The first qualification round of the LEN Euro Cup was completed today.
Three countries will have two clubs each in the Qualification Round 2: Spain, Hungary and France.
The teams which advanced to the Qualification Round 2 as the group winners are: Mediterrani (Spain), Miskolc (Hungary), Eger (Hungary) and Montpellier (France). Besides these four sides, Mataro (Spain), Solaris (Croatia), Noisy-le-Sec (France) and Ortigia (Italy) will play in the next round.
In the second round, the teams will be drawn into two groups. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals, where they will be joined by the four losing teams from the Champions League Qualification Round 3.
LEN Euro Cup, Qualification Round I, Day 3
Group A (Split)
Mataro – AZSC Antwerp 23:7 (7:2, 7:2, 4:1, 5:2)
Mataro: De Freitas 6, Bertran 4, Codina 4, Corbalan 2, Fernandez 2, Veich 1, Minguez 1, Casabella 1, Barbena 1, Yanez 1.
AZSC Antwerp: Van Hoey 2, Poelmans 2, Opacak 2, Maksymiuk 1.
Mornar BS – Mediterrani 6:10 (1:4, 1:3, 1:1, 3:2)
Mornar BS: Krolo 2, R. Akrap 1, Calic 1, D. Akrap 1, Jerkovic 1.
Mediterrani: Garcia 3, Roca 2, Gorria 2, Corres 1, Galeev 1, Munguel Alfarez 1.
Mataro trashed Antwerp in the first match of the day, but nothing was decided before the encounter between Mediterrani and Mornar.
Mornar, the home team, had to beat Mediterrani by a goal to take a ticket for the second round. But, the Spaniards ruined the hosts’ hopes quickly. Mediterrani jumped to a 5:1 lead early in the second quarter and maintained the gap until the end. So, both Spanish teams went through. Mediterrani clinched the first place, while Mataro finished second.
1 Mediterrani (ESP) 3 – 9
2 Mataro (ESP) 3 – 6
3 Mornar (CRO) 3 – 3
4 AZSC Antwerp (BEL) 3 – 0
Group B (Eger)
Shturm 2002 Ruza – Solaris 8:17 (2:5, 2:5, 1:3, 3:4)
Shturm 2002: Emelianov 3, Fedotov 2, Mano 1, Kuzmenkov 1,Pronin 1.
Solaris: Strkalj 4, Sabioni 3, Vlahovic 2, Pelicaric 2, Kovacic 2, Erak 1, Bulat 1, Herceg 1, Koprcina 1.
Eger – Radnicki 11:6 (1:0, 1:1, 4:2, 5:3)
Eger: S. Rasovic 3, Gyarfas 2, Vlachopoulos 2, Baksa 1, Csacsovszky 1, Hosnyanszky 1, Santa 1.
Radnicki: F. Jankovic 2, Frolov 2, Dino 2.
There were no surprises in Eger on Day 3. Therefore, Eger and Solaris continued their season in the Euro Cup.
Solaris blew away Shturm, while Eger overcame big troubles to defeat Radnicki. The Serbian club was just one goal down at halftime (1:2) and kept up with the big favourites until the middle of the last quarter. Two and a half minutes before the end, Radnicki trailed by two goals (6:8). But, in the remaining time, Eger confirmed the win by scoring three goals in a row.
1 Eger (HUN) 3 – 9
2 Solaris Sibenik (CRO) 3 – 6
3 Radnicki (SRB) 3 – 3
4 Shturm 2002 Ruza (RUS) 3 – 0
Group C (Malta)
Posillipo – Noisy-le-Sec 7:13 (2:3, 3:3, 1:3, 1:4)
Posillipo: G. Di Martire 3, M. Di Martire 2, Mattiello 1, Marziali 1.
Noisy-le-Sec: Marzouki 3, Pliskevich 3, Petkovic 2, Bjorch 1, Kolarik 1, Peisson 1, Pesteric 1, Lang 1.
Valletta – Miskolc 9:17 (4:2, 2:6, 2:5, 1:4)
Valletta: J. Camilleri 3, Di. Zammit 2, Muscat, Gabarretta 1, Plumpton 1, N. Zammit 1.
Miskolc: Stojanovic 3, Banicevic 3, Misic 3, Vadovics 3, Lorincz 2, Vismeg 1, Nagy 1, Vismeg 1.
Noisy-le-Sec defeated Posillipo to clinch the 2nd place and to join Miskolc, which secured the ticket for the Qualification Round 2 yesterday. The match was decided in the second half. Noisy-le-Sec led for most of the time, but during the first half, the French’s advantage wasn’t bigger than 2 goals. Posillipo trailed 6:7, with 2:46 remaining on the clock in the third period. Than, Noisy started “flying”. By the middle of the last period, the French netted 5 unanswered goals. They built a 12:6 lead and there was no way back for Posillipo, which won the LEN Euro Cup five years ago.
Miskolc finished the tournament with a 3-0 record, as it easily beat host Valletta today.
1 Miskolc (HUN) 3 – 9
2 Noisy-le-Sec (FRA) 3 – 6
3 Posillipo (ITA) 3 – 3
4 Valletta (MLT) 3 – 0
Group D (Syracuse)
Montpellier – Partizan 14:10 (3:2, 4:4, 5:4, 2:0)
Montpellier: Ivankovic 4, Kalinic 3, Delas 2, Mustur 2, D. Zivkovic 2, Spilliaert 1.
Partizan: Barac 4, Vickovic 2, Smiljevic 2, Nesic 1, Radonjic 1.
Ortigia – Apoel 25:3 (6:1, 8:1, 5:0,6:1)
Ortigia: Cassia 3, Ferrero 3, Di Luciano 3, Giacoppo 3, Gallo 3, Condemi 3, Vidovic 2, Napolitano 2, Abela 1, La Rosa 1, Rossi 1.
Apoel: Chatzitheodorou 1, Nikolaou 1, Prodromou 1.
Montpellier remains atop the group in Syracuse, as it defeated Partizan in the opening match of the day. Partizan fought hard, as well as it did against Ortigia yesterday. Deep into the second quarter, the teams were tied 6:6, but Partizan ran out of gas for the second half. The French team entered the last period with a 12:10 lead and it added two goals in the last period, for a 14:10 win.
Ortigia had no problems beating Apoel and qualified for the Qualification Round 2.
1 Montpellier (FRA) 3 – 9
2 Ortigia (ITA) 3 – 6
3 Partizan (SRB) 3 – 3
4 Apoel (CYP) 3 – 0
