After the second day of the LEN Euro Cup first qualification round, only one team mathematically secured its spot in the Round 2. Miskolc (Hungary) cemented the 1st place in the group C. Another Hungarian side is very close to keeping the 1st place in Group B, while everything is still open in groups A (Split) and D (Syracuse).
The best two teams from each group will advance to the Qualification Round 2.
LEN Euro Cup, Qualification Round I, Day 2
Group A (Split)
Mediterrani – Mataro 11:9 (3:2, 4:0, 2:3, 2:4)
Mediterrani: Minguell 4, Stevenson 2, Gorria 2, Corres 1, Roca 1, Garcia 1.
Mataro: Veich 3, Codina 2, Corbalan 1, Minguez 1, Bertran 1, Yanez 1.
Mornar BS – AZSC Antwerp 18:7 (4:0, 5:1, 6:5, 3:1)
Mornar: Krekovic 3, Calic 3, Akrap 2, Rako 2, Buselic 2, Ban 2, Solje 2, Jerkovic 1, Buzdovancic 1.
AZC Antwerp: Opacak 3, Van Hoey 2, Vervoort 1, Van den Broucke 1.
Mediterrani defeated Mataro in the Spanish derby, thanks to a very good display of water polo in the first half. After the second period, Mediterrani led 7:2. Midway through the third period, Mediterrani went 9:3 up and Mataro just managed to reduce the deficit.
Mediterrani is in the first place, but it still hasn’t qualified for the second round. The leader will meet host Mornar tomorrow. The race for the second round will be decided after that match.
1 Mediterrani (ESP) 2 – 6
2 Mataro (ESP) 2 – 3
3 Mornar BS (CRO) 2 – 3
4 AZSC Antwerp (BEL) 2 – 0
Group B (Eger)
Eger – Shturm 2002 Ruza 19:7 (6:0, 5:3, 3:1, 5:3)
Eger: S. Rasovic 4, Hosnyanszky 4, Murisic 3, Vlachopoulos 3, Baksa 2, Gyarfas 1, Csacsovszky 1, Magyar 1.
Shturm: Mano 2, Maksim 2, Bukov 1, Pronin 1, Fedotov 1.
Solaris – Radnicki 9:8 (2:2, 2:2, 3:2, 2:2)
Solaris: Herceg 3, Vlahovic 3, Mudrazija 1, Koprcina 1, Kovacic 1.
Radnicki: Frolov 2, Toholj 1, Lobov 1, Dino 1, Brankovic 1.
Without any doubt, an encounter between Solaris and Radnicki was the most interesting match of the day.
The match saw a lot of twists and turns. Only once the difference between the sides was two goals (Radnicki had a 4:2 lead in the second quarter). Solaris entered the last period with a minimal advantage (7:6). In the last eight minutes, the Serbs levelled the score twice (7:7 and 8:8), but Vlahovic scored a winner for Solaris – 9:8 just 76 seconds from the end.
Tomorrow, Radnicki will have a hard task, as it will play against Eger, which is the big favourite in this group. The hosts need just a point to keep the first place. Solaris has to beat underdog Shturm to stay in the second place.
1 Eger (HUN) 2 – 6
2 Solaris (CRO) 2 – 3
3 Radnicki (SRB) 2 – 3
4 Shturm 2002 (RUS) 2 – 0
Group C (Malta)
Miskolc – Posillipo 15:8 (3:1, 4:4, 6:3, 2:0)
Miskolc: Nagy 4, Krijestorac 2, Vadovics 2, Bedo 2, Stojanovic 2, Hornyak 1, Manzi 1, Misic 1.
Posillipo: M. Di Martire 3, Marziali 2, G. Di Martire 2, Ricci 1.
Noisy Le Sec – Valletta 16:10 (1:1, 5:2, 5:3, 5:4)
Noisy Le Sec: A. Petkovic 6, Marzouki 3, Pesteric 2, Bjorch 1,Kolarik 1, Peisson 1, Lang 1.
Valletta: J. Camilleri 3, Di. Zammit 2, Da. Zammit 1, Plumpton 1, Cousin 1, Muscat 1.
Miskolc defeated Posillipo to secure the 1st place. The match saw more than 30 exclusions and a red card for Posillipo’s coach. In the middle of the third period, Miskolc led 10:6. Afterwards, their player Manzi was excluded because of brutality. But, Posillipo didn’t punish that and didn’t catch the rival. Before the last period, the Hungarians led 13:8. In the last period, they extended the margin of their win to 7 (13:8).
Posillipo and Noisy Le Sec will face off tomorrow in the match which will decide the second place in the group.
1 Miskolc (HUN) 2 – 6
2 Posillipo (ITA) 2 – 3
3 Noisy Le Sec (FRA) 2 – 3
4 Valetta (MLT) 2 – 0
Group D (Syracuse)
Apoel Larnaca – Montpellier 8:18 (0:4, 2:3, 3:6, 3:5)
Apoel: Nikolaou 3, Chatzitheodorou 2, Proodromou 2, Baglatzis 1.
Montpellier: Mustur 3, Vilcot 2, Delas 2, Kalinic 2, D.Zivkovic 2, Vasseur 1, Ivankovic 1, Zivkovic 1, Spilliaert 1.
Ortigia – Partizan 12:9 (3:1, 4:2, 1:3, 4:3)
Ortigia: Gallo 4, Vidovic 3, Napolitano 2, Giacoppo 1, Rotondo 1, Rossi 1.
Partizan: Radanovic 3, Smiljevic 2, Vickovic 2, Radonjic 1.
The second day in the group in Syracuse saw expected outcomes. Montpellier blew away Apoel, while host Ortigia defeated Partizan. But, everything in this group is still open. If Partizan beat Montpellier tomorrow, probably the goal difference between Ortigia, Partizan and Montpellier will determine the rank of first three teams.
Today, Montpellier, which edged out Ortigia on Day 1 (9:8), took three points against Apoel with ease.
Ortigia, as expected, defeated Partizan, but the Italians had to survive some tough moments, despite they had a 6:2 advantage already in the 13th minute and 7:3 at halftime. The Serbian team opened the third period with three fast goals and came to 6:7. Then Ortigia responded with two goals for 9:6, but the Belgrade-based side was able to make a new comeback and it trailed 8:9 five and a half minutes from the end. After that, the hosts built a safe 12:8 advantage.
1 Montpellier (FRA) 2 – 6
2 Ortigia (ITA) 2 – 3
3 Partizan (SRB) 2 – 3
4 Apoel (CYP) 2 – 0
