The last day of the Men’s Challenger Cup qualifications offered a lot of thrills. One goal was decisive in a battle for 2nd place in Group A. The same happened in Group D.
Triglav (Slovenia) qualified as 2nd from Group A, while Valetta (Malta) took the last ticket for the quarterfinals from Group D. At each tournament, one goal determined the classification in a three-way tie.
Six teams advanced to the quarters earlier: Kreuzlingen, Carouge (both Switzerland), Royal Dauphins (Belgium), Galatasaray (Turkey), KVP Novaky (Slovakia), EVK Zaibas (Lithuania).
2024 Men’s Challenger Cup, qualifications, Day 4
Group A (Porto, Portugal)
Apoel – Kreuzlingen 9:16 (2:3, 3:2, 1:7, 3:4)
Clube Fluvial Portuense – Vitoria Sport Clube 9:12 (2:2, 3:2, 2:4, 2:3)
Triglav finished the tournament yesterday and could go home before the last round. The Slovenians didn’t enter the pool today, but they are the day’s winners. The result of the encounter between the Portuguese teams, Vitoria – Fluvial, made them happy and sent them to the quarterfinals. They joined Kreuzlingen, which secured 1st place yesterday.
Vitoria beat Fluvial 12:9, but neither of the two teams celebrated after the game. This result made a three-way tie. Triglav, Vitoria and Fluvial won 6 points each. In a mini table between these three teams, each has three points. Triglav and Vitoria have the same goal difference +1; Fluvial is at -2. Triglav finished 2nd, because it beat Vitoria. The Portuguese teams were left behind by the Slovenians and didn’t qualify.
Standings: 1. Kreuzlingen (SUI) 12, 2. Triglav (SVN) 6, 3. Vitoria (POR) 6, 4. Fluvial (POR) 6, 5. Apoel (CYP) 0.
The scores among the tied teams: Triglav – Vitoria 10:8, Triglav – Fluvial 10:11, Vitoria – Fluvial 12:9. Standings: 1. Triglav 3 (+1), 2. Vitoria 3 (+1), 3. Fluvial 3 (-2)
Group B (Mouscron, Belgium)
ODTU Sport Club – City of Manchester 8:13 (3:2, 1:5, 2:1, 2:5)
Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois -Carouge Natation 11:12 (1:2, 4:1, 2:3, 1:2, PSO 3:4)
Banja Luka bye
The last competition day in Mouscron didn’t lack excitement. The encounter between Dauphins and Carouge, decisive for 1st place, was full of twists and turns. The teams were tied at 8:8 after regular time. Carouge won after a penalty shootout to secure the top spot. The hosts went to the next round from 2nd place.
Standings: 1. Carouge (SUI) 11, 2. Dauphins (BEL) 10, 3. Manchester (GBR) 6, 4. ODTU (TUR) 3, 5. Banja Luka (BIH) 0.
Group C (Istanbul, Turkey)
Sporting Clube de Portugal – Polytechnic WPC 4:9 (2:3, 1:1, 0:1, 1:4)
Galatasaray – KVP Novaky 14:7 (2:4, 3:0, 6:1, 3:2)
Galatasaray trialed by two goals after the first eight minutes of the match against Novaky. Still, the Turks dominated the middle two periods and kept 1st place with a convincing win. Novaky will play in the quarterfinals, too.
Standings: 1. Galatasaray (TUR) 9, 2. KVP Novaky (SVK) 6, 3. Polytechnic WPC (GBR) 3. 4. Sporting (POR) 0.
Group D (Valetta, Malta)
Cetus Espoo – KVT Komodor 22:9 (6:2, 4:1, 5:4, 7:2)
Valetta – ENKA Sport Club 14:10 (3:3, 4:2, 3:3, 4:2)
EVK Zaibas bye
Valetta (the national team of Malta) had to beat ENKA by at least four goals to qualify for the quarterfinals. The Maltese did exactly what they needed to do, recording a 14:10 win. Before the final quarter, two goals separated the rivals (10:8). They went to 12:8 early in the fourth. Midway through the quarter, ENKA halved the distance (10:12), but the hosts scored the last two goals and celebrated a big success.
ENKA, unbeaten until today, dropped to 3rd place, while EVK Zaibas jumped to the top.
Standings: 1. EVK Zaibas (LTU) 9, 2. Valetta (MLT) 9, 3. ENKA Sport (TUR) 9 (4), 4. Cetus Espoo (FIN) 3 (4), 5. KVT Komodor (BUL) 0 (4)
The scores of the encounters between the tied teams: EVK Zaibas – ENKA 8:11, EVK – Valetta 15:11, Valletta – ENKA 14:10. Standings: 1. EVK 3 (+1), 2. Valetta 3 (0), 3. ENKA 3 (-1)
More articles about the LEN Challenger Cup
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For more video content, subscribe to our Youtube Channel and Tik Tok account.
