The arrival of the annual Association of Greek Water Polo Referees (SEDY) cup signifies the beginning of the new season in Greece.
The seventh edition of the women’s tournament is this year hosted by the newcomers to the league, Alimos NAC. The participating teams include ANO Glyfada, NC Vouliagmeni, Panionios GSS, Peristeri, SC Alimos NAC and NC Patra. Neither Olympiacos nor Ethnikos are present at the competition.
Tonight’s schedule featured three matches, only one of which was a close contest. A late goal from Nefeli Kovacevic gave host Alimos a narrow victory over Panionios, while two Greek teams with their sights set on the Champions League, Vouliagmeni and Glyfada, cruised to victories over Patra and Peristeri, respectively.
Vouliagmeni will be looking to repeat the achievement of their men’s team, who won the men’s edition of the competition last week.
Results
Alimos NAC 14-13 Panionios GSS (4-2, 4-5, 4-4, 2-2)
Alimos: Chaldaiou 3, Kovacevic 2, Lykothanasis 2, Asimaki 3, Logthestis 1, Mihailovic 1, Bitsakou 1, Tsimara 1,
Panionios: Mavrotas 1, Bogachenko 4, Loudi 1, Kotsia 3, Papanastasiou 3
In the first game of the night, Nefeli Chaldaiou and legend Alexandra Asimaki both notched hat-tricks for the hosts to help them secure the win. Nefeli Kovacevic, a recent acquisition from AEK, proved to be the game’s hero, scoring the game-winning goal with just eight seconds remaining. Panionios’ top scorer in the game was Maria Bogachenko, who was one of Israel’s shining lights at the European Championships this summer. She scored four goals.
NC Patra 5-13 NC Vouliagmeni (1-4, 1-4, 2-3, 1-2)
Patra: Tsimara 2, Koureta 2, Moirali 1,
Vouliagmeni: Elliniadi 6, Giannopoulou 3, Patra 2, Stratidaki 1, Tankeeva 1
Vouliagmeni cruised to an easy victory over Patra behind six goals from Elena Elliniadi. After signing with the club in the summer from Ethnikos, the Greek international, who just won silver at the European Championships in Split, is already proving to be an important contributor. Athina Giannopoulou (3), Maria Patra (2) and Ekaterina Tankeeva were amongst the other scorers. The squad did not include Amy Ridge or Emma Wright.
ANO Glyfada 14-5 Peristeri SC (2-2, 7-0, 3-2, 2-1
Glyfada: P. Ninou 2, Wolves 3, E. Ninou 3, Antoniadis 1, Fountotou 4, Kontogianni 1, Drami 1
Peristeri: Kollitsopoulou 3, Apostolidou 1, Konstantopoulou 1
Glyfada’s dominating performance in the second quarter helped propel them to a resounding victory over Peristeri. During the match, Eleftheria Fountotou scored four goals, and ANOG’s newest Dutch signing, Iris Wolves, celebrated her first game for the club by scoring a well-deserved hat trick.
Fixtures
Saturday, October 1
10:30 – NC Vouliagmeni vs Alimos NAC
11:30 – Peristeri SC vs Panionios GSS
12:30 – ANO Glyfada vs NC Patra
19:00 – ANO Glyfada vs Panionios GSS
20:00 – NC Patra vs Alimos NAC
Sunday, October 2
09:00 – Panionios vs NC Vouliagmeni
10:00 – NC Patra vs Peristeri SC
11:00 – Alimos NAC vs ANO Glyfada
19:00 – Alimos NAC vs Peristeri SC
20:00 – Panionios GSS vs NC Patra
21:00 – ANO Glyfada vs NC Vouliagmeni
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