Almost each of the games in the action-packed evening session of Day 3 of the LEN Euro Cup Round 2 was open until the very end.
Two games ended with no winner. One or two goals separated the rivals in four matches.
So far, six clubs have qualified for the next round: Tourcoing (France), Honved (Hungary), Szolnok (Hungary), Crvena Zvezda (Serbia), Ortigia (Italy), Steaua (Romania)
Ten clubs have more or less realistic chances in the battles for the remaining six tickets for the next round. There will be a lot of thrills tomorrow morning in the last games.
Day 3, evening session – Group A: Solaris – Jadran HN 2:15, Pays d’Aix – Sabac 5:11, Group B: Strasbourg – Savona 6:6, ZV De Zaan – Partizan 11:17. Group C: Tourcoing – Telimar 14:12, Barcelona – Duisburg 16:14, Group D: Mladost – Primorac 9:10, Mediterrani- PAOK 9:9, Group E: Zaibas – Crvena Zvezda 4:9, Szolnok – Montpellier 15:7. Group F: Ortigia – Steaua 10:8, BVSC – Vitoria 23:3.
Group A (Sabac), Round 4
Solaris – Jadran HN 2:15 (1:4, 1:4, 0:3, 0:4)
Solaris: Krekovic 1, Burburan 1.
Jadran Herceg Novi: Vujovic 5, Caraj 3, Vukicevic 2, Muscat 2, Khalturin 1, Sladovic 1.
Pays d’Aix – Sabac 5:11 (2:3, 2:3, 0:1, 1:4)
Pays d’Aix: Khasz 2, Dunstan 1, Drahe 1, Bakircilar 1.
Sabac: Tubic 3, Sulc 2, Stojanovic 2, Markovic 1, Repanovic 1, Koptsev 1.
After four rounds in the group in Sabac, the hosts are still unbeaten, but they still haven’t secured the eighth-final berth. Sabac has 9, and Jadran HN and Trieste have six points each. Sabac will remain atop if it doesn’t lose to Jadran tomorrow. If the case of Montenegrins win, three teams will probably be equal in points (Sabac, Jadran and Trieste), and their encounters will decide the rankings. To remind, Trieste beat Jadran 11:9, and Sabac beat Trieste 10:9.
Solaris was with only 12 players again. Today, Domagoj Butic was out due to an injury suffered yesterday. Despite that fact, nobody expected that Jadran would run over the Croats. Solaris equalized only once (1:1), and after that, the match turned into a one-sided contest.
Pays d’Aix started better in the second match this evening. The French team led 4:3 in the 10th minute. But, Sabac took control of the game. The hosts scored seven unanswered goals and went to 11:4. The French netted a consolation goal at the finish.
1.Sabac (SRB) 3 – 9
2.Trieste (ITA) 3 – 6
3. Jadran HN (ITA) 3 – 6
4. Solaris (CRO) 4 – 3
5. Pays d’Aix (FRA) 3 – 0
Group B (Strasbourg), Round 2
Strasbourg – Savona 6:6 (0:2, 2:1, 2:3, 2:0)
Strasbourg: Popadic 2, M.Petkovic 2, Denux 1, I.Zivkovic 1.
Savona: Djurdjic 2, Bruni 2, Campopiano 1, Patchaliev 1.
ZV De Zaan – Partizan 11:17 (2:6, 2:3, 3:4, 4:4)
ZV De Zaan: Corver 3, Rempt 2, Bakker 2, Brantjes 1, Meijn 1, Mandolini 1, Lucas 1.
Partizan: Gladovic 4, Krstic 2, Milos 2, Gak 2, Musikic 1, Trtovic 1, Dimitrijevic 1, Radulovic 1, Smiljevic 1, V.Bodiroga 1, Bozovic 1.
Strasbourg and Savona shared the points, but the Italians were happier after today’s matches.
It’s almost certain that Savona will advance to Round 2 because it beat Partizan yesterday and will meet ZV De Zaan, which can’t move from the bottom of the table, tomorrow.
Savona led throughout the first two periods (2:0, 3:1). Strasbourg leveled at 3:3 and 4:4 in the third quarter. Still, the Italians headed into the fourth period with a 6:4 advantage. Strasbourg scored two early goals in the fourth period to level again (6:6). Nobody could find the net in the last 05:48 minutes and the match ended with no winner.
Partizan dictated the pace in the game against De Zaan. The Serbs had a 5-goal advantage in the second quarter (7:2). They stretched the margin to seven in the third quarter (12:5) and everything was decided. Partizan will try to surprise Strasbourg on Sunday and advance to the Round of 16.
Partizan even has a chance to climb to 1st place.
