Ortigia is the first team that mathematically qualified for the eighth finals of the LEN Euro Cup.
The Sicilians have three wins after three rounds of Group F in Bucharest, and they can’t finish lower than 2nd place. This evening they beat Valis. Besides Ortigia, host Steaua is unbeaten in this group. After yesterday’s victory over Valis (12:11), they edged out BVSC today (8:7) and they are on the right track.
Sabac did a great job by beating Trieste narrowly (10:9) in the derby of Group A. The Serbs had a nice chance to qualify for the next round, as well as Steaua.
Honved leads the race in Group D in Zagreb, where host Mladost suffered an unexpected loss to PAOK. The Hungarians trashed Mediterrani (15:6), and they are very close to securing an eighth-final berth.
This evening, the competition in the groups with four teams (B, C, E) started. There were a lot of interesting matches. One of the most exciting duels was an encounter between Telimar, the runner-up in the 2022 LEN Euro Cup, and Duisburg in Group C. Telimar was three goals down, but it achieved a narrow 11:10 win.
Day 2, evening session, results – Group A: Solaris – Pays d’Aix 14:10, Sabac – Trieste 10:9, Group B: Partizan – Savona 11:14, Strasbourg – De Zaan 12:9, Group C: Tourcoing – Barcelona 14:11, Telimar – Duisburg 11:10, Group D: Mladost – PAOK 9:11, Honved – Mediterrani 6:15, Group E: Szolnok – EVK Zaibbas 21:8, Montpellier – Crvena Zvezda 7:12, Group F: Valis – Ortigia 9:14, Steaua – BVSC 8:7.
Report of the morning session – HERE
LEN Euro Cup, Round 2 (October 27 – 30), Day 2, evening session
Group A (Sabac), Round 3
Solaris – Pays d’Aix 14:10 (3:2, 3:3, 4:1, 4:4)
Solaris: Condic Kadmenovic 3, T.Sparada 3, D.Butic 2, Burburan 2, Krekovic 1, Radan 1, Jakovcevic 1, Erak 1.
Pays d’Aix: Khasz 3, Dunstan 2, Beteille 1, Strkalj 1, Peisson 1, Bakircilar 1.
Sabac – Trieste 10:9 (4:2, 2:2, 1:3, 3:2)
Sabac: Barac 3, Sulc 2, Stojanovic 2, Repanovic 1, Stanic 1, Toholj 1.
Trieste: Inaba 3, Cattarini 2, Petronio 1, Buljubasic 1, M.Vrlic 1, Mezzarobba 1.
Jadran HN bye
After two ten-goal losses in the first two rounds (to Sabac and Trieste), Solaris had 13 available players for the first time (Erak, who had been suspended, returned to the team) and recorded the first win. Solaris dictated the pace from the beginning. It broke the rival at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth quarter. In the 23rd minute, Aix’s Rocchietta was excluded for brutality. The Croats led 8:6 at that moment. Solaris earned a penalty shootout, while Aix had a player less in the following four minutes. Condic Kadmenovic converted a penalty and made 9:6. Shortly after, Solaris stretched the margin to four. Jakovcevic gave Solaris an 11:6 lead in the 25th minute, and the contest was over.
The encounter between Sabac and Trieste was a real derby. Two teams fought a great battle.
The Serbs, supported by the fans in the packed stands, were slightly better rivals in the first three periods. Sabac led 4:2, 6:4, 7:6. A minute and a half before the last break, Inaba found the net – 7:7. The sides were tied for the fifth time in the match. Trieste kept the momentum. Cattarini scored from a counter-attack in the 27th minute and Trieste went ahead for the first time (8:7). Sabac regained a lead (9:8) in the 30th minute, but not for long because Mezzaroba leveled at 9:9 immediately, and the big drama continued. The home team called a time-out with 18 seconds to go, and it turned out as the right move. Ognjen Stojanovic netted from a distance with seven seconds left on the clock for 10:9. Trieste called a time-out immediately to prepare for the last attack but failed to score. Sabac’s goalkeeper Zivojinovic posted the save in the dying seconds.
1.Sabac (SRB) 2 – 6
2. Trieste (ITA) 3 – 6
3. Jadran HN (MNE) 2 – 3
4. Solaris (CRO) 3 – 3
5. Pays d’Aix (FRA) 2 – 0
Group B (Strasbourg), Round 1
Partizan – Savona 11:14 (2:2, 3:4, 2:5, 4:3)
Partizan: Gladovic 3, Gak 2, Dimitrijevic 2, Smiljevic 2, Milos 1, Bozovic 1.
Savona: Djurdjic 5, Rizzo 3, Bruni 2, Rocchi 1, Patchaliev 1, Panerai 1, Guidi 1.
