The top three teams in the Champions League Group A recorded wins in the last three matches of the 13th round.
Everything ended as expected.
The closest contest was an encounter between Olympiacos and Jadran. Still, the favorite’s win wasn’t in big danger.
Olympiacos beat Jadran Split 10:7 and, at the same time, helped its archrival on the domestic stage Vouliagmeni. Yesterday, Vouliagmeni defeated Dinamo Tbilisi 14:9. After the win in Georgia and Jadran’s defeat in Piraeus, Vouliagmeni strengthened its 4th place. It’s most likely that Vouliagmeni will join Barceloneta, Olympiacos and Pro Recco at the Final Eight.
The group leader Barceloneta had some ups and downs in the first half of the game against Hannover in Germany, but the Spaniards secured a big win with an excellent third quarter. Barceloneta beat Hannover by nine goals (16:7).
There was no excitement in Kragujevac, where the European champion Pro Recco defeated Radnicki 16:8. Recco opened the game with a 5:0 lead, setting the match’s tone. Radnicki reduced the gap to two in the middle of the second quarter (5:7), but the European champion responded with a 6:0 run and secured the victory.
Barceloneta will probably go to the Final Eight from the first place in the group, while it’s most likely that the derby of the last round, Pro Recco – Olympiacos, will decide 2nd place. Two points separate 2nd-placed Pro Recco and 3rd-placed Olympiacos. Barceloneta is still three points ahead of Recco.
2022/23 Champions League, Group A, Day 12
Olympiacos – Jadran S 10:7 (3:2, 3:1, 2:3, 2:1)
Olympiacos: Bijac , Gkillas 1, Vamos 4, Genidounias 1, Fountoulis 2, Gouvis, Dervisis, Buslje 1, Mourikis 1, Filipovic, Dimou, Papanastasiou, Zerdevas. Head coach: Milanovic.
Jadran Split: Marcelic, Buric, Marinic Kragic 3, Cagalj, Butic, Pejkovic 1, Bukic 3, Zovic, Tomasovic, Dobud, Setka, Duzevic, Anic. Head coach: Marelja.
Jadran kept up with Olympiacos in the first quarter. The visitors scored the first goal. Olympiacos responded with two. Jadran leveled at 2:2. At the finish of the first quarter, Marton Vamos, Olympiacos’ power engine in this match, made a smart move and escaped Jadran’s defense. He scored for 3:2 and opened a 4:0 series, which was crucial for the Greeks’ win.
Marton Vamos (Olympiacos) Photo by LAszlo Balogh/Total Waterpolo
After that goal, the hosts added three in the second quarter. In the 13th minute, Vamos found the net from a distance and gave Olympiacos a 6:2 lead. The Greeks’ defense, commanded by Marko Bijac (13 saves) worked well throughout the match, but after the 6th goal, the hosts started struggling in attack.
At halftime, Jadran’s coach Jure Marelja switched the goalkeepers (Marcelic replaced Anic, who played very well in the first eight minutes). Marcelic was up to the task, but Olympiacos’ attackers made too many mistakes and wasted several very good opportunities for goals. Still, the hosts didn’t let Jadran come back. The Croats reduced the gap to two early in the third period (4:6) and twice again before the last break (5:7 and 6:8).
In the opening minutes of the fourth period, the goalkeepers were in the leading roles. Both Bijac and Marcelic posted several saves. In the middle of the quarter, Vamos scored his fourth goal for 9:6, but in the next possession, Jadran earned a penalty foul (Buslje, who committed the foul, was red-carded for a protest). Bukic converted a penalty for 7:9 and Jadran was still in the game.
However, the Croats couldn’t come closer. At the other end of the pool, the hosts hit the post and the crossbar several times, Marcelic posted a few saves. Still, he couldn’t stop a close-range shot from Ioannis Fountoulis after Marton Vamos’ long pass a minute before the end. Olympiacos regained a 3-goal lead (10:7) and everything was decided.
