leg more relaxed, but not a formality.
The most effective for Ohrid was Dominik Mate with 10 goals. Darko Ǵukić added 6 goals, and goalkeeper Dino Slavić made 15 saves. Those numbers explain the lopsided result: Ohrid was clearly better than the opponent in both attack and defense.
How big is a 12-goal lead? In handball, a 12-goal margin after the first leg usually means that progress to the next round is almost decided, since Spor Toto would need a win by more than 12 goals. Still, there is no guarantee, so Ohrid's aim is to finish the tie without surprises.
Ohrid's status as defending champion makes the tie more important. According to Macedonian sports media, the club is starting the defense of its title, so every step in the later rounds is a test of whether it can repeat last season's success.
The result of the return leg is not known at the time this text is published.
What is not known? The result of the return leg is not known, nor who the next opponent in the third round will be. It is also not known whether all key players will be available, since the sources do not publish injury information.
What does it mean? Ohrid enters the return leg with a comfortable lead. The real question is no longer whether it will progress, but how the club will prepare its forces for the next rounds of the European season.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 24, 2026
