Vardar travelled to Kristianstad with a perfect record of two wins from two in the group, but not only did the Swedish side have home advantage, they were also protecting an unbeaten record of one win and one draw.
The Macedonian side's perfection was under real threat in the first half, as after falling 3-2 behind, Kristianstad quickly established a lead which Elliott Stenmalm extended to four goals in the 21st minute to make it 12-8, which was marginally closed to 14-11 at the half-time whistle.
A 3-0 run early in the second half levelled things up at 16-16, but Vardar crucially couldn't get the go-ahead goal. Kristianstad's lead grew back to three goals, before another late rally from the visitors made the score 29-29 with four minutes to play.
The sides traded goals in the dying minutes, and with eight seconds to play, 20-year-old rising star Axel Mansson fired in his 13th goal of the game to win it for Kristianstad. Five points sees them to top the group at halfway, ahead of Vardar, with Sesvete in third ahead of strugglers Toulouse.
There was no such joy for the other two Swedish sides competing in this season's EHFEL. Savehof were also protecting an unbeaten record after two draws in Group G, but a 27-25 loss to Hannover-Burgdorf has completely changed the perception of their start.
Savehof sit third in the group, while Karlskrona are bottom of Group E with three defeats from three following a 34-32 loss to Benfica. Despite their lowly position, all three of Karlskrona's losses have been by one or two-goal margins, giving them cause for belief ahead of the return fixtures.