The highlight of the fourth round of the Croatian League was an encounter between two former European champions.
Mladost hosted Jug. The visitors, which were the favorites, recorded a 14:8 victory.
The other derby of the round was the match Solaris – Primorje. Solaris scored only two goals. Primorje, played excellently in defense and beat the Sibenik-based side by five goals (7:2)
The visitors were very successful in the matches played this weekend. KPK Korcula is the only home team that grabbed one point.
2022/23 Croatian League, Day 4
Mladost – Jug 8:14 (1:3, 3:4, 2:3, 2:4)
HAVK Mladost: Dadvani 2, Fabris 2, Gluhaic 1, Elez 1, Mijic 1, Herceg 1.
Jug AO: Kakaris 3, Krzic 2, Zuvela 2, Lazic 2, Fatovic 1,Biljaka 1, Vukojevic 1,Grgurevic 1, Mozara 1
Solaris – Primorje 2:7 (0:2, 1:3, 1:1, 0:1)
Solaris: Condic -Kadmenovic 1,Erak 1.
Primorje: Da.Brguljan 2, Vukovic 1, Crippa 1, Te Riele 1, Cubranic 1, Brubnjak 1.
KPK – POSK 10:10 (2:3, 4:3, 1:2, 3:2)
KPK Korcula: Antonievic 3, Vang 2, Bjelopera 2, Begovic 1, Joudrie 1, Tedeschi 1.
POSK: Vukic 4, Borovcic Kurir 2, Jankovic 1, Bezer 1, Carev 1, Cubelic 1.
Medvescak – Mornar 8:11 (3:4, 1:2, 2:3, 2:2)
Medvescak: Car 2, Busic 2, Ljepava 2, Markovic 2.
Mornar: Buselic 5, Cumbelic 2, Uvodic 1, Buzdovancic 1, D.Akrap 1, Guduric 1.
Played earlier: Jadran S – Zadar 17:4
Jug led from the beginning of the derby (it stood 0:2 in the middle of the first period). Mladost fought hard and didn’t disappoint, but it couldn’t equalize. The hosts reduced the gap to one goal twice (1:2 and 3:4). After Mladost’s third goal, Jug replied with three in less than three minutes, and four goals separated the rivals for the first time – 7:3. From that point on, the difference was never smaller than two goals. Jug held off all Mladost’s comeback attempts. Konstantinos Kakaris, the MVP of the 2022 Croatian League, was the best scorer with three goals.
Many believed that Solaris and Primorje would play an exciting duel, because these two teams are of similar qualities. But, Primorje dominated in the first half. The visitors built a 5:0 lead in the 14th minute. Solaris finally found the solution to break Primorje’s defense only in the 16th minute (1:5). However, Primorje didn’t let the hosts come back. By the end of the match, the Rijeka-based side regained a 5-goal advantage.
Mornar collected three points, beating Medvescak in Zagreb. The visitors from Split made a crucial difference in the middle of the game. At the beginning of the second period, the sides were tied at 4:4. Then, Mornar took control and built a 7:4 lead (17th minute). In the middle of the third period, Mornar went to 9:5 and the visitors’ win wasn’t in danger after that.
KPK Korcula and POSK shared the points. It was an interesting encounter with several twists. POSK had an 8:6 advantage late into the third period. But, KPK Korcula produced 4:1 series and went ahead (10:9) in the middle of the final quarter. Still, the match ended in a draw as Jankovic scored an equalizer with a minute and a half to go.
1.Primorje 4 – 12
2. Jug 3 – 9
3. Jadran S 3 – 9
4. Mladost 4 – 9
5. Mornar 4 – 6
6. Solaris 3 – 3
7. Medvescak 4 – 3
8. POSK 4 – 1
9. KPK 4 – 1
10. Zadar 3 – 0
