Pro Recco, Radnicki, Mladost Zagreb, and Sabadell will compete in the semifinals of the Euro Cup.
Pro Recco is the only team that achieved two wins during the quarterfinals. Three weeks ago, the Italians defeated Vasas by two goals in Budapest (11:9). This evening, they convincingly beat the Hungarians in the return match in Genoa – 14:7.
Radnicki comfortably beat Brescia at home in the second leg – 14:10. The first match in Italy ended in a 9:9 draw.
Mladost was defeated by Jadran in Herceg Novi—6:9—in a thrilling game. However, the Croats advanced to the semifinals thanks to a 12:8 victory in Zagreb.
Sabadell also lost in Montenegro today. Primorac beat the Spaniards 14:9. But there was no drama in this encounter, as Sabadell had previously secured a convincing 17:9 victory at home.
Radnicki and Mladost will compete in a regional derby in the semifinals, while Pro Recco will face Sabadell in the other matchup. Interestingly, only Pro Recco is chasing its first Euro Cup trophy, while Mladost, Radnicki, and Sabadell have all previously won the Euro Cup once.
Semifinals (April 3 and 24): Mladost – Radnicki, Pro Recco – Sabadell.
2024/25 Euro Cup, Quarterfinals, 2nd leg
Jadran HN – Mladost 9:6 (0:3, 3:2, 3:0, 3:1) – first leg 8:12
Jadran HN: Vujovic 2, Gojkovic 2, V.Radovic 2, Kholod 1, Stupar 1, Ivovic 1.
Mladost: Lazic 2, Busic 1, Buljubasic 1, Bukic 1, Vukicevic 1.
Mladost followed a strategy similar to their first leg in Zagreb, displaying excellent defense in the first half. Goalkeeper Ivan Marcelic saved six shots within the first 16 minutes. Jadran had six man-up opportunities in the first quarter but failed to score. Mladost converted all three of their extra-player attacks in that period, establishing a 3:0 lead. Hence, Mladost had a significant 7-goal aggregate advantage before the second quarter. Luka Bukic increased the lead to 4:0 early in the second quarter, making it seem like the Croats would have an easy game.
Jovan Vujovic (Jadran HN) and Ivan Marcelic (Mladost) Photo by PVK Jadran HN/K.Vulovic
However, Jadran managed to find their way back into the match. Vujovic finally broke Jadran’s silence in the 12th minute by converting a man-up opportunity to bring the score to 1:4. Mladost regained a 4-goal advantage when Vukicevic scored from a counterattack. Unfortunately for the visitors, they then entered a scoring drought.
By the end of the first half, the Montenegrins narrowed the gap to two at 3:5, and Vasilije Radovic made it 4:5 early in the third quarter. The hosts then wasted four man-up chances to equalize the score in the following minutes, while Mladost missed two 6 on 5s. Jadran finally equalized in the 22nd minute when Aleksandar Ivovic sent the ball into the net from a nice lob. Jadran retook control. Dmitri Kholod put the hosts in front from a penalty shot – 6:5. In the dying seconds of the quarter, Jadran’s goalkeeper Darko Djurovic saved a shot from Konstantin Kharkov in the counterattack, which additionally boosted Jadran’s hopes.
In the 27th minute, Stupar found the net for 7:5. Immediately after, Lazic responded and ended Mladost’s 15-minute goalless phase. With just one minute and 36 seconds left on the clock, Vujovic scored to make it 9:6, but Mladost kept a ticket to the semifinals. The Montenegrin team had the final possession of the game. Strahinja Gojkovic attempted to score in the last moments, but Marcelic made a save, ending a big drama.
There were 29 exclusions in the match (12 personal fouls for Jadran and 17 for Mladost). The hosts scored five, and the visitors four powerplay goals.
Radnicki – Brescia 14:10 (3:1, 3:2, 4:3, 4:4) – first leg 9:9
Radnicki: Pijetlovic 3, Rasovic 3, N.Jaksic 2, Vasic 2, Murisic 2, Dadvani 1, Vapenski 1.
Brescia: Gianazza 2, Dolce 2, Alesiani 2, Irving 2, Giri 1, Ferrero 1.
Despite having a poor success percentage of extra-player shots (7 out of 19), Radnicki performed better than Brescia in all aspects of the game, securing a comfortable 14:10 victory. By the way, Brescia’s man-up conversion rate was 5 out of 14.
Brescia scored the first goal in the game, but Radnicki answered with a 3:0 run and never allowed Brescia to equalize. Midway through the second period, Radnicki gained a 3-goal lead (5:2 and 6:3).
Brescia refused to back down. The Italian team came close three times (4:6, 5:7, 6:8). In the last 89 seconds of the third period, Radnicki scored two back-to-back goals (Nikola Jaksic and Strahinja Rasovic) to enter the final quarter with a solid 10:6 advantage. The Serbs controlled the match in the last eight minutes. With three and a half minutes remaining, veteran Dusko Pijetlovic scored his third goal, extending Radnicki’s lead to 13:8. For the first time, the gap between the teams reached five goals, making it clear that Radnicki would advance to the semifinals.
Pro Recco – Vasas 14:7 (3:1, 3:2, 5:2, 3:2) – first leg 11:9
Pro Recco: Cannella 4, Fondelli 3, Di Fulvio 2, Durik 2, Younger 1, Condemi 1, Hallock 1.
Vasas: Gabor 2, Djurdjic 2, Batori 2, Batizi 1.
Pro Recco’s captain, Francesco Di Fulvio, opened the scoring in the fifth minute, while Lorinc responded with an equalizer immediately. Still, in the following several minutes, Recco netted three straight goals for 4:1. The hosts had a 4-goal advantage in the first half (6:2), but Vasas narrowed the gap before the middle break.
During the third period, the hosts, led by Giacomo Canella, doubled the advantage to 10:5, and the contest was over. Recco didn’t slow in the final eight minutes. The hosts increased the margin to nine (14:5). Vasas scored two consolation goals shortly before the end.
Primorac – Sabadell 14:9 (2:2, 4:5, 3:2, 5:0) – first leg 9:17
Primorac: Shushiashvili 4, Matkovic 3, Mrsic 2, S. Cetkovic 1, Vuckovic 1, Brkic 1, P.Cetkovic 1, Stanojevic 1.
Sabadell: Schutze 2, Averka 2, Barroso 2, Bowen 1, Valera 1, Corres 1.
Primorac won by five goals, but the Montenegrins were never close to overcoming the 8-goal deficit from the first match. The Spaniards controlled the game for almost three periods. Primorac made a 7:0 run in the last 11 minutes, but it was too late.
In the 22nd minute, Sabadell established a three-goal lead for the first time when Barroso netted for 9:6. The hosts managed to equalize before the last break, bringing the score to 9:9. Just two and a half minutes into the final quarter, Mrsic gave Primorac its first lead at 10:9. The home side then scored four unanswered goals. Still, Sabadell’s win in the aggregate score was never in jeopardy. Matkovic set the final score with 48 seconds remaining.
