October 2024

Olympiacos are yet to grab three points in a home match in the Champions League Group Stage. After a shootout win on Day 1, against Primorac, this time they fell to Savona in a thrilling match which may even jeopardise their qualification to the next round as Sabadell gained two points in the group in Kotor. Barceloneta set a new single-game scoring record of 19 goals against Marseille while Jadran Herceg Novi won their first match, but that was a bang in Budapest against Vasas. Group C (Wednesday) Zodiac CNA Barceloneta (ESP) v CN Marseille (FRA) 19-14, Vasas-Plaket (HUN) v Jadran m:tel Herceg Novi (MNE) 6-14 Standings: 1. Barceloneta 9, 2. Jadran 3, 3. Marseille 3, 4. Vasas 3 In the big game of the day, Barceloneta built a 4-2 lead in the first against Marseille as their young Hungarian winger, Vince Vigvari, enjoyed a tremendous shooting form early on, scoring three in eight minutes. Then, in the second, his mastershooter mates also joined the party – as well as Marseille’s big guns. Scoring never looked so easy as in this quarter, as goalies could barely touch the ball as it landed in the nets five times at both ends. Until the scoreline hit 6-6, Marseille did really well, but then Alvaro Granados fired in two in back-to-back possessions; Andrija Prlainovic missed a penalty – his ball hit both posts but never crossed the line – and Bernat Sanahuja added another one. This 3-0 run in 1:50 minutes did the damage, though Prlainovic made up for his mistake with a brilliant move in action. Even if it was nice, it didn’t bother the locals that much as Barceloneta kicked off the second half with two fast goals for 11-7 and there was soon no way back for the French. Though they pulled two back, their new goalie Petar Tesanovic was unable to handle the perimeter shots: Unai Biel lobbed him, before Granados hit another one from 7m to return the four goal gap, which grew further as Granados added two more early in the fourth as the match was transforming into a series of ambitious shots to try and change the game. With 3:47 to go, Roger Tahull hit No. 18 for Barceloneta – setting the Spanish a task for almost half the period to better the single game scoring record in the current season – which they had set on the opening day – and had been tied by Savona on Day 2 and by Ferencvaros on Tuesday. It took a while as Gergo Burian’s action shot hit the back of the net 24 seconds from time as the encounter produced a handball-like final result, 19-14. In the earlier match, Jadran Herceg Novi demolished Vasas in Budapest. The Hungarians had a great match two weeks ago as they downed Marseille, but this time they missed all the chances they had converted on Day 2. At the same time, the Montenegrins and their Russian leftie Dmitri Kholod were really effective at both ends of the pool. They jumped to a 1-4 lead in eight minutes and led 2-7 at halftime. Kholod hit his 5th goal for 2-8 in the third and even though the hosts climbed back to 4-8, they never looked like a team which could gain anything substantive. In the end, they were thrashed in the final period as Jadran added six more to win its first match with a huge margin. Group D Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) v RN Savona (ITA) 9-10, Primorac Kotor (MNE) v KEIO CN Sabadell (ESP) 11-11, pen: 5-3 Standings: 1. Savona 6, 2. Olympiacos 5, 3. Sabadell 5, 4. Primorac 2 Olympiacos had already been walking on thing ice on the opening day as they managed to save their match against Primorac to a shootout where they kept two points at home. While they were superior in Sabadell, their home field struggles came back while meeting Savona. The Greeks scored their first goal 21 seconds from time in the first period, by then the Italians had already been 0-2 up – and Daniil Merkulov could even add another one from action with 6 seconds on the clock. Olympiacos raised the level of their game in the next period; Konstantinos Genidounias was on fire as he hit three man-up goals, with Ioannis Fountoulis buried a penalty, while only Merkulov and veteran Pietro Filgiolo could score for Savona to make it 5-5 at halftime. The Greeks couldn’t maintain that run in the third, and after a quick exchange of goals –  Merkulov put away a 6 on 5 with the hosts unable to reply, and soon Balazs Erdelyi also hit one from a man-up to make it 6-8. Nikolaos Gkillas pulled one back in a dying man-up, but he missed the next shot in their following attack. Even though they survived a man-down, Figlioli’s fine move and finish doubled Savona’s lead once more for 7-9 as 3:36 remained on the clock. Olympiacos’ new signing, Gergo Zalanki, returning from his ban, finally found the back of the net from a man-up, but the Italians responded with one of the most fantastic centre-shots of the season, courtesy of Lorenzo Bruni, whose gentle touch proved to be the game winner. Genidounias hit his fourth, again from a 6 on 5, and at 9-10 there was still 1:38 to play. Zalanki couldn’t save the day for Olympiacos, even though he took the last two shots. The other match in Kotor also ended up in a thriller. Primorac and Sabadell used all the firepower they had right in the opening period, with the lead was changing constantly. As the buzzer went off, the Montenegrins were in front at 5-4. The second period was a bit calmer thanks to the tightening defences – the Spaniards had a better spell as they could score two from the action, while killing back-to-back man-downs to go 5-6 up. It was Primorac’s turn, though, and they replied with two before the halftime break to

