Jug lost to Marseille in one of the derbies of Day 13 in the Champions League Group A, but the Dubrovnik-based side was one of the winners of the day.
Marseille beat Jug 15:11 in a very good and interesting game, but it wasn’t enough for the French to stay in the race for the F8, because they lost to Jug by five goals in Dubrovnik (9:14). Spandau, which chased Jug, lost to Sabadell (10:11).
That means that Jug cemented 4th place and qualified for the Final Eight. None of the teams ranked 5th – 8th can catch up with the Croats.
Ferencvaros convincingly beat the group leader Brescia (10:6), while Novi Beograd earned an away 11:9 win over OSC in the other match played in Budapest today. So, the question of the first place hasn’t been solved yet.
Brescia is still atop, with two points more than Novi Beograd. In the last round, Brescia will host Jug, while Novi Beograd will welcome Spandau. If Jug defeats the Italians in Brescia and Novi Beograd earns three points against Spandau (the second condition is very likely), host of the F8 will climb atop.
2022/23 Champions League Day 13, Group A
Ferencvaros – Brescia 10:6 (3:0, 1:1, 4:2, 2:3)
Ferencvaros: Vogel, Molnar, Pohl, Merkulov, Argyropoulos 2, Ubovic 1, Fekete 2, Ven.Vigvari 1, Nemet 1, Varga 1, Jansik 2, Damonte, Szakonyi. Head coach: Zs.Varga.
Brescia:Tesanovic, Dolce, C.Presciutti, Gianazza 1, Lazic, Vapenski, Renzuto, Kharkov 2, Alesiani 1, Luongo 1, Di Somma, Gitto 1, Baggi Necchi. Head coach: Bovo.
Brescia defeated Ferencvaros in the first half of the regular season, thanks to an excellent defense (8:4). Ferencvaros took revenge today, even though this match had no competitive importance for the Hungarians.
The hosts’ stunning start set the tone of the match. Ferencvaros’ defense, with an outstanding Soma Vogel (13 saves), was excellent.
After a 3:0 first quarter, Vendel Vigvari made it 4:0 in the 10th minute. Immediately after, Kharkov put the Italians on the scoreboard from a man-up. But, the visitors never recovered from an opening shock.
Stylianos Argyropoulos (Freencvaros) Photo by Laszlo Balogh
The third period was similar to the first one. Ferencvaros outplayed Brescia, scoring three goals after personal fouls (Argyropoulos two from a 6 on 5 and Fekete from a penalty), and Ferencvaros went to 7:1 in the 22nd minute.
Brescia’s second goalless phase lasted for exactly 12 minutes. Kharkov ended his team’s silence for the second time, this time with an action goal for 2:7. But, it was too late for a comeback. Brescia reduced the gap to four but didn’t avoid a big defeat.
Ferencvaros scored most of its goals after personal fouls. The hosts’ man-up conversion was 5/7, and they scored three goals from penalty shots (3/3). Brescia scored four power-play goals with a poor percentage (4/12) and had no chances to score from penalty shots.
OSC Budapest – Novi Beograd 9:11 (4:6, 2:2, 2:1, 1:2)
OSC Budapest: Levai, Angyal, Aranyi, Varnai 1, Salamon 4, E.Csacsovszky, Dala, Toth, Vin.Vigvari 2, Burian 2, Bundschuh, Harai, Bisztritsanyi. Head coach: Da. Varga.
Novi Beograd: Filipovic, S.Rasovic 3, Shushiashvili 1, Granados 2, Vucinic, Pijetlovic, Drasovic 1, Martinovic , Cetkovic 1, Vlachopoulos 3, Skoumpakis, V.Rasovic, Fernandez. Head coach: Gocic.
Balazs Harai (OSC), Nika Shushiashvili, Joao Pedro Coimbra (NBG) Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Total Waterpolo
Novi Beograd, which was without Nikola Jaksic, defeated OSC Budapest and mathematically secured 2nd place and kept slim chances of reaching the top spot. After 10 goals in the first quarter, Novi Beograd led 6:4. Novi Beograd widened the gap to three on three occasions (7:4, 8:5, 9:6), but the third period belonged to the hosts, who reduced the gap to one before the final quarter. The visitors controlled the game in the last eight minutes. Two and a half minutes before the end, they earned a 3-goal advantage (11:8) and secured the points. OSC scored the last goal in the very last second.
Marseille – Jug 15:11 (3:4, 4:2, 3:2, 5:3)
Marseille: Lazovic, Cuckovic 2, Crousillat 3, Spaic, Prlainovic 1, Vernoux 1, Vanpeperstraete, Bouet 1, Marion-Vernoux 1, Bodegas, Vukicevic 4, Daube 2, Hovhannysian. Head coach: Scepanovic.
Jug AO: Popadic, Mozara, Fatovic 4, Zvono, Jokovic, Vukojevic 1, Biljaka 1, Lazic 1, Krzic, Kakaris 1, Grgurevic, Zuvela 3, Jurisic. Head coach: Kobescak.
Marseille has played better and better in the last few months and the recent results gave the French hope they could make a miracle and beat Jug by six goals and keep their F8 hopes alive. They weren’t far from that feat.
Jug scored an opening goal, but Marseille replied with two quick goals from Ante Vukicevic for 2:1. The hosts had a 3:2 lead midway through the quarter, but Jug regained an advantage at the finish of the quarter. Loren Fatovic leveled at 3:3. Konstantinos Kakaris gave jug a 4:3 with an excellent backhander from 6 meters.
