The best four teams in the 2022/23 Premier Regional League – Novi Beograd, Jadran Split, Jug and Radnicki – recorded two wins each at the first tournaments in the new season.
Title-holder Novi Beograd was the host of Group C, where it demolished Mladost (24:7) and beat Sabac (14:11).
Jadran Split beat Solaris (13:8) and Mornar (14:3) in Split.
Jug visited Herceg Novi to play against two Montenegrin teams. The Croatian champion collected six points with big wins (17:7 over Primorac and 15:7 over Jadran).
Radnicki Kragujevac, which finished 4th in the 2021/22 season, beat Crvena Zvezda in the first match (15:10) and bettered Partizan (17:11) this evening.
The most exciting duels have been played in Split, where Mornar beat Solaris (9:8) and Kragujevac. Crvena Zvezda edged out Partizan in the Belgrade derby in Kragujevac (13:12).
First tournaments, results – Group A: Jug – Primorac 17:7, Jadran HN – Jug 7:15, Primorac – Jadran HN 7:9, Group B: Solaris – Mornar 8:9, Jadran Split – Solaris 13:8, Mornar – Jadran S 3:14. Group C: Mladost – Sabac 14:9, Novi Beograd – Mladost 24:7, Sabac – Novi Beograd 11:14, Group D: Crvena Zvezda – Radnicki 10:15, Partizan – Crvena Zvezda 12:13, Radnicki – Partizan 17:11.
2022/23 Premier Regional League, first tournaments
Group A (Herceg Novi)
Jug – Primorac 17:7 (6:1, 4:2, 2:3, 5:1)
Jug AO: Kakaris 4, Zuvela 3, Fatovic 2, Vukojevic 2, Lazic 2, Jokovic 1, Biljaka 1, Grgurevic 1, Mozara 1.
Primorac: F. Gardasevic 3, Draskovic 2, Gopcevic 1, Milic 1
Jadran HN – Jug 7:15 (3:4, 1:3, 3:4, 0:4)
Jadran Herceg Novi: Da.Radovic 3, Khalturin 2, M.Gardasevic 1, SLadovic 1.
Jug AO: Fatovic 3, Grgurevic 3, Vukojevic 2, Lazic 2, Kakaris 2, Biljaka 1, Zuvela 1, Mozara 1
Primorac – Jadran HN 7:9 (3:1, 0:2, 1:3, 3:3)
Primorac: Crepulja 3, Draskovic 2, Macic 1, Mrsic 1.
Jadran HN: Khalturin 3, Muscat 2, Da.Radovic 1, Stevovic 1, Sladovic 1, Caraj 1.
Croatian champion Jug beat its Montenegrin rivals convincingly. On Day 1, the Dubrovnik-based side, led by Konstantinos Kakaris and Marko Zuvela, scored six unanswered goals in the first six minutes for a 6:0 lead. Early in the second, the score was 8:1, and Primorac couldn’t catch up with the Croats anymore.
The duel between Jadran and Jug was more interesting. Jug dictated the pace and led throughout the game, but Jadran was coming back from time to time. After the first half, Jug led 7:4. Jadran’s Martin Gardasevic opened the second half with an action goal for 5:7. However, Jug responded with a 3:0 series, went to 10:5 and killed all Jadran’s hopes.
Jadran – Jug Photo by Vuk Ilic/Jadran HN
The Montenegrin derby was the most exciting game of the group. Primorac took an opening 2:0 and 3:1 lead. The hosts leveled at 3:3 before the middle break, while Caraj gave them a 4:3 lead , scoring an action goal in the 18th minute. Veteran Crepulja equalized (4:4), but Jadran dictated the pace at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth quarter. It earned a solid 7:4 advantage which proved crucial.
Group B (Split)
Solaris – Mornar 8:9 (2:4, 3:1, 2:2, 1:2)
Solaris: Penava 2, Sparada 2, Rak 1, D.Butic 1, Krekovic 1, Burburan 1.
