The LEN Euro League has restarted this week with the 1st leg of the quarterfinals.
The rematch of the 2019 LEN Euro League final, Sabadell-Olympiacos, is, without any doubt, the most interesting encounter of the quarterfinals. The first game, played today in Sabadell, didn’t disappoint fans. The clash offered a lot of excitement. There were many goals, and Sabadell recorded a 14:12 victory
Dynamo Uralochka defeated Kinef Kirishi 11:8 in the Russian derby. UVSE beat Mataro in Spain.
Results: Sabadell – Olympiacos 14:12, Kinef – Dynamo 8:11, Mataro – UVSE 9:12, played earlier: SIS Roma – Dunaujvaros 11:11.
LEN Euro League, Quarterfinals, 1st leg
Sabadell – Olympiacos 14:12 (3:3, 3:3, 4:4, 4:2)
Astralpool Sabadell: Forca 5, Van der Sloot 2, Garcia 2, Keuning 2, Gonzalez 2, Cordobes 1.
Olympiacos: E. Plevritou 3, Avramidou 2, M. Plevritou 2, V. Plevritou 2, Tsoukala 2, Eleftheriadou 1.
After a hard battle with many twists and turns, reigning European champion Sabadell earned a 2-goal advantage before the second leg in Athens. Sabadell had a 2-lead advantage in the second period (5:3, 6:4). Then came Olympiacos, scoring three straight goals. The Greeks went in front (7:6). The hosts equalized (7:7), but Eleftheria Plevritou responded with two goals, and Olympiacos went up 9:7. However, Sabadell produced a 5:1 series and earned a 2-goal lead (12:10) in the middle of the last quarter.
Olympiacos cut the deficit twice (11:12, 12:13). Fifteen seconds before the end, Judith Forca closed the match, by a goal with a power-play advantage, for the final score.
The final score was almost the same as in the 2019 final match when Sabadell recorded a 13:11 win.
Judith Forca, who scored five goals (all five in the second half) was the player of the match. Eleftheria Plevritou netted three goals for Olympiacos. Her sisters Margarita and Vasiliki added two each.
Kinef – Dynamo 8:11 (2:5, 1:2, 2:3, 3:1)
Kinef Surgutneftegas: Markoch 2, Ivanova 2, Prokofyeva 1, Zubkova 1, Glyzina 1, Ryzhkova 1.
Dynamo Uralochka: Bersneva 4, Karimova 2, Zelentsova 2, Panfilova 2, Kolkova 1.
Kinef Kirishi, the double European champion (2017 and 2018), which has won all Russian championships since 2003, was the slight favorite today. But, Dynamo, which hasn’t taken a trophy since winning the 2006 Russian Cup, stunned the hosts in the first half. Kinef led 2:1 in the third minute, but Dynamo took control after that. The visitors, headed by Maria Bersneva, scored six unanswered goals (!) and earned a huge 7:2 advantage (15th minute). That amazing run determined the outcome. Kinef started coming back 28 seconds before the end of the 2nd quarter, with a goal by Bella Markoch for 3:7.
The second half was quite balanced. The home side reduced the gap to three early in the fourth period (4:7). Still, Dynamo regained a 5-goal lead (10:5). However, Kinef didn’t give in. The hosts came very close to the rival (8:10) in the 28th minute, but they couldn’t go further. Elvina Kamirova found the net in the 31st minute for 11:8, so Dynamo has a solid 3-goal advantage before the game in their pool in Zlatoust.
Mataro – UVSE 9:12 (2:2, 1:2, 3:3, 3:5)
Mataro Goufone: Gual 2, Bach 2, A.Espar 2, Jackovich 1, LLoret 1, Cambray 1.
UVSE Hunguest Hotel: Keszthelyi-Nagy 3, Szuscs 2, Baksa 2, Farago 1, Szegedi 1, Rybanska 1, Abel-Antal 1, Parkes 1.
UVSE broke the hosts in the second half of the match. Early iin the third period, the score was 4:4. Shortly after, the Hungarians jumped to a 7:4 lead. The Spaniards tried to come back, and they trialed just by a goal (6:7) before the final quarter. UVSE opened the fourth period with two quick goals for 10:6 and controlled the match until the end.
Played earlier
SIS Roma-Dunaujvaros 11:11 (4:3, 2:3, 4:3, 1:2)
Roma: Galardi 2, Avegni 2, Di Claudio 2, Storai 2, Giustini , Picozzi , Nardini 1
Dunaujvaros: D. Szillagyi 6, Ziegler 2, Gurisatti 1, B.Horvath 1, Garda 1.
The second leg is on March 13.
