Hungarian and French clubs were very successful on Day 1 of the LEN Euro Cup.
All three Hungarian sides that played today – Szolnok, OSC, and BVSC recorded convincing wins, but that was more or less expected (Szolnok – Terrassa 20:14, BVSC – Panionios 18:9, OSC – Crvena Zvezda 15:5). The fourth Hungarian side Eger had a day off today.
Three French clubs defeated their respective rivals, while one earned a point. Noisy found it easy to beat Triglav Kranj (20:9). Pays d’Aix ran over Carouge (16:4). Strasbourg recorded a valuable victory in one of the most important matches in Group F in Szolnok. The French champion edged out Apollon Smyrnis 8:7. Tourcoing didn’t win today, but it did a good job, as it took a point in the match against Barcelona, which is the host of Group A (12:12).
There were a lot of exciting games today. Sabadell narrowly defeated Jadran Split 9:8. Radnicki was three goals down, but it beat Mediterrani (13:9). After an exciting first half, Mladost avoided a surprise and beat Primorac 13:8 (Group F). Novi Beograd debuted in the LEN Euro Cup with a win over Oradea (12:9).
2020/21 LEN Euro Cup, Qualifications, Day 1
Group A (Barcelona)
BVSC – Panionios 18:9 (4:3, 3:3, 2:1, 9:2)
BVSC: M. Nagy 6, Gyarfas 4, Kovacs 2,Agh 2,Pasztor 1, Sugar 1, M. Meszaros 2.
Panionios:Barakat 3, Braimis 1, Gavalas 1, Kalaitzis 1, Dimou 1, Kapetanakis 1.
Barcelona – Tourcoing 12:12 (3:4, 3:3, 3:2, 3:3)
Barcelona: Delgado 4, Flores 3, Van den Burg 2, Durik 1, Estrany 1, Tahull 1.
Tourcoing Lille: Banicevic 4, Randjic 3, Grgurevic 2, Canonne 1, Krizman 1, Kujacic 1.
BVSC opened the tournament with a big win over Panionios. The Greeks kept up with the Hungarians for almost two quarters. Panionios led 6:5 in the middle of the second period. After the middle break, BVSC took control and, led by Marton Magyar, recorded a convincing victory.
Barcelona and Tourcoing shared the points in a very thrilling match. The French started very well and led throughout the first half. Tourcoing even had a 3-goal advantage early in the second quarter (6:3). Still, the hosts could come back and took a 9:8 lead deep into the third period (23rd minute). The sides were tied before the final minute (11:11). Just 55 seconds from the end, Tourcoing earned a 12:11, but 30 seconds later, Flores saved a point for the home team.
Day 2 (December 5): Barcelona – BVSC, Tourcoing – Panionios
Group B (Sabadell)
Sabadell – Jadran S 9:8 (3:1, 0:3, 3:3, 3:1)
Sabadell: Sanahuja 4, Valera 1, Fenoy 1, Bertran 1, Ubovic 1, Lopez 1.
Jadran S: Setka 3, Milradovic 2, Buric 2, Butic 1.
Dynamo – Steaua 9:8 (3:2, 3:2, 3:1, 0:3)
Dynamo Moscow:Usov 3, Bugaychuk 3, Volkov 1, Shein 1, Vasilev 1.
Steaua: Negrean 4, Fulea 2, Prioteasa 1, Oanta 1.
Sabadell took a flying start and rushed to a 3:0 lead after less than six minutes of the match against Jadran. But, the Croats struck back strongly turned around the deficit to a 4:3 advantage at halftime. Jadran built a 2-goal lead (7:5) two minutes before the last break, but the new twist was yet to come. Barcelona responded with three goals. Bernat Sanahuja scored his 4th goal this evening to give the hosts an 8:7 lead in the middle of the fourth quarter. Shortly after, Setka equalized from a penalty, but Sabadell’s Nemanja Ubovic hit the back of the net to score a winner a minute and a half before the end.
