Pro Recco will enter the second leg of the Euro Cup final with a big four-goal advantage, after defeating Radnicki 16:12 in the first match, played in front of a packed crowd in Kragujevac this evening.
Radnicki led for most of the first half and twice held a three-goal advantage. However, Pro Recco managed to turn the tide before halftime, taking a narrow 7:6 lead. The Italian side then extended its advantage throughout the second half.
The second match in Recco is scheduled for May 24.
2025 Euro Cup, final, 1st leg
Radnicki – Pro Recco 12:16 (4:2, 2:5, 2:3, 4:6)
Radnicki: Rasovic 3, Dadvani 3, N.Jaksic 2, Pijetlovic 1, Vasic 1, P.Jaksic 1, Murisic 1.
Pro Recco: Di Fulvio 5, Iocchi Gratta 3, Cannella 2, Fondelli 2, Condemi 2, Durik 1, Echenique 1
By the middle of the first quarter, Radnicki took a 2:0 lead. In the 5th minute, just after Radnicki’s second goal, Giacomo Cannella scored to make it 1:2. Di Fulvio equalized. In the last 63 seconds of the first quarter, Radnicki regained a two-goal lead. First, Petar Jaksic scored from a counterattack, and then Dusan Vasic found the net during a double man-up situation, scoring with seven seconds left on the clock.
The conclusion of the first period was strong for the hosts, and the second quarter began with the same momentum. Dusko Pijetlovic extended Radnicki’s lead to 5:2 in their first possession after the break. By the 10th minute, the hosts led 6:3. However, Pro Recco began to take control in the subsequent minutes. The Italians tightened their defense and scored three consecutive power-play goals in four minutes. Francesco Condemi leveled the score at 6:6 in the 14th minute. But the equalizer wasn’t the end of Recco’s momentum. In the 15th minute, Matteo Iocchi Grattta was in the right place at the right time and, after a good assist, scored an action goal to give Recco a 7:6 lead. The visitors maintained their narrow advantage until halftime.
More than eight minutes passed between Radnicki’s sixth goal, scored by Strahinja Rasovic, and the seventh. It was Rasovic who ended his team’s scoring silence and leveled at 7:7 with an extra player. Still, the Italians didn’t let Radnick make a turn. The Italians’ strength in this match was a very good conversion of man-up attacks. Recco went on a new 3:0 run with three straight powerplay goals and went to “+3”. Matteo Iocchi Gratta scored his third goal and made it 10:7. Eleven seconds before the last break, Strahinja Rasovic found the net for the third time and Radnicki trailed by two goals before the final quarter.
The first goal in the last period resulted from a mistake by the home players. At the end of Pro Recco’s attack, Radnicki left Lukas Durik unmarked, who, after an assist from Di Fulvio, easily beat the home team’s goalkeeper Filipovic from a close-range shot – 11:8. Radnicki improved its extra player shots percentage as the end of the game was approaching. Veiko Dadvani scored two ppwerplay goals within 26 seconds and narrowed the gap to 10:11. However, Pro Recco, led by Francesco Di Fulvio (who scored three goals in the fourth period and delivered one assist), dictated the pace and produced a 4:1 rush, establishing 15:11 advantage with three minutes left in the game. Nikola Jaksic ended Recco’s series by converting a penalty shot, but shortly after, Francesco Di Fulvio added his fifth goal to set the final score.
As mentioned, Pro Recco had a very good percentage of power-play shots. The goals scored in man-up situations made the difference in the final score. Pro Recco converted nine of 16 opportunities, while Radnicki’s conversion was 5 of 19.
