The crossover matches were played on the fourth day of the LEN Men’s European U17 Championships in Tbilisi.

Serbia, Montenegro, Russia, and Germany recorded wins and qualified for tomorrow’s quarterfinals.

The derby of the playoff round was a clash of Montenegro and Croatia. The Montenegrins celebrated a win after penalty shootout (12:11). Serbia blew away Malta 19:4. Germany downed host Georgia (11:6), while Russia advanced to the quarterfinals after a penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands (15:13).

In the round 13-16 semifinals, Turkey downed Slovakia 14:8. France defeated Romania 12:10.

Quarterfinals, August 15th

Serbia – Greece
Russia – Spain
Montenegro – Hungary
Germany – Italy

Classification 9-12, semifinals, August 15th
Netherlands – Croatia
Malta – Georgia

Semifinals, August 17th
Russia/Spain – Montenegro/Hungary
Serbia/Greece – Germany/Italy

(The matches for the final rankings in classifications 9-12 and 13 – 16 will be played on August 16th)

2019 men’s European U17 Championships, Day 4

Crossover matches

Montenegro – Croatia 12:11 (2:2, 1:2, 3:2, 1:1, PSO 5:4)

Montenegro: Mrsic 3 (+2 in PSO), Radovic 2, Milic 1 (+1 PSO), Vujosevic 1, Vujovic (1 PSO), Sladovic (1 PSO).
Croatia: Maric 4 (+1 PSO), Babic 2, Stahor 1 (+1 PSO), , Tomasovic (1 PSO), Radic (1 PSO).

An encounter between Montenegro and Croatia offered a lot of thrills. The first half saw a lot of twists and turns, but none of the sides managed to build a 2-goal advantage. At halftime, the Croats had a 4:3 lead. The Montenegrins opened the second half with three goals in a row and earned a 6:4 advantage three and a half minutes before the last break. Then the Croats produced a 3:0 rush. They leveled by the end of the quarter (6:6). Early in the fourth, Maric converted a penalty shot to put Croatia in front again (7:6).

In the middle of the quarter, Vujosevic equalized from an extra player shot. The defenses dominated in the remaining time. There were no goals anymore, so the penalty shootout decided a winner.

After the first five series of penalties, the score was 3:3 (10:10 in total). Both penalties in the 6th series were converted. That was followed by two saves. Goalkeepers Pavic (Croatia) and Isljamovic (Montenegro) blocked the shots. The Montenegrins secured a win in the 8th series. Montenegro’s Sladovic sent the ball home for 12:11. Radic (Croatia) missed and sent Montenegro into the quarterfinals.

Serbia – Malta 19:4 (5:1, 5:0, 5:1, 4:2)

Serbia: Pljevancic 5, Vasic 3, Milojevic 3, Martinovic 3, Bucan 2, Gak 1, Cvetkovic 1, Janjic 1.
Malta: Muscat 2, Falzon 1, Busuttil 1.

Serbia was too strong for the Maltese. The Serbs built a 5:0 lead before Malta scored its first goal. The Serbs ruled the field and gained a 14:1 advantage deep in the third quarter. In the fourth period, they saved energy for the quarterfinal match against Greece.

Russia – Netherands 15:13 (3:3, 2:2, 3:4, 3:3, PSO 4:2)

Russia: Iarullin 4 (+1 PSO), Kabakov 2 (+1), Zhuliabin 3, Mirizev 2, Derevenskii (1 PSO), Shulev (1 PSO).
Netherlands: Wouters 3 (+1), Te Riele 3 (+1), Ten Broek 2, Kasrop 1, Schowerwou 1, Van der Weijden 1.

The match Russia – Netherlands was very similar to an encounter between Croatia and Montenegro. It was a hard-fought battle from the first whistle. Russia led for most of the first half, but before the third period, the sides were tied at 5:5. The third quarter offered a few twists. The Netherlands went ahead (6:5). Russia responded with two goals for a 7:6 lead. The Dutch’s answer was three straight goals. They went at 9:7 up. For the first and for the last time the difference between the teams was two goals.

Russia equalized at 9:9, 10:10. The Dutch gained a minimal lead again in the middle of the last quarter (11:10). A minute from the end, Russia leveled the score and secured a penalty shootout. The Russians converted all their first 4 penalties, while their goalkeeper Pavlov blocked two shots for a 15:13 win.

Germany – Georgia 11:6 (2:1, 2:0, 2:2, 5:3)

Germany: Schipper 4, Bozic 3, Gansen 2, Shuetze 1, Chiru 1.
Georgia: Giorgadze 2, Alavidze 2, Tevdorashvili 1, Dadvani 1.

Georgia opened the last match of the day with an early 1:0 lead. After that, the Germans kept the hosts scoreless until the halftime and build a 4:1 advantage. The Georgians broke the silence in their first possession in the third period for 2:4. The Germans soon went 6:2 up and didn’t let the home team come back.

Classification 13 – 16, semifinals

Turkey – Slovakia 14:8 (1:1, 5:2, 5:1, 3:4)
Turkey: Yutmaz 6, Koyuncu 3, Olcay 2, Aksoy 1, Ketenci 1, Ozar 1.
Slovakia: Jakubis 3, Horvath 2, Varga 1, Adamec 1, Berlansky 1.

Romania – France 10:12 (4:2, 1:4, 2:2, 3:4)

Romania: Rath 3, Piriianu 2, Lutescu 1, Sachetti 1, Neamtu 1, Gheorghe 1, Luncan 1.
France: Vernoux 5, Debias 3, Cavaillon 2, VIlcot Lambert 1, Bouhaddi 1,