This evening, we got a new confirmation that the 2024 Euro Cup is a balanced competition. The 2nd round was played today, and just like in Round 1, ten days ago, almost all games were thrillers. There were no one-sided contests.
The replay of the 2023 LEN Euro Cup final, Vasas – Savona, and the Italian derby, Trieste – Ortigia, were in the spotlight today. One goal separated the rivals in each of the two games.
Vasas beat Savona in a festival of goals – 18:17. Still, that game wasn’t so thrilling at the finish. In the middle of the fourth quarter, Vasas had a 5-goal advantage. The Hungarians let Savona reduce the gap at the finish, but avoided a dramatic ending.
Ortigia and Trieste were in a neck-and-neck race throughout the match. Ortigia, the visiting team in this match, recorded a 12:11 victory.
Vasas, Ortigia, Telimar and Sabac have six points each after two rounds. Sabac defeated BVSC 10:8, while Telimar was better than Solaris 11:9.
2024 Euro Cup, Group Phase, Day 2
Group A
Barcelona – Tourcoing 15:13 (4:3, 3:3, 5:2, 3:5)
Barcelona: Ramon 4, Valls 3, Goma 3, Daura 3, Bertran 1, Andrade 1.
Tourcoing: Canonne 4, Marzouki 3 Colodrovschi 2, Kujacic 2, Lepoint 1, Durik 1.
Telimar – Solaris 11:9 (2:3, 0:2, 6:1, 3:3)
Telimar: Hooper 4, Q.Woodhead 3, Lo Dico 2, Gilberti 1, Lo Cascio 1.
Solaris: Pelicaric 5, A.Petkovic 2, R.Akrap 2.
Barcelona beat Tourcoing, building a crucial advantage in the third period. In the first quarter, the Spaniards had a 2-goal lead (2:0 and 4:2). The French leveled at 4:4, 5:5, and 6:6 in the second period. However, Barcelona had a slim advantage at halftime, as Pol Daura found the net for 7:6 with two seconds left on the clock in the 2nd period. Marc Valls scored three unanswered goals in the third quarter to give the hosts a 10:6 lead. Tourcoing couldn’t come back.
Solaris dominated the first half of the game in Palermo. The Croats, with an unstoppable Roko Pelicaric, were 5:2 up at halftime. But Telimar, led by the Americans Johnny Hooper and Quinn Woodhead, found its rhythm in the second half. The hosts scored five goals in a row and turned around the three-goal deficit to an 8:5 lead. Solaris ended its goalless phase in the 24th minute (6:7), but Hooper beat the buzzer. Hooper converted a man-up to an 8:6 lead a second before the last break. Telimar maintained the difference in the fourth quarter.
Standings: 1. Telimar 6, 2. Barcelona 3, 3. Tourcoing 3, 4. Solaris 0.
Group B
Vasas – Savona 18:17 (5:4, 5:5, 6:2, 2:6)
Vasas: S.Rasovic 7, Randjelovic 3, Burian 3, Konarik 3, Selley-Rauscher 1, Batori 1.
Savona: Figlioli 4, Guidi 4, Campopiano 3, Djurdjic 3, Patchaliev 1, Vavic 1, Erdelyi 1
Honved – Apollon 12:11 (1:3, 3:1, 5:4, 3:3)
Honved: Zs. Ekler 5, Vadovics 2, B.Ekler 2, S. Hessels 2, Sugar 1.
Apollon Smyrnis: Shushiashvili 3, Gardikas 3, Bogdanovic 2, Alamanos 1, Troulos 1, Solanakis 1.
Savona opened the 2023 LEN Euro Cup final replay with a 2:0 and 3:1 lead. Vasas netted four goals in a row and went to 5:3. But, five seconds before the end of the first quarter, Balazs Erdely, who moved from Vasas to Savona this year, scored an action goal for 4:5.
Campopiano leveled at 5:5 early in the second period. From that point, the teams traded the goals. Savona equalized at 5:5, 6:6, 7:7, 8:8 and 9:9, but the Italians had no response after Sava Randjelovic found the net from a distance with eight seconds left in the second quarter -10:9.
Vasas ruled the field in the third period. The hosts’ defense was excellent, while they fired from all weapons in the attack. Vasas scored the first five goals in the second half (three with an extra player and two from penalty shots) and jumped to 15:9. It seemed that Vasas would record a comfortable victory. The hosts were five steps ahead of the Italians (18:13) with 03:38 minutes left on the clock. But Savona scored the last four goals (all four with a man-up) in the match and came very close to the hosts. Still, the Italians’ 17th goal came 29 seconds before the final buzzer. After that, Vasas kept the ball and the three points.
It was a game with a lot of goals and exclusions. Vasas committed 17, and Savona 19 personal fouls. The teams scored eight power-play goals each (besides, Vasas found the net from the 5m line three times). But Savona started converting their man-up opportunities too late (they scored five goals with an extra player in the final quarter).