Mornar: D.Akrap 4, Hrvatic 2, Buselic 1, Cumbelic 1, Guduric 1.
Jadran S – Solaris 13:8 (4:0, 2:4, 3:2, 4:2)
Jadran Split: Marinic Kragic 4, Pejkovic 2, Zovic 2, R.Buric 1, Cagalj 1, Tomasovic 1, Setka 1, Duzevic 1.
Solaris: Burburan 2, Penava 2, Rak 1, Condic-Kadmenovic 1, Brajkovic 1, Radan 1.
Mornar – Jadran S 3:14 (2:4, 0:4, 0:3, 1:3)
Mornar BS: Hrvatic 1, Buzdovancic 1, D.Akrap 1.
Jadran Split: R.Buric 4, Pejkovic 3, Tomasovic 2, Cagalj 1, Z.Butic 1, Bukic 1, Stojanac 1, Setka 1.
A very exciting game opened the tournament in the Poljud pool. Mornar earned a 4:1 lead in the first quarter, but Solaris was able to come back. Early in the third period, Solaris went in front for the first time (6:5). But then came a new turn. Mornar took a 7:6 lead. Before the final quarter, the score was 7:7. Burburan gave Solaris an 8:7 lead from a penalty in the 25th minute. Cumbelic leveled at 8:8 shortly after. Two and a half minutes before the end, Mornar forced a penalty, which Akrap converted to the final score. Mornar won 9:8.
Jadran Split didn’t need a lot of time to build a big advantage in the match against Solaris. Already in the 10th minute, the Croatian Cup winner led 6:0. Solaris started climbing back and reduced the gap to two goals before the middle break (4:6). Still, Jadran controlled the game in the second half for a solid 13:8 win.
Jadran – Solaris Photo: Jadran Split
Jadran Split beat Mornar easier than expected. The first quarter was a balanced battle. In the 8th minute, the score was 2:2. Jadran Split scored two goals in the last 36 seconds of this quarter. After that, Jadran added ten goals in a row, earning a 14:2 advantage. Mornar scored its 3rd goal in the last second of the game.
Group C (Belgrade)
Mladost – Sabac 14:9 (2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:6)
Mladost: Rakovac 4, Gluhaic 3, Elez 2, Mijic 2, Vrbnjak 1, Herceg 1, Fabris 1.
Sabac: Sulc 2, Stojanovic 2, Toholj 2, Stanic 1, Markovic 1.
Novi Beograd – Mladost 24:7 (5:1, 6:1, 7:2, 6:3)
Novi Beograd: Drasovic 5, Granados 3, D.Pijetlovic 3, Skoumpakis 3, S.Rasovic 2, Mandic 2, Vucinic 2, Cetkovic 1, Martinovic 1.
Mladost: Mijic 4, Adeishvili 1, Gluhaic 1, Dadvani 1.
Sabac – Novi Beograd 11:14 (2:7, 4:3, 3:2, 2:2)
Sabac: Stojanovic 4, Tubic 2, Repanovic 1, Krug 1, Stanic 1, Shaikhutdinov 1, Toholj 1.
Novi Beograd: Pijetlovic 4, Granados 4, Mandic 2, Vucinic 1, Cetkovic 1.
Sabac scored the first goal in the game against Mladost, but the Zagreb-based side turned around a deficit to a 2:1 lead before the first break. Mladost’s defense in the middle two quarters was outstanding. The Croats entered the final period leading 9:3, and Sabac couldn’t come back.
Title-holder Novi Beograd opened the season with a big victory over Mladost. The reigning champion outplayed Mladost in all aspects of the game. Shortly after the beginning, it was clear that Novi Beograd would record a convincing win. Only a margin was in question. At the end, 17 goals separated the rivals, which is the biggest margin in the first tournaments. Radomir Drasovic was the best scorer with five goals, Dusko Pijetlovic and newcomers Alvaro Granados and Dimitrios Skoumpakis added three each.
