Just as in last May in the F6 semis, Olympiacos (GRE) led throughout the match against Szolnok in the top encounter of Group A. It was a brilliant battle of the defences, both goalkeepers came up with a breathtaking performance, Viktor Nagy and Josip Pavic showed one save after the other, in fact they were ‘responsible’ for the unusually low scoring. Olympiacos was still 2-4 up in the fourth but the Hungarians, fuelled by the inspiring play of leftie Marton Vamos who scored all his team’s goals until that point, pushed the hosts back to equal at 4-4 with 1:45 to go. Emmanouil Mylonakis netted a fine action goal for 4-5 but Andrija Prlainovic put away an extra with 40 seconds from time, securing a 5-5 draw.
The other Hungarian club in the group, OSC did a clean job in Nice. The French tried to keep up with the favourites but they ran out of fuel after the big break. In the first half they bounced back after being 1-4 down and only trailed 6-7 at halftime. Soon, OSC started rolling and scored six unanswered goals, Bence Batori took the lionshare with four great hits. Nice was shut out for 13:38 minutes and could only score when they were 6-13 down. It was the French side’s second home loss, in a group where only two F6 berths are available (Szolnok is the host next May) this might already have put them out of contest.
Brescia (ITA) also found it hard to beat Spandau (GER) but with a stronger finish they prevailed at last. The Germans kept up with the host side until the end of the third period, they came back to 6-5 but a goal from Christian Napolitano with 14 seconds before the break gave Brescia a two-goal lead. Alessandro Nora could add one more early in the fourth for 8-5 and from that point there was no way back for Spandau. They fought hard but missed their man-ups after 9-6 so they couldn’t come any closer.
In Group B Recco demolished Jug in the second period. It’s hard to recall such an overwhelming performance from a visiting team in Dubrovnik: the 2015 winner netted six goals in eight minutes for a 4-8 lead. Recco had a great rush after 4-5, they scored three from action – the last one came from Andro Sukno, born and raised in Dubrovnik – while the Italians killed three Croatian man-ups. Recco went on dominating in the third, thanks to Pietro Figlioli’s blast in the last second they built a six-goal cushion (5-11). Recco didn’t risk anything in the final period and even though Jug pulled three goals back, the visitors’ win was never in danger. In fact, they taught a lesson to the title-holder and sent a strong message to the world on their goals in the current season.
Eger overcame some serious struggles in Belgrade and managed to earn three points but it was a tough journey for the Hungarians. The young players of Partizan managed to catch the right rhythm and they fought pretty hard against their experienced rivals. Eger couldn’t open up the match, the gap had never been two goals between the sides and the young Serbs, led by Ognjen Stojanovic who netted 4, even went 6-5 up at the beginning of the third. Eger regained the lead before the last break but missed a couple of extras in the fourth and Partizan could equalise once more with 1:32 to go. However, Eger had the last laugh, Milos Cuk sent the ball home from a 6 on 5 with 00:58 remaining on the clock (the word “home” has a special meaning here as Cuk is a former student and player of the world famous Partizan academy).
This win is a huge boost for Eger since Barceloneta had to settle for a draw in Hannover. Just as in Belgrade, the game was tied 5-5 at halftime, and through twists and turns the sides had to settle for a draw. The lead was constantly changing, Hannover was 7-6 up before the last period, then the Spaniards took the lead twice in the fourth but Pere Estrany levelled the score at 9-9 with 1:01 to go and Barceloneta missed the last man-up.
Champions League, Main Round – Day 3
Group A
Szolnoki Dozsa Kozgep (HUN) v Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) 5-5
Olympic Nice (FRA) v A Hid-OSC Budapest (HUN) 7-13
AN Brescia (ITA) v Spandau 04 Berlin 9-6
Standings
- Olympiacos 4, 2. Szolnok 4, 3. OSC 3, 4. Brescia 3, 5. Spandau 3, 6. Nice 0
Group B
Jug Croatia Osiguranje Dubrovnik (CRO) v Pro Recco (ITA) 8-11
Partizan Raiffeisen Belgrade (SRB) v ZF Eger (HUN) 8-9
Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) v CNA Barceloneta (ESP) 9-9
Standings
- Recco 6, 2. Barceloneta 4, 3. Jug 3, 4. Eger 3, 5. Hannover 1, 6. Partizan 0
Next round: 21 December 2016
