The first round of the LEN Euro Cup Group stage offered a lot of excitement. One or two goals decided the winner in most of the matches.
However, the match that was supposed to be the highlight of the day turned into a one-sided contest. Vasas ran over Honved in the Budapest-derby 11:3
2024 LEN Euro Cup, Group Phase, Day 1
Group A
Solaris – Tourcoing 8:9 (3:1, 3:5, 0:2, 2:1)
Solaris: Petkovic 3, Jakovcevic 2, Burburan 2, Vrdoljak 1.
Tourcoing: Colodrovschi 3, D.Zivkovic 2, Furman 2, Marzouki 1, Kujacic 1.
Telimar – Barcelona 12:11 (3:1, 2:4, 2:1, 5:5)
Telimar:Giorgetti 4, Hooper 2, Q.Woodhead 2, Vitale 1, Gilberti 1, Fabiano 1, Occhione 1.
Barcelona: Ramon 3, Valls 2, Goma 2, Veich 1, Linares 1, Andrade 1, Daura 1.
Both teams had ups and downs in the match Solaris – Tourcoing. The hosts led 3:1 and 4:2 in the first half. The French built a 2-goal lead in the third period (8:6). Solaris leveled at 8:8 with two goals from Noa Burburan within 40 seconds in the middle of the fourth. A series of missed man-ups at both ends of the pool followed that. Tourcoing’s leftie Duje Zivkovic ended that series of wasted chances. He converted a 6 on 5 with 31 seconds left on the clock for the final score.
Telimar took a 4:1 lead at the beginning of the second quarter of the match in Palermo, played on Sunday morning, but just a second before halftime, Barcelona equalized at 5:5 with a penalty goal from Valls. Goma extended the Spaniards’ series to 6:5 in the middle of the third quarter. However, Telimar regained their lead in the last quarter with a score of 7:6. Goma equalized again with a goal, making it 7:7 early in the final quarter. Hooper and Woodhead scored two goals each for Telimar, giving them a 9:7 lead. Barcelona scored four goals and Telimar three in the last four minutes, so the points remained in Sicily.
Group B
Honved – Vasas 3:11 (1:3,1:4, 1:3, 0:1)
Honved: Fejos 2, B.Ekler 1.
Vasas:Burian 5, S.Rasovic 2, Konarik 2, Lakatos 1, Batizi 1.
Apollon Smyrnis – Savona 11:12 (2:3, 3:1, 2:3, 4:5)
Apollon Smyrnis: Chondrokoukis 3, Troulos 2, Shushiashvili 2, Alamanos 1, Bogdanovic 1, Diplaros 1, Tottis 1.
Savona:Bruni 4, Patchaliev 3, Figlioli 2, Vavic 2, Erdelyi 1.
Vasas was the favorite, but nobody expected the reigning Euro Cup champion would cruise to the win. Still, Vasas, led by Gergelyi Burian, killed all the excitement quickly. At halftime, the visitors were 7:2 up. They opened the second half with two goals for 9:2 and killed all Honved’s hopes.
After a few twists and turns in the first half in the match in Athens, the hosts had a slim 5:4 advantage. Savona dictated the pace after the middle break, scoring three goals for 7:5. Apollon leveled at 7:7 with two quick goals. Savona rebuilt a 2-goal lead at the finish of the match (11:9 and 12:10). Apollon halved the distance on both occasions. The Greeks had the ball in their hands in the last 13 seconds and a chance to equalize, but they failed.
Group C
Sabac – Primorje 10:8 and BVSC – Waspo Hannover 10:9 played on Friday
Group D
Ortigia – Panionios 13:12 (3:1, 4:3, 2:5, 4:3)
Ortigia: La Rosa 2, Di Luciano 2, Cupido 2, A.Condemi 2, Napolitano 2, Cassia 1, Carnesecchi 1, Ferrero 1.
Panionios: Moskov 4, Ukropina 3, Kalaitzis 2, Mourikis 2, Gounas 1
Primorac – Trieste 9:8 (3:2, 4:1, 1:2, 1:3)
Primroac: Gopcevic 2, Mrsic 2, Dj.Stanojevic 2, Markovic 1, Vico 1, P.Cetkovic 1.
Trieste: Petronio 2, Valentino 2, Bini 2, Dasic 1, Razzi 1.
Ortigia opened the match with a 3:0 lead. Even though Panionios was coming back from time to time, Ortigia kept a 3-goal difference for long – until 9:6. Panionios caught up with the hosts before the middle break – 9:9. The Sicilians netted two back-to-back goals in the first two minutes of the final quarter and went to 11:9, which proved crucial. The teams traded goals until the end. Panionios chased Ortigia but couldn’t equalize.
Primorac dominated the first half of the game in Kotor, but the Montenegrins couldn’t afford to relax until the end, even though they were four steps ahead of Trieste at halftime (7:3). In the 29th minute, Trieste cut the deficit to 7:8. However, Primorac’s captain, Marko Gopcevic, responded with an action goal to bring the score to 9:7. Although Trieste came close once again at 8:9 with only 50 seconds left on the clock, Primorac was able to hold on and secured all three points.
The full schedule of the LEN Euro Cup – HERE
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