Day 1 in Group A of the Champions League saw more or less expected outcomes. Favourites recorded wins. Szolnok was the only club which managed to win as a home team. Jug Dubrovnik, Barceloneta and Olympiacos recorded important away victories.
The matches of Group B will be played tomorrow.
Champions League 2019/20, Main Round, Day 1
Group A
Jadran S – Olympiacos 8:17 (2:5, 5:4, 0:4, 1:4)
Jadran Split:Duzevic 3, Zovic 2, Butic 2, Setka 1.
Olympiacos: Genidounias 4, Jokovic 3, Mourikis 2, Argyropoulos 2, Mitrovic 2, Buljubasic 2, Dervisis 1, Mylonakis 1.
Szolnok – Sintez 13:10 (3:3, 4:3, 3:2, 3:2)
Szolnok: Subotic 3, Pijetlovic 2, Jansik 2, Batori 2, Drasovic 2, Lazic 1, V. Rasovic 1.
Sintez Kazan: Lazarev 2, Lisunov 2, Vasilev 1, Odintsov 1, Krasnov 1, Dereviankin 1, Andryukov 1, Latypov 1.
Jadran HN – Jug 7:12 (1:1, 1:3, 2:3, 3:5)
Jadran Herceg Novi: Banicevic 2, Spaic 2, Brkic 1, Petkovic 1, Cagalj 1.
Jug Dubrovnik: Merkulov 3, Papanastasiou 2, Obradovic 2, Fatovic 2, Loncar 1, Lozina 1, Benic 1.
Spandau 04 – Barceloneta 8:11 (3:2, 1:4, 2:2, 2:3)
Spandau 04:Kholod 3, Restovic 2, Strelezkij 1, Negrean 1, Gielen 1.
Barceloneta: De Toro 3, Munarriz 2, Aleksic 2, Tahull 2, Mallarach 1, Granados 1.
Day 1 was opened by a match in Split where Jadran hosted Olympiacos. The Greek team led from the beginning, but it couldn’t build a big advantage during the first half. The hosts fought bravely. Jadran was trailing by a single goal (7:8) in the 15th minute. Olympiacos doubled an advantage before the halftime (9:7) and dominated the second half of the match. The Greeks tightened their defence after the middle break. A reserve goalkeeper Stefan Zivojinovic replaced a member of the national team of Greece Emmanouil Zerdevas in front of Olympiacos’s goal, which proved to be good decision. Olympiacos rushed to a 14:7 lead before Jadran scored its first and only goal in the second half. That happened in the 29th minute when it was too late. Olympiacos recorded a 17:8 win.
Szolnok needed a lot of time to break newcomer in the Champions League Sintez Kazan. After the balanced first quarter (3:3), Szolnok jumped to a 7:4 lead deep into the second quarter. But, the Russians came back into the life with two goals in the last 90 seconds of the second quarter for 6:7, while they equalised in their first possession in the third period when Latypov converted a man-up (7:7).In the fifth minute of the quarter, Szolnok’s Radomir Drasovic hit the back of the net for 8:7, but Andryukov replied immediately to level the score(8:8). However, Szolnok didn’t let the visitors go further. The Hungarian side, pulled by its Serbian players Subotic, Pijetlovic, Drasovic, nailed five unanswered goals and went to a 13:8 lead with 01:34 remaining on the clock. Sintez scored two goals in the last minute and a half to reduce the gap. Szolnok celebrated a 13:10 victory.
The Adriatic derby was played in Herceg Novi where Jadran hosted Jug Dubrovnik. This was the second encounter between the Croatian and the Montenegrin champion in the last four days. On Friday, Jug beat Jadran in Dubrovnik in the Regional League match (9:6).
Today, the outcome was the same, Jug collected points again. It was an even encounter until 2:2. Jug closed the second period with two action goals in the last two minutes and went 4:2 up before halftime. In the middle of the third period, Obradovic found the net from a penalty for 5:2. The visitors kept the 3-goal advantage by the end of the third period (7:4), while they added two quick goals in the opening minutes of the last quarter to build a 9:4 advantage and to kill all excitements.
German champion Spandau earned a 3:2 lead against Barceloneta in the match played in Berlin. But, after the first break, the visitors took control and went 6:4 up by halftime. Barceloneta maintained the difference during the third period and entered the last quarter with an 8:6 lead. Early in the fourth period, the Spaniards built a 9:6 advantage and Spandau couldn’t come back. Barceloneta even had a 4-goal lead (11:7), while the Russian Dmitri Kholod scored a consolation goal for Spandau in the last second.
1 Olympiacos (GRE) 1 – 3
2 Jug (CRO) 1 – 3
3 Szolnok (HUN) 1 – 3
4 Barceloneta (ESP) 1 – 3
5 Sintez Kazan (RUS) 1 – 0
6 Spandau 04 (GER) 1 – 0
7 Jadran HN (MNE) 1 – 0
8 Jadran S (CRO) 1 – 0
Group B (9 October)
Ferencvaros – Waspo Hannover (19:00)
Terrassa – Dinamo Tbilisi (20:30)
OSC Budapest – Mladost (20:30)
Marseille – Pro Recco (20:30)
