Radnicki narrowly defeated Novi Beograd in Kragujevac in the first match of the Serbian Championships final, 13:12. The Regional League winner now needs just one more victory to secure the title.
The game in Kragujevac featured several twists and turns. Radnicki often held the lead, but two goals never separated the teams. It was a hard-fought battle with a lot of goals, even though both teams missed a lot of man-up opportunities (Radnicki’s conversion was four out of 17, and Novi Beograd scored three goals with an extra player of 13 chances)
Novi Beograd, which played without injured Milos Cuk, took a 1:0 lead. Radnicki quickly responded with two goals and by the end of the first period, the teams traded the goals. The sides were tied at 4:4 after the first eight minutes. The second quarter was similar to the previous one, but Novi Beograd controlled the result during this period. Vasilije Martinovic gave the hosts a 5:4 lead. Radnicki leveled at 5:5 and 6:6. Marko Dimitrijevic put Novi Beograd in front – 7:6 at the finish of the first half. In the rest of the quarter, Radnicki had a long attack and forced a man-up, but it didn’t equalize. Francesco De Michelis, who was (surprisingly) in front of Novi Beograd’s goal today, posted a few nice saves in the dying seconds.
The game continued in a similar fashion during the opening minutes of the third period. Radnicki equalized the score at 7:7, but Novi Beograd quickly responded to take an 8:7 lead. However, this was Novi Beograd’s last advantage in the match. Radnicki then scored two quick goals: first, Dusan Vasic, the match’s top scorer (who scored four goals), equalized at 8:8, and shortly after, Strahinja Rasovic gave the hosts the lead. The teams then started a new exchange of goals, and by the end of the third quarter, the score stood at 11:11.
After three high-scoring periods, both defenses strengthened in the final quarter, and the attackers began to tire. Valiko Dadvani, the MVP of the Regional League F4, scored his second goal midway through the quarter and ultimately set the final score – 13:12. Novi Beograd missed several opportunities to equalize, including a crucial shot by Vasilije Martinovic that went wide with just 29 seconds remaining. Radnicki managed to maintain possession of the ball until the final buzzer.
Novi Beograd will host the next game on May 18. Meanwhile, Radnicki will face Pro Recco in the Euro Cup final, while Novi Beograd will compete against Jadran Split in the Champions League.
2025 Serbian League
Final (best of three), first match
Radnicki – Novi Beograd 13:12 (4:4, 2:3, 5:4, 2:1)
Radnicki: Vasic 4, Drasovic 3, Dadvani 2, P.Jaksic 1, N.Jaksic 1, Rasovic 1, Pijetlovic 1.
Novi Beograd: Lukic 3, Martinovic 2, Radovic 1, Perkovic 1, Martinovic 1, Gladovic 1, Vlachopoulos 1, Gbadamassi 1, Dimitrijevic 1.
