The big match of Day 1 in the Champions League Group B produced no excitement. Brescia convincingly beat Jug in Dubrovnik.
Brescia’s two series of three goals in the first half made the difference. The visitors opened the match with a 3:0 lead. At the finish of the first half, Brescia repeated a 3:0 run. It jumped from 7:5 to 10:5, and there was no way back for Jug.
An encounter between Marseille and OSC Budapest was full of twists and turns. In the end, the teams shared the points – 10:10. The hosts, who were in front for most of the time, scored an equalizer in the dying seconds. Marseille is the only visiting team that didn’t leave the pool empty-handed today
Ferencvaros recorded an away win over Sabadell (10:7).
As expected, Novi Beograd beat Spandau with ease (16:5).
2022/23 Champions League, Group B, Day 1
Jug – Brescia 8:13 (1:3, 4:7,0:1, 3:2)
Jug AO: Popadic, Burdjelez, Fatovic 1, Zvono, Jokovic 2, Vukojevic, Biljaka 1, F.Lazic 1, Krzic, Kakaris, Grgurevic 1, Zuvela 2, Jurisic. Head coach: Kobescak.
Brescia: Tesanovic, Dolce 3, Presciutti 1, Gianazza, Dj.Lazic 1, Vapenski 1, Giri, Kharkov 2, Alesiani 1, Luongo 2, Di Somma 1, Gitto 1, Baggi Necchi. Head coach: Bovo.
Brescia opened the big match of the day with two early goals. Dolce scored an action goal, and Luongo converted a man-up and that set the tone of the game.
The visitors dictated the pace. Brescia hasn’t changed its roster significantly since the last season. On the other side, Jug there were several departures from Jug and arrivals at the team during the summer, and the new team still hasn’t reached the desired shape and found its model. That was one of the factors that made the difference.
Brescia went to 3:0 in the 6th minute (Gitto). Then, the hosts’ coach Vjekoslav Kobescak called a time-out, and Jug finally ended its goalless run. After a 1-minute break, the Croats earned a man-up. Jug’s most experienced player Maro Jokovic converted it for 1:3.
The second quarter saw even 11 goals. Brescia regained a 3-goal lead four times. Jug was reducing the gap to two until 5:7. Dolce scored from an extra player for 8:5. After Brescia’s eighth goal, Jug had no response, but Brescia continued its series and netted two power-play goals in the last three minutes of the first half (Di Somma and Kharkov) to build a huge 5-goal advantage (10:5) before the third period.
Djordje Lazic (Brescia) and Marko Zuvela (Jug)
After 11 goals in the second, only one was seen in the third period. Both defenses worked well, but they didn’t have demanding tasks on several occasions because the rivals made many mistakes and committed several fouls in front of the opponents’ goal. Jug found the net twice, but both goals were canceled because of the fouls. Finally, Brescia’s Alesiani broke the deadlock. The visitors earned a 6-goal advantage (11:5) in the 21st minute, and the match was decided. Jug narrowed the gap in the final eight minutes.
Marseille – OSC 10:10 (2:3, 4:2, 1:0, 3:5)
Marseille: Lazovic, Cuckovic, Crousillat 5, Spaic, Prlainovic 1, Vernoux 1, Vanpeperstraete, Izdinsky, Marion Vernoux, Bodegas, Vukicevic, Bouet 3, Hovhannisyan. Head coach: Scepanovic.
OSC Budapest: Levai, Angyal 1, Manhercz, Varnai, Salamon 3, E.Csacsovszky 1, Dala , Toth 3, Vin.Vigvari 1, Burian 1, Bundschih 1, Arany, Bistztritsanyi. Head coach: Varga.
Marseille and OSC Budapest had ups and downs in their opening game in the 2023 Champions League. Marseille, which is still without its biggest this summer’s reinforcement Hannes Daube, started excellently and earned a 2:0 lead (4th minute). But, the hosts couldn’t continue in the same rhythm. OSC took control and held Marseille scoreless for nine minutes while it produced a 5:0 series for a 5:2 lead.
In the middle of the second period, the team switched roles. Marseille tightened its defense while it did a great job in the attack. The French started dictating the pace again. They scored four goals in the last 205 seconds of the first half (two from penalty shots and two from counterattacks) and regained a lead – 6:5.
