There were many interesting games on an action-packed Day 3 of the LEN Euro Cup Qualification Round 1.
A day before the end of the first qualification round, five teams secured their spots in the next phase. Two Italian clubs (Telimar Ortigia), two Hungarian sides (Vasas and BVSC), and Croatian Solaris have already qualified for the second stage.
The remaining three tickets for the second round will be allocated tomorrow.
Day 3 – Group A – round 4: Telimar – Carouge 33:1, Shturm – Solaris 2:12; Group B – round 2: Ludwigsburg – Peristeri 6:11, Ortigia – Strasbourg 13:7, Group C – round 3: Vasas – Duisburg 16:3, Sabac – Tourcoing 6:6, round 4:UZSC – Tourcoing 9:8, Vasas – Sabac 9:5, Group D – round 2: Vojvodina – AEK 9:9, Sabadell – BVSC 9:12
LEN Euro Cup, Qualification Round 1, Day 3
Group A (Sibenik), round 4
Telimar – Carouge 33:1 (7:1, 9:0, 7:0, 10:0)
Telimar: Del Basso 7, Turchini 6, Marziali 4, Irving 4, Fabiano 3, Occhione 3, Ranieri 2, Lo Cascio 2, Lo Dico 2.
Carouge Natation: Gazzini 1.
Shturm – Solaris 2:12 (0:3, 1:2, 1:2, 0:5)
Shturm 2002 Ruza: Alekseev 1, Rukhlov 1.
Solaris: Pelicaric 5, Malenica 2, Goreta 2, Penava 2, Koprcina 1.
As expected, Telimar and Solaris beat their respective opponents in the fourth round with ease and mathematically secured their spots in the second phase. Tomorrow, the Croats and the Italians will battle for 1st place in Group A.
1 Telimar (ITA) 3 – 9 (+47)
2 Solaris (CRO) 3 – 9 (+34)
3 Sant Andreu (ESP) 3 – 3
4 Shturm (RUS) 3 – 3
5 Carouge (SUI) 4 – 0
Sunday, October 3: Sant Andreu – Shturm (10:00),Solaris – Telimar (11:45)
Group B (Syracuse), round 2
Ludwigsburg – Peristeri 6:11 (0:4, 3:2, 1:2, 2:3)
Ludwigsburg:Martinic 3, Metodiev 1, Van der Bosch 1, Mijatovic 1.
Peristeri: Papasifakis 3, Farmer 2, Gerakoudis 2, Koukoumakis 1, Bitsakos 1, Karountzos 1, Ladas 1.
Ortigia – Strasbourg 13:7 (2:0, 5:2, 5:1, 1:4)
Ortigia: Vidovic 3, Condemi 2, Gallo 2, Napolitano 2, Ferrero 1, Di Luciano 1, Mirarchi 1, Rossi 1.
Strasbourg: Babic 3, Vachelier 1, Vix 1, Misic 1, Valentino 1.
Host Ortigia secured 1st place in Group B. After beating Peristeri (11:8) on Day 1, the Italians demolished Strasbourg. The hosts dominated the first three quarters. Deep into the third period, they had a 10:2 lead and there was no way back for Strasbourg..
Peristeri defeated Ludwigsburg and will face Strasbourg tomorrow in the direct battle for 2nd place in the group.
1 Ortigia (ITA) 2 – 6
2 Peristeri (GRE) 2 – 3 (23:21)
3 Strasbourg (FRA) 2 – 3 (19:17)
4 Ludwigsburg 08 (GER) 2 – 0
Sunday, October 3: Peristeri – Strasbourg (10:30), Ortigia – Ludwigsburg (12:00)
Group C (Utrecht)
Round 3
Vasas – Duisburg 16:3 (5:0, 3:1, 4:1, 4:1)
Vasas: Vadovics 3, Randjelovic 3, Szatmari 3, Mezei 2, Brguljan 1, Erdelyi 1, Batori 1, Bedo 1, Sedlmayer 1.
ASC Duisburg: Gansen 1, Tanaskovic 1, Bakulo 1.
Sabac – Tourcoing 6:6 (2:2, 1:1, 1:2, 2:1)
Sabac: Sulc 2, Stanic 1, Cetkovic 1, Koptsev 1, Vogel 1.
Tourcoing: Randjic 3, Gagulic 2, Vincourt 1.
Vasas blew away Duisburg in the first game of today’s program.
The second match of the day was one of the crucial in the battle for 2nd place, Tourcoing earned a point with a last-gasp goal. After a 2:2 first quarter, Sabac earned a 3:2 lead in the 11th minute. But, the Serbs couldn’t find the net in the following 12 minutes, while Tourcoing’s Miroslav Randjic scored a hat trick (two goals from a penalty and one with an extra player) to give the French a 5:3 lead. But, Sabac responded in the same manner, with three goals in a row, and turned around a 2-goal deficit to a 6:5 lead (28th minute). Still, Tourcoing managed to win a point. Andro Gagulic scored from a distance with just 11 seconds remaining on the clock.
