Day 9 in Group B of the Champions League brought outstanding clashes. The derbies played in Zagreb and Verona were in the spotlight.
Pro Recco hosted OSC Budapest in Verona. The Hungarians celebrated a 12:9 win and halted Recco’s unbeaten run. Pro Recco suffered the first loss in all competitions this season. Besides, Recco was defeated for the first time in the Champions League on home soil since 2013.
The other Hungarian club in this group Ferencvaros also enjoyed a great evening. Ferencvaros beat Mladost in Zagreb 9:6.
The encounter between Terrassa and Marseille ended in an 11:11 draw. Hannover beat Dinamo Tbilisi 18:14.
Champions League 2019/20, Day 9
Group B
Pro Recco – OSC Budapest 9:12 (1:1, 4:4, 2:4, 2:3)
Pro Recco: Buslje 2, Ivovic 2, Filipovic 2, Kayes 1, Renzuto Iodice 1, Aicardi 1.
OSC Budapest: Prlainovic 4, Manhercz 3, Burian 2, Erdelyi 1, Seman 1, Ubovic 1.
The first goal in the match was scored 40 seconds before the first break when Balazs Erdelyi gave OSC a 1:0 lead, but Aleksandar Ivovic responded immediately and equalized. Recco added two goals early in the second quarter for 3:1. OSC answered with three goals and went ahead (4:3) in the 15th minute. Before the end of this period, Pro Recco earned a 5:4 advantage, while Manhercz leveled the score in the last second of the first half – 5:5.
Filip Filipovic opened the third period and put Recco ahead (6:5). Quickly after that, Burian equalized (6:6). Midway through the third period Andrija Prlainovic netted two nice goals, and the visitors earned a 2-goal advantage for the first time (8:6). After that, Recco couldn’t level the score. The Italians cut the deficit several times (7:8, 8:9,9:10). In the 28th minute, Andrija Prlainovic scored his 4th goal this evening for 11:9. Nemanja Ubovic sent the ball home from a counter-attack, and OSC gained a 12:9 advantage with 02:59 minutes remaining on the clock. Pro Recco wasn’t able to come back.
This was Recco’s first home defeat in the Champions League since a 6:8 loss to Primorje in autumn 2013. After that, the Italians were unbeaten in 35 home matches in the Champions League.
OSC recorded the 2nd big win in the Champions League in a row, after a victory over Ferencvaros 15 days ago.
Ferencvaros and Recco share 1st and 2nd place with 20 points each. But, after today’s success, OSC is just one point behind these two teams.
Mladost – Ferencvaros 6:9 (0:2, 1:2, 3:3, 2:2)
HAVK Mladost: Milos 2, Kharkov 2, Bukic 1, Bowen 1.
Ferencvaros: Vamos 2, Constantin-Bicari 2, Zalanki 1, Jaksic 1, Younger 1, Varga 1.
Mladost was seeking revenge for a 5:14 loss suffered in the match against Ferencvaros in Budapest in the match played on Day 6. The Croatian club played much better than in the capital of Hungary, but Ferencvaros won again.
The opening minutes proved decisive for the outcome. Ferencvaors built a 3:0 lead early in the second period. Mladost needed almost 12 minutes to find the net for the first time – Bowen converted a man-up for 1:3. At halftime, the visitors led 4:1. The hosts started climbing back and cut the deficit with two quick goals early in the third quarter (3:4). The titleholder regained a 3-goal advantage in the 23rd minute (6:3) and from that point on, the gap between the sides was never smaller than two goals.
Terrassa – Marseille 11:11 (0:4, 6:2, 2:3, 3:2)
CN Terrassa: Sanahuja 4, Gutierrez 3, Alarcon 2, Prieto 1, Barrosso 1.
Marseille: Crousillat 4, Cuckovic 2, Izdinsky 1, Blary 1, Djurdjic 1, Vukicevic 1, Camarasa 1.
Marseille opened the match with a 4:0 blast, but Terrassa responded in the same manner – with four goals in a row and equalized in the 13th minute (4:4). Before the third quarter, the score was 6:6. The Spaniards took a 7:6 and 8:7 lead in the third period, but Marseille entered the last quarter with a slim advantage (9:8). After 90 seconds of play in the fourth quarter, the visitors doubled the advantage (10:8), but Terrassa leveled the score (10:10) with 97 seconds to go. Djurdjic gave Marseille an 11:10 lead in the visitors’ next possession, but Barroso found the net from a man-up 37 seconds before the final buzzer and secured a point for the home team – 11:11.
Terrassa is still in the race for the 4th place, while it seems that Marseille is out of the contest for the Final Eight, as it has six points fewer than 4th-placed Mladost.
Hannover – Dinamo T 18:14 (2:4, 5:3, 6:3,5:4)
Waspo 98 Hannover: Radovic 5, Nagaev 4, Schuetze 3, Muslim 2, M. Brguljan 1, WInkelhorst 1, Corusic 1, Rotermund 1.
Dinamo Tbilisi: Vapenski 4, Jelaca 3, Jakhaia 2, Tsrepulja 1, Imnaishvili 1, Adeishvili 1, Rurua 1, Shushiashvili 1.
Dinamo took a promising start in Hannover, but the Georgians didn’t win its first point in the season. Dinamo built a 4:1 lead in the 5th minute. The hosts equalized late into the second quarter (6:6), Dinamo went in front once more (7:6). Then Hannover scored three goals in a row for 9:7 and controlled the match in the remaining time.
1 Pro Recco (ITA) 9 – 20 (+48)
2 Ferencvaros (HUN) 9 – 20 (+29)
3 OSC Budapest (HUN) 9 – 19
4 Mladost (CRO) 9 – 16
5 Terrassa (ESP) 9 – 13
6 Marseille (FRA) 9 – 10
7 Waspo Hannover (GER) 9 – 6
8 Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) 9 – 0
Group A
Saturday
Spandau Berlin – Sintez
Olympiacos – Barceloneta
Jadran Herceg Novi – Jadran Split
Szolnok – Jug
