Big favorites in the battle for the Champions League berths – Vasas, Brescia and Jadran Split recorded convincing wins on Day 1 of the second Qualification Round.
Brescia downed ASC Duisburg (16:8) in Athens. Vasas defeated Sabac (14:3) in Split, while Jadran beat Steaua Bucharest (17:7) in the same group. Barcelona also recorded a big win today. The Spaniards faced Vitoria (Portugal) and nothing but a convincing victory was expected.
The most exciting game of the day was an encounter between Jadran Herceg Novi and Oradea. Jadran took all three points with a narrow 9:8 victory.
Champions League Qualification Round 2, Day 1 – Group A (Split): Sabac – Vasas 4:13, Steaua Bucharest – Jadran S 7:17. Savona bye. Group B (Barcelona): Jadran HN – CSM Oradea 9:8, Barcelona – Vitoria 22:6. Noisy-le-Sec bye
Group D (Athens): ASC Duisburg – Brescia 6:18 , EVK Zaibas – Panionios 9:16. Mladost bye. The first round in Group C (Kotor) will be played tomorrow.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for Round 3.
2022/23 Champions League, Qualification Round 2, Day 1
Group A (Split)
Sabac – Vasas 4:13 (3:5, 0:3, 0:1, 1:4)
Sabac:Toholj 2, Stojanovic 2.
Vasas: Konarik 3, Nagaev 3, Sedlmayer 2, Randjelovic 1, Dr.Brguljan 1, Mezei 1, Erdelyi 1, Batori 1.
Steaua Bucharest – Jadran S 7:17 (3:2, 1:6, 1:5, 2:4)
Steaua Bucharest: Vuskovic 3, V.georgescu 1, Dinca 1, Moskov 1, Oanta 1.
JAdran Split: Marinic-Kragic 5, Cagalj 2, Bukic 2, Zovic 2, Duzevic 2, Delic 1, Z.Butic 1, Tomasovic 1, Setka 1.
Savona bye
Sabac kept up with Vasas in the first quarter. The Serbs leveled once (2:2), and trailed by a goal in the 8th minute (3:4). But, the Serbs couldn’t score a goal for more than two quarters and a half, until the middle of the fourth period, while Vasas netted eight, earned a 12:3 advantage and maintained a 9-goal difference until the end.
Jadran Split started slowly. Steaua was better in the first quarter, but the difference in the quality between the teams was evident in the middle two periods. The hosts, led by Jerko Marinic Kragic, were dominant and cruised to a 10-goal victory.
Group C (Barcelona)
Jadran HN – Oradea 9:8 (2:0, 1:2, 3:2, 3:4)
Jadran Herceg Novi: Khalturin 2, Caraj 2, M.Gardasevic 2, Stupar 1, Da.Radovic 1, Sladovic 1.
CSM Oradea: Gheorghe 3, Asanovic 1, Negrean 1, Ilisie 1, Dragomirescu 1, Vancsik 1.
Barcelona – Vitoria 22:6 (8:1, 4:1, 6:2, 4:2)
Barcelona: Balls 3, Lopez 3, Mallarach 3, Vavic 3, Putt 2, Asensio 2, Frigola 2, Goma 2, Cupido 1, G.Garcia 1.
Vitoria: P.Ferreira Sousa 2, Lopes 2, Sobetchi 1, Pereira 1.
Noisy-le-Sec (Cercle 93) bye
Montenegrin champion Jadran beat Oradea after a real thriller with a few twists and turns. Jadran opened the match with a 2:0 lead, but Oradea leveled at 2:2 and again at 3:3. Then Jadran netted three unanswered goals to earn a 6:3 lead. However, Oradea didn’t say its last word yet. They replied the same way – with three straight goals and equalized (6:6). Khalturin gave the Montenegrins regained a new lead (8:7). But, two minutes before the end, Oradea was ahead (8:7), but Jadran earned all three points. Caraj leveled at 8:8. Stupar fired the ball from a distance to set the final score – 9:8 with 58 seconds to go. Oradea had the last possession in the match. It was a counterattack in which the Romanians forced an exclusion, but it was too late – just a second before the buzzer. Still, Jadran defended its net and grabbed all three points.
Barcelona and Vitoria aren’t in the same weight category. The hosts were experimenting with their capabilities in the attack in the clash with the Portuguese.
Group D (Athens)
ASC Duisburg – Brescia 6:18 (3:4, 3:5, 0:4, 0:5)
ASC Duisburg: Seifert 3, Tanaskovic 1, Eidner 1, Covaci 1.
Brescia: Renzuto Iodice 3, Luongo 3, Di Somma 3, Gianazza 2, Vapenski 2, Lazic 1, C.Presciutti 1, Dolce 1, Alesiani 1, Gitto 1.
EVK Zaibas – Panionios 9:16 (3:4, 1:2, 4:4, 1:6)
EVK Zaibas: Bosic 4, Bakulo 3, Vitkauskas 1, Lobov 1,
Panionios: Gounas 8, Bitadze 3, Kopeliadis 1, Gkiouvetsis 1, Mouratidis 1, Papakos 1, Spooner 1.
Mladost bye
Although Brescia started slowly, the Italians proved that they were big favorites in this group. ASC Duisburg led 1:0 and 3:2, but Brescia went to 9:6 before the middle break. In the second half, the match turned into a one-sided contest.
Panionios convincingly beat underdog EVK Zaibas, but the hosts needed a lot of time to secure three points. The Lithuanians didn’t carry the white flag. They never led, but they leveled several times. Early in the third period, Panionios earned a 3-goal lead for the first time (7:4). Still, EVK Zaibas was able to level once again (7:7). Panionios had a 10:8 advantage before the final quarter. Zaibas opened the final quarter with a goal for 9:10. However, the hosts scored the last six goals in the game and recorded a 16:9 victory. AN experienced Alexandros Gounas made the difference by scoring eight goals.
Day 2 (October 14)
Group A (Split): Steaua – Vasas (10:00), Savona – Sabac (12:00), Steaua – Savona (18:30), Jadran S – Vasas 20:30)
Group B (Barcelona): Vitoria – CSM Oradea (10:00), Noisy-le-Sec – Jadran HN (11:45), Barcelona – Noisy-le-Sec (19:15), Jadran HN – Vitoria Guimaraes (21:00)
Group C (Kotor): Primorac – Tourcoing (18:00), Vouliagmeni – OSC Budapest (20:00)
Group D (Athens): EVK Zaibas – ASC Duisburg (09:30), Mladost – Brescia (11:30), EVK Zaibas – Mladost (18:30), Panionios – ASC Duisburg (20:30)