If Partizan beats Strasbourg and Savona losses to ZV De Zaan, Partizan will be 1st, and a goal difference will decide which team will finish 2nd. Still, this isn’t a very realistic scenario.
1.Savona (ITA) 2 – 4
2. Strasbourg (FRA) 2 – 4
3. Partizan (SRB) 2 – 3
4. ZV De Zaan (NED) 2 – 0
Group C (Duisburg), Round 2
Tourcoing – Telimar 14:12 (3:2, 3:4, 4:2, 4:4)
Tourcoing: Marzouki 6, Lepoint 1, Durik 1, D.Zivkovic 1, Krizman 1, Canonne 1, Draskovic 1, Kujacic 1.
Telimar Palermo: Irving 4, Del Basso 4, Hooper 4.
Barcelona – Duisburg 16:14 (4:3, 6:3, 3:3, 3:5)
Barcelona: Mallarach 7, Vavic 3, Valls 2, Lopez 2, garcia 1, Goma 1.
ASC Duisburg: Kueppers 4, Tanaskovic 4, Seifert 2, Gusakov 2, Eidner 1, Gergeleyfi 1
A total of 56 goals were scored in the second round in the group in Duisburg. The winner of the day was Tourcoing, which qualified for Round 3.
The French beat Telimar, the 2022 LEN Euro Cup finalist. The Italians played better in the first half. They had a 5:3 advantage. But, Tourcoing leveled at 6:6 before the middle break. The second half was a continuation of the big battle between rivals of similar qualities. Tourcoing managed to earn a 3-goal advantage early in the fourth period (11:8). But, Telimar reduced the gap to one goal three times(10:11 11:12 and 12:13). Still, the Italians had no response after Tourcoing’s 14th goal in the 31st minute and the team from France recorded a 14:12 victory.
The finish of the encounter between Barcelona and Duisburg was very exciting, even though Barcelona had a four-goal lead before the final quarter (13:9). But, the hosts showed something of their best in the final period. Duisburg came very close to the rival (12:13, 13:14 and 14:15). Everything was open until the dying seconds. Barceloneta secured a win only 28 seconds before the end, when Valls scored the goal for 16:14.
Barcelona and Telimar will battle for 2nd place tomorrow.
1.Tourcoing 2 – 6
2.Barcelona 2 – 3
3. Telimar (ITA) 2 – 3
4. ASC Duisburg (GER) 2 – 0
Group D (Zagreb), Round 4
Mladost – Primorac 9:10 (3:4, 1:4, 2:0, 3:2)
Mladost: Jelaca 2, Elez 2, Vrbnjak 1, Rakovac 1, Mijic 1.
Primorac: Gopcevic 3, Milic 3,F.Gardasevic 2, Draskovic 1, Mrsic 1.
Mediterrani – PAOK 9:9 (5:1, 2:2, 1:2, 1:4)
Mediterrani: Prat 3, Radic 2, Garcia 1, Estevez 1, Perez 1, Pueyo 1.
PAOK: Kechalaris 3, Milradovic 2, Koopman 2, Tsolakoudis 1, Kapragakos 1.
Honved bye
Honved secured 1st place in this group this morning, while PAOK and Primorac will face off in a decisive match for 2nd position tomorrow.
Two very exciting games were played this evening. Mediterrani and Mladost lost all chances of reaching the next round.
Primorac defeated Mladost, thanks to a big turn in the first half. Mladost led 2:0 and 3:1. But, Primorac answered with a 7:0 run and built an 8:3 lead (14th minute). After seven goals from Primorac, Mladost re-found its rhythm and scored five in a row to level at 8:8 (28th minute). But, the finish of the match belonged to the Montenegrins. Primorac earned a 10:8 lead in the 32nd minute. Mladost just reduced the gap after that.
The encounter between Mediterrani and PAOK was similar to the game Mladost – Primorac. Both teams had ups and downs. Mediterrani had a 5-goal advantage in the 9th minute (6:1). But, from that point on, PAOK dominated. Early in the fourth quarter, the Greeks cut the deficit to one goal (7:8). Mediterrani doubled its advantage in the 29th minute (9:7). Still, PAOK earned a point with two late goals. Koopman scored an equalizer in the last second – 9:9.
Mediterrani is currently in second place, but it finished the tournament and won’t go to Round 3. Mediterrani has one point more than PAOK and two more than Primorac. The Greeks and the Montenegrins will play each other on Sunday. The winner will go to 2nd place. If the match ends in a draw, PAOK will move to 2nd place ahead of Mediterrani because it has a better goal difference than the Spaniards.