Marseille wasted a man-up at the beginning of the second period and paid for it. Jug started a counter-attack, which was finished by Loren Fatovic who doubled the visitors’ advantage (5:3). But, shortly after, Marseille tightened its defense, Dejan Lazovic boosted his team’s self-confidence with a few nice saves. The hosts produced a 4:0 run. Alexandre Bouet made it 7:5 with 38 seconds left, but the man who opened the scoring in the second period, closed the first half. Just two seconds before the middle break, Loren Fatovic converted a man-up and ended Marseille’s series for 6:7.
The French dictated the pace in the third period. They played really well and it looked like they could reach a 6-goal win. In the 19th minute, Thomas Vernoux made it 9:6 and three goals separated the rivals for the first time. Marseille had a 10:7 goal advantage late into the third, but Marko Zuvela found the net from a 6 on 5 two seconds before the buzzer.
Ugo Crousillat Photo by WP Inside
Marseille continued to control the match after the last break. The hosts went to +4 with two quick goals at the beginning of the fourth period (Vukicevic and Prlainovic) – 12:8. In the middle of the fourth period, Uros Cuckovic made it 14:9 from a counterattack. The French had “an extra player” in the stands, and played excellently, but Jug didn’t let them go further. The visitors scored two back-to-back goals. Biljaka converted a man-up for 11:14 at 01:37 . Ugo Croullat replied from a 6 on 5 in the next attack for 15:11. Jug kept a 4-goal gap in the remaining time. Daube had his shot blocked with 34 seconds remaining on the clock and it was clear that Jug would keep the F8 ticket in its pocket.
Even in a case of a three-way tie at the end of the group stage (Jug, Sabadell, Marseille), the Croats would be 1st in the mini table of the encounters between these three teams: 1. Jug 6 points (+2 goal difference), 2. Marseille 6 (0), 3. Sabadell 6 (-2)
Spandau 04 – Sabadell 10:11 (4:4, 2:3, 3:2, 1:2)
Spandau 04: Baksa, Gbadamassi, Prioteasa, Cuk, Bozic, Jungling, Strelezkij 3, Marziali 2, Chiru, Kholod 1, Restovic 2, Shepelev 2, Schweimer. Head coach: Kechagias
Sabadell: Lorrio, Sanahuja 3, Gil, Teclas, Veich 1, Valera 2, Bertran 1, Cabanas 1, Averka 1, D.Banicevic 1, Bonet 1, Bustos, Teclas. Head coach: Colet.
Sabadell killed Spandau’s last hope of qualifying for the Final Eight. The Spaniards, who lost their chances to reach the F8 earlier, arrived without any pressure but were motivated to show their best.
It was a game with many twists and turns, but Sabadell controlled the game in crucial moments.
Spandau opened the match with a 2:0 lead. Sabadell replied with four goals in four minutes and took a 4:2 lead. The Germans leveled at 4:4. The teams traded the goals in the second period, and Sabadell took a one-goal lead three times. Spandau leveled twice, but it had no answer after Dusan Banicevic scored for 7:6 in the 7th minute.
Spandau opened the third period in the same way as the first period. Shepelev and Juengling gave the Berliners an 8:7 advantage. Still, Sabadell didn’t give in and leveled at 8:8 and again at 9:9, so the sides were tied before the final period.
The final period belonged to the visitors. Sabadell’s goalkeeper Edoardo Lorrio discouraged Spandau’s attackers with a few great saves. The Spaniards also made mistakes in the attack, but the defense worked well. Sanahuja put the visitors in front in the 27th minute with a penalty shot. Four minutes after, Averka doubled Sabadell’s advantage to 11:9, and the contest was practically over. Strelezkij set the final score with 47 seconds left on the clock. Sabadell lost the ball 17 seconds before the end, Spandau had the last attack, but it didn’t equalize.
1. Brescia 13 games – 31 points ( goal difference +41)
2. Novi Beograd 13 – 29 (+37)
3. Ferencvaros 13 – 25 (+9)
4. Jug 13 – 16 (-1)
5. Marseille 13 – 13 (-11)
6. Sabadell 13 – 13 (-18)
7. Spandau 13 – 11 (-33)
8. OSC Budapest 13 – 10 (-24)
Day 14 (May 23): Novi Beograd – Spandau, Brescia – Jug, Ferencvaros – Sabadell, OSC Budapest – Marseille.
Group B (May 13)
Barceloneta – Vouliagmeni (13:00)
Olympiacos – Dinamo Tbilisi (19:30 – 18:30 CET)
Waspo Hannover 98 – Radnicki (19:00)
Pro Recco – Jadran Split (20:00)
1. Barceloneta 12 games – 33 points (goal difference +55)
2. Pro Recco 12 – 30 (+82)
3. Olympiacos 12 – 28 (+53)
4. Vouliagmeni 12 – 17 (-18)
5. Jadran 12 – 14 (+4)
6. Radnicki 12 – 9 (-41)
7. Dinamo T 12 – 6 (-69)
8. Waspo 98 Hannover 12 – 3 (-66)
Day 14 (May 24): Pro Recco – Olympiacos, Vouliagmeni – Radnicki, Barceloneta – Dinamo Tbilisi, Jadran Split – Waspo Hannover
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