The Italian clubs recorded three wins in today’s morning session in the LEN Euro Cup qualifications.
Ortigia did a great job by beating Noisy-le-Sec in the derby in Group A in Sabac (16:11) and practically secured a spot in the group stage (Top 16). Only a series of unexpected results will move the Sicilians to 3rd place in Sabac.
Savona defeated Partizan 15:10 in Duisburg, while Telimar beat Sete 15:7 in the same group. Both teams continued chasing the tickets for the LEN Euro Cup Group stage. Savona has more realistic chances because Telimar lost to Partizan.
The Italians were successful, but the highlight of the morning was a Hungarian derby in Athens, where Budapest-based clubs Honved and OSC faced off. Honved was three goals down in the third quarter but came back and secured a very valuable 10:9 victory. But nothing has been decided yet. OSC didn’t lose chances of qualifying for the group stage.
Waspo Hannover climbed atop Group H in Kotor.
2023/24 LEN Euro Cup, Qualifications, Day 3, morning session
Group A (Sabac), Round 3
Noisy-le-Sec – Ortigia 11:16 (5:7, 3:3, 1:3, 2:3)
Noisy-le-Sec: Krapic 3, Matkovic 2, Bowen 2, Saudadier 2, Do Carmo 2.
Ortigia: Inaba 4, Cassia 3, Fererro 3, La Rosa 2, Carnesecchi 2, Napolitano 1, Cupido 1.
Valis – Dinamo Bucharest 17:7 (3:1, 6:2, 4:2, 4:2)
Valis Vega: Brkic 4, Kovacevic 3, Rogac 3, Kasum 2, Radanovic 2, P.Mitrovic 1, Krstic 1, Nikolov 1.
Dinamo Bucharest: Radu 2, Pirianu 2,Kari 2, Kovats 1.
Sabac bye.
If there are no surprises and “crazy results” this evening and tomorrow, host Sabac and Ortigia will qualify for the Top 16 from Group A.
The third contender for the top two spots, Noisy-le-Sec, lost to Sabac yesterday and couldn’t beat Ortigia today, so the Parisiens’ chances to go through are slim right now.
Noisy never took the lead in the match (it leveled at 1:1 , 2:2 and 3:3), but the French were in the game until the middle of the third quarter. They trailed by a goal (9:10) in the 19th minute but couldn’t go further. Ortigia scored three straight goals by the end of the period for a 13:9 advantage, which was crucial for its win.
Valis collected the first points with a convincing victory over Dinamo. The Valjevo-based team hopes are still alive, but Valis is far from 2nd place.
Standings: 1. Ortigia 9 pts (3 games), 2. Sabac 6 (2), 3. Valis 3 (2), 4. Noisy 0 (2), 5. Dinamo Bucharest 0 (3).
Group E (Athens), Round 3
OSC Budapest – Honved 9:10 (2:2, 4:2, 1:4, 2:2)
OSC Budapest: Salamon 3, Toth 2, Rossi 2, Varnai 1, Harai 1.
Honved: Zs. Ekler 4, Vadovics 2, B.Ekler 2, Kevi 1, B.Hessels 1.
Tenerife – White Sharks 13:11 (2:4, 2:2, 3:2, 3:2, PSO 3:1)
Tenerife Echeyde: Molthen 5, Mercado 2, Andion 2, Prunell 1, Espinoza 1, Espanol 1, Salvador 1.
White Sharks Hannover: Stankovic, F.Rotermund 3, M.Molnar 2, J.Roterrmund 1, Bruns 1, Huelshoff 1.
Panionios bye
Both games in the morning session in Athens were thrillers, but the stakes were high only in the Hungarian derby, OSC – Honved.
OSC got off to a better start. It was 6:4 up at halftime. Early in the third quarter, it went to 7:4. Still, in the following 12 minutes, Honved kept OSC goalless, while it scored six goals in a row and came back from three goals down to a 10:7 lead. But the contest wasn’t over yet. After a long silence, OSC scored two goals and narrowed the distance to one (9:10) in the 31st minute. Honved had a chance to secure a win from a penalty shot at 0:08 but failed to score. OSC didn’t equalize in the remaining eight seconds.
Tenerife beat White Sharks Hannover in a penalty shootout. But, the Spaniards suffered two convincing losses on the first two days and the two points probably won’t help them go through.
Standings: 1. Panionios 6 (2), 2. Honved 6 (2), 3. OSC Budapest 3 (2), 4. Tenerife 2 (3), 5. White Sharks 1 (3).
Group F (Duisburg), Round 3
Partizan – Savona 10:15 (2:6, 4:3, 4:4, 0:2)
Partizan: Gladovic 3, Tomic 2, Trtovic 2, Jaukovic 1, Draskovic 1, Cutayar 1.