Strasbourg – De Zaan 12:9 (4:3, 4:3, 4:3, 0:0)
Team Strasbourg: Petkovic 3, Popadic 3, Buha 2, Vitrant 1, Denux 1, Misic 1, I.Zivkovic 1.
ZV de Zaan: Meijn 2, Janssen 2, Lucas 2, Bakker 1, Corver 1, Mandolini 1.
Savona was better than Partizan, which is still without a few key players due to injuries (Jaksic,Paparic,Giga). However, Partizan fought hard and had a slim advantage in the opening minutes (1:0, 3:2, 4:3). In the middle of the second period, Savona netted three unanswered goals in two and a half minutes and took a 6:4 lead. Partizan didn’t surrender. Still, Savona, led by Bogdan Djurdjic, went to 11:7 late into the third period. From that point on, the difference wasn’t smaller than two goals.
Host Strasbourg opened the game against ZV De Zaan with three goals in the first three minutes. They earned an early 3:0 lead, which proved vital for their win because the rest of the game was balanced. The Dutch reduced the gap to one goal several times (3:4, 4:5, 6:7). In the last minute of the second period, Strasbourg’s center-forward Misic doubled his team’s advantage. The French started into the third period in a better way than in the first. They scored four straight goals and jumped to 12:6. De Zaan began recovering from a new shock, but it couldn’t catch up with the hosts.
Group C (Duisburg), Round 1
Tourcoing – Barcelona 14:11 (5:2, 3:4, 3:2, 3:3)
Tourcoing: Canonne 4, Durik 2, D.Zivkovic 2, Marzouki 2, Dasic 1, Krizman 1, Draskovic 1, Kujacic 1.
Barcelona: Asensio 2, Valls 2, Goma 2, Mallarach 2, Putt 1, Cupido 1, Ramon 1.
Telimar – Duisburg 11:10 (4:3, 3:2, 1:3, 3:2)
Telimar: Irving 3, Vitale 2, Giorgetti 2, Hooper 1, Pericas 1, Lo Cascio 1, Occhione 1.
ASC Duisburg:Tanaskovic 4, Gusakov 3, Kueppers 1, Seifert 1, Gergelyfi 1.
Tourcoing led throughout the game against Barcelona. A good start put the French on the right track. They built a 4-goal advantage already in the first quarter (5:1). Barcelona started coming back slowly. The Spaniards opened the second half with a goal from a penalty and cut the deficit to one goal (7:8). Still, Tourcoing secured the win with a 4:1 series. Early in the fourth period, Canonne scored from the 5m line and Tourcoing regained a four-goal advantage (12:8). Barcelona couldn’t come back once again.
ASC Duisburg was very close to a big surprise and a win over Telimar, the finalist of the 2022 LEN Euro Cup. The game has several twists and turns. The Italians had a 7:4 advantage at the finish of the first half. But, ASC was able to come back. The hosts netted four unanswered goals to take an 8:7 lead. Still, Lo Casco leveled at 8:8 at the finish of the third period. But, ASC refound its rhythm and earned a 2-goal advantage (10:8) in the 27th minute. Less than a minute after, it stood 10:10, as Trieste erased the deficit with two quick goals within 28 seconds. There were no goals for a while. Telimar’s Pericas scored a winner with 58 seconds left on the clock.
Group D (Zagreb), Round 2
Mladost – PAOK 9:11 (1:1, 6:4, 1:3, 1:3)
HAVK Mladost: Gluhaic 4, Rakovac 2, Elez 2, Mijic 1.
PAOK: Kechalaris 5, Kalargyros 2, Milradovic 2, Charalampopoulos 1, Prosiniklis 1.
Mediterrani – Honved 6:15 (3:4, 1:3, 0:4, 2:4)
Mediterrani: Roca 2, Garcia 1, Prat 1, Corres 1, Perez 1.
Honved: B. Ekler 5, Zs. Ekler 2, Kevi 1, S.Hessels 1, Hosnyanszky 1, Fejos 1, Gregor 1, Sugar 1, Simon 1, Nyiri 1.
Primorac bye
Host Mladost started the tournament by winning only a point against Mediterrani. The Zagreb-based side was shocked again today. Mladost counted on the points against PAOK, but it left the pool empty-handed. The first half was balanced, but Mladost had a 2-goal advantage at halftime (7:5). Maroje Gluhaic converted a penalty shot at the beginning of the third quarter, Mladost gained an 8:5 lead, and it seemed that the game would end as the home team’s fans and many others expected. But, the rhythm of the game changed shortly after. PAOK, led by Ioannis Kechalaris, netted five goals in a row and turned around a 3-goal deficit to a 2-goal lead (10:8). In the 31st minute, Elez ended Mladost’s goalless phase that lasted 12:36 minutes and woke the hosts’ hope (9:10). But, Kechalaris added his 5th goal to set the final score. PAOK won 11:9.
