The eighth round of the Croatian League offered no excitement.
Most games were one-sided contests, and there were no thrilling endings. An encounter between Mladost and Solaris was a derby. Still, there were no thrills, Mladost needed just one quarter to secure a convincing 12:7 victory.
2022/23 Croatian League, Day 8
Mladost – Solaris 12:7 (6:0, 2:1, 1:3, 3:3)
Mladost: Rakovac 3, Gluhaic 2, Jelaca 2, Elez 2, Vrbnjak 1, Herceg 1, Fabris 1.
Solaris: Penava 4, Rak 1, Radan 1, Sparada 1.
Jadran Split – Medvescak 24:4 (6:1, 5:2, 4:0, 9:1)
Jadran S: Marinic-Kragic 7, Tomasovic 3, Setka 3, Duzevic 3, Dodoja 2, Delic 2, Cagalj 1, Dobud 1.
Medvescak: Ratej 1, Car 1, Miljak 1, Brajkovic 1.
Jug – Zadar 17:8 (5:0, 4:4, 3:3, 5:1)
Jug AO: Grgurevic 4, Mozara 3, Vukojevic 2, Biljaka 2, Krzic 2, Burdjelez 1, Kolak 1, Prkoca 1,, Bobbic 1.
Zadar 1952: Jovancevic 3, Raci 1, Cacic 1, Dondjivic 1, Cicero 1, Martinovic 1.
KPK Korcula – Mornar 2:15 (0:3, 1:4, 0:5, 1:3)
KPK Korcula: Tedeschi 1, Bjelopera 1.
Mornar BS: Buselic 4, D.Akrap 3, Cumbelic 3, Hrvatic 2, R.Akrap 1, Buzdovancic 1, Duhovic 1.
Primorje – POSK 14:9 (3:4, 3:2, 4:2, 4:1)
Primorje: Brubnjak 6, Da. Brguljan 3, Kadivec 2, Cubranic 1, Babic 1, Muslim 1.
POSK: Gadza 3, Prizmic 2, Jankovic 2, Borovcic-Kurir 2.
The derby of the day was an encounter Mladost and Solaris in Zagreb. The 3rd-placed welcomed the 5th-placed team. But, the hosts killed all the suspense quickly. Mladost demolished Solaris already in the first quarter. In the middle of the opening period, Mladost had a 1:0 lead. However, the home side netted five straight goals in the last three and a half minutes of the quarter and jumped to 6:0 before the first break. The visitors got on the scoreboard in the 10th minute. Mladost stretched the margin to seven by the middle break (8:1). The Zagreb-based water polo players slowed in the second half, but their victory wasn’t in danger.
Jadran’s new head coach Jure Marelja debuted with a convincing win. The Split-based team showed no mercy to Medvescak – 24:4. The hosts played at full speed from the first whistle until the final buzzer. Jerko Marinic Kragic, who returned to the team after missing the match against Olympiacos due illness, was the best scorer. He found the net seven times. Jadran was without first-pick goalkeeper Ivan Marcelic who still hasn’t recovered.
Reigning champion Jug played with a rejuvenated team.Jokovic, Fatovic, Popadic, Kakris missed the match. Still, the title-holder had no problems in defeating last-placed Zadar. Jug built a 7:0 advantage in the first ten minutes. That was followed by a quarter and a half of a balanced battle. Jug dominated in the final eight minutes.
Mornar cruised to a convincing win on the island of Korcula. Mornar ran over KPK – 15:2.
The encounter between Primorje and POSK was an even contest until the middle break. At halftime, the score was 6:6. Primorje, led by Tin Brubnjak, netted three unanswered goals in the first six minutes of the second half to earn a 9:6 lead. The hosts controlled the match and achieved a comfortable 14:9 victory.
1.Jadran S 8 – 22
2.Jug AO 8 – 22
3. Mladost 8 – 21
4. Primorje 8 – 21
5. Solaris 8 – 12
6. Mornar 8 – 9
7. Medvescak 8 – 6
8. POSK 8 – 4
9. KPK Korcula 8 – 4
10. Zadar 8 – 0
