The first matchday in the Croatian League in 2023 was the last one in the first part of the regular season at the same time.
The games of the ninth round were played this weekend. After the ninth round, the clubs were split into two groups – the playoffs group (places 1st – 5th) and the relegation group (places 6th – 10th). The second phase will be a single round-robin league. All the results achieved in the first phase have been carried on to the second stage.
There haven’t been changes at the top of the table. Jadran Split and Jug Dubrovnik continued their neck-and-neck race. Both teams are unbeaten. They shared the points in the derby in Dubrovnik (10:10). Since Jug and Jadran beat all their other rivals in the first phase, their encounter in Split will likely decide who will enter the playoffs from 1st place.
The big match of the ninth round was the clash between Jadran and Mladost. As expected, the Split-based team collected the points. Still, it wasn’t an easy win. The sides were tied in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Jug blew 4th-placed Primorje away.
Besides Jadran, Jug, Mladost and Primorje, Solaris will play in the playoffs group.
2022/23 Croatian League, Day 9
Jadran S – Mladost 10:7 (2:1, 3:1, 2:3, 3:2)
Jadran Split: Z. Butic 3, Buric 2, Cagalj 2, Marinic Kragic 1, Delic 1, Dobud 1.
HAVK Mladost: Jelaca 2, Elez 2, Vrbnjak 1, Rakovac 1, Herceg 1
Primorje – Jug 5:12 (1:4, 1:3, 2:2, 1:3)
Primorje EB: Muslim 3, Te Riele 1, N. Cubranic 1.
Jug AO: Vukojevic 2, Kakaris 2, Fatovic 1, Zvono 1, Jokovic 1, Lazic 1, Krzic 1, Kolak 1, Zuvela 1, Mozara 1.
Mornar – POSK 12:9 (2:3, 3:4, 3:0, 4:2)
Mornar BS: Cumbelic 4, D.Akrap 2, Hrvatic 2, Buselic 1, L.Penava 1, Guduric 1.
POSK: Vukic 3, Elez 3, Carev 1, Cubelic 1, Tonkovic 1.
Solaris – KPK 20:6 (4:1, 4:0, 6:1, 6:4)
Solaris: Penava 4, Rak 3, D.Butic 3, Erak 2, Babara 2, Burburan 2, Desnica 1, Krekovic 1, Sirovec 1, T.Sparada 1.
KPK Korcula: Joudrie 2, Denoble 2, A.Radovanovic 1, V.Radovanovic 1.
Zadar 1952 – Medvescak 12:16 (2:4, 2:3, 5:3, 3:6)
Zadar 1952: Jurisic 3, Martinovic 2, Dondjivic 2, Raci 1, Jovancevic 1, Cicero 1, Eskinja 1, Zelic 1.
Medvescak: Markovic 4, Busic 3, Ljepava 3, Miljak 3, Car 2, Simunovic 1.
Mladost scored an opening goal in the derby against Jadran in Split. However, the hosts took control shortly after. Jadran produced a 5:0 and took a 5:1 lead (13th minute). It seemed that the favorite would record an easy win. Still, Mladost was able to make the match interesting. The visitors scored three goals in a row and cut the deficit to 4:5 and again to 5:6. But, Jadran entered the final quarter with a 2-goal advantage (7:5). Mladost opened the fourth period excellently – with two goals in the first 105 seconds of the last quarter and leveled at 7:7. However, the Zagreb-based side couldn’t score in the remaining time, while Jadran netted three goals for a 10:7 victory. Jadran scored three goals in 02:22 minutes, went to 10:7 with two minutes left on the clock, and kept the 3-goal advantage.
Jug visited Rijeka to play against 4th-placed Primorje. There was no excitement in this game. The visitors took an early 2:0 lead. At halftime, they had a 5-goal advantage (7:2). At the end of the game, seven goals separated the rivals (12:5). Interestingly, even 10 Jug’s players found the net in this game. Only Ivan Vukojevic and Konstantinos Kakaris scored more than one goal.
Ten players of the winning team got on the scoresheet in Solaris’ convincing 20:6 victory over KPK Korcula.
Mornar defeated POSK in the Split derby, thanks to a better second half. POSK led 7:5 at halftime. But, Mornar scored three and didn’t concede a single goal in the third period for an 8:7 lead. At the beginning of the fourth period, Mornar went to 9:7 and didn’t let a new turn.
Zadar enters the second phase of the Championships with no points. It suffered a home loss to Medvescak (12:16). The visiting side was a better rival in the first half. Medvescak led 7:4 before the third quarter. Zadar scored four unanswered goals at the beginning of the second half to earn an 8:7 advantage. Still, Medvescak was ahead of the hosts before the final quarter (10:9). They opened the fourth period with five goals to earn a 15:9 lead and kill all Zadar’s hopes.
1.Jadran S 9 – 25 (+93)
2. Jug 9 – 25 (+73)
3. Mladost 9 – 21
4. Primorje 9 – 18
5. Solaris 9 – 15
6. Mornar 9 – 12
7. Medvescak 9 – 9
8. POSK 9 – 4
9. KPK 9 – 4
10.Zadar 9 – 0
Playoffs group: Jadran, Jug, Mladost, Primorje, Solaris.
Relegation group: Mornar, Medvescak, POSK, KPK, Zadar.
After five rounds of the second phase of the regular season, the top eight teams will compete in the playoffs for the title. The 9th-placed and 10th-placed will face off in the relegation playoffs.
