Jug Dubrovnik managed to defend the trophy in the Croatian Cup. Jug beat Jadran in the final of the Final Four in Zadar – 15:14 after a penalty shootout (10:10 in regular time) this evening. This is the 16th Croatian Cup for the team from Dubrovnik.
Jug won both matches at the F4 in a shootout. It beat Solaris in the semifinals with an identical score – 15:14. Interestingly, all three games in the final tournament produced the same results. Jadran defeated Primorje in the semis 15:14, but there was no penalty shootout in this match.
Solaris was in front for most of the first 24 minutes of the semifinals against Jug. Still, the Sibenik-based side’s advantage was larger than a goal just twice (4:2, 5:3). Jug chased the rival and leveled many times. Before the final quarter, the sides were tied at 7:7. Solaris went ahead again – 8:7 before Jug finally found its rhythm. It made a 3:0 run for a 10:8 lead, but Solaris leveled at 10:10 in the very last second. Solaris’ goalkeeper Martin Sparada went into the rival’s half of the field and scored an equalizer. However, his team fell in the shootout. Jug advanced to the final with a 15:14 victory.
One goal separated the rivals in the second semifinals, Jadran – Primorje, but the game offered less excitement. Primorje kept up with Jadran until 4:4. After that, the Split-based side scored four goals in a row to go to 8:4. Jadran maintained a 4-goal or a 3-goal advantage until the finish. A minute before the final buzzer, Jadran led 15:12. Primorje reduced the gap in the final 60 seconds.
Jug had a dream start in the final. The team from the Gruz pool ran to a 4:0 lead in the first five minutes. Jadran got on the scoreboard in the 6th minute, but Jug responded with two goals and went to 6:1 early in the second quarter. Some believed the match would be similar to the final in the 2022/23 season (Jug beat Jadran 10:5 a year ago). At halftime, Jug had a 4-goal advantage (8:4). Still, Jadran hadn’t said its last word yet.
The Croatian champion, led by unstoppable Loren Fatovic, managed to come back. Deep into the third period, Jadran halved the deficit (6:8). A minute and a half before the third break, Maro Jokovic made it 9:6. It was Jug’s last goal in the regular time. Jadran narrowed the gap by the end of the quarter (8:9). At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Loren Fatovic leveled at 9:9. It was his seventh goal (!) in the final. Nobody could score in the last seven minutes and the match entered the shootout. Jug clinched the trophy after seven rounds of shots – 15:14. Veteran Maro Jokovic closed the thriller, scoring in the 7th round. Konstantin Kharkov missed before that shot.
2023/24 Croatian Cup, Final Four, Zadar
Semifinals
Jug – Solaris 15:14 (2:3, 3:3, 2:1, 3:3, PSO 5:4)
Jadran S – Primorje 15:14 (3:3, 5:3, 5:4, 2:4)
Final
Jug – Jadran 15:14 (5:1, 3:3, 1:4, 0:1, PSO 6:5)
Jug: Daube 5 (1 in the shootout), Jokovic 4 (2), Buric 2 (1), Lazic 1 (1), Cabanas 1, Grgurevic 1, Zuvela 1 (1).
Jadran Split: Fatovic 9 (2), Kharkov 1, Vrlic 1, Marinic Kragic 1 (1), Butic 1 (1), Bukic 1 (1).
All winners: Jug 16 trophies, Mladost 10, Primorje 4, POSK Split 1, Jadran Split 1
Mladost wins Cup for ladies
Earlier today, Mladost Zagreb defeated Jadran Split 13:11 (2:3, 5:3, 4:4, 2:1) in the final of the Women’s Croatian Cup and won its 11th trophy in this competition.
