Ferencvaros and Brescia blow rivals away, hard-fought wins for Novi Beograd and Jug

All favorites collected points in the 7th round of the Champions League Group B. Still, nobody can say that there were no surprising results today.

Ferencvaros defeated OSC in the Hungarian derby – 16:12. That result isn’t surprising by itself. Still, Ferencvaros ran over OSC. In the third quarter, Ferencvaros had a nine-goal lead (13:4). The big difference in the results and the performance between the two teams in the first three quarters was something that nobody expected in this match.

The group leader Brescia beat Marseille much easier than expected (13:5). That was another surprise.

Novi Beograd, which is still without a few key players, earned a hard-fought win over Sabadell in Spain (8:6).

Jug edged out Spandau in Berlin (12:11) in a very thrilling contest. Spandau played with five players in the field in the last two and a half minutes, because one of the most experienced players of the Berlin-based side was excluded at the finish of the match.

2022/23 Champions League, Group B, Day 7

OSC Budapest – Ferencvaros 12:16 (2:3, 1:7, 2:3, 7:3)

OSC Budapest: Levai, Angyal 1, Manhercz 1, Varnai, Salamon 2, E.Csacsovszky 1, Dala 2, Toth 2, Vin. Vigvari, Burian 1, Bundschuh 2, Aranyi, Bisztritsanyi. Head coach: Da.Varga.

Ferencvaros: Szakonyi, Nagy, Pohl 4, Merkulov, Argyropoulos 3, Ubovic, Fekete 3, Ven.Vigvari 2, Nemet, De.Varga 1, Jansik 2, Damonte 1, Sipos. Head coach: Zs.Varga.

As we mentioned in our Champions League preview on Monday, OSC and Ferencvaros played two exciting matches in the Hungarian competitions this season. Today, the duel between the best Hungarian clubs was something completely different. OSC kept pace with Ferencvaros only in the opening several minutes and started coming back when it was too late.

Compared to the domestic matches, Ferencvaros’ coach Zsolt Varga had four foreign players on the roster today – Ubovic, Argyropoulos, Merkulov and Damonte (only two are allowed in the Hungarian competitions). That isn’t a significant difference, but that wasn’t the only reason because Ferencvaros recorded such a convincing victory. The entire team of Ferencvaros displayed excellent performance. OSC dominated the last eight minutes, but it was too late for a comeback.
The game was the derby only in the first quarter. Ferencvaros led 1:0 and 2:1 in the opening minutes. OSC equalized shortly after on both occasions. In the 7th minute, Vendel Vigvari gave Ferencvaros a 3:2 lead. In the second period, the visitors’ storm started. Ferencvaros’ goalkeeper Daniel Szakonyi had a great evening. His saves boosted his teammates’ self-confidence. As for the visitors’ attack, the result says all. Ferencvaros ruled the field. Pohl and Jansik scored for 5:2. Burian scored from a distance in the 11th minute, and it seemed that this encounter could be an interesting game. But, Ferencvaros scored five goals in the last five minutes of the first half and went to 10:3. Early in the third period, Zoltan Pohl made it 11:3. Deep into the third period, the visitors earned a nine-goal lead (13:4) after Stylianos Argyropoulos netted a beautiful backhander from 6 meters.

Ferencvaros slowed after that, while OSC did everything to avoid a convincing defeat, and it managed to do it. Considering what happened in the first three quarters, a 4-goal loss is a good result for OSC.

Zsolt Varga, Ferencvaros’ coach said:

“We have had many ups and downs in the Champions League matches this season. That happened again today . We lost concentration and our rhythm in the fourth quarter. But, we already had a big advantage, so that didn’t impact the result. In the first three periods, we played at a very high level. I congratulate all my players for what they showed, especially goalkeeper Szakonyi who was excellent.

