The encounter between two former European champions Szolnok (winner in 2017) and Olympiacos (winner in 2002 and 2018) was the highlight of Day 4 in Group A of the Champions League. The game was played in Szolnok. Olympiacos took all three points after a hard-fought battle 8:7.

The surprise of the day happened in Split, in the Croatian derby. Jadran Split edged out Jug (12:11). Spandau and Jadran Herceg Novi shared the points in Berlin (9:9).

Only one of today’s matches didn’t saw a thrilling ending. Barceloneta beat Sintez in a flood of goals (22:10).

After Day 4, Olympiacos is the only unbeaten team in this group.

Champions League 2019/20, Main Round, Day 4

Group A

Szolnok – Olympiacos 7:8 (2:3, 3:3, 1:2, 1:0)

Szolnoki Dosza: Drasovic 3, V. Rasovic 1, Dory 1, Lazic 1, Subotic 1.
Olympiacos:Mitrovic 2, Jokovic 1, Skoumpakis 1, Buljubasic 1, Kakaris 1.

Szolnok scored an opening goal , but the visitors gained a 2:1 advantage in the 4th minute. From that point on, the Greeks were leading for most of the time, but their advantage was never larger than two goals. The Hungarian side managed to equalise twice – 2:2 in the first and 5:5 in the second quarter.

The visitors their last goal scored in the 5th minute of the 3rd period for 8:6. After that, defences dominated on both sides. The next goal was scored a minute and a half before the end when Szolnok cut the deficit (7:8). Olympiacos missed an action shot in the next possession, while Szolnok earned a man-up in their last attack, but they missed with 5 seconds to go and Olympiacos celebrated a win.

Jadran S – Jug 12:11 (2:4, 3:2, 2:3, 5:2)

Jadran Split: Viskovic 3, Duzevic 3, Buric 2, Delic 2, Setka 1, Krapic 1.
Jug: Merkulov 3, Obradovic 2, Loncar 2, Macan 1, Fatovic 1, Krzic 1, Zuvela 1.

Two weeks ago, Jug defeated Jadran in the Regional League (15:11). Today, the Split-based team took revenge, thanks to a comeback in the last quarter. Jug controlled the opening minutes. Early in the second, the visitors led 5:2. Jadran started climbing back step-by-step and equalized after just 8 seconds of play in the third period (6:6). However, Jug entered the last period with a 2-goal advantage (9:7).

Jadran produced a 4:0 run in the fourth quarter and earned an 11:9 advantage with 02:55 remaining on the clock. The visitors levelled the score (11:11) 92 seconds before the end. However, Jadran grabbed a new lead, thanks to Viskovic’s goal from an extra for 12:11 (0:57 before the end). Jug had the last chance, but Anic saved Garcia’s shot with 28 seconds to go and Jadran recorded its first victory in the season, while Jug suffered its first loss.

Spandau 04 – Jadran HN 9:9 (1:0, 2:5, 3:2, 3:2)

Spandau 04: Kholod 3, Gielen 1, Negrean 1, Dedovic 1, Stamm 1, Restovic 1, Pjesivac 1.
Jadran Herceg Novi: Averka 4, Cagalj 1, Vucurovic 1, Dj. Radovic 1, Spaic 1, Petkovic 1.

Spandau was the team which controlled the game in the opening minutes and earned a 2:0 lead early in the second quarter. But, Jadran responded with a 5:1 series and went 5:3 up before the halftime. The Montenegrins even built a 3-goal gap in the third period (6:3 and 7:4), but Spandau refused to lie down and die. In the 27th minute, Jadran was two goals ahead 9:7. In the middle of the quarter, Spandau netted two goals in a span of 69 seconds to equalise. There were no goals in the remaining time and the rivals shared the points.

Sintez – Barceloneta 12:20 (1:5, 5:5, 4:5, 2:5)

Sintez Kazan: Andryukov 3, Ryzhov-Alenichev 2, Lisunov 2, Bugaychuk 2, Lazarev 1, Krasnov 1, Mironov 1.
Barceloneta: Granados 6, Munarriz 4, Aleksic 3, Perrone 3, Bodegas 1, Larumbe 1, Fernandez Miranda 1, Tahull 1.

A total of 32 goals were scored in an encounter between Sintez and Barceloneta, played in Kazan! The visitors from Spain opened rushed to a 7:1 lead by the middle of the second quarter, but the Russians were able to come back. Sintez came very close to the Spaniards during the third quarter (9:10 and 10:11). After that, Barceloneta, led by Alvaro Granados, netted five unanswered goals and built a safe 16:10 lead in the 25th minute. In the end, the visitors recorded a 22:10 victory, with six goals scored by Alvaro Granados.

1 Olympiacos (GRE) 4 – 12
2 Jug (CRO) 4 – 9
3 Barceloneta (ESP) 4 – 9
4 Szolnok (HUN) 4 – 6
5 Jadran S (CRO) 4 – 4
6 Sintez (RUS) 4 – 3
7 Spandau (GER) 4 – 2
8 Jadran HN (MNE) 4 – 1

Group B (9 November)

Waspo Hannover – Pro Recco
Terrassa– Mladost
OSC Budapest– Marseille
Dinamo Tbilisi – Ferencvaros