Ferencvaros and Barceloneta big winners in evening of thrillers

This was a very thrilling night in the Champions League. All matches of the third round in Groups C and D were exciting, and tiny differences were decisive.

Ferencvaros beat Jadran Split in Budapest (13:11) in Group C. Jadran Herceg Novi defeated Crvena Zvezda in Trebinje after a penalty shootout. Each side scored eight goals apiece in regular time – 8:8. The match was ended after 28 shots in the shootout – Jadran won 21:20.

Barceloneta kept a perfect record in Group D with a 9:7 victory over Marseille. Spandau recorded a narrow 13:12 win over Vouliagmeni.

Ferencvaros and Barceloneta have nine points each and are very close to the quarterfinal stage.

2024 Champions League, Day 3

Group C

Ferencvaros – Jadran S 13:11 (2:1, 3:3, 6:2, 2:5)

Ferencvaros: Nagy 3, Mandic 2, Pohl 2, Di Somma 2, Varga 2, Jansik 1, Fekete 1.
Jadran Split: Marinic Kragic 4, Fatovic 3, Bukic 2, Kharkov 1, Vrlic 1.

Ferencvaros secured the win a minute and a half before the final buzzer. If the Croats had been a little more concentrated at the end of the third and fourth quarter, they could have made the dying seconds more interesting

Ferencvaros opened the match with two goals, while Jadran got on the scoreboard in the 7th minute when Vrlic made it 1:2. The Croats caught up with the hosts seven minutes later (3:3),. The Hungarians answered with two goals in consecutive attacks for 5:3 and from that point on, they were always in front. Jadran chased the rival persistently. The visitors trailed by a goal three and a half minutes before the last break (6:7). Then, Ferencvaros produced a 4:0 series in 03:25 minutes (two action and powerplay goals) to head into the fourth period with a huge 11:6 lead.

The contest seemed to be over, and the fourth quarter would be a formality. In the 26th minute, Mandic made it 12:7. Jadran’s comeback wasn’t in sight. However, the visitors managed to score three goals in a row. Two minutes and 15 seconds from the end Marinic Kragic scored for 10:12. They had a chance to come even closer. Still, they didn’t do it. Soma Vogel, who was up to the task today (15 saves), blocked a shot from Duzevic a hundred seconds before the end. Immediately after, Ferencvaros forced a man-up, which Denes Varga converted to 13:10 and sealed Ferencvaros’ victory.

Jadran HN – Crvena Zvezda 21:20 (2:1, 0:2, 3:3, 3:2, PSO 13:12)

Jadran HN (regular time): Gardasevic 4, Kholod 1, Da. Radovic 1, Nagaev 1, B.Banicevic 1.

Crvena Zvezda (regular time): Subotic 2, Seman 2, M.Radovic 2, Vasic 1, Basara 1.

Penalty shootout – Jadran: Nagaev 3, Kholod 3, Da.Radovic 3, Vujovic 2, Vukicevic 2 (Misovic saved a shot from Vukicevic in Round 4). Crvena Zvezda: M.Radovic 3, Vasic 3, Subotic 2, Gogov 2, Basara 2 (Djurovic saved a shot from Basara in round 1, Subotic missed in round 14)

Jadran could be very happy with two points because it was close to a new defeat. Crvena Zvezda had a 3-goal lead in the middle of the fourth quarter. The hosts leveled at the finish. The Serbian team scored a last-second winner, but the goal was disallowed. After 14 rounds of penalty shots, two points went to Jadran, and one to Crvena Zvezda.

The game was played in a spectacular atmosphere. Crvena Zvezda felt in Trebinje like at home. As expected, a large group of fans supported the Belgrade-based team. All clubs of the Sports Society Crvena Zvezda are very loved in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Montenegro.

Goalkeepers Djurovic (Jadran) and Misovic (Crvena Zvezda) were in the leading roles in the first half. Both posted several very nice saves. The first quarter belonged to Jadran, but Crvena Zvezda had a slim 3:2 lead at halftime. Immediately after a big break, Jadran leveled at 3:3. However, Crvena Zvezda responded with two quick goals. Gavril Subotic, who grew up as a player at Jadran, converted a penalty in the 18th minute for 5:3. Two goals separated the rivals for the first time. The visitors had a 6:4, but Jadran halved the distance before the end of the third quarter.