Round 4
UZSC Utrecht – Tourcoing 9:8 (1:1, 3:2, 3:3, 2:2)
UZSC Utrecht: Gielen 4, ROuwenhorst 1, Kastrop 1, Joepelman 1, Wijnhoven 1, De Jong 1.
Tourcoing Lille: Gagulic 4, Canonne 2, Kujacic 1, Randjic 1.
Vasas – Sabac 9:5 (1:0, 3:2, 3:1, 2:2)
Vasas:Brguljan 3, BEdo 2, Sedlmayer 1, Mezei 1, Simon 1, Erdelyi 1.
Sabac: Koptsev 2, Vogel 1, Sulc 1, Vasovic 1.
The point won in the morning session opened Tourcoing the doors of the next phase.. After a draw against Sabac, Tourcoing had a great chance to take a ticket for the second phase with a win over UZSC. Still, the Dutch earned three points and made a big step towards the next round of the LEN Euro Cup.
UZSC had a 4:3 lead at halftime, but Tourcoing took control after the middle break, and went in front two times (5:4, 6:5) . But, new turns were yet to come. UZSC entered the final period leading 7:6 as Wijnhoven converted a man up for 7:6 just 18 seconds before the end of the 3rd quarter. Tourcoing opened the fourth quarter with two goals and regained a lead (8:7). Still, the finish belonged to the hosts. They scored two goals in 41 seconds and went ahead – 9:8 with 01:19 left on the clock. They kept the minimal advantage and an important win in the remaining time.
UZSC will play against winless ASC Duisburg in the last round. If the hosts record a win in that match, they will jump to 2nd place and qualify for the next round, regardless of the result of the encounter between Vasas and Tourcoing.
Vasas cemented 1st place in the group with a win over Sabac. The Hungarians scored the only goal in the first quarter, but Sabac opened the second quarter with two quick goals for 2:1. Still, Vasas answered with a 4:0 series. The Hungarian team earned a 5:2 lead early in the third quarter and that was vital for the Hungarians’ win. Sabac, which played with only 11 players in Utrecht, didn’t surrender, but it couldn’t catch up with Vasas and recover from a 0:4 series.
Sabac is currently in 2nd place, and it is still in the race for the 2nd round. But the Serbs finished the tournament. They played all four games. Nothing depends on them. The Serbian club will survive in Europe if Tourcoing doesn’t defeat Vasas and ASC Duisburg takes at least a point against UZSC.
1 Vasas (HUN) 3 – 9
2 Sabac (SRB) 4 – 6
3 UZSC Utrecht (NED) 3 – 4*
4 Tourcoing (FRA) 3 – 4*
5 ASC Duisburg (GER) 3 – 0
*Head to head: UZSC – Tourcoing 9:8
Sunday, October 3: Vasas – Tourcoing (10:00), Utrecht – ASC Duisburg (11:30)
Group D (Novi Sad), round 2
Vojvodina – AEK 9:9 (3:2, 2:3, 2:2, 2:2)
Vojvodina:Bogdanovic 2, Bursac 2, Prekogacic 2, Rogac 1, Radanovic 1, Nikolov 1.
AEK Athens: Krijestorac 5, Illiopoulos 2, Vukcevic 1, Tsistrakis 1.
Sabadell – BVSC 9:12 (3:2, 3:3, 3:4, 0:3)
Sabadell:Valera 3, Sanahuja 2, Bertran 1, Averka 1, Veich 1.
BVSC: Nagy 3, Gyarfas 3, M.Pasztor 2, M.Meszaros 2, Kovacs 1, Agh 1.
Vojvodina and AEK shared the points and both teams kept slim chances to reach the 2nd phase. Vojvodina was closer to a victory, but an experienced Montenegrin Nikola Vukcevic scored an equalizer just 29 seconds from the end. Tommorow, AEK will play against Sabadell, while Vojvodina will face BVSC.
BVSC defeated Sabadell after a great comeback and earned a ticket for the 2nd phase of the LEN Euro Cup. Sabadell dictated the pace in the first three quarters. In the middle of the second quarter, the Spaniards had a 3-goal advantage (6:3). Just 59 seconds before the last break, Sabadell was two goals ahead of the Hungarians (9:7). However, BVSC netted two goals in the last 37 seconds of the quarter and equalized for the first time – 9:9.
BVSC kept the momentum gained at the finish of the third period. The Hungarians scored three unanswered goals in the final eight minutes, they celebrated a 12:9 victory. BVSC will stay atop the group even if it loses to Vojvodina tomorrow.
1 BVSC (HUN) 2 – 6
2 Sabadell (ESP) 2 – 3
3 AEK Athens (GRE) 2 – 1 (15:22)
4 Vojvodina (SRB) 2 – 1 (14:21)
Sunday, October 3: AEK Athens – Sabadell (10:00), Vojvodina – BVSC (12:00)
