The quarterfinals of the Croatian League playoffs concluded today with the return match between Jadran Split and Medvescak. Jadran made no mistake and secured its place in the semifinals, joining Mladost, Jug, and Solaris, which had qualified earlier.
Three favorites, Mladost, Jug and Jadran, easily beat their rivals in both legs.
Mladost faced Zadar 1952. It played both games before the encounter with Radnicki in the Euro Cup. After a 17:8 victory in Zadar, the Zagreb-based team recorded an 18:13 win at home. Konstantin Kharkov led Mladost’s attack with seven goals (four in the first and three in the second game). Andrija Basic scored three in each match.
Jug met Mornar Split. After a four-month break, Jug’s leftie legend, Maro Jokovic, recovered from an injury and played both games. Jug beat Mornar by six goals in Split – 17:11. Ten goals separated the rivals in the duel in Dubrovnik – 18:8. Marko Zuvela was unstoppable, scoring seven goals for Jug in Split and five in the return leg.
The reigning champion, Jadran Split, played against Medvescak in two games within less than 24 hours, just a few days after beating Olympiacos in the Champions League. Both matches took place in Split. In the first leg, Berehulak scored four goals to lead Jadran to a convincing 14:6 win. The title holder fielded a rejuvenated squad in the return match but still secured an easy 15:11 victory.
As expected, the most exciting encounters were those between Solaris and Primorje. Solaris trailed 3:5 at halftime of the first game at home. However, the Sibenik-based side came back and edged out Primorje 10:9 with five goals from veteran Antonio Petkovic, who was absent for a while due to an injury. The match in Rijeka was a new thriller. The teams were in a close contest, with no more than a goal separating them at any point. After a 7:7 first half, Primorje took a one-goal lead five times during the third and fourth periods, but Solaris equalized on each occasion. An experienced Andrija Vlahovic made it 12:12 in the 31st minute to set the final score and send Solaris to the semifinals.
The semifinals (best of three) will be played late in April. The pairs: Jadran S – Solaris, Mladost – Jug.
Croatian League, Playoffs, Quarterfinals (best of two)
1st leg
Zadar 1952 – Mladost 8:17 (2:4, 1:4, 2:3, 3:6)
Mornar – Jug 11:17 (3:8, 2:3, 2:5, 4:1)
Solaris – Primorje 10:9 (1:2, 2:3, 3:0, 4:4)
Medvescak – Jadran 6:14 (0:4, 2:5, 2:3, 2:2)
2nd leg
Mladost – Zadar 1952 18:13 (5:2, 3:2, 5:5, 5:4)
Jug – Mornar 18:8 (5:3, 3:2, 4:1, 6:2)
Primorje – Solaris 12:12 (2:2, 5:5, 2:2, 3:3)
Jadran S – Medvescak 15:11 (5:3, 4:2,3:4, 4:2)
