Novi Beograd finally did it. After two losses in the finals, it won its first-ever Serbian Cup. Novi Beograd defeated Crvena Zvezda 18:15 in the gold-medal game, played in Sabac, this evening. The double silver medalist in the Champions League took revenge for a defeat to Crvena Zvezda in last year’s final. The first half, in which Novi Beograd earned a six-goal lead determined the rest of the encounter, which was marked by 33 goals and more than 30 exclusions.
A day before, Novi Beograd and Crvena Zvezda defeated Partizan and Radnicki, respectively, in the semifinals.
Novi Beograd was without three injured or ill players in the semifinals – Nikola Jaksic, Milos Cuk and Dimitrios Skoumpakis. Head coach Zivko Gocic had 12 players on the roster, but they convincingly beat Partizan 16:8. The second semifinal match was, as expected, more exciting. Crvena Zvezda defeated Radnicki 13:10. The “Red-Whites “opened the game with a 4:1 lead, but Radnicki leveled at 4:4 before the first break. Late into the second quarter, Radnicki went ahead for the first time (7:6). Still, the sides were tied at 7:7 at halftime. Crvena Zvezda entered the final quarter with a slim 9:8 advantage. Radnicki equalized at 9:9. Then, Crvena Zvezda produced a 3:0 run, which was crucial for the outcome.
Unlike in the semifinal game, Novi Beograd had a full roster in the final – Skoumpakis recovered and helped his teammates. His fellow countryman, Angelos Vlachopoulos, was outstanding in the first half. He found the net four times in the first quarter (he finished the match with six goals). Novi Beograd led 7:3 in the first period. Midway through the second period, Novi Beograd built a 6-goal advantage (10:4) for the first time. Crvena Zvezda, thanks to its center-forwards, Vukicevic and Seman, forced a lot of exclusions and a few penalty shots. The Red-Whites had a solid conversio. Therefore, thieir output in the attack wasn’t bad in the first half. Still, Novi Beograd maintained a 6-goal advantage until the end of the first half (13:7).
Crvena Zvezda played much better in defense at the beginning of the second half and reduced the gap to four in the 20th minute (10:14). Novi Beograd coach Zivko Gocic called a timeout then and stopped Crvena Zvezda’s momentum. The Serbian champion produced a 3:0 run and gained a 7-goal difference (17:10). Crvena Zvezda’s response was a 4:0 series. Four minutes before the end, the Red Whites Zvezda trailed by three goals (14:17). Dimitrios Skoumpakis ended Zvezda’s series. He found the net to make it 18:14. Crvena Zvezda did everything to secure at least a thrilling finish. However, it scored only one goal in the final three minutes. Vasic converted a penalty for the final score – 15:18. After that, Crvena Zvezda missed one man-up and a penalty shot.
2023/24 Serbian Cup, Final Four, Sabac
Semifinals
Partizan – Novi Beograd 8:16 (1:4, 2:4, 3:3, 2:5)
Crvena zvezda – Radnički 13:10 (4:4, 3:3, 2:1, 4:2)
Final
Novi Beograd – Crvena Zvezda 18:15 (7:4, 6:3, 4:4,1:4)
Novi Beograd: Vlachopoulos 6, Radulovic 3 Lukic 2, Granados 2, Drasovic 1, Pijetlovic 1, Filipovic 1, Perkovic 1, Skoumpakis 1.
Crvena Zvezda: Radovic 3, Gogov 3, Subotic 3, Bursac 2, Milojevic 1, Vukicevic 1, Markovic 1 Vasic 1
All winners
2006/07: Partizan; 2007/08: Partizan; 2008/09: Partizan; 2009/10: Partizan; 2010/11: Partizan; 2011/12: Partizan; 2012/13: Crvena Zvezda; 2013/14: Crvena Zvezda; 2014/15: Radnicki; 2015/16: Partizan; 2016/17: Partizan; 2017/18: Partizan; 2018/19: Sabac; 2019/20: KVK Radnicki; 2020/21: Crvena Zvezda; 2021/22: KVK Radnicki, 2022/23: Crvena Zvezda, 2023/24: Novi Beograd.