Title-holders FTC-Telekom and last season’s Final Four participant Novi Beograd are on their way to the Quarter-Final Round after fine home wins in the third round of the Group Stage in the Champions League. Radnicki survived a real scare in Tbilisi while Steaua couldn’t hold onto the two-goal lead in the last minute once more and this time they lost the shootout to fellow Romanian side Oradea. Group A Novi Beograd (SRB) v Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) 10-8, Steaua Bucharest (ROU) v CSM Oradea (ROU) 13-13, pen: 7-8 Standings: 1. Novi Beograd 9, 2. Oradea 5, 3. Steaua 3, 4. Hannover 1 In Belgrade, it all began in the expected way as the Serbs stormed to a 5-2 lead in the first period. But it continued very differently – after hitting five in eight minutes, NBG’s offence simply stopped working and they could only add a lonely goal in the following two quarters. The Germans fought hard as they do at any time and managed to pull two back before halftime, killing two man-downs before the middle break. They had more possession to get even but couldn’t really create great chances as Vasilje Martinovic finally broke the ice for NBG after 9:37 minutes for 6-4. But that was it, the Serbs went on wasting their 6 on 5s – they couldn’t make any of the 7 they earned in these periods which also credited the Waspo defenders for their efforts. Martinovic kicked off the fourth with another action goal after 25 seconds and soon Marko Dimitrijevic managed to score from a man-up for 8-5. It was still 9-6 for NBG but they still faced some heated moments after Mark Gansen hit two in a minute for 9-8 with 1:25 to go. But the hosts kept their calm, forced a man-up and Dimitrios Skoumpakis netted it 48 seconds from time to secure another win for NBG. The Romanian derby produced another thriller in the Otopeni Pool where the fans witnessed another penalty shootout. Two weeks ago, Steaua won against Hannover in the penalties, now they could keep only one point at home. What was common: they had a two-goal lead in hand late in the fourth but were unable to hold onto it till the end. It was a game of twists and turns, the hosts jumped to a 3-1 lead but Oradea caught a high wave and after 4-3 they staged a 0-3 surge, the last came in the very last second by David Belenyesi which gave Oradea a 4-6 lead. Next came Steaua’s storm, after a quick exchange of goals it was the hosts’ turn to come up with a 4-0 run and they maintained that gap till the last break. The fourth was devoted to madness. In 1:45 minutes, the visitors hit three in a row to take over the lead at 10-11 – only to watch Steaua do the same, a 3-0 run, with two killed man-down and the hosts were 13-11 up with 3:13 to go. With 1:52 to go, Steaua had a match ball, a 6 on 5 after a time-out but missed it and with 1:10 from time Ivan Gusarov sent a fierce shot to the net from the perimeter for 13-12. And just like two weeks ago, Steaua couldn’t bag all three points as Oradea forced a penalty at 0:04 and Ivan Gardasevic put it away. This set the ground for the shootout which lasted eight rounds. And it was Ivan Zivkovic who missed the crucial one – in fact his first one was also saved – and Oradea sailed away with two really valuable points. Group B FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN) v Jadran Split (CRO) 18-9, Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) v SPD Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB) 9-10 Standings: 1. FTC 9, 2. Jadran 5, 3. Radnicki 4, 4. Dinamo 0 Ferencvaros staged a brutal demonstration of power as they dismantled the Croatian champions in the second half of their encounter. Though Fradi galopped to a 3-1 lead, Marko Bijac started delivering a series of fine saves and with that firm backing Jadran not only climbed back but they took the lead at 4-5. At that point no one thought that this was going to be Split’s last sign of life for 14 minutes. Stylianos Argyropoulos was on fire once more and Dusan Mandic joined the party as he scored from the centre to regain the lead before halftime at 6-5. While this was on the cards – what happened in the third period was not, perhaps. The title-holders geared up, Edoardo di Somma netted two in 31 seconds for 8-5 to deliver the first blow. Then the hosts denied Jadran in a man-down and Adam Nagy stunned Bijac from the distance, at 9-5 Jadran