Savona: Figlioli 7, Vavic 2, Rizzo 2, Guidi 2, Campopiano 1, Erdelyi 1.
Telimar – Sete 15:7 (2:2, 4:2, 6:2, 3:1)
Telimar Palermo:Vitale 4, Occhione 3, Lo Cascio, Q.Woodhead 2, Marini 1, Nuzzo 1, Gilberti 1, Metodiev 1.
Sete Natation:Gomes Da Silva 2, Lopinot 1, Bronsan 1, Dentro 1, Devais 1, Chandieu 1.
ASC Duisburg bye
Partizan put up a good fight, but Savona, the finalist of the 2023 LEN Euro Cup, didn’t let the Serbs cause a surprise. Savona dominated the first quarter, taking a four-goal lead over the young Serbian team (6:2). Although Partizan refused to give up and managed to reduce the deficit to two goals on several occasions, it could not overcome Savona’s experienced squad. Late in the third quarter, the Serbs came close for the last time, trailing by only two goals (10:12). At the finish of the period, Savona’s veteran Pietro Figlioli, who was exceptional throughout the game, noticed a “hole” in Partizan’s defense and scored his sixth goal right before the buzzer sounded. His goal made it 13:10 and gave Savona a crucial lead heading into the final quarter.
As expected, Telimar beat Sete. The first quarter was balanced, but Telimar blew the French away in the middle two periods. The Sicilians kept the top spot in the group. They will play only one match until the end. Tomorrow, they will face Savona in the Italian derby, which will probably be a must-win game for Telimar.
Partizan, which beat Telimar in a penalty shootout on Thursday, will play against Sete and Duisburg in the remaining two rounds.
Standings: 1.Telimar 7 (3), 2. Savona 6 (2), 3. Sete 3 (3), 4. Partizan 2 (2), 5. ASC Duisburg 0 (2)
Group H (Kotor), Round 3
Waspo 98 – Peristeri 15:9 (4:2, 5:4, 4:2, 2:1)
Waspo 98 Hannover: Basic 4, Benic 3, Gansen 2, Jaeschke 2, Milradovic 2, Macan 1, Lozina 1.
Peristeri: Karountzos 3, Adzic 2, Foskolos 2, Prekas 1, Chrysospathis 1.
Terrassa – Panathinaikos 18:12 (5:1, 5:2, 5:5, 3:4)
Terrassa: Alarcon 5, Bargallo 4, Cuacos 3, Rodriguez 2, Pericas 1, Lopez 1, Teclas 1, Chico 1.
Panathinaikos:Stevenson 4, Agkortsas 2, Alvertis 2, G.Nikolaidis 1, Sgouridis 1, Chatzigoulas 1, Dermitzakis 1.
Primorac bye
The first two days in Kotor produced a lot of thrills (one goal was decisive in two matches, and the next two ended in a shootout). This morning and early afternoon, there was no excitement.
Waspo 98 continued going towards the LEN Euro Cup group stage with a comfortable victory over Peristeri. The Germans led throughout the match, but the Greeks kept up with Waspo in the first half. Only a goal separated the rivals in the middle of the second period (6:5 for Waspo). Then, the Croats on the German team netted three goals within four minutes (two from Andrija Basic and one from Hrvoje Benic) and went to a safe 9:5 lead.
Terrassa secured a victory over Panathinaikos thanks to a dominant first half. The Spaniards stayed in the race for the top two spots, but considering they lost to Waspo 98 and Primorac, they now depend on the Montenegrins’ and the Germans’ results.
Standings: 1. Waspo 98 Hannover 6 (2), 2. Primorac 5 (2), 3. Terrassa 4 (3), 4. Peristeri 2 (2), 5. Panathinaikos 1 (3).
*The top two teams from each group will qualify for the LEN Euro Cup group stage.
Day 3 (September 23), afternoon-evening session
Group A (Sabac): Valis – Noisy-le-Sec (18:00), Sabac Elixir – Ortigia (20:00)
Group B (Budapest): BVSC Zuglo – Mataro (17:30), Vasas – Ludwigsburg (19:00)
Group C (Tourcoing): Tourcoing – Pays d’Aix (18:30), Trieste – Szolnoki Dozsa Praktiker (20:30)
Group D (Rijeka): Primorje Erste Bank – CSM Oradea (18:00), SPD Radnicki – Solaris (19:45)
Group E (Athens): Honved – Panionios (18:30 – 17:30), White Sharks – OSC Budapest (20:30 – 19:30).
Group F (Duisburg): Partizan – Sete (18:00), ASC Duisburg – Savona (20:00)
Group G (Barcelona): OSC Potsdam – Apollon (16:00), Barcelona – Mladost (18:00)
Group H (Kotor): Primorac – Waspo 98 Hannover (18:00), Peristeri – Terrassa (20:00).
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