Partizan and Strasbourg recorded valuable wins in the morning session of Day 2 of the Euro Cup Round 1, and they are very close to qualifying for the second round.
Partizan came back from a 5-goal deficit to beat Szolnok 10:8 in Group B in Syracuse. Since only five teams play in this group and four will go to the 2nd round, Partizan practically secured a spot in Round 2 with two wins in the first two games.
Strasbourg, which defeated 2022 runner-up Telimar yesterday, beat Honved today (12:9). Strasbourg is the only team in Group C that has six points after the first two rounds.
Day 2 (October 14), morning session – Group B (Syracuse): Szolnok – Partizan 8:10, Pays d’Aix – Ydraikos 15:9. Group C (Kranj): Telimar – Valis 24:16, Triglav – Terrassa 3:14, Strasbourg – Honved 12:9.
The top four teams from each group will qualify for Round 2.
2022/23 LEN Euro Cup, Round 1, Day 2, morning session
Group B (Syracuse), Round 2
Szolnok – Partizan 8:10 (4:1, 3:5,0:1, 1:3)
Szolnok: Pasztor 3, Belenyesi 1, Schmolcz 1, Agh 1, D.Jansik 1, Ger.Kovacs 1.
Partizan: Gladovic 3, Trtovic 2, Smiljevic 2, Milos 1, Paparic 1, Dimitrijevic 1.
Pays d’Aix – Ydraikos 15:9 (0:3, 6:2, 5:2, 4:2)
Pays d’Aix: Khasz 4, Bakircilar 4, Rocchietta 3, Vrdoljak 2, Drahe 1, Dino 1.
Ydraikos: Suzuki 4, Rompopoulos 2, Gkaranis 1, Takata 1, Kontonis 1.
Ortigia bye
Partizan and Szolnok, the two former European champions, have young teams, significantly different compared to the previous season. Two weeks ago, they met in a friendly match in Belgrade, and Szolnok recorded a narrow 10:9 win.
The Hungarians, who didn’t play on Day 1, opened the match excellently, but Partizan made a great comeback, won all three points and practically secured a spot in the second round. Szolnok built a 5-goal lead (6:1) early in the second period, and it seemed that it would cruise to a win. However, Partizan reduced the gap to one goal (5:6 and 6:7) before the middle break. Both defenses were up to the task in the third quarter. The only goal in this period came just five seconds from time when Smiljevic converted a penalty and leveled at 7:7. David Jansik gave the Hungarians a 8:7 lead in the 26th minute, but it turned out that it was the Hungarians’ last goal in the game. Three minutes after, Trtovic leveled at 8:8. The Serbs added two goals in the last 132 seconds for a 10:8 victory.
Pays d’Aix and Ydriakos suffered convincing losses on Day 1 (to Partizan and Ortigia, respectively). Today’s match was a must-win game for both sides. The Greeks led 3:0 after the first quarter, but the French took a flying start into the second quarter. They leveled at 4:4 already in the 12th minute. Shortly after, they earned a 2-goal lead (6:4). Ydraikos caught up with the French in the 19th minute (7:7). However, Pays d’Aix netted six consecutive goals. Early in the fourth, the French had a 13:7 lead and everything was decided.
Standings: 1. Partizan 6 (2 games), 2. Ortigia 3 (1), 3. Pays d’Aix 3 (2), 4. Szolnok 0 (1), 5. Ydraikos 0 (2).
Group C (Kranj), Round 2
Strasbourg – Honved 12:9 (2:1, 2:4, 5:2, 3:2)
Team Strasbourg: Bachelier 2, Vitrant 2, Misic 2, I.Zivkovic 2, Petkovic 2, Popadic 1, Chion 1.
Honved: Hessels 3, Kevi 2, Ekler 2, Fejos 2.
Telimar Palermo – Valis 24:16 (7:3, 5:3, 5:8, 7:2)
Telimar:Irving 8, Hooper 7, Vitale 3, Di Patti 2, Giorgetti 2, Pericas 1, Lo Cascio 1.
Valis: Sofranac 4, Baucalo 3, Arsenovic 2, Radanovic 2, Mtrovic 2, Yazdankhah 1, Andjelic 1,
Triglav – Terrassa 3:14 (1:2, 0:4, 2:5, 0:3)
AVK Triglav: Justin 2, Canc 1.
Terrassa: Chico 3, Wilson 2, Flores 2, Delgado 2, Diaz 2, Sanchez 1, Alarcon 1, De Lera 1.
Strasbourg took an early 2:0 lead, but after the first quarter, Honved dominated. It had a 5:3 advantage at the finish of the first half, but Bachelier converted a man-up for 4:5 to close the second period.
The French leveled at the beginning of the third quarter. The Hungarians went ahead once more when Hessels netted for 6:5. But a crucial period started soon. Strasbourg scored four goals in a row in 03:03 minutes and built a 9:6 advantage (23rd minute).In the remaining time, Strasbourg held back all Honved come back attempts
Telimar Palermo, the finalist of the 2022 Euro Cup, collected its first points in the season in a weird game. Both defenses were far from good, so 40 goals were scored. Telimar, led by the Americans Irving and Hooper, had a 12:4 lead in the 15th minute and many believed that the Italians would record an easy win. But, the Serbs made a 10:4 series in 08:20 minutes and reduced the gap to two (14:16). Still, Telimar didn’t let Valis go further and regained an 8-goal advantage.
Home team Triglav couldn’t surprise Terrassa. The Spaniards posted a convincing win, as expected.
Standings: 1. Strasbourg 6 (2), 2. Telimar 3 (2), 3. Honved 3 (2), 4. Terrassa 3 (2), 5. Valis 3 (2), 6. Triglav 0 (2).
Day 2 (October 14), evening session
Group A (Thessaloniki): Solaris – ZV De Zaan (18:00), Ludwigsburg – Montpellier (19:15), PAOK – Echeyde (20:30)
Group B (Syracuse): Partizan – Ortigia (16:00), Pays d’Aix – Szolnok (17:30)
Group C (Kranj): Terrassa – Valis (17:00), Triglav – Strasbourg (18:40), Telimar – Honved (20:20)
Group D (Barcelona): Kosice – BVSC Zuglo (17:30), Crvena Zvezda – Trieste (19:10), Apollon – Mediterrani (20:50).