seemed to be done. They were running out of energy and ideas while the home side never considered slowing down an option. A bit later Krisztian Manhercz added two and Nagy completed the devastating run with a last-gasp action goal. The 6-0 rout did the damage, though the Croats could score again after 14 minutes and managed to find the back of the net four times in the fourth, still, they were unable to prevent Fradi from hitting six more. One should dig deep into the archives to find a match where Marko Bijac conceded 18 goals in regular time – but Ferencvaros seems to have hit a devastating form already and on their way to the Quarter-final Round. Though teams may sometimes consider their visit to Tbilisi an easy tour, if they don’t enter the pool with full focus they could get into trouble. And this is what happened to Radnicki who found themselves 5-1 down deep into the second period – a bit for a team featuring freshly crowned Olympic champs. Two of Paris’s heroes, Nikola Jaksic and Strahinja Rasovic halved the gap in 43 seconds before halftime, still, they had a lot to work. In the third, NBG lost one of their key men, Radomir Drasovic with

Primorac Kotor, once a team to beat—champions in 2007 and finalists in 2008—are now a young squad with a mix of seasoned veterans. Still, they pulled off the first upset of the group stage, forcing a shootout in Piraeus against last season’s bronze medallists, Olympiacos. It seems the season opener could be tough for the favourites if they haven’t played enough competitive matches. The Greeks struggled to maintain a high level throughout the game, and the Montenegrins capitalised on that. Primorac’s performance with a man advantage was impressive, converting 7 of 11 opportunities—an achievement any team would be proud of, especially against Olympiacos in Piraeus. Ironically, they failed to score on their most crucial chance at 11-12, when a goal might have secured them three points. They also missed a key penalty in the shootout; had their Georgian left-hander Shushiashvili scored, Primorac could have walked away with two points. Speaking of left-handers, Olympiacos were without their star, Gergo Zalanki. The Hungarian, who joined the team after leaving Recco, is serving a two-game suspension following a red card for violent conduct in the June final. He’s expected to return by the third round. The four teams that came through the qualification round enjoyed a great start to the group stage. Two of them earned important away wins—Oradea upset Waspo in Hannover, and Sabadell overcame Savona. Radnicki almost did the same in Split, launching another fourth-quarter 4-0 run after trailing by three goals, just as they had done in the qualifiers against BVSC and Mladost. They even took the lead with 11 seconds left, but a last-second goal from Loren Fatovic forced a shootout, where Jadran ultimately prevailed. The fourth qualifying side, Jadran m:tel, also put in a strong performance in Marseille but lost amidst controversy. European Aquatics officials are conducting a post-game review of a serious incident, with further action expected. Zodiac Barceloneta put on the most dominant offensive display in the first round, scoring 18 goals. While their attacking prowess is well known, netting that many against a Hungarian team is particularly noteworthy. It also raises concerns about whether Vasas are truly ready for their Champions League return after a 12-year absence. The last time they participated, they reached the Final Four. Their current line-up doesn’t seem to be on the same level, perhaps not even comparable to the team that lifted the Euro Cup two years ago. The coming matches will reveal if Vasas can recover from this heavy defeat. In contrast, the other Hungarian side, FTC-Telekom, began their title defence in style, netting 16 goals against Dinamo Tbilisi. This victory came just 72 hours after their Super Cup win against Jug AO, despite fielding a different team. Many of their star players were rested, but their ‘Next Gen’ talents rose to the occasion, proving that both the present and future look bright for Fradi. Finally, it was intriguing to watch 2022 and 2023 finalists, Novi Beograd, take on Steaua Bucharest. The Romanians stayed level with the Serbs for three quarters but ran out of steam in the fourth, where NBG pulled away with a 5-1 run. Still, the Serbian team faces challenges in building up their reshaped roster. Since last season, they’ve lost a significant amount of experience and firepower with the departure of Alvaro Granados (who eventually joined Barceloneta after a brief stint with Recco), triple Olympic champion Nikola Jaksic, and fellow Paris gold medallist Radomir Drasovic. Additionally, legends Filip Filipovic and Dusko Pijetlovic have retired—though Pijetlovic was later coaxed into a final season with Radnicki. It will be a huge challenge for coach Zivko Gocic to guide his team to their fourth consecutive Final Four.

