The second part of the Croatian League started with the matches of the 10th round.
All the results from the first nine rounds were carried to the 2nd phase, but the clubs are split into two groups now.
The derby of the day was an encounter between the most decorated Croatian clubs, Jug and Mladost. There were no thrills. Mladost didn’t surprise the reigning champion. Jug recorded a big 15:8 victory.
2022/23 Croatian League, Day 10
Group 1st – 5th place
Jug – Mladost 15:8 (5:2, 2:1, 3:3, 5:2)
Jug: Fatovic 6, Krzic 3, Vukojevic 2, Zvono 1, Jokovic 1, Lazic 1, Zuvela 1.
HAVK Mladost: Herceg 2, Dadvani 1, Gluhaic 1, Rakovac 1, Elez 1, Mijic 1, Fabris 1.
Primorje – Solaris 9:6 (2:2, 3:2, 2:1, 2:1)
Primorje EB: Te Riele 2, Brubnjak 1, Brguljan 1, N.Cubranic 1, K.Babic 1, Muslim 1, Crippa 1, Burburan 1.
Solaris: Burburan 3, Erak 2, Krekovic 1.
Jadran Split bye
Matches between Jug and Mladost have been Croatian water polo classics for decades. Still, this season, the difference in quality isn’t small, which was proved by the final score. Jug led from the beginning. Mladost came close a few times (2:3, 3:5, 5:7). Shortly after Mladost’s fifth goal, Jug scored three in a row and earned a comfortable 10:5 advantage. Jug captain Loren Fatovic was the man of the match, scoring six goals from seven attempts.
Primorje earned a valuable win in the match against Solaris. Beating Solaris, Primorje caught up with Mladost in points. Now, Solaris is six points behind the Rijeka-based team. Primorje dictated the pace. Solaris leveled just twice (2:2, 3:3). Late into the second quarter, Primorje built a 5:3 lead. From that point on, the hosts were always in front.
1.Jug 10 – 28
2.Jadran S 9 – 25
3. Mladost 10 – 21
4. Primorje 10 – 21
5. Solaris 10 – 15
Group 6th – 10th place
Medvescak – Zadar 1952 16:9 (6:1, 4:3, 4:2, 2:3)
Medevscak: Markovic 4, Miljak 4, Car 3, Busic 2, Gavranic 1, Ljepava 1, Brajkovic 1
Zadar 1952: Jurisic 2, Jovanccevic 2, Dondjivic 2, Cicero 1, Eskinja 1, Martinovic 1.
POSK – KPK 12:12 (2:3, 4:3, 2:2, 4:4)
POSK: Vukic 3, Gadza 2, Jankovic 2, Borovcic Kurir 2, Bezer 1, Elez 1, Carrieri 1, Tonkovic 1.
KPK Korcula: Tedeschi 4, Joudrie 3, V.Radovanovic 2, Antonijevic 1, Denoble 1, Bjelopera 1.
Mornar bye
The most exciting match of the round was the clash between POSK and KPK. It was an even contest. KPK was closer to a victory and led 12:11 a minute before the end. However, POSK secured a point with an equalizer scored 54 seconds from the end.
Medvescak easily beat bottom-placed Zadar 1952.
6. Mornar 9 – 12
7. Medvescak 10 – 12
8. KPK 10 -5
9. POSK 10 – 5
10. Zadar 10 – 0
The league continues in two weeks because the tournaments of the Regional League will be staged next weekend.
