Trieste and Spandau earned important points in the derby matches on the opening day of the Euro Cup Qualifications
Spandau 04 secured a 14:10 victory over the home team, Apollon, in a match that could be crucial for the battle for the top spot in Group A in Athens. Both the Germans and the Greeks entered the tournament as the favorites.
Trieste narrowly defeated Crvena Zvezda (12:11) in Montpellier.
The other six matches resulted in outcomes that, for the most part, were as expected.
Terrassa, Szolnok, and Vouliagmeni recorded double-digit wins. Terrassa, the organizer of Group D, left no chance to OSC Potsdam – 24:9. Szolnok beat Pays d’Aix 23:10 in the same group. Vouliagmeni trounced Montpellier, the host of Group B, defeating the French by 14 goals (23:9). As mentioned in Total Waterpolo’s preview yesterday, a goal difference may play an important role in determining the three best 2nd-placed teams. Therefore, every team played as best as it could until the end of the game.
2025/26 Euro Cup, Qualifications, Day 1
GROUP A (ATHENS)
Apollon Smyrnis – Spandau 04 10:14 (3:, 2:5, 2:1, 3:4)
Apollon Smyrnis: Solanakis 2, Alamanos 2, Bogdanovic 2, Kapotsis 1, Laskaridis 1, Daube 1, Rompopoulos 1.
Spandau 04: Nagy 4, Caraj 1, Tkac 3, Andruszkiewicz 1, Kojic 1, Culina 1.
ZV De Zaan – Sport Management 18:19 (4:5, 2:1, 2:5, 6:3, PSO 4:5)
ZV De Zaan: Garancsy 4, Janssen 2, Lucas 2, Bakker 1, Rempt 1, D. Ketelaars 1, T. Ketelaars, Haasnoot 1.
Sport Management Tbilisi: Alekseev 4, Vuksanovic 3, Rogac 2, Vukicevic 2, Kikaleishvili 1, Saric 1, Mudrazija 1 .
Spandau 04 maintained the momentum gained at the Champions League qualification tournament in Sabadell, where it suffered two losses, but played very well. The Berliners recorded their first European win of the season, beating Apollon in a crucial match in Group B. Spandau was almost always in front. Apollon leveled the score three times in the early stage (1:1, 2:2, 3:3). In the very last second of the first quarter, Nikola Kojic gave Spandau a 4:3 lead. The Berliners opened the second period with two quick goals to jump to 6:3. From that point on, the German team dictated the pace. Apollon narrowed the gap to two goals on a few occasions, but didn’t come closer.
ZV De Zaan and Sport Management played an interesting match with a few turns. Midway through the first period, ZV De Zaan had a 4:2 advantage. The Georgian team scored three unanswered goals by the end of the first period to earn a 5:4 lead. In the second quarter, Sport Management extended the margin to three goals (10:7, 11:8, 12:9). ZV De Zaan managed to level the score in the fourth quarter, but ultimately lost in a penalty shootout.
October 4: Spandau – ZV De Zaan (18:00 – CET), Apollon Smyrnis – Sport Management (20:00)
GROUP B (MONTPELLIER)
Crvena Zvezda – Trieste 11:12 (1:3, 2:2, 5:3, 3:4)
Crvena Zvezda: M.Radovic 3, Tankosic 3, Gak 2, Nikolov 1, Petkovic 1, Pjesivac 1.
Trieste: V. Draskovic 4, Podgornik 2, Liprandi 2, Mezzarobba 2, Manzi 1, Razzi 1.
Montpellier – Vouliagmeni 9:23 (2:4, 3:6, 3:7, 1:6)
Montpellier: Pal Antal 3, Stojanovic 3, Agrefilo 2, Biek-Pannetier 1.
Vouliagmeni: Spachits 7, Te Riele 4, Tottis 3, Troulos 3, Ubovic 2, Chatzis 2, Kastrinakis 1, Giannatos 1.
