Brescia beats Novi Beograd to return atop Group B; no winner in thriller in Dubrovnik

Brescia returned atop the Champions League Group B.

The Italians beat Novi Beograd 12:9 in the encounter between the contenders for 1st place in this group. Brescia beat Novi Beograd for the first time in the club’s history (Novi Beograd won three of the previous four games and one ended in a draw). Now, three points separate Novi Beograd and Brescia. The goal difference also makes the Italians happy. They lost to Novi Beograd in Belgrade by two goals (9:11). Since they recorded a more convincing win today, the Italians will be ahead of the Serbs if they are tied in points at the end of the group stage.

With three games until the end, Brescia is very close to 1st place, which can be an enormous advantage in the quarterfinals. The 4th-placed team in Group A will be a much easier rival than the teams that finish 1st – 3rd in that group.

Brescia secured the win several minutes before the end, while the other today’s games were more exciting.

Jug and Ferencvaros shared the points in Dubrovnik – 12:12. Ferencvaros earned a one-goal lead (12:11) with 12 seconds left on the clock. But, 10 seconds later, Jug scored an equalizer.

The last-gasp goal was decisive in the match Sabadell – OSC Budapest. The Spaniards recorded a 9:8 win as they netted a winner in the very last second.

An encounter between Spandau 04 and Marseille was also very thrilling. Spandau celebrated an 11:9 victory.

So, after the 11th round, Brescia is in 1st place, Novi Beograd is 2nd. Ferencvaros almost secured 3rd place, but it can catch up with Novi Beograd, which has only three points more than Hungarians. Jug is still in 4th place, but Spandau narrowed the distance. The Berlin-based club is four points behind the Croats and has one point more than Sabadell.

There are still a lot of questions regarding the standings. Only OSC and Marseille are out of the race for F8 berths after today’s losses.

2022/23 Champions League, Group B, Day 11

Brescia – Novi Beograd  12:9 (3:3, 2:2, 4:3, 3:1)

Brescia: Tesanovic, Dolce 2, C.Presciutti, Gianazza 1, Lazic, Vapenski 1, Renzuto 2, Kharkov, Alesiani, Luongo 2, Di Somma 4, Gitto, Baggi Necchi. Head coach: Bovo.

Novi Beograd: Coimbra, S.Rasovic, Shushiashvili, Granados 4, Vucinic, Pijetlovic, Drasovic 2, Jaksic 2, Perkovic 1, Vlachopoulos, Skoumpakis, V.Rasovic, Filipovic. Head coach: Gocic.

Brescia’s two series of three straight goals in the second half were crucial for the Italians’ victory in the derby.

As the score said, the first half was an even contest. Neither of the sides had a 2-goal advantage in the first two quarters. Brescia opened the scoring, but Novi Beograd answered with two goals after personal fouls (Drasovic from a man-up and Granados from a penalty). The Serbian champion took a 2:1 lead in the 5th minute. Brescia chased the rival and didn’t let the visitors earn a 2-goal advantage. It seemed that Novi Beograd would enter the second quarter with a 3:2 lead, but Alesiani closed the first period with a power-play goal a second before the first break. Novi Beograd controlled the result until the middle of the second quarter when Brescia scored two consecutive goals (Di Somma and Dolce) to earn a 5:4 advantage. But, shortly after, Novi Beograd forced a penalty shot. Alvaro Granados made no mistake from the 5m line and leveled at 5:5.

Brescia stunned Novi Beograd with an excellent opening in the second half. The Italians scored three goals in the first three minutes and quickly earned an 8:5 lead. That was the first of two mentioned 3:0 series. Novi Beograd never recovered from that. The visitors started making mistakes in the attack, and wasted several nice chances. Brescia had a 9:6 advantage. The visitors got back into the game at the finish of the third quarter. Nikola Jaksic converted a man-up with 19 seconds before the end of the third for 8:9 and woke Novi Beograd’s hopes.