The second match in this group also had a thrilling finish and the score was 9:8. At halftime, Dynamo led 6:4. The Russians built a 9:4 advantage in the 5th minute of the third period. Then, Steaua started climbing back. The Romanians produced a 4:0 series and cut the deficit (8:9) two and a half minutes before the end. But, Dynamo kept all three points.
Day 2 (December 5): Jadran S – Dynamo M, Sabadell – Steaua
Group C (Kranj)
OSC Budapest – Crvena Zvezda 15:5 (5:0, 2:1, 3:3, 5:1)
OSC Budapest: Manhercz 3, Salamon 2, Erdelyi 2, Burian 2, Harai 2, Varnai 1, Csacsovszky 1, Dala 1, Toth 1.
Crvena Zvezda: Radovic 2, Vuckovic 1, Tankosic 1, Kasum 1.
Noisy-le-Sec – Triglav 20:9 (2:1, 7:2, 5:3, 6:3)
Noisy-le-Sec: Petkovic 4, Krapic 3, V. Rasovic 3, Caumette 2, Bjorch 2, Peisson 2, Marzouki 2,Blary 1, Guerin 1.
Triglav Kranj: Justin 3, Troppan 2, Lah 1, Gostic 1, Novak 1, Popovic 1.
OSC beat Crvena Zvezda easier than it was expected. The Serbs played without one of the key players center-forward Milos Vukicevic. The Hungarians already had a 7:0 lead, before Crvena Zvezda finally got on the scoreboard 36 seconds before the end of the first half.
Noisy-le-Sec was too strong for Triglav
Day 2 (December 5): Noisy-le-Sec – OSC Budapest, Crvena Zvezda – Triglav
Group D (Aix-en-Provence)
Vouliagmeni – Ludwigsburg 21:6 (5:2, 8:0, 3:2, 5:2)
Vouliagmeni: Gkiouvetsis 6, Troulos 5, Basic 2, Gouvis 2, Alafragkis 2, Mylonakis 1, Afroudakis 1, Kalogeropoulos 1, Chalyvopoulos 1.
Ludwigsburg: Van der Bosch 2, Blazevic 2, Vulovic 1, Karetszi 1.
Pays d’Aix – Carouge 16:4 (3:0, 4:1, 4:2, 5:1)
Pays d’Aix:Monneret 4, Djerkovic 3, Popadic 2, Dino 2, Bakircilar 2, D’Souza 1, Saux 1, Debiais 1.
Carouge: Marechal 1, Blary 1 Malaspinas 1, Pontiekas 1.
The first two matches in Group D were one-sided battles. Vouliagmeni and host Pays d’Aix showed no mercy to the newcomers to the European stage.
Day 2 (December 5): Carouge – Ludwigsburg, Pays d’Aix – Vouliagmeni.
Group E (Savona)
Mediterrani – Radnicki 9:13 (4:1, 1:5, 2:6, 2:1)
Mediterrani: Edwards 3, Minguell 3, Galeev 1, G. Garcia 1, A. Garcia 1.
KVK Radnicki: Rasovic 3, Lukic 2, Radulovic 2, Stanojevic 1, Jankovic 1, Toholj 1, Krug 1, Ukropina 1, Milicic 1.
Savona – OSC Potsdam 12:8 (4:2, 3:1, 3:3, 2:2)
Savona: An.Patchaliev 3, Giovanetti 3, Bragantini 2, Rizzo 1, Bruni 1, Caldieri 1 Fondelli 1.
OSC Potsdam: Kuppers 6, Huppe 1, Zech 1.
Radnicki defeated Mediterrani in the derby of the day and made a big step towards the eight-finals. Mediterrani led 4:1 after the first quarter. But, at the first break, Radnicki’s coach Stevanovic gave his players good instructions. They finally, found the way to break Mediterrani’s defense. They scored four goals in a row by the middle of the second period and went ahead (5:4). Mediterrani equalized, but Radnicki regained a slim lead (6:5) before the end of the quarter. Early in the third quarter, Mediterrani leveled the score once more (6:6), but the Serbs responded with a 5:0 series. They jumped to an 11:6 lead and secured three points.