Radomir Drasovic (NBG) in front of Sabac’s defense Photo by VK Novi Beograd/Djordje Kostic
Novi Beograd wasn’t as dominant against Sabac as it was against Mladost, but recorded a solid 14:11 victory. Novi Beograd led 7:2 after the first quarter. Dusko Pijetlovic stretched the margin to seven, scoring a goal in the hosts’ first attack in the second quarter (8:2). The champions started making mistakes in the following minutes and Sabac made the most of it. Sabac, led by Ognjen Stojanovic, halved the deficit to three early in the third period (7:10). Novi Beograd maintained the 3-goal difference until the end.
Group D (Kragujevac)
Radnicki – Crvena zvezda 15:10 (6:2, 2:1, 4:3, 3:4)
Radnicki: Ukropina 4, Vrlic 3, Radulovic 2, Lukic 2, Cuk 1, Vico 1
Crvena Zvezda: Tankosic 2, Subotic 2, Milojevic 2, Markovic 1, Vasic 1, Basara 1, Radovic 1
Partizan – Crvena zvezda 12:13 (2:3, 3:5, 3:3, 4:2)
Partizan: Gladovic 4, Milos 3, Smiljevic 3, Dimitrijevic 1, Paparic 1.
Crvena Zvezda: Tankosic 3, Seman 2, Vukicevic 2, Radovic 2, Subotic 1, Vasic 1, Gajic 1, Milojevic 1.
Radnicki – Partizan 17:11 (6:1, 2:3, 3:2, 6:5)
Radnicki: Radulovic 4, Stanojevic 3, Jankovic 2, Pljevancic 2, Vrlic 2, Brankovic 1, Cuk 1, Vico 1, Lukic 1
Partizan: Gladovic 3, SMiljevic 3, Milos 2, Krstic 2, Trtovic 1.
Three Serbian clubs played in Group D.
Host Radnicki beat Crvena Zvezda in the opening match. The home team had a 6:2 lead after the first period. At halftime, it was 8:3. After less than three minutes of play, Radnicki earned a 6-goal lead (10:4) and maintained the difference until the last break (12:6) and practically secured the victory.
Radnicki’s Marko Radulovic (10) and Crvena Zvezda’s Gavril Subotic Photo by KVK Radnicki/Igor Lazarevic
The Belgrade-derby, the match between Partizan and Crvena Zvezda, was a thriller. Crvena Zvezda was 8:5 up at halftime. The second half was an even contest. A minute and a half before the end, Crvena Zvezda was still three goals ahead of Partizan (13:10). But, Partizan scored two goals within 17 seconds and trailed by a goal (12:13) with 67 seconds left on the clock. Still, Crvena Zvezda kept a minimal advantage and all three points.
Radnicki closed the tournament with a convincing victory over Partizan. In the middle of the second period, Radnicki had a 7:1 advantage. Partizan didn’t surrender, but in the remaining two quarters and a half, the difference was never smaller than four goals. The Kragujevac-based side had a 8-goal advantage (16:8), but Partizan narrowed the gap at the finish.
Standings
1.Novi Beograd 2 – 6
2. Jug 2 – 6
3. Jadran S 2 – 6
4. Radnicki 2 – 6
5. Jadran HN 2 – 3
6. Crvena Zvezda 2 – 3
7. Mornar 2 – 3
8. Mladost 2 – 3
9. Partizan 2 – 0
10. Solaris 2 – 0
11. Sabac 2 – 0
12. Primorac 2 – 0
Second stage
The league will continue with tournaments of the second stage in November (25 – 27). In this stage, the teams will play in two groups.
Group E, the crossing of groups A and D (Belgrade, host Crvena Zvezda): Jug, Jadran HN, Primorac, Radnicki, Crvena Zvezda, Partizan.
Group F, the crossing of groups B and C (Zagreb): Jadran S, Mornar, Solaris, Novi Beograd, Sabac, Mladost.
Each club will play three matches in this stage. It will play only against the three teams that weren’t its opponents in the first stage.