Still, Brescia didn’t lose self-confidence, while Novi Beograd couldn’t find its rhythm. Both teams played deep defense in the fourth quarter, most of the shots were from the perimeter. Petar Tesanovic discouraged Novi Beograd with several good saves (he finished the match with 15 saves). Brescia rebuilt a 3-goal lead in the middle of the final period. Firstly, Dolce finished a counterattack with a goal for 10:8. In the 28th minute, the man of the match Edoardo Di Somma scored his fourth goal with an excellent and very precise shot and Brescia went to 11:8. Three and a half minutes before the end, Luongo netted with an extra player for 12:8. After Brescia’s second 3:0 run, the contest was over. Novi Beograd tried to at least halve the deficit because of a goal difference in the head-to-head matches, but with no success. The hosts scored only one goal in the remaining time.

A poor percentage of extra player shots cost the visitors dearly. They scored only three power-play goals (3/13). Brescia’s conversion was significantly better (7/12). In addition to three extra-player goals, Novi Beograd scored two from penalty shots.

Alessandro Bovo, Brescia’s coach, said:

“Our defense was very well, and the attack was up to the task. We kept our spirit throughout the game and recorded a very important victory”

Jug – Ferencvaros 12:12 (2:2, 3:4, 3:0, 6:4)

Jug: Popadic, Mozara, Fatovic 2, Zvono 1, Jokovic 1, Vukojevic, Biljaka 1, Lazic 3, Krzic 1, Kakaris, Grgurevic 3, Zuvela, Jurisic. Head coach: Kobescak.

Ferencvaros: Szakonyi , Vadovics 1, Pohl 1, Merkulov, Argyropoulos, Ubovic 1, A.Nagy 1, Ven.Vigvari 1, Nemet, Varga 2, Jansik 2, Damonte 3, Vogel. Head coach: Zs.Varga.

The duel between the newly-crowned Regional League champion and Ferencvaros was intense from the beginning. The fans enjoyed excellent water polo. The visiting side was a better rival in the first half. Jug played excellently in the third quarter. But, Ferencvaros came back in the fourth period and was close to a win, but Jug saved a point with a goal scored two seconds before the end.

Jug struggled in the attack in the opening minutes. It made several mistakes in front of Ferencvaros’ goal and missed one penalty. Ferencvaros played patiently, waited for good chances, earned a 2:0 advantage, and had a chance to go to 3:0 with a man-up in the 6th minute. Jug’s goalie Toni Popadic saved a shot from his former teammate Stylianos Argyropoulos.. After that save, the hosts scored their first goal. At the finish of the quarter, the home team leveled at 2:2.

The teams traded the goals in the second period. Ferencvaros took a one-goal lead three times and Jug responded with an equalizer each time until 5:5. Then, the hosts had a great chance to go in front for the first time. They earned a penalty shot, but for the second time, they failed to convert it. Soma Vogel saved a shot from Loren Fatovic. Shortly after, the hosts paid for that miss – Denes Varga gave Ferencvaros a 6:5 lead from a counterattack.

The hosts started dictating pace in the third quarter, playing very well in defense. Filip Krzic opened Jug’s storm in the middle of the quarter with a nice goal from a distance. In the following two minutes, the hosts added two goals (Zvono and Grgurevic with a man-up) to build an 8:6 lead and kept a 2-goal difference until the last break.

Ferencvaros was without a goal for more than ten minutes, but the Budapest-based side’s attack re-found its rhythm after the last break and quickly leveled at 8:8. From that point, the teams were in a neck-and-neck race. Jug’s center Goran Grgurevic netted for 9:8 from a nice rebound, Nemanja Ubovic replied with an excellent goal. Still, Grgurevic handled excellently in the next attack and put the hosts in front. However, Jug couldn’t keep the advantage for long.

A minute and 30 seconds before the end, one of the best players of the match Luca Damonte, made it 10:11 in a well-organized attack with several quick passes. Franko Lazic leveled (11:11). But then came Damonte again. He converted a man-up with a nice shot with 12 seconds left on the clock. Still, the thriller didn’t end there. Jug had a 7 on 6 in its last attack. Goalkeeper Toni Popadic joined the attack, while Lazic ended the drama. Just two seconds before the buzzer, he sent the ball into the net with a tricky shot and the rivals shared the points – 12:12.