After their miraculous comebacks in the qualification round, Radnicki produced another in their Champions League Group Stage opener away in Split. Despite their late heroics, Loren Fatovic saved the day for the hosts, who then won a thrilling shootout. Title-holders Ferencvaros and Final Four participants Novi Beograd both kicked off their respective campaigns with fine home wins, while Oradea stunned Waspo in Hannover. Group A Novi Beograd (SRB) 10-7 Steaua Bucharest (ROU)Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) 9-11 CSM Oradea (ROU) Steaua stunned Novi Beograd right away by scoring three connecting goals from action to lead 0-3 after five minutes. The Serbs needed five and a half minutes to open their account, their Greek sniper Dimitrios Skoumpakis netted a man-up, then Nikola Lukic buried a penalty and Skoumpakis scored a fine one from action eight seconds before the first break to make it even. When NBG killed a man-down and converted their following one for 4-3, it was felt they might start rolling. Instead, Steaua equalised in 21 seconds and the hosts’ struggles came back – at least they didn’t concede any more in this period, though didn’t add more either so it stood 4-4 at half-time. And after three periods, a surprise was in the air as the Romanians were still holding on at 6-6. NBG had taken the lead again and again, but Vlad-Luca Georgescu kept managing to level the scores with brilliant hits from action. Dorde Vucinic fired in two early goals in the fourth, in a span of 43 seconds, for 8-6, but Silvian Colodrovschi still kept Steaua in the game with another great one from the centre. Then came another double, this time from Skoumpakis in 45 seconds for 10-7 and that broke the Romanians’ resistance. They missed three more man-ups – altogether they were 0 for 7, so it was a bit miraculous they could stay close for so long – while Vucinic put away one more for NBG. He and Skoumpakis netted four apiece and were instrumental in the hosts’ decisive 5-1 run in the fourth period. The other Romanian side, Oradea, also stormed to a 0-3 lead in Hannover, but they kept it till the end of the first period as they were 2-5 up and expanded the gap in the second to make it 3-7 by half-time. The third produced almost as many goals as the entire first half, nine, but Hannover couldn’t come much closer. At one point they managed to climb back to 6-7, but the Romanians replied with two within a minute to reset the three-goal gap and they kept it till the end of the third, as Tiberiu Negrean buried a man-up with 0:04 on the clock for 8-11. Though the visiting side didn’t add any more in the fourth, Hannover were unable to capitalise. Despite Marko Macan pulling one back right away, their next hit came only 21 seconds from time and the Romanians could keep the ball and kick off their campaign with a crucial away win. Group B FTC-Telekom (HUN) 16-7 Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)Jadran Split (CRO) 10-10 (5-3P) Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB) Just 72 hours after their Super Cup triumph, last season’s champions FTC were back in the Komjadi Pool in Budapest for their Champions League opener. The clash against Dinamo Tbilisi looked a lot easier on paper compared to playing Jug, but for the first eight minutes, it was anything but an easy ride for the Hungarians. FTC had to equalise three times in the opening quarter before Vendel Vigvari put the home team in front for the first time with 13 seconds to go. However, the Georgians had an answer for that, as Besarion Akhvlediani’s brilliant lob from distance brought them back to even in the last second for 4-4. It was time for the title-holders to wake up and they did indeed. They produced a 5-1 run in the second period – they produced the same rush against Jug, only in the third – Stylianos Argyropoulos led the charge, and he finished the match with five goals. The flow continued in the third, even though the home side didn’t field their A team, Fradi’s youngsters, including a couple of Champions League rookies, did really well as the third ended in a 4-0 thrashing. Still, Dinamo’s Irakli Razmadze came up with a series of huge saves, 12 in total, to prevent FTC from an even bigger victory. The Magyars took 42 shots, with the ones on target numbering 29-15 which highlighted the enormous difference between the teams. Elsewhere, the big clash of the day in Split began with a bang as Jadran took a 2-0 lead with two man-up goals. Jerko Marinic-Kragic hit the first after three minutes, then Ivan Zovic added another late in the opening quarter, and between those two goals, Radnicki missed several glorious chances – man-ups, a counter and a penalty. They wasted two more 6 on 5s while Zvonimir Butic netted a fine action goal for 3-0 while Croatian legend Marko Bijac, returning home after years away, delivered great saves and stood 7/7. His magic spell was broken after 14:19 minutes, and soon was shattered as the Serbs added two more – in 99 seconds they came back to 4-3. Loren Fatovic blasted one from a 6 on 5 in the third, but this time Radnicki needed 25 seconds to score twice for 5-5. And they had a 6 on 5 to go ahead, missed it and the Fatovic Show continued as he retook the lead from a man-up and with 0:02 on the clock he sent another rocket to the net for 7-5. Fatovic went on scoring in the fourth for 8-5 and with 6:26 to go, Jadran still led 9-6. However, Radnicki showed in the qualification that they had a special fighting spirit when they staged two 4-0 runs respectively against BVSC and Mladost to erase big deficits and get here. And, as unbelievable as it may sound, they did it again. It wasn’t a whirlwind, as