Still, Crvena Zvezda regained the momentum and early in the fourth, scored two power-play goals (Vasic and Seman) to build an 8:5 advantage. In the following attack, the visitors killed Jadran’s double man-up. They controlled the match. A four-goal lead “was in the air”. But Jadran managed to come back. In the 28th minute, Martin Gardasevic scored his 4th goal and the comeback started. A minute and eight seconds before the final buzzer, Danilo Radovic leveled at 8:8. Both teams had chances to score a winner. Crvena Zvezda actually did it in the very last second. But, a goal from Dusan Vasic was disallowed due to an offensive foul.

So, the match ended after a long penalty shootout with only two saves and one missed penalty in 14 rounds. The match  ended only after Subotic’s miss in the 14th round.

Standings: 1. Ferencvaros 9, 2. Jadran S 6, 3. Jadran HN 2, 4. Crvena Zvezda 1.

Group D

Barceloneta – Marseille 9:7 (3:1, 1:3, 3:1, 2:2)

Barceloneta: Larumbe 3, Tahull 2, Sanahuja 1, Perrone 1, Biel 1, Bustos 1.
Marseille: Prlainovic 2, Vernoux 1, Velotto 1, Bouet 1, Angyal 1, Crousillat 1.

Even though Barceloneta scored three unanswered goals in the first six minutes and quickly went to 3:0, the game was open until the very end. Marseille was reducing the gap step-by-step. The French champion finally equalized twelve seconds before the middle break. Prlainovic scored a fantastic goal for 4:4.
But, Barceloneta, which is still without injured Munarriz, refound its rhythm in the second half. By the middle of the third period, it earned a 2-goal lead, converting two 6 on 5s (Larumbe and Tahull) – 6:4. In the remaining time, the teams traded the goals. Barceloneta didn’t let the French level the score again, but it was a hard battle until the end.
At the beginning of the fourth period, Prlainovic made it 6:7 from a penalty. But, in the middle of the quarter, Larumbe fired the ball from a distance for 8:6. Both goalkeepers posted a few nice saves in the final minutes. At 01:56, Danial Angyal saved Marseille’s hope with a goal for 7:8. However, Alejandro Bustos killed that hope by converting a man-up after an excellent assist from Felipe Perrone – 9:7.

Spandau – Vouliagmeni 14:13 (4:2, 5:4, 1:3, 4:4)

Spandau 04: Abramson 4, Sedlmayer 3, Strelezkij 2, Cuk 2,  Banicevic 1,Tkac 1, Chiru 1.

Vouliagmeni: Ubovic 3, Chalyvopoulos 2, Chatzis 2, D. Woodhead 1, Kastrinakis 1,Kapotsis 1, Kourovanis 1 Spahic 1, Kalogeropoulos 1

After Barceloneta easily defeated Spandau (16:6) in the first round, many foresaw that the Germans would finish at the bottom of the table. However, in the middle of the group stage, the Berliners held 2nd place, thanks to home wins over Marseille and Vouliagmeni.

Spandau needed less than three minutes to jump to 3:0. Early in the second period, the hosts had a 6:2 lead. Still, Vouliagmeni was able to come back. At halftime, it stood 9:6. But, Vouliagmeni opened the second half in the same way as Spandau did in the first period – with three straight goals (all three were with power play advantage). Kourovanis made it 9:9 in the 22nd minute. Immediately after, Spandau wasted a 6 on 4, but Cuk converted a man-up for 10:9 at the finish of the third period.

Vouliagmeni leveled at 10:10, 11:11 and 13:13 in the fourth quarter. Still, it didn’t take a lead. Spandau’s and Team USA’s leftie Tyler Abramson set the final score with his fourth goal – from the deep left – 14:13 with 31 seconds remaining on the clock. Vouliagmeni had a 7 on 6 in its last attack (goalkeeper Tzortzatos joined the attack), but the Greeks didn’t equalize and they returned home empty-handed.
As for the statistics, both teams scored eight power-play goals, but Spandau had more chances. There were even 32 exclusions in the match (14 for Spandau and 18 for Vouliagmeni).
However, Vouliagmeni still has a slim chance of reaching 2nd place, because it will play against Marseille and Spandau at home. Spandau’s remaining home match is the next one against Barceloneta.

Standings: 1. Barceloneta 9, 2. Spandau 04 6, 3. Marseille 3, 4. Vouliagmeni 0.

The next round is scheduled for October 31/November 1.

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