Ugo Crousillat (Marseille) Photo: CN Marseille
Marseille’s attack slowed in the third period, but the defense was up to the task. OSC’s excellent goal getters, including Krisztian Manhercz, were unable to find the net. The man of the match Ugo Crousillat scored the only goal in this quarter and doubled the hosts’ advantage.
But, new twists and turns and excitement were yet to come. OSC’s goalless phase lasted more than 14 minutes, and it was ended by Ferenc Salamon, who fired the ball from a distance for 6:7. Marton Toth leveled at 7:7 in the 28th minute. However, Andrija Prlainovic answered immediately and the hosts went ahead again (8:7). But, OSC produced a 3:1 series. Just 44 seconds before the end, Toth added one more goal – OSC took the lead for the first time in the second half (10:9). However, the Hungarians couldn’t keep all three points. Marseille forced two exclusions in its last possession and earned a 6 on 4. Bouet converted a double man-up to the final score (10:10) with just eight seconds left on the clock.
Sabadell – Ferencvaros 7:10 (2:3, 2:3, 3:2, 0:2)
Sabadell: Lorrio, Sanahuja 2, Gil ,M.Teclas 1, Veich, Valera 1, Bertran 1, Cabanas 1, Averka 1, D.Banicevic 1, Bonet, Bustos, X.Teclas. Coach: Colet.
Ferencvaros: Vogel, Molnar, Nagy 1, Merkulov 2, Argyropoulos 1, Ubovic, Fekete 2, Vadovics, Nemet 1, D.Varga 1, Jansik 1, Damonte 1, Szakonyi. HEad coach: Varga
A very good team of Sabadell didn’t surprise Ferencvaros, but the Hungarians didn’t record an easy win.
Banicevic gave Sabadell a 1:0 lead, after less than 30 seconds of play. But, Ferencvaros responded with two quick goals (Argyropoulos and Varga). From that point on, the visitors were always almost in front. But, Sabadell was keeping up with the Green-Whites. The Spaniards leveled at 2:2, 3:4, and 4:4. Then came the crucial moments. Ferencvaros netted two power-play goals in the last 84 seconds of the first half (Merkulov and Nagy) and entered the third period leading 6:4.
The team exchanged goals in the third period. Sabadell halved the deficit (5:6, 6:7, 7:8), but it couldn’t equalize.
Ferencvaros’ defense, commanded by Soma Vogel (who posted 14 saves) was excellent in the final eight minutes and didn’t let a single goal. At the other end of the pool, the visitors found the net (Merkulov and Jansik) to secure a solid 10:7 victory.
Spandau 04 – Novi Beograd 5:16 (0:2, 3:4, 1:6, 1:4)
Spandau 04: Baksa, Dyck, Prioteasa 1, Cuk, Chiru, Bozic 1, Strelezkij 2, Marziali, Stamm, Andruskewicz, Restovic 1, Sekulic, Vernet Schweimer. head coach: Kechagias.
Novi Beograd: Filipovic, S. Rasovic 5, Mandic 1, Granados 2, Vucinic, Pijetlovic 1, Drasovic 2, Martinovic, Perkovic 2, Vlachopoulos 1, Skoumpakis 1, V.Rasovic 1, Fernandes. Head coach: Gocic.
The match Spandau 04 – Novi Beograd was under question until Monday. The Berliners canceled the match and were ready to accept a technical 0:10 loss. Still, LEN didn’t approve the cancelation because the Germans had enough players who tested negative at the latest PCR testing. In the end, Spandau fielded a full 13-player roster. But a few key players – Russians Kholod and Shepelev, Dutch Gbadamassi, Juengling were missing. However, Novi Beograd wasn’t complete either. Head coach Gocic couldn’t count on Nikola Jaksic.
Novi Beograd was a big favorite in any case.
The runner-up in the 2022 season started slowly. Perkovic made it 1:0 in the 5th minute. Only 25 seconds before the first break, Granados scored his first Champions League goal for Novi Beograd to double the visitors’ advantage. Midway through the second period, Spandau leveled at 3:3. But, after the equalizer, Novi Beograd started dominating. The visitors, led by Strahinja Rasovic (who had a perfect percentage of shots today – 5/5) netted four unanswered goals and jumped to a 7:3 lead (17th minute). Restovic gave Spandau a slim hope, scoring for 4:7. But, that hope disappeared shortly after. Novi Beograd scored nine goals in a row and went to 16:4. Three seconds before the end, Romanian Prioteasa set the final result.
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