Waspo 98 Hannover – Barceloneta 7:16 (2:4, 2:2, 1:6, 2:4)
Waspo98 Hannover: Benke, Corusic 1, Schipper, Froreich, Schuetze, Radovic, Lozina 2, Macan, Kubisch, Gansen , Benic, Basic 2, Goetz. Head coach: Seehafer.
Barceloneta: Aguirre, Famera 3, Matkovic 1, Munarriz 1, De Toro 1, Larumbe 1, Pavillard 1, Fernandez 1, Paul 1, Perrone 3, Biel 1, Bustos 1, Porter. Head coach: Fatovic.
The Germans played better than in a 5:20 Barcelona in December. Waspo Hannover, playing without any pressure, tried to make the game interesting and did it in the first half, even though Barceloneta started furiously, taking a 3:0 lead in the first five minutes. At the finish of the first period, Waspo improved its defense with a man-down, and started converting the chances with an extra player. The hosts came very close (3:4) in the 8th minute. Midway through the second period, the Spaniards re-found their rhythm and rebuilt a 3-goal lead (6:3). Still, Hannover reduced the gap before the middle break (4:6).
Hannover’s Niclas Schipper (3) and Marc Larumbe Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Total Waterpolo
Barceloneta dominated in the third quarter. The visitors netted six straight goals in 05:18 minutes. Martin Famera scored from a 6 on 5 to make it 12:4 with 35 seconds left on the clock in the third period and sealed Barceloneta’s victory.
By the end, Barcelona increased the margin to 9. All 11 field players of Barceloneta got on the scoresheet.
Radnicki – Pro Recco 8:16 (2:6, 3:3, 0:4, 3:3)
Radnicki: Todorovski, Brankovic, Stanojevic 1, Jankovic, Cuk 1, Gavrilovic, Ukropina 1, Antic, Pljevancic, Kojic 3, Lukic 1, Vrlic, Milutinovic. Head coach: Stevanovic
Pro Recco: Del Lungo, Iocchi Gratta, Zalanki 2, Cannellla 2, Younger 3, Fondelli, N.Presciutti, Echenique 2, Ivovic 2, Velotto 1, Loncar 3, Hallock 1, Negri. Head coach: Sukno.
Neither of the coaches fielded all of his best players. Pro Recco played without Francesco Di Fulvio, Pietro Figlioli, Matteo Aicardi. Goalkeeper Lazar Dobozanov wasn’t on Radnicki’s roster because of an injury.
Still, even without several aces, Recco was a heavy favorite and proved that in the opening minutes. In the 6th minute, Recco had a 5:0 lead. The European champions scored three action goals and converted both of their man-ups in the first quarter.
But, the home side didn’t surrender yet. By the middle of the second period, Radnicki cut the deficit to two goals. Aleksa Ukropina netted a lovely long-distance goal for 5:7 in the 12th minute.
Giacomo Canella and Nikola Kojic (10) Photo by KVK Radnicki
The hosts’ 5:2 series was a wake-up alarm for the Italians. Recco tightened its defense and didn’t let Radnicki create many opportunities to score in the next 12 minutes. They kept the hosts far from Marco Del Lungo’s goal. At the other end of the pool, Recco produced a 6:0 run by the end of the third period and entered the final quarter with a huge 13:5 advantage.
Recco maintained the difference in the final quarter and controlled the match in a equal battle in the final period.
Played yesterday
1. Barceloneta 12 – 33
2. Pro Recco 12 – 30
3. Olympiacos 12 – 28
4. Vouliagmeni 12 – 17
5. Jadran 12 – 14
6. Radnicki 12 – 9
7. Dinamo T 12 – 6
8. Waspo 98 Hannover 12 – 3
Day 13
Group A (May 13): Olympiacos – Dinamo, Waspo98 Hannover – Radnicki, Pro Recco – Jadran S, Barceloneta – Vouliagmeni.
Group B (May 12): Ferencvaros – Brescia, Spandau 04 – Sabadell, Marseille – Jug, OSC Budapest – Novi Beograd
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