Many games were postponed in the countries of former Yugoslavia in the first half of November. But, most of the clubs overcame the troubles with coronavirus and got back into action and there has been a lot of water polo events in Serbia and Croatia this week. Several re-scheduled matches and games of regular rounds were played.
The clubs in Montenegro completed the national cup a month ago. But, there haven’t been official games since. The Montenegrin Water Polo Federation put on hold the start of the national championship for an undefined period.
2020/21 Serbian League
Day 7 (played this weekend)
Radnicki – Crvena zvezda 16:5 (4:2, 4:2, 4:0, 4:1)
Sabac – Nais 19:7 (7:1, 5:1, 4:3, 3:2)
Vojvodina – Banjica 19:5 (7:1, 6:2, 1:0, 5:2)
Stari grad –Partizan 10:16 (3:3, 4:3, 1:5, 2:5)
Zemun – Novi Beograd postponed
Re-scheduled matches (played earlier)
Day 3
Zemun – Partizan 6:10 (3:1, 1:2, 1:1, 1:6)
Day 4
Partizan – Sabac 10:14 (2:6, 4:3, 3:2, 1:3)
Day 5
Nais – Novi Beograd 6:9 (0:4, 0:2, 3:1, 3:2)
The big match of the seventh round of the Serbian League was a clash of two clubs that will play in the LEN Euro Cup. Radnicki hosted Crvena Zvezda. Radnicki opened the match with two quick goals for 2:0, and from that point on, the hosts were constantly increasing the margin. After the middle break, the derby turned into a one-sided contest. Radnicki, encouraged by a very good performance in the Champions League Qualifications, dominated. The Kragujevac-based side was too strong for Crvena Zvezda, which played without one of the key players Gavril Subotic. Crvena Zvezda’s Veljko Tankosic was the best scorer (4 goals). Aleksa Ukropina netted three goals for Radnicki.
Reigning champion Sabac has recorded two wins this week. On Wednesday, Sabac defeated Partizan 14:10 in Belgrade in the rescheduled match. Marek Tkac and Savo Cetkovic were the best scorers in the winning team (each netted three goals). After that victory, Sabac easily beat Nais 19:7, with four goals from Filip Gardasevic.
After Crvena Zvezda’s loss in Kragujevac, Novi Beograd remained the only unbeaten team in the league. Earlier this week, Novi Beograd, playing without several important players (Cuk, Avramovic, etc), defeated Nais 9:6. Novi Beograd has 16 points (five wins and a draw against Crvena Zvezda).
1.Novi Beograd 6 – 16
2. Sabac 6 – 15 (+55)
3. Radnicki 6 – 15 (+41)
4. Vojvodina 7 – 12
5. Crvena Zvezda 5 – 10
6.Partizan 6 – 9
7. Nais 6 – 7
8. Zemun 6 – 7
9. Stari Grad 7 – 0
10.Banjica 7 – 0
2020/21 Croatian League
Matches played this weekend (Friday-Sunday)
Day 4
Medvescak – Galeb 17:9 (4:3, 4:0, 3:2, 6:4)
Day 5
Primorje – Jug 6:15 (1:3, 1:4, 2:3, 2:5).
Solaris – Mladost 6:13 (0:3, 3:4, 0:3, 3:3)
Day 6
Jadran S – Solaris 13:8 (1:2, 5:2, 3:2, 4:2)
Day 7
Mornar – Mladost 7:22 (3:6, 0:4, 2:6, 2:6)
POSK – KPK Korcula 12:5 (2:0, 4:2, 3:0, 3:3)
Played earlier
Day 5
Mornar – KPK Korcula 12:10 (2:2, 2:1, 4:5, 4:2)
POSK – Medvescak 15:10 (3:3, 2:4,6:2, 4:1)
Day 6
KPK – Galeb 15:12 (3:4, 4:3, 2:3, 6:2)
Mladost Zagreb continued the series of good results, that began in the Champions League Qualifications last week. Mladost recorded two away wins within three days and climbed to the top of the table.
On Friday, the Regional League winner defeated Solaris in Sibenik (13:6) in the match of the 5th round. Today, the Zagreb-based side, demolished Mornar in Split 22:7 (Round 7). Until today, Mornar held 1st place in the table with five wins in as many games. Still, Mladost was a firm favorite in this game. Deep into the first period, the distance between the sides was just a goal (Mladost led 4:3). But, after that, Mladost produced a 9:0 series and earned a big 13:3 advantage by the middle of the third period. Luka Bajic and Konstantin Kharkov were the best scorers. Each found the net four times.
Titleholder Jug Dubrovnik had no problems to beat Primorje in Rijeka (15:6). The visiting team was led by Loren Fatovic and Daniil Merkulov (each scored four goals).
The water polo weekend in the ex-Yu countries was closed by an encounter between Jadran Split and Solaris. Jadran had a slow start and let Solaris take an early 2:0 lead. But the host scored three unanswered goals to earn a 3:2 advantage and controlled the match until the last buzzer. Rino Buric contributed to Jadran’s victory with four goals.
1.Mladost 5 – 15 (+50)
2.Mornar 6 – 15 (+13)
3. Jug 4 – 12
4. Jadran S 5 – 9
5. Primorje 4 – 9
6. POSK 6 – 9
7. Solaris 6 – 6
8. KPK 7 – 6
9. Galeb 6 – 6
10.Medvescak 5 – 3
11.Zadar 6 – 0
More news about the national water polo competitions in Serbia, Croatia, and Montenegro
