Pro Recco practically made it to the Euro Cup final after the first semifinal game.
The Italian champions overwhelmed the 2022 Euro Cup winner, Sabadell, in Genoa this evening – 16:6, thanks to a dominant 7:0 start. Recco is well on its way to progressing, making the second match likely just a formality.
Mladost achieved a 13:10 victory against Radnicki at home in the Regional League derby. This was Mladost’s first triumph over Radnicki in nine years, with their last victory dating back to 2016, when they won 11:7 in the Regional League. Between that and today’s encounter, the two teams faced each other six times – Radnicki secured five wins, and one match ended in a draw. Although a three-goal lead is a considerable advantage, Radnicki is still in the race for a spot in the final.
The return matches in Kragujevac and Sabadell will be played in three weeks, on April 24.
2024/25 Euro Cup, Semifinals, Leg 1
Mladost – Radnicki 13:10 (4:1, 2:3, 3:3, 4:3)
Mladost: Kharkov 4, Lazic 3, Basic 1, Milos 1, Buljubasic 1, Busic 1, Bukic 1, Vrlic 1.
Radnicki: N. Jaksic 3, Vapenski 2, S.Rasovic 1, Dadvani 1, Pijetlovic 1, P.Jaksic 1, Murisic 1.
Radnicki arrived in Zagreb as the freshly crowned Regional League champion, but after two intense games in Herceg Novi, they may have been exhausted. Mladost, an excellent team, led throughout the match and didn’t allow Radnicki to take a single lead. The Kragujevac-based team managed to equalize only once, at 1:1 in the 5th minute.
The hosts built a 3-goal lead in the first eight minutes, primarily due to their effective finishing and Konstantin Kharkov, who scored three goals during this period. A minute and a half before the first break, Kharkov made it 2:1. Mladost capitalized on a man-up opportunity with 35 seconds left – Kharkov scored another goal. Just two seconds before the buzzer, Busic got on the scoresheet and the Croats entered the second quarter with an encouraging 4:1 lead.
During the second period, Radnicki became more aggressive in attack, but they struggled to close the gap with Mladost. Key to the home team’s defense was goalkeeper Ivan Marcelic, who did a good job today. He made several saves during this period, including a standout save when his team was down two men and another during a counterattack. Mladost maintained a 3-goal lead for some time, with scores of 5:2 and 6:3. The MVP of the Regional League Final Four, Valiko Dadvani, closed the first quarter with a power-play goal, so the Serbs trailed 4:6 at halftime.
In the first minute of the second half, the visitors missed a 6-on-5, marking their sixth failed man-up attempt, and they paid for it. Mladost scored three goals in the following minutes. Vukicevic contributed two goals—one from a 6-on-6 and another during a man-up situation—while Basic successfully converted a penalty shot, extending Mladost’s lead to a commanding 9:4 in the 20th minute. Following this, Radnicki tightened its defense, which allowed it to go on a 3:0 run and close the gap, reducing the difference to two goals before the final period.
Vasic (Radnicki) attempts to block Buljubasic (Mladost) Photo by HAVK Mladost
Mladost increased its lead to three twice in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter (10:7 and 11:8), but Radnicki responded each time. However, the visitors didn’t answer to Luka Bukic’s nice goal that put Mladost ahead 12:9 in the 28th minute. The game then entered a period of silence in terms of scoring until Josip Vrlic completed a successful extra-man attack with just 75 seconds remaining on the clock. In its final possession, Radnicki earned a man-up opportunity, and Vapenski scored setting the final score 42 seconds before the end of the game.
Pro Recco – Sabadell 16:6 (6:0, 1:1, 4:2, 4:3)
Pro Recco: Cannella 5, Younger 3, Iocchi Gratta 2, Condemi 2, Durik 1, Presciutti 1, Vujoseic 1, Hallock 1.
Sabadell: Barroso 3, Bowen 1 Averka 1, Corres 1.
Pro Recco water polo players quickly proved they entered the match as the clear favorites. While Sabadell is a good team, Recco’s strength was evident from the start. The Italians took an explosive start, scoring four goals in less than four minutes to make it 4:0. By the end of the first quarter, they extended their lead to 6:0. Nicholas Presciutti converted a man-up in Recco’s first possession in the second quarter, bringing the score to 7:0.
However, midway through the quarter, Recco’s attack slowed down, giving Sabadell the chance to recover from the shocking start. The Spaniards finally scored their first goal in the 14th minute, when Averka converted a double man-up opportunity. Recco’s goalkeeper, Del Lungo, nearly saved the shot, but the ball barely crossed the goal line. The hosts went without a goal for 6 minutes and 56 seconds, which was surprising considering their first-quarter performance. Nevertheless, Recco regained its even-goal lead when Condemi converted a penalty shot just 30 seconds before halftime.
In the middle of the third period, Recco widened the gap to nine for the first time – 10:1. In the following minutes, the teams traded goals until 13:5. Then, Recco scored twice in 30 seconds (Iocchi Gratta with a man-up and Younger from a counterattack) to reach a double-digit margin (15:5).In the remaining 03:37 minutes, each side netted a goal apiece. Recco can start preparing the tactics for the final.
