Savona and Vasas will play in the final of the LEN Euro Cup.
Vasas beat Panionios convincingly – 12:6 in the return leg in Budapest and overcame a one-goal deficit from the match in Athens (8:9).
The Italian derby, Savona – Trieste, was a thriller with a happy ending for Savona. The first match, in Trieste, ended in a 9:9 draw. Today, Savona recorded a narrow 13:12 victory at home. The hosts’ and Italy’s goalkeeper Gianmarco Nicosia scored a winner with just two seconds to go.
The former European champion Vasas will play in the final of the LEN Euro Cup for the first time. Savona won three trophies in this competition (2005, 2011, 2012).
The final matches are scheduled for April 15 and 29.
LEN Euro Cup, semifinals, 2nd leg
Savona – Trieste 13:12 (3:2, 2:3, 3:3, 5:4) – first match 9:9
Savona: Panerai 4, Djurdjic 3, Patchaliev 2, Nicosia 1, Bruni 1, Campopiano 1, Guidi 1.
Trieste: Valentino 3, Bini 3, Buljubasic 2, Mezzarobba 2, Petronio 1, Razzi 1,
The second duel between Savona and Trieste was an even contest from the first until the final whistle. There were a lot of twists and turns, but just once, two goals separated the rivals.At the first break, Savona led 3:2. Deep into the second quarter, Trieste went ahead (5:4), but Patchaliev leveled at 5:5 before the end of the first half.
Trieste, which started the match with 12 players (Inaba was red-carded for brutality in the 1st leg), left without Mladossich at the beginning of the third quarter due to three personal fouls. Still, the teams continued a neck-and-neck race . Djurdjic scored for 6:5. Trieste leveled at 6:6 in the middle of the quarter. After that and until the dying seconds, Savona wasn’t in front, it chased the visitors. The teams entered the final quarter tied at 8:8.
Trieste opened the fourth quarter better. Mezzaroba gave the hosts a 9:8 lead. The hosts leveled at 9:9. Then, Trieste scored two back-to-back goals. Bini made it 9:11 in the 28th minute and two goals separated the rivals for the first time. Still, Trieste didn’t keep that advantage for long. Savona leveled at 11:11 with 02:20 minutes left on the clock. Buljubasic put the visitors ahead, but Savona’s Campioano leveled at 12:12 in the 31st minute. Neither of the sides scored in the next two possessions, but Savona had the last attack. Goalkeeper Gianmarco Nicosia joined his teammates in the attack, Savona had 7 on 6. Nicosia was the one who scored the winner just two seconds before the buzzer and sent Savona to the final.
Vasas – Panionios 12:6 (2:1, 4:1, 3:2, 3:2) – first leg 8:9
Vasas: Batori 3, Nagaev 3, Sedlmayer 3, Randjelovic 2, Konarik 1
Panionios: Mourrtidis 2, Kopelaidis 2, Bitadze 2, Kalatzis 1.
The match in Budapest wasn’t very exciting. Vasas proved the role of the favorite already in the first half. Konarik opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Mouratidis leveled at 1:1 in the 6th. After that, Vasas kept the Greeks goalless for almost ten minutes. In that interval, Vasas scored five goals and jumped to a 6:1 lead. Mouratidis added his second goal in the 16th minute to reduce the gap to four (2:6).
Vasas controlled everything in the second half. The difference was never smaller than four goals in the third and the fourth quarter. In the end, vasas went to the final with a comfortable 12:6 victory in the return leg.
More articles about the LEN Euro Cup
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