Posillipo defeated Honved after a penalty shootout 18:16 (13:13) in the clash of two former European champions played in Utrecht on Day 2 of Group A of the Conference Cup Round 1.
The Italian side secured itself at least 2nd place in Utrecht and qualified for Round 2.
Besides Posillipo, five more teams have booked their tickets to Round 2 after two competition days: both Croatian clubs, Primorje and Mornar, Panionios, De Akker, and Mataro.
The third former European champion in the Conference Cup, Partizan, didn’t have a good day. The Black and Whites lost to EVK Zaibas at home (13:16) and minimized their chances of advancing.
However, both Partizan and EVK are still contenders for spots in the 2nd round, along with Honved, PAOK, Budva, Tenerife, Sete, and Vitoria.
2026 Conference Cup, Round 1, Day 2
GROUP A (Utrecht)
Honved – Posillipo 16:18 (3:2, 3:3, 3:4, 4:4, PSO 3:5)
Honved: Moskov 5, Kevi 2, Vickovic 2, Ekler 2, Bencz 1, Vadovics 1.
Posillipo: Milicic 3, Rocchino 3, Radovic 3, Parrella 2, Renzuto Iodice 1, valle 1.
UZSC – PAOK 10:19 (1:4, 2:5, 6:6, 1:4)
UZSC Utrecht: De Jong 3 Edelbroek 3, Loos 2, Brands 1, Athymaritis 1.
PAOK: Kechalaris 5, Tsolakoudis4, Delic 4, Chonrokoukis 2, Grammatikos 2, Bitsakos 1, Marinagis 1.
As expected, Honved and Posillipo fought a big battle with several twists and turns, but Honved was more often ahead. Posillipo got off to a better start and took a 1:0 and a 2:1 lead. Still, at the first break, Honved was in front, 3:2. The teams exchanged goals during the second quarter. Nikola Moskov scored from a distance in Honved’s first possession in the second half to make it 7:5 – two goals separated the rivals for the first time. The Hungarians had an 8:6 lead at the finish of the quarter. Posillipo then produced a quick 3:0 run and took its only lead in the second half, 9:8. Still, Vickovic leveled at 9:9 from a penalty shot 31 seconds before the last break.
Honved rebuilt a 2-goal lead midway through the fourth period (12:10), but Posillipo quickly leveled at 12:12. Honved took the lead once again (13:12). Rocchino equalized at 13:13 with 65 seconds to go. It was the last goal in the regular time, so the match entered a penalty shootout.
Posillipo made no mistakes in five rounds of penalty shots, while the Italians’ goalkeeper Izzo ekler blocked a shot from Ekler. That was the only save in the shootout and made the crucial difference.
PAOK defeated UZSC and maintained its chances of advancing to the second round. The Greeks need a win over Honved on Sunday morning. The Hungarians are the favorites, but PAOK has a solid team, so an exciting game is on the horizon.
Standings: 1. Posillipo 5, 2. Honved 4, 3. PAOK 3, 4. UZSC 0.
Day 3: Honved – PAOK (9:15), UZSC – Posillipo (11:00)
GROUP B (Athens, Nea Smyrni)
Tenerife – Panionios 11:15 (4:0, 1:7, 3:4, 3:4)
Tenerife: Ramirez 4, Araya 2, Mercado 2, Andion 1, Diaz 1, De Weerd 1.
Panionios: Gounas 6, A, Bitsakos 5, Papakos 2, K. Bitsakos 1, Andrianopoulos 1.
Budva – White Sharks 19:9 (6:2, 4:2, 4:1, 5:4)
Budva: Milic 5, L. Dragovic 2, Brguljan 2, Kalaitzis 2, Bastrica 2, Vukcevic 1, Pejovic 1, Agh 1, Dabic 1, N.Dragovic 1, Franeta 1.
White Sharks Hannover: J. Rotermund 3, F. Rotermund 2, Palata 2, Goetz 1, Mityska 1
Panionios recovered from a poor start in the game against Tenerife, ultimately securing a 4-goal victory that guaranteed the Greeks a spot in Round 2. Despite having three man-up opportunities in the first quarter, Panionios was unable to convert, and Tenerife took a 4:0 lead. The Spaniards maintained this 4-goal advantage until 5:1. However, Panionios tightened their defense and stopped missing its chances. Led by Alexandros Gounas and Andreas Bitsakos, the hosts launched an 8:0 run, which gave them a 9:5 lead early in the third period. From that point on, Tenerife was unable to threaten Panionios’s lead for the remainder of the match.
Panionios qualified for the next round, while Tenerife hopes the Greeks will finish the tournament with a perfect record, since the Spaniards will not advance if Budva defeats the hosts on Sunday.
Budva easily defeated White Sharks, but the Montenegrins still have a mountain to climb to qualify for Round 2.
Standings: 1. Panionios 6, 2. Budva 4, 3. Tenerife 2, 4. White Sharks 0.