Daniel Varga, OSC’s coach, said:

“Ferencvaros displayed excellent performance, and I congratulate them on a deserved win. Already in the first quarter, we started losing faith. And everything felt apart in our play in the second period. However, there were some good things in this game. I can be satisfied because my players managed to get up. They didn’t give in and played better in the fourth quarter.

Marseille – Brescia 5:13 (1:3, 1:4, 1:4, 2:2)

Marseille: Lazovic, Cuckovic, Crousillat 2, Spaic, Prlainovic, Vernoux 1, Daube 1, Bouet 1, Marion Vernoux, Bodegas, Vukicevic, Vanpeperstraete, Hovhannysian. Head coach: Scepanovic.

Brescia: Tesanovic, Dolce, C.Presciutti 1, Gianazza, Lazic 2, Vapenski, Renzuto4, Kharkov 1, Alesiani 1, Luongo 1, Di Somma 3, Gitto, Baggi Necchi. Head coach: Bovo.

Brescia secured three points in Marseille before the middle break. The visitors proved who the favorite was with two goals in the first 121 seconds for a 2:0 lead. But immediately after, Crousillat put the hosts on the scoreboard. Still, the French couldn’t keep up with Brescia for long. 20 seconds before the first break, Renzuto gave Brescia a 3:1 lead. Already in the middle of the second quarter, it was clear that Brescia would record a victory. They outplayed Marseille in all elements. The visitors opened the second quarter even better than the first one. They scored four goals in the first four minutes and jumped to 7:1. Marseille’s goalless phase lasted 10:40 minutes, and it was ended by Ugo Crousillat (2:7).

Brescia was the favorite. However, Marseille had a lot of good players on the roster. The French champion’s performance was disappointing. The statistics say that Brescia dominated from the beginning. The Italians had 19 shots toward the goal in the first half, and Marseille only 11.

A one-sided contest continued after the middle break. In the first two minutes, Brescia scored two goals and went to 9:2. After that, the only question was whether Marseille would avoid a devastating defeat. But, the French didn’t reduce a big gap. Brescia recorded a 13:5 victory. The best scorer was Vincenzo Renzuto Iodice, with four goals. Petar Tesanovic contributed to the win with 11 saves, including two penalty shots..

Brescia kept 1st place. Marseille’s dream of reaching the Final Eight has been becoming less and less realistic.

Sabadell – Novi Beograd 6:8 (1:2, 3:1, 1:4, 1:1)

Sabadell: Lorrio, Sanahuja, Gil, Teclas, Veich, Valera 1, Bertran, Cabanas 1, Averka 3, D.Banicevic, Bonet, Bustos 1, Teclas. Head coach: Colet.

Novi Beograd: Filipovic, S.Rasovic 2, Mandic 1, Granados 2, Vucinic, Pijetlovic, Martinovic, Cetkovic 1, Perkovic, Vlachopoulos 1, Skoumpakis 1, V.Rasovic, Pedro. Head coach: Gocic

Novi Beograd has had problems with its roster. We have written a lot about that, and because of that, the runner-up in the 2021/22 season wasn’t a heavy favorite. On the other side, Sabadell was encouraged by its good performances in the last games. Both teams were very motivated as both knew they could win, and that produced an exciting battle.

Despite a poor percentage of extra player shots (1/5 in the first half), Novi Beograd started quite well. It earned a 2:0 lead (6th minute). A minute later, the hosts got on the scoreboard from a penalty shot (Valera scored). Both defenses worked well in the opening minutes. The next goal came in the 12th minute when Savo Cetkovic netted a nice goal and Novi Beograd rebuilt a 2-goal lead. However, Sabadell responded strongly. The Spaniards scored three goals in 01:52 minutes and took the lead for the first time. Two minutes before the middle break, Konstantin Averka put the hosts in front – 4:3.