Several of the most experienced Savona players (including Guillermo Molina) missed the match against OSC Potsdam, due to injuries, or positive corona tests before the tournament. Still, the home side, with many young players on the team, managed to achieve the win.
Day 2 (December 5): Radnicki – OSC Potsdam, Savona – Mediterrani.
Group F (Zagreb)
Mladost – Primorac 13:8 (2:3, 5:4, 1:0, 5:1)
HAVK Mladost: J. Vrlic 2, Bukic 2, Viskovic 2, Kharkov 2, Buslje 1, Lazic 1, Dasic 1 Radu 1, Milos 1.
Primorac Kotor: Perkovic 3, Gopcevic 1, Molthen 1, Adzic 1, Matkovic 1, Draskovic 1.
Eger bye
Cosmin Radu (Mladost) against Primorac Photo: HAVK Mladost
Primorac stunned Mladost in the opening minutes, but the hosts didn’t let surprise and proved who the favorite was. Mladost earned an early 2:0 lead, but Primorac, coached by Sandro Sukno, produced a big comeback, with four consecutive goals and built a 4:2 advantage in the first minute of the second period. Two minutes before the middle break, Primorac led 7:5. However, at the finish of this period, the Croats retook control and dominated until the end to win points, which will probably open them the doors of the eight-finals.
Day 2 (December 5): Primorac – Eger. Mladost bye
Group G (Szolnok)
Strasbourg – Apollon Smyrnis 8:7 (3:3, 3:1, 2:2, 0:1)
Strasbourg:Missy 2, Valentino 2, Babic 1, Markovic 1, Buha 1, Denux 1.
Apollon: Mitrovic 2, Goniotakis 2, Moskov 1, Gounas 1, Solanakis 1.
Szolnok – Terrasa 20:14 (5:3, 6:4, 3:2, 6:5)
Szolnok: Filipovic 5, Szeghalmi 3, A. Nagy 3, Pijetlovic 3, Konarik 2, Dory 1, Jansik 1, Ge.Kovacs 1, Drasovic 1.
Terrassa: Carillo 3,Barroso 2, Gutierrez 2, De Lera 2, Alcaron 2, Chico 1, Pericas 1, Prieto 1,
As expected, French champion Strasbourg and Apollon fought a hard battle, but Strasbourg had an advantage most of the time. The French built a 3-goal margin in the third period (7:4 and 8:5). Apollon, which had a very bad percentage of the extra player shots (1/9) couldn’t come back. The Greeks reduced the gap to one (7:8) in the 29th minute and didn’t go further. Apollon played without one of its biggest additions Alex Bowen, who is injured.
Szolnok didn’t display a good defensive play, but, despite that fact, the Hungarians led throughout the whole match. Szolnok, led by Filip Filipovic, was powerful in front of Terrassa’s goal. In the last minute of the second period, Szolnok earned a five-goal lead for the first time (11:6). In the second half, Terrassa managed to cut the deficit to three two times (8:11 and 14:17), but the hosts’ win wasn’t in danger.
Day 2 (December 5): Apollon – Terrassa, Szolnok – Strasbourg
Group H (Belgrade)
Novi Beograd – Oradea 12:9 (2:2, 3:2, 5:2, 2:3)
Novi Beograd 011: Gogov 5, Bursac 2, Nikolov 2, Asanovic 1, Petrovski 1, Martinovic 1.
Oradea: Adachi 2, Colodrovschi 2, Vatrai 2, Rogac 1, Ilsie 1, V. Georgescu 1.
Sintez bye.
Novi Beograd vs. Oradea Photo: VK Novi Beograd
Novi Beograd debuted on the European stage with a win over Oradea. Milos Cuk and Djordje Filipovic, two players who are very important for Novi Beograd’s play missed the match, but the hosts managed to take all three points. Until the middle of the third period, the match was an even contest. Oradea led 6:5 in the 19th minute. After that, Novi Beograd tightened its defense, scored seven unanswered goals, and jumped to a safe 12:6 lead.
Day 2 (December 5): Oradea – Sintez. Novi Beograd bye
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