Day 3: White Sharks – Tenerife (9:30), Panionios – Budva (12:00).
GROUP C (Split)
Sete – Mornar 9:16 (2:4, 2:4, 3:3, 2:5)
Sete:Radojevic 2, Mureddu 2, Sauton 1, Debais 1, De Bie 1, Vasin 1, Gomes Da Silva 1.
Mornar: Zivkovic 5, Hrvatic 2, Omrcen 2, Dragas 2, Uvodic 1, Stojanac 1, Buzdovancic 1, Katunaric 1, Penava 1.
Vitoria – Banja Luka 20:7 (6:0, 7:2, 4:3, 3:1)
Vitoria: Moreira 7, Jorao 3, Fernandes 3, Ramos 2, Lopes 2, Camacho 1, Araujo 1.
Banja Luka: Cosic 2,Djukic 2, Cikic 1, Kojcinovic 1.
Sete scored an opening goal in the derby match against Mornar. However, the hosts quickly responded with a 3:0 run. Mornar increased its advantage step by step and held back Sete’s comeback attempts. After an 8:4 first half, experienced Duje Zivkovic found the net in Mornar’s first possession in the 3rd period to give the Croats a five-goal lead for the first time (9:4). Late into the quarter, Sete narrowed the distance to three (7:10), just to see Mornar producing a 4:0 run for a comfortable 14:7 victory.
Mornar secured 1st place, but Sete will likely join the Split-based team. It would be a big surprise if the French, who beat Banja Luka 43:4 yesterday, lose to Vitoria tomorrow. The Portuguese achieved a convincing win against Banja Luka today, but it’s hard to expect them to add more points at the Split tournament.
Standings: 1. Mornar 6, 2. Sete 3, 3. Vitoria 3, 4. Banja Luka 0.
Day 3: Vitoria – Sete (11:00), Mornar – Banja Luka (12:45)
GROUP D (Belgrade)
EVK Zaibas – Partizan 16:13 (4:4, 3:3, 5:2, 4:4)
EVK Zaibas: Jelaca 6, Jonkus 3, Vrdoljak 3, Petrovski 2, Vitkauskas 1, Gostautas 1.
Partizan: Djokanovic 5, Cutajar 3, Neskovic 1, Andjelic 1, Bozovic 1, Radulovic 1, Durutovic 1.
Neukolln – De Akker 6:25 (0:5, 1:8, 1:7, 4:5)
Neukolln: Costa 2, Elaassar 1, Kleine 1, Chiru 1, Kechedzhy 1.
De Akker: Erdelyi 4, Di Murro 4, Campopiano 3, Painter 3, Lucci 3, Urbinati 2, Martini 2, Stocco 1, Bragantini 1, McFarland 1
After a balanced first half between EVK Zaibas and Partizan, Djokanovic put the Belgrade-based team in the lead by scoring the first goal of the third quarter (8:7). However, following that goal, the hosts began to miss their opportunities, while EVK Zaibas capitalized by scoring four consecutive extra player goals, turning a slim deficit into an 11:8 lead. With three minutes gone in the fourth quarter, EVK extended its advantage to 14:9, practically securing the victory. An excellent conversion of extra player attacks during the second half was crucial to the Lithuanians’ success. EVK had eight man-up opportunities in the third and fourth quarters, scoring six goals. The remaining three goals in the second half came from penalty shots.
Tomorrow, EVK will face Neukölln, while Partizan needs a win against the strong favorite De Akker to reclaim second place. The Italians demolished Neukolln today, 25:6, having beaten EVK Zaibas just the day before with a score of 21:13. De Akker hasn’t mathematically qualified for Round 2, but only an impossible double-digit loss to Partizan would move the Italians to 3rd place
Standings: 1. De Akker 6, 2. EVK Zaibas 3, 3. Partizan 3, 4. Neukolln 0.
Day 3: EVk Zaibas – Neukolln (9:00), Partizan – De Akker (10:45)
GROUP E (Rijeka)
Primorje – Galatasaray 27:7 (8:2, 7:3, 6:1, 6:1)
Primorje:Crippa 6, Radulovic 5, Seman 3, Snel 3, Dragosevic 2, Burburan 2, Babic 2, Baucalo 1, Brubnjak 1, Rakovac 1, Vukojevic 1.
Galatasaray:Destici 2, Acar 1, Colak 1, Vujovic 1, Alpman 1, Akkaya 1.
Primorje cruised to a victory over Galatasaray, qualifying for Round 2. Tomorrow it will play against Mataro to stay atop the group.
The hosts’ explosive 6:0 start set the tone of the match. Four seconds before the middle break, Primorje built a 10-goal lead (15:5) and doubled its advantage during the second half.
Standings: 1. Primorje 3 (1 game), 2. Mataro 3 (1), 3. Galatasaray 0 (2).
Day 3: Primorje – Mataro (11:00).
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