Honved started slowly against Mediterrani, but it recorded a convincing win. The game was an even contest until 3:3. The Hungarians had a 5:3 advantage early in the fourth. Mediterrani halved the deficit immediately. But, after that, the Spaniards couldn’t find the net for almost 18 minutes. Honved dominated, scoring nine goals in a row for a comfortable 14:4 advantage (27th minute).
1.Honved (HUN) 2 – 6
2. PAOK (GRE) 1 – 3
3. Mladost (CRO) 2 – 1
4. Mediterrani (ESP) 2 – 1
5. Primorac (MNE) 1 – 0
Group E (Szolnok), Round 1
Szolnok – EVK Zaibas 21:8 (3:0, 6:2, 7:2, 5:4)
Szolnok: Peto 4, Agh 3, D.Jansik 2, Vismeg 2, Pasztor 2, Vamosi 2, Teleki 2, Schmolcz 2, Belenyesi 1, Ger.Kovacs 1.
EVK Zaibas: Bakulo 3, Gostautas 2, Lobov 1, Zurza 1.
Montpellier – Crvena Zvezda 7:12 (1:4, 1:3, 3:3, 2:2)
Montpellier: Ben Romdhane 2, Kalinic 1, Ivankovic 1, Vilcot 1, Dory 1, Spillaert 1.
Crvena Zvezda: Subotic 3, Vasic 3, Vukicevic 2, Tankosic 1, Markovic 1, Basara 1, Milojevic 1.
Favorites Szolnok and Crvena Zvezda got off to a flying start in the tournament in Szolnok.
The hosts’ convincing win over Lithuanian EVK Zaibas was more or less expected.
But, the second game lacked excitement, as well. Crvena Zvezda completely outplayed Montpellier in the first half of the encounter. The Serbs earned a 3:0 lead after just 146 seconds of play. Montpellier got on the scoreboard in the 6th minute (1:3), but the Belgrade-based answered with a 4:0 series. Milojevic stretched the margin to six (7:1) in the 14th minute. There was no way back for the French.
Group F (Bucharest), Round 3
Valis – Ortigia 9:14 (4:3, 2:4, 2:5, 1:2)
Valis: Bursac 2, Baucalo 2, Mitrovic 2, Posmuga 1, Radanovic 1, Almasi 1.
Ortigia: Ferrero 5, F.Condemi 3, A.Condemi 1, Di Luciano 1, Velkic 1, Rossi 1, Vidovic 1, Napolitano 1.
Steaua – BVSC 8:7 (2:4, 1:0, 1:1, 4:2)
Steaua: Neamtu 3, Vuskovic 1, V.Georgescu 1, Moskov 1, Klikovac 1, Gheorghe 1.
BVSC: Sziladi 2, Gyarfas 2, Csapo 1, M.Nagy 1, M.Meszaros 1.
Vitoria bye
Valis couldn’t surprise Ortigia, although it was an equal rival in the first half. After the first eight minutes, Valis was one step ahead of the Italians (4:3). Ortigia opened the second quarter with three straight goals to earn a 6:4 advantage. However, Valis managed to equalize midway through the quarter (6:6). But the Serbs couldn’t go further. Ortigia scored six goals between the 14th and 23rd minute, conceding only one. The Sicilians built a 12:7 advantage and kept the difference in the remaining time.
After Steaua’s victory over BVSC, it was clear that Ortigia mathematically qualified for the eighth finals. It’s most likely that Steaua will join the Italians in the Round of 16.
BVSC controlled the match against the hosts in the first half. The Hungarians led 3:1 and 4:2. Early in the fourth, they went to 5:3. But Steaua kept BVSC goalless for almost ten minutes while it produced a 3:0 run and went in front- 6:5 (26th minute). Shortly after, BVSC leveled at 6:6. Still, Steaua responded with two goals quickly (8:6). BVSC halved the deficit to 7:8 with 28 seconds to go. After that, Steaua kept the ball, and the victory.
1.Ortigia (ITA) 3 – 9
2. Steaua (ROM) 2 – 6
3. Valis (SRB) 3 – 3
4. BVSC (HUN) 2 – 0
5. Vitoria Guimaraes (POR) 2 – 0
Day 3 (October 29)
Group A (Sabac): Solaris – Jadran Herceg Novi (18), Pays d’Aix – Sabac (20)
Group B (Strasbourg): Strasbourg – Savona (18), De Zaan – Partizan (20)
Group C (Duisburg): Tourcoing – Telimar (18), Barcelona – Duisburg (20)
Group D (Zagreb): Mediterrani – Primorac (10), Honved – PAOK (11:30), Mediterrani – PAOK (17:30), Mladost – Primorac (19)
Group E (Szolnok): EVK Zaibas – Crvena Zvezda (16:30), Szolnok – Montpellier (18)
Group F (Bucharest): BVSC – Vitoria Guimaraes (18), Ortigia – Steaua (20)
All times are local