The third quarter was crucial for the outcome. Novi Beograd tightened its defense. The Spaniards had four opportunities to score with an extra player in the third quarter. Novi Beograd “killed” all four man-ups. Dimitrios Skoumpakis leveled in Novi Beograd’s first possession in the second half. His fellow countryman Angelos Vlachopoulos found the net from a counterattack. Strahinja Rasovic fired the ball into the net from a distance in the 21st minute for 6:4 and to close Novi Beograd’s 3:0 series. Averka gave Sabadell some hope with an action goal for 5:6. Still, the visitors rebuilt a 2-goal advantage after Granados converted a man-up.

Novi Beograd controlled the match, but Sabadell was in the game almost until the end. There were no goals in the fourth quarter for a while. Kanstantin Averka broke the deadlock by scoring for 6:7 with 03:32 minutes left on the clock. However, Dusan Mandic replied immediately. Still, the battle wasn’t over yet. Sabadell’Novi Beograd secured a win only 46 seconds before the end when Sabadell failed to score with a man-up again. This time, Joao Pedro Coimbra saved a shot from Fernandez and ruined Sabadell’s last hope.

Spandau 04 – Jug AO 11:12 (3:1, 2:4, 3:2, 3:5)

Spandau 04:Baksa, Gbadamassi 1, Prioteasa, Cuk, Tkac, Bozic 2, Strelezkij 1, Marziali, Chiru, Kholod 3, Restovic 1, Shepelev 3, Vernet. Head coach: Kechagias.

Jug AO: Popadic, Burdjelez, Fatovic 4, Mozara, Jokovic, Vukojevic 1, Biljaka, Lazic, Krzic, Kakaris 1, Grgurevic, Zuvela 6, Brzica. Head coach: Kobescak.

Spandau continues proving that it isn’t an underdog in the duels with European powerhouses. Still, the Berliners left the pool empty-handed today, partly because they played with a man less in the water in the last 02:38 minutes, after Mateo Cuk was red-carded.

The game was an even contest with several twists and turns.

Spandau shocked Jug with an opening 3:0 lead. But, the Croats, led by Marko Zuvela and Loren Fatovic, came back into the match quickly, and leveled at 3:3 early in the second period. Spandau gained a 2-goal lead after Kholod hit the back of the net for 5:3 in the 12th minute. However, Jug produced a 3:0 series after that. In the 18th minute, the visitors went in front for the first time, after Marko Zuvela converted a man-up (6:5).

Jug had a 7:6 in the middle of the third period, but then Spandau’s 3:0 run came. Shepelev made it 9:7 (26th minute). Jug leveled at 9:9 and 10:10. Then, maybe, a crucial event in the game happened. Mateo Cuk was red-carded for brutality foul. The hosts asked for the exclusion of Jug’s player during Spandau’s attack. Referees didn’t whistle an exclusion. But, after that Cuk punched Jug’s Franko Lazic and was excluded for brutality foul. He was red-carded and excluded with substitution after four minutes, which meant that Spandau would play with a man fewer in the remaining time. Zuvela converted a penalty awarded to Jug after that exclusion. A minute and 15 seconds before the end, Vukojevic doubled the visitors’ advantage. Kholod halved the gap with 55 seconds remaining, but Spandau didn’t equalize.

Jug made a big step towards the Fina Eight. It has five points more than 5th-placed OSC.

1.Brescia 7 – 18
2. Novi Beograd 7 – 16
3. Ferencvaros 7 – 15
4. Jug AO 7 – 11
5. OSC Budapest 7 – 6
6. Spandau 7 – 5
7. Sabadell 7 – 4
8. Marseille 7 – 4

Day 8

The games of the eighth round are scheduled for February 17/18. In the second half of the Main Phase, the games of Group B will be played a day before Group A.

Group B (February 17): Ferencvaros – OSC, Novi Beograd – Sabadell, Brescia – Marseille, Jug – Spandau.

Group A (February 18): Radnicki – Olympiacos, Pro Recco – Dinamo Tbilisi, Barceloneta – Jadran S, Vouliagmeni – Hannover

For the results and the schedule visit Total Waterpolo Arena