The matches played on the last day of the Qualification Round 2 of the LEN Euro Cup had no big importance, as four teams (Miskolc, Ortigia, Eger and Mataro) had qualified for the quarterfinals before today’s games.
Despite the fact that everything was clear before today’s games, there were excitements in all encounters. Miskolc won the first place in the group in Sibenik, while Hungarian other club Eger remained atop of the group in Mataro.
Miskolc, Ortigia, Eger and Mataro will be in the same pot for the draw for the quarterfinals. Brescia, Vouliagmeni, Strasbourg and Oradea, the four losing teams in the Qualification Round 3 for the Champions League, will be in the other pot.
LEN Euro Cup, Qualification Round II, Day 3
Group E (Sibenik)
Miskolc – Ortigia 12:11 (2:4, 4:2, 3:4, 3:1)
MVLC Miskolc: Nagy 4, Vadovics 2, Lorincz 2, Misic 2, Manzi 1, Stojanovic 1.
Ortigia: Napolitano 3, Giacoppo 2, , Vidovic 2, Abela 1, Di Luciano 1, Ferrero 1, Gallo 1.
Solaris – Mediterrani 8:8 (1:2, 2:3, 4:3, 1:0)
Solaris: Koprcina 3, Vlahovic 2, Herceg 1, Mudrazija 1, Kovacic 1.
Mediterrani: Minguell 4, Gorria 1, Vujovic 1, Garcia 1, Stevenson 1.
The encounter between Miskolc and Ortigia, which decided the group winner, offered a lot of twists and turns. Ortigia grabbed an early 3:0 lead, but Miskolc started climbing back. Deep into the second period, the Hungarians went in front (6:5). However, at halftime, the sides were tied (6:6).
Ortigia entered the last quarter with a slim advantage (10:9). Miskolc earned a new lead 11:10 in the finish of the game (02:47 before the end). Ortigia equalised in the next possession. Adam Nagy gave Miskolc a new lead 12:11 two minutes from time and it turned out to be the final score.
Spanish Mediterrani finished 3rd in the group. In the last match of the tournament, Mediterrani and host Solaris shared the points – 8:8. The Spaniards took the 3rd place thanks to a better goal difference. Both teams had the same goal-difference (-8), but Mediterrani scored the larger number of goals.
1 Miskolc (HUN) 3 – 9
2 Ortigia (ITA) 3 – 6
3 Mediterrani (ESP) 3 – 1 (27:35)
4 Solaris (CRO) 3 – 1 (23:31)
Group E ( Mataro)
Mataro – Eger 8:12 (2:2, 0:3, 4:3, 2:4)
Quadis CN Mataro: Fernandez 2, Yanez 2, Corbalan 1, Bertran 1, Barbena 1, Guimaraes 1.
Eger: Vlachopoulos 3, Magyar 2, Murisic 2, Baksa 2, S. Rasovic 1, Csacsovszky 1, Gyarfas 1.
Noisy-le-Sec – Montpellier 9:12 (3:3, 1:3, 4:1, 1:5)
Noisy-le-Sec: Kolarik 2, A. Petkovic 2, Marzouki 2, Pliskevich 1, Sterling 1, Peisson 1.
Montpellier: D. Zivkovic 4, Ivankovic 2, Kalinic 2, Piot 1, Delas 1, Vasseur 1, Spilliaert 1.
Eger proved that it was the biggest favourite in the group in Mataro. The Hungarians finished the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record. Eger defeated host Mataro today, but the Spaniards didn’t surrender easily. After the second quarter, Eger earned a crucial 3-goal advantage (5:2). But the home team was coming back from time to time. Mataro cut the deficit to 6:7 in the last minute of the 3rd quarter. Eger replied with two goals to extend the gap to 3 (9:6) and Mataro couldn’t come back once more.
Montpellier defeated Noisy-le-Sec in the French derby to take the 3rd place in the group. The winner was determined in the last four and a half minutes. In the 28th minute, the score was 9:9. After that, Montpellier netted three goals in a row for a 12:9 victory.
1 Eger (HUN) 3 – 9
2 Mataro (ESP) 3 – 6
3 Montpellier (FRA) 3 – 3
4 Noisy-le-Sec (FRA) 3 – 0
