Most of the matches of Day 3 in Group B of the Champions League ended as expected. Three favorites – Jug, Pro Recco and Marseille made no mistake.
The surprise of the day happened in Hannover. OSC Budapest arrived in Germany as a favorite, but it returns home with only one point. OSC led for most of the time, but Waspo Hannover didn’t let the Hungarians make a big difference, and grabbed a point, thanks to a good finish – 12:12.
Jug Dubrovnik recorded an away win over Spandau easier than expected – 16:8. This outcome wouldn’t be a big surprise in normal circumstances. But, Jug was decimated today. The Croats started the game with 11 players, while coach Kobescak had only 10 available players from the middle of the second quarter.
Marseille started slowly, but it defeated Steaua convincingly – 14:6.
Title-holder Pro Recco defeated returnee to the Champions League Crvena Zvezda 13:7. Pro Recco is the only team in both groups of the Champions League with a perfect 3-0 record after three rounds. Besides, Recco is the only home team that recorded a win on Day 3. Yesterday, visitors recorded three wins in Group A and one match ended in a tie.
2021/22 Champions League, Group B, Day 3
Hannover – OSC 12:12 (4:2, 2:6, 1:1, 5:3)
Waspo 98 Hannover: Da.Brguljan 3, Winkelhorst 3, Corusic 1, Macan 1, Real 1, Radovic 1, Muslim 1, Nagaev 1.
OSC Budapest: Vin.Vigvari 3, Burian 3, Manhercz 2, Varnai 1, Salamon 1, E. Csacsovszky 1, Toth 1.
Hannover had a dream start. The hosts built a 4:1 in the first six minutes. But, OSC started taking control at the finish of the first quarter. The Hungarians tightened their defense. The attack worked well. OSC produced a 5:0 run and gained a 2-goal lead (6:4). The visitors kept the distance until the middle break (8:6), but they couldn’t break Hannover’s resistance. The Germans proved they were in the battle for F8 spots. The hosts were chasing OSC during the third and fourth quarters, but the Hungarians were keeping a 1-goal or a 2-goal lead almost until the end. OSC’s last goal came in the 29th minute when Vigvari converted a man-up for 10:12. Darko Brguljan halved the distance immediately after (11:12), while Russian Nagaev scored from an extra for 12:12 with 01:25 minutes to go. Neither team was able to secure a win. OSC had a man-up in its last possession, but Hannover’s goalie Moritz Schenkel saved a shot.
Spandau – Jug 8:16 (3:4, 1:5, 2:3,2:4)
Spandau 04: Kholod 3, Restovic 2, Strelezkij 1, Dedovic 1, Stamm 1.
Jug Dubrovnik: Kakaris 5, I.Vukojevic 2, Jokovic 2, Argyropoulos 2, Zuvela 2, Papanastasiou 1, Krzic 1, Benic 1.
Jug had only 11 players on the roster in Berlin. Thirteen players arrived in Germany, but captain Loren Fatovic and Luka Stahor tested positive for COVID today morning. The German regulations about COVID are very strict. According to the latest information, Fatovic and Stahor will stay in quarantine in Germany for ten days, which means that the two won’t play in the Regional League next week.
Jug started the match with 10 field players and goalkeeper Popadic. The second goalie Antonio Vukojevic was on the team but as a field player. He wore a blue cap with number 3 and was ready to jump into the water and help his team’s attack if needed. But, he was on the bench during almost the entire game.
Decimated Jug dictated the pace from the beginning. After a 4:3 first quarter, the Croats went to 6:3. Then, a new problem for Jug appeared. Alex Papanastasiou kicked Marko Stamm while they were swimming towards Jug’s goal and was red-carded. It seemed that he did it accidentally (Papanastasiou was in front of Stamm at that moment and didn’t see the German). However, the referees excluded Papanastasiou.
Still, this exclusion didn’t halt Jug. The visitors added two goals for a huge 8:3 lead (15th minute) and maintained the difference until the middle break. Jug continued dominating in the second half and left no chance to Spandau. Konstantinos Kakaris was outstanding. Jug’s center-forward netted five goals and led his team to a comfortable 16:8 victory.
Steaua Bucharest – Marseille 6:14 (2:2, 3:4, 1:5, 0:3)
Steaua: Negrean 1, Fulea 1, Mudrazija 1, Gheorghe 1, Iudean 1,Vancsik 1.
Marseille: Prlainovic 4, Spaic 2, Vernoux 2, Crousillat 2, Marion-Vernoux 1, Kovacevic 1, Cuckovic 1,Bodegas 1.
The difference between the rivals after the game in Bucharest was the same as in Berlin – eight goals. However, Marseille needed a lot of time to secure a big advantage. The hosts scored the first goal in the match. The French turned to 2:1 quickly, but the game was an even contest until 4:4. Then, Marseille netted two goals within 46 seconds and earned a 2-goal lead for the first time (6:4). The hosts halved the deficit 30 seconds before the end of the first half (5:6), but they ran out of gas for the second half of the game. Marseille netted five straight goals and jumped to 11:5. Steaua scored its sixth goal in the 24th minute, but Marseille ruled the field in the final eight minutes and increased the margin of their victory to eight goals.
Andrija Prlainovic, who found the net four times, was one of the heroes of the win.
Pro Recco – Crvena Zvezda 13:7 (4:3, 5:2, 2:1, 2:1)
Pro Recco: Di Fulvio 4, Younger 2, Cannella 2, Zalanki 1, Figlioli 1, Bertoli 1, Echenique 1, Aicardi 1.
Crvena Zvezda: Subotic 4, Tankosic 1, Pjesivac 1, Vukicevic 1.
Crvena Zvezda, supported by a group of fans in the pool in Genoa, fought bravely, but it didn’t surprise the European champion.
The first quarter was an exchange of goals. Pro Recco took the lead three teams, but Crvena Zvezda scored an equalizer shortly after each of these goals. Francesco Di Fulvio made it 4:3 just 18 seconds before the first break. This time, the Serbs had no response. From that point on, Pro Recco was always in front.
Crvena Zvezda kept up with the favorite until the middle of the quarter. In the 12th minute, they came close to the rival for the last time – Subotic converted a penalty shot to 5:6. But, Pro Recco produced a 3:0 rush by the middle break, and entered the second half with a 9:5 advantage.
The Serbs’ defense was very good in the opening minutes of the second half. Captain Vukicevic found the net for 6:9. The visitors kept the Italians goalless until the 5th minute of the second half when Echenique assisted Di Fulvio, who netted for 10:6. In the hosts’ next possession Younger streched the margin to five (11:6).
The visitors didn’t surrender, but they didn’t reduce the gap in the final quarter.
1 Pro Recco 3 – 9
2 OSC Budapest 3 – 7
3 Marseille 3 – 6
4 Jug 3 – 6
5 Crvena Zvezda 3 – 3
6 Hannover 3 – 2
7 Spandau 04 3 – 1
8 Steaua 3 – 0
Day 4 (December 1)
OSC Budapest – Marseille
Steaua – Jug
Waspo Hannover – Crvena Zvezda
Pro Recco – Spandau