1.Honved (HUN) 3 – 9
2. Mediterrani (ESP) 4 – 5
3. PAOK (GRE) 3 – 4
4. Primorac (MNE) 3 – 3
5. Mladost (CRO) 3 – 1
Group E (Szolnok), Round 2
EVK Zaibas – Crvena Zvezda 4:9 (2:1, 1:5, 1:1, 0:2)
EVK Zaibas:Lobov 2, Gostautas 1, Jonkus 1.
Crvena Zvezda: Subotic 4, Milojevic 2, Vukicevic 1, Radovic 1.
Szolnok – Montpellier 15:7 (2:2, 7:1, 4:1, 2:3)
Szolnok: Pasztor 5, Ger.Kovacs 2, Vismeg 2, Schmolcz 2, Szeghalmi 1, Agh 1, D.Jansik 1, Vamosi 1.
Montpellier: Ivankovic 2, Piot 1, Dory 1, Vasin 1, Ben Romdhane 1, Spillaert 1.
Szolnok and Crvena Zvezda have six points each after two rounds. Both teams qualified for the eighth-finals.
Many believed that Crvena Zvezda would beat EVK Zaibas easily. But, the Lithuanians stunned Crvena Zvezda with a 2:0 and 3:1 lead. Still, the Serbs, led by Gavril Subotic, found their rhythm. and scored five consecutive goals and went to 6:3 before the middle break. It took a while before the first goal in the second half. Crvena Zvezda stretched the margin to four (7:3) in the 23rd minute, but EVK replied immediately and got back into the game. Still, Crvena Zvezda didn’t concede a goal in the fourth quarter, while it netted two.
Today’s second match had a similar storyline. The favorite started slowly, but it secured a victory in time. At the first break, Szolnok and Montpellier were tied at 2:2. The Hungarians scored two goals in the 9th minute (4:2). The French cut the deficit immediately (3:4). But, that was followed by Szolnok’s series of six straight goals in eight minutes. The hosts built a comfortable 10:3 advantage (18th minute) and never looked back.
1.Szolnok (HUN) 2 – 6
2.Crvena Zvezda (SRB) 2 – 6
3. Montpellier (FRA) 2 – 0
4. EVK Zaibas (LTU) 2 – 0
Group F (Bucharest), Round 4
Ortigia – Steaua 10:8 (1:1, 3:2, 3:2,3:3)
Ortigia: Ferrero 2, F.Condemi 2, Giribaldi 1, A.Condemi 1, Di Luciano 1, Rossi 1, Vidovic 1, Napolitano 1.
Steaua: Moskov 3, Georgescu 1, Dinca 1, Neamtu 1, Gheorghe 1.
BVSC – Vitoria 23:3 (6:0, 5:0, 7:1, 5:2)
BVSC:Sziladi 4, Gyarfas 4, Csapo 3, Tatrai 2, M.Nagy 2, A.Csacsovszky 2, P.Kovacs 2, T.Meszaros 2, Gal 1, Szabo 1.
Vitoria: Ferreira 2, Oliveira 1.
Valis bye
Before the match Ortigia – Steaua, it was clear that both teams would qualify for Round 3 and that their encounter would decide the group winner.
The first half was an even contest. It stood 3:3 in the 15th minute. Ortigia closed the first half with a power-play goal and added three from 6 on 6 by the middle of the third period. The Italians built a nice 7:3 lead. However, Steaua managed to come close to the favorite (6:7, 7:8, and 8:9). The Romanians scored their eighth goal with 34 seconds left on the clock. Ortigia earned a man-up in its last possession. At 0:01, Francesco Condemi converted a 6 on 5 to the final score.
Tomorrow, Steaua will play against Vitoria, but whatever happens in that match, Ortigia will remain atop, and Steaua will be in 2nd place.
BVSC easily beat Vitoria
1.Ortigia (ITA) 4 – 12
2. Steaua Bucharest (ROM) 3 – 6
3. BVSC (HUN) 3 – 3
4. Valis (SRB) 3 – 3
5. Vitoria Guimaraes (POR) 3 – 0
Day 4 (October 30)
Group A (Sabac): Trieste – Pays d’Aix (9:30), Jadran Herceg Novi – Sabac (11:30)
Group B (Strasbourg): Savona – De Zaan (10), Strasbourg – Partizan (12)
Group C (Duisburg):Telimar – Barcelona (10), Tourcoing – Duisburg (12)
Group D (Zagreb): PAOK – Primorac (10:30), Mladost – Honved (12)
Group E (Szolnok):Montpellier – EVK Zaibas (9:30), Szolnok – Crvena Zvezda (11:30)
Group F (Bucharest): BVSC – Valis (10), Steaua – Vitoria Guimaraes (12)
All times are local
