Kinef Kirishi won the 2021 LEN Trophy for ladies.
The Russian club defeated Mataro (Spain) in the final game of the F4 tournament held in Barcelona. Kinef, the two-time European champion (2017, 2018), recorded a 10:8 victory and added the first LEN Trophy to the club’s rich treasury.
Sabadell (Spain) finished 3rd ahead of SIS Roma.
2020/21 LEN Trophy, Final Four (Barcelona)
Final
Mataro – Kinef 8:10 (1:0, 2:4, 2:3,3:3)
Mataro Goufone: Espar 4, Gual 1, Sevenich 1, Cambray 1, Aznar 1.
KinefSurgutneftegas Kirishi: Prokofyeva 3, Markoch 2, Glyzina 2, Ivanova 2, Krimer 1.
Both finalists displayed outstanding defensive play in the first eight minutes. Still, Mataro earned a minimal lead before the second period. Mataro kept Kinef goalless until the 10th minute when Evgenya Ivanova got on the scoresheet. The Spaniards regained a lead in the next possession, but Kinef responded with three goals for 4:2. Anna Espar cut the deficit in the 15th minute (3:4).
Kinef opened the second half with three goals in a row and jumped to a 7:3 lead (22nd minute). That series proved vital for the Russians’ win. Mataro put a lot of effort into a comeback, but the Spaniards didn’t manage to equalize.
Mataro reduced the gap to two before the final period (5:7). Ekaterina Prokofyeva converted a man-up for 8:5 in the 25th minute to give Kinef an 8:5 advantage. But, Mataro didn’t give in and, led by Anna Espar, came very close to the rival two times – 7:8 (29th minute) and 8:9 (31st minute). Kinef avoided a thrilling finish, as Bela Markoch scored a goal from a power-play advantage for 10:8 with 54 seconds to go and closed the contest.
Ekaterina Prokofyeva scored three goals Photo:sportkinef.ru
3rd-place match
SIS Roma – Sabadell 5:11 (1:2, 1:3, 1:2, 2:4)
SIS Roma:Avegno 3, Picozzi 1, Nardini 1.
Astralpoll Sabadell: Cordobes 3, Keuning 3, Van der Sloot 1, Arino 1, Perez 1, Garcia 1, Gonzalez 1.
Sabadell recovered from a 12:18 loss to Knef in the semifinals and defeated SIS Roma with ease in the 3rd-place game.
All winners
2000: Gifa Palermo (ITA), 2001: SKIF Moscow (RUS), 2002: Gifa Palermo (ITA) , 2003: Vouliagmeni (GRE), 2004 and 2005: Ortigia (ITA), 2006: Honved (HUN), 2007 and 2008: Racing Roma (ITA), 2009: Shturm Chekhov (RUS), 2010: Ethnikos (GRE), 2011: Rapallo (ITA), 2012: Imperia (ITA), 2013: Shturm 2002 (RUS), 2014: Olympiacos (GRE), 2015: Imperia (ITA), 2016: Mataro (ESP), 2017: UVSE (HUN),2018: Dunaujvaros (HUN),2019:Orizzonte (ITA), 2020: season canceled, 2021: Kinef (RUS).