Marton Szivos (Honved)
Honved started slowly but earned three points in the game against Apolon. The Greeks controlled the result for more than two quarters. They led 2:0 and 3:1. Eight seconds before the end of the first half, Zsombor Ekler, the hero of Honved’s win, equalized (4:4). Still, the Greeks regained a minimal advantage in the third period (5:4, 6:5). In the 18th minute, Zsombor Ekler put Honved in front for the first time – 8:7. Apollon chased the rival, but unsuccessfully. Everything was clear when Bendeguz Ekler converted a 6 on 5 to a 12:9 lead with 70 seconds left on the clock. Apollon cut the deficit to one goal when it was too late – 17 seconds before the final buzzer.
Standings: 1. Vasas 6, 2. Savona 3, 3. Honved 3, 4. Apollon 0.
Group C
Sabac – BVSC 10:8 (1:3, 3:1,2:3, 4:1)
Sabac: Repanovic 2, Macic 2, Korac 2, Barac 1, Toholj 1, Dragovic 1, Stojanovic 1.
BVSC: Tatrai 2, E.Csacsovszky 2 Csapo 1, M.Meszaros 1, Cs.Meszaros 1, Bundschuh 1.
Primorje – Waspo 98 13:9 (2:4, 6:2, 3:2, 2:1)
Primorje: Da. Brguljan 5, Brubnjak 2, Cubranic 2, Te Riele 2, Babic 1, G. Burburan 1
Waspo 98 Hannover: Benic 5, Basic 2, Schipper 1, Takacs 1.
Sabac is a master of comebacks. The only Serbian club in the Group Phase overcame a four-goal deficit (2:6, 4:8) to beat Primorje in the first round (10:8). Today’s match against BVSC produced the same result and had a similar storyline. BVSC opened the match with a 3:0 lead. Sabac leveled by the middle break (4:4) and took the lead (5:4 and 6:5) in the third period. However, BVSC entered the final quarter leading 7:6. The hosts regained an advantage with goals from Andrija Korac and Aljosa Macic – 8:7. The Hungarians leveled at 8:8 in the 28th minute. Still, it was their last goal in the game. Macic pushed the ball into the net from a rebound for 9:8. The water was boiling in front of fully packed stands. A minute and 42 seconds before the end, Korac converted a penalty for the final score – 10:8.
The visiting team had a good start in the second today’s match in Group B. Waspo 98 had a 4:2 advantage in the first half. The opening minutes of the second period saw a balanced battle. In the 14th minute, Darko Brguljan (who played for Hannover for years) scored from a 6 on 5 for Primorje’s first lead in the game – 7:6. The Dutch Kas Te Riele made it 8:6 shortly after. In the second half, Primore kept the distance. The hosts stretched the margin to four at the finish.
Standings: 1. Sabac 6, 2. Primorje 3, 3. BVSC 3, 4. Waspo 98 0.
Group D
Trieste – Ortigia 11:12 (3:2, 3:3,4:5, 1:2)
Trieste: Bini 3, Dasic 2, Mezzarobba 2, Petronio 1, Valentino 1, Razzi 1, Mladossich 1.
Ortigia: Cupido 3, Carnesecchi 3, Cassia 2, Ferrero 2, Bitadze 1, Inaba 1.
Primorac – Panionios 9:10 (2:3, 3:3, 2:1, 2:3)
Primorac: Vico 3, Markovic 2, Dr. Brguljan 1, Lambie 1, Vuckovic 1, Dj.Stanojevic 1.
Panionios: Moskov 5, Kopeliadis 2, Ukropina 2, Gkiouvetsis 1.
Trieste took a flying start in the Italian derby and rushed to 3:0 in the first four and a half minutes. Ortigia cut the deficit to one goal by the end of the first quarter. Still, the hosts controlled the result. Ortigia leveled for the first time in the 18th minute – 6:6 and again at 7:7, 8:8 and 9:9. In the 23rd minute, Filipo Ferrero gave Ortigia a first advantage – 10:9. But, Dasic leveled at 10:10 in the dying seconds of this period.
At the beginning of the final period, Cassia sent the ball into the net,. The visitors were in front again – 11:10, but not for long. Trieste’s Mezzarobba equalized in the following possession. In the next few minutes, there were no goals. Francesco Cassia ended that phase with a power-play goal for 11:12 in the 30th minute. Trieste’s efforts to level the score didn’t produce a result and Ortigia went home with three points in the pocket.
Aleksa Ukropina Photo by Krsto Vulovic/WPF of Montenegro
Panionios, led by two Montenegrins – Nikola Moskov and Aleksa Ukropina – earned three points in Kotor. This was a game with several big twists and turns.
Two goals separated the rivals only twice. Early in the second period, Panionios went to 4:2. Primorac replied with a 3:0 run to take a 5:4 lead. But, then came a 3:0 series from the Greek side. Three minutes before last break, Primorac earned a 7:5 advantage. However, the series of „3:0 series“ didn’t end. At the finish of the third period, Primorac leveled at 7:7 and added one more goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter and went ahead – 8:7. Midway through the final quarter, Panionios retook an advantage (9:8). Vico leveled at 9:9. However, Nikola Moskov scored his fifth goal with 33 seconds left on the clock for 8:9. The hosts had a man-up in the final 12 seconds, but missed.
Standings: 1. Ortigia 6, 2. Primorac 3, 3. Panionios 3, 4. Trieste 0.
The third round is scheduled for November 2.
The full schedule of the LEN Euro Cup – HERE
More articles about the LEN Euro Cup
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