Trieste started the match against Crvena Zvezda strongly, scoring three consecutive goals. After falling behind 0:3, the Serbs started coming back and scored their first goal, just 13 seconds before the end of the first quarter. Crvena Zvezda managed to equalize in the middle of the second quarter, but couldn’t take the lead. By halftime, Trieste was ahead 5:3. The Belgrade-based team continued to pursue Trieste, leveling the score at 7:7, 8:8, and 9:9. However, Trieste then netted two back-to-back goals to take an 11:9 lead. The teams then exchanged goals for the remainder of the match, and Trieste ultimately secured all three points.
After failing to reach the Champions League Group Stage, Vouliagmeni demonstrated its power at the start of the Euro Cup Qualifications, sinking Montpellier. The hosts kept with the Greeks for a while. Vouliagmeni opened the match with a 4:1 run, but Montpellier caught up with Vouliagmeni and equalized at 4:4 and again at 5:5. However, after the hosts’ fifth goal, the game turned into a one-sided contest. Vouliagmeni scored five unanswered goals in the last 03:16 minutes of the first half and continued dominating in the following 16 minutes.
October 4: Vouliagmeni – Crvena Zvezda (18:30), Montpellier – Trieste (20:30)
GROUP C (SIBENIK)
Solaris – Dinamo Tbilisi 17:14 (4:3, 4:3, 4:1, 5:7)
Solaris:Cubranic 4, Pelicaric 4, Vlahovic 3, Mijic 3, Zvono 1, Bajic 1, Koprcina 1.
Dinamo: Magrakvelidze 6, Dzkhtsiarenka 2, Mtchedlishvili 2, D. Draskovic 1, Tkeshelashvili 1, Bucan 1.
Rapid – Steaua 10:19 (3:2, 5:6, 0:4, 2:7)
Rapid: Mihai 3, Kovats 2, Giga 2, Goreta 2, Dragomirescu 1.
Steaua: Vucinic 5, Jaukovic 4, Iudean 3, Georgescu 1, Fulea 1, Neamtu 1, Pirianu 1, Fenech 1, Dinca 1, Tepelus 1.
Solaris earned the points it counted on, but the Croats had to dig deep to break Dinamo’s resistance. Late into the fourth quarter, Solaris built a 3-goal lead for the first time (8:5). The hosts got off to an excellent start in the second half, scoring three straight goals for an 11:6 advantage. Still, Dinamo didn’t surrender and cut the deficit to only one goal with five minutes remaining (11:12). Soalris quickly responded with two goals to go to 14:11 and retook control of the game.
Steaua and Rapid were in a neck-and-neck race during the first half of the Romanian derby. Rapid was more often in front. However, neither team had a 2-goal advantage in the first 16 minutes. Steaua, led by Djordje Vucinic, dominated the second half. Early in the fourth period, Steaua earned a 14:8 lead and secured the victory.
October 4: Dinamo Tbilisi – Steaua (18:00), Solaris – Rapid (20:00)
GROUP D (TERRASSA)
Terrassa – OSC Potsdam 24:9 (7:0, 7:5, 6:1, 4:3)
Terrassa:Ten Broek 5, Bargallo 4, Cuacos 4, Teclas 3, Sabadell, Scott 1, Blasco 1, Salvador 1, Chico 1, O.Sanchez 1.
OSC Potsdam: Hofmann 2, Kugler 1, Taubert 1, Kob 1, Arnold 1, Dittmer 1, Ulrich 1, Eisenreich 1.
Szolnok – Pays d’Aix 23:10 (7:1, 4:5, 3:2,9:2)
Szolnok: Zerinvary 4, Krasznai 3, Vamosi 3, Cseh 3, Simon 2, Schmolcz 2, Bedo 2, Kakstedter 1, Boroczky 1, Szabo 1, Zeman 1.
Pays d’Aix: Bachelier 3, Scorletti 2 Ogihara 2, Cavano 1, L.Beteille 1, Drahe 1
Terrassa quickly earned an 8:0 lead in the opening match of the tournament. The hosts slowed down in the final minutes of the first half, but they ruled the field in the second half and secured a very convincing win.
There was no excitement in the second match of the first round in Terrassa either. Szolnok established a 7:1 lead in the first quarter of the game against Pays d’Aix. The French reduced the gap to four goals in the second period (4:8, 5:9, 6:10), but they couldn’t recover from an opening shock.
October 4: Szolnok – OSC Potsdam (16:00), Terrassa – Pays d’Aix (18:00)
