The Euro Cup has begun with the first matches of the Qualification Round 1.
The tournaments take place in Split (Croatia), Eger (Hungary), Valletta (Malta) and Syracuse (Italy). The group winners and the second-placed teams will advance to the Qualification Round 2.
LEN Euro Cup, Qualification Round I, Day 1
Group A (Split)
AZSC Antwerp – Mediterrani 6:19 (2:5, 0:3, 3:7, 1:4)
AZSC Antwerp: Bus 2, Opacak 2, Poelmans 2.
Mediterrani: Vujovic 4, Gorria 3, Stevenson 3, Minguell 2, Gallego 2, Garcia 2, Frigola 1, Galeev 1, Perez 1.
Mornar BS – Mataro 5:7 (1:2, 2:0, 1:3, 1:2)
Mornar BS: Ban 2, Akrap 1, Buzdovancic 1, Jerkovic 1.
Mataro: De Freitas 3, Bertran 2, Daura 1, Yanez 1.
Both Spanish clubs opened the competition in Split with wins. As expected, Mediterrani ran over AZSC, while Mataro defeated host Mornar.
Ranking: 1. Mediterani (ESP) 3, 2. Mataro (ESP) 3, 3. Mornar (CRO) 0, 4. AZSC (BEL) 0.
Group B (Eger)
Eger – Solaris 14:6 (1:1, 5:1, 4:1, 4:3)
Eger: Gyarfas 4, S. Rasovic 3, Hosnyanszky 3, Santa 1, Murisic 1, Vlachopoulos 1, Kurti 1.
Solaris: Strkalj 2, Bulat 2,Herceg 1, Kovacic 1.
Radnicki – Shturm 2002 Ruza 9:7 (4:1, 2:4, 2:1, 1:1)
Radnicki: Toholj 2, F. Jankovic 2, Dino 2, Brankovic 1, Frolov 1, Lobov 1.
Shturm 2002: Kovalenko 2, Ruhlov 2, Kuzmenkov 1, Pronin 1, Fedotov 1.
Host Eger was too strong for Solaris. Radnicki collected three points in a match with Strum 2002 thanks to a good opening of the game. The Serbs had a 3:0 lead and didn’t let the Russians equalise until the last buzzer.
Ranking: 1. Eger (HUN) 3, 2. Radnicki (SRB) 3, 3. Shturm 2002 (RUS) 0, 4. Solaris (CRO) 0.
Group C (Malta)
Noisy Le Sec – Miskolc 10:15 (2:1, 3:5, 2:4, 3:5)
Noisy Le Sec: A. Petkovic 3, Marzouki 2, Pesteric 2, Pliskevich 1, Bjorch 1, Peisson 1.
Miskolc:A. Nagy 4, Milicic 3, Vadovics 2, Bedo 2, Misic 2, Stojanovic 1, Manzi 1.
Valletta – Posillipo 8:13 (2:3, 1:3, 2:3, 3:4)
Valetta: Gabarretta 3, J. Camlleri 3, Zammit 1, Muscat 1.
Posillipo: M. Di Martire 2, Mattielo 2, Parrella 2, Marziali 2, G. Di Martire 2, Ricci 2, Lanfranco 1.
After a slow start, Miskloc earned the points in the clash with Noisy Le Sec. Posillipo beat host Valetta harder than it was expected, but the Italians’ win was never in danger.
Ranking: 1. Miskolc (HUN) 3, 2. Posillipo (ITA) 3, 3. Noisy Le Sec (FRA), 4. Valletta (MLT) 0.
Group D (Syracuse)
Partizan – Apoel Larnaca 30:9 (7:2, 6:3, 8:3, 9:1)
Partizan: Radulovic 5, Mitrovic 5, Smiljevic 5, Barac 4, Vickovic 3,Radonjic 3, Andrin 2, Radanovic 1, Jaksic 1, Gbadamassi 1.
Apoel: Chatzitheodorou 6, Prodromou 2,.
Montpellier – Ortigia 9:8 (2:0, 1:2, 3:3, 3:3)
Montpellier: Ivankovic 3, Kalinic 2, Piot 1, Delas 1, I. Zivkovic 1, D. Zivkovic 1.
Ortigia: Giacoppo 2, Gallo 2, Vidovic 2, Rossi 1, Cassia 1.
Partizan achieved the biggest win of the Day 1 of the Europa Cup, but the big challenges for the Serbs are yet to come. Partizan will face host Ortigia on Saturday. After today’s loss to Montpellier, the game against Partizan will be a must-win match for the Italians.
The spectators in Syracuse have the opportunity to watch two legends of water polo. Ortigia’s goalkeeper is Stefano Tempesti (40 years), who was Pro Recco player and a member of the Italian national team for almost two decades. Apoel’s best scorer is a 43-years-old Greek Theorodos Chatzitheodorou, who won the Champions League as Partizan player in 2011. He did the same as a player of Olympiacos nine years earlier.
Ranking: 1. Partizan (SRB), 2. Montpellier (FRA), 3. Ortigia (ITA) 0, 4 Apoel Nicosia (CYP) 0