“It was a great game between two quality rivals. We can be satisfied with the point, especially because we chased the rival for more than two quarters. I hope we will continue playing on this level”, Jug’s coach Vjekoslav Kobescak said.

Zsolt Varga, Ferencvarors’ coach, also said that the duel had been an excellent game.

“Both teams played excellently. We had some troubles with the trip and, because of bad weather, we traveled longer than planned. However, we came here to win. We were close to taking all three points, but I am glad about a draw.”

Spandau 04 – Marseille 11:9 (2:3, 2:2, 4:3, 3:1)

Spandau 04: Baksa, Gbadamassi 1, Prioteasa 1, Cuk, Tkac 1, Bozic, Strelezkij 2, Marziali 1, Chiru 1, Kholod 1, Bozic, Shepelev 3, Schweimer. Head coach: Kechagias.

Marseille: Lazovic, Cuckovic, Crousillat 2, Spaic 1, Prlainovic 2, Vernoux 2, Daube 2, Bouet, Marion-Vernoux, De Nardi, Vukicevic, Vanpeperstraete. Head coach: Hovhannisyan.

Spandau beat Marseille in a game with a few twists and turns. The Germans continue chasing Jug in 4th place, while Marseille is out of the race.

Spandau had a 1:0 and 2:1 lead in the opening minutes. However, Marseille entered the second half with a slim 3:2 advantage. Deep into the second quarter, Marseille doubled its advantage (5:3). But, one of the turning points came in the following several minutes. Spandau scored three consecutive goals and turned around the 2-goal deficit to a 6:5 lead. At the finish of the third period, Spandau went to 8:6, but Marseille leveled at 8:8 before the final quarter.

Still, Spandau dominated the final period and didn’t let Marseille win a single point. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Shepelev scored from a 6 on 5 for 9:8. Prioteasa doubled the hosts’ advantage in the 30th minute (10:8). Immediately after Prioteasa’s goal, Spaic cut the deficit to one (9:10) and the match entered a thrilling finish. Everything was still open. Still, Spandau saved the three points and killed Marseille’s last hope in its last possession. Strelezkij set the final score with 32 seconds to go.

Sabadell – OSC Budapest 9:8 (4:2, 2:1, 2:2, 1:3)

Sabadell: Lorrio, Sanahuja 3, Gil, Blasco, Veich 1, Valera 3, Bertran, Cabanas, Averka 2, Banicevic, Bonet, Bustos, Teclas. Head coach: Colet.

OSC Budapest: Levai, Angyal 2, Manhercz 1, Varnai, Salamon 1, E.Csacsovszky 1, Dala, Toth, Vin.Vigvari, Burian 1, Bundschuh 1, Harai 1, Bisztritsanyi. Head coach: Da. Varga.

Sabadell dictated the pace and controlled the result for almost the entire match, but it earned three points only with the last-gasp goal.

Sabadell earned a 2:0 lead in the first three minutes. Sanahuja made it 5:2 In the hosts’ first possession in the second quarter. Midway through the third quarter, OSC cut the deficit to one after Angyal found the net from a distance for 5:6. However, the Spaniards rebuilt a 3-goal lead before the final quarter (8:5).

Still, the Hungarians were able to come back. They scored three goals in a row and caught up with the hosts in the 31st minute when Angyal added another action goal for 8:8. The visitors had a good opportunity to take the lead with a man-up but Lorrio saved a shot from Burian with 48 seconds to go. Sabadell had the last attack in the game. Two seconds before the end, OSC’s goalkeeper Levai saved a shot from Konstantin Averka and it looked like the teams would share the points. However, OSC left Spain empty-handed. Fran Valera beat the buzzer. He scored from a corner throw in the very last second and Sabadell celebrated a 9:8 victory.

1.Brescia 11 games – 28 points
2. Novi Beograd 11 – 25
3. Ferencvaros 11 – 22
4. Jug 11 – 15
5. Spandau 11 – 11
6. Sabadell 11 – 10
7. Marseille 11 – 7
8. OSC Budapest 10 – 7

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