While Olympiacos (GRE) beat arch-rival Jug (CRO) in a tight match and kept its five-point lead in Group A, the biggest surprise came in Group B where all four teams playing at home lost. Including Szolnok (HUN) as the title-holder team was beaten by fellow Hungarian side Eger – this happened to them for the first time ever in the Champions League.A 4-0 rush at the beginning seemed to place Olympiacos in a great position against Jug in Piraeus in the highlighted match of Group A. However, the replay of the 2016 final soon showed that Jug was still a threat – by the middle of the third the Croats climbed back to 5-4. A lucky goal at the other end gave the hosts a two-goal lead and their Croatian goalie Josip Pavic posted a couple of great saves to preventhis compatriots from closing up. Soon after the start of the fourth a former Jug player Paulo Obradovic widened the gap (7-4) but the Croats kept coming back and they trailed by one again with 2:18 to go. However, Obradovic netted another one to secure an important win for Olympiacos (8-6) so at the halfway mark they enjoy a five-point advantage.
One of the surprise sides of the season, Dynamo (RUS) pulled off another valuable
win to retain their second position. This time they earned three points in Budapest
in the home of OSC (HUN) which is visibly struggling this season. Last year they had
just missed the cut to make the Final Six, now they suffered their fifth straight
defeat after starting their quest with back-to- back wins. In fact, Dynamo rolled
over them in the first half gaining a decisive 1-6 lead. The Hungarians couldn’t
come any closer in the remaining part (5-10) and they need a wonder to qualify.
Brescia (ITA) also had a strong start – indeed the first period decided everything as
the Italians flew to a 7-0 lead against Partizan (SRB). Credit to the young Serbs that
they kept on fighting and ‘won’ the remaining three periods 6-9 though Brescia’s
win was never in danger (13-9). Here the fourth game is due on Thursday, a crucial
encounter featuring Barceloneta (ESP) and Hannover (GER).
All four home teams lost in Group B. While a couple of these results were
predictable, Szolnok’s defeat against fellow Hungarian side Eger is the most
stunning result on Day 7. Since the title-holder side first made the prelims in the
Champions League in the autumn of 2014, it has never lost a game at home. But
this run ended now, after 17 matches – 16 wins and 1 draw – Szolnok left its own
pool empty-handed. The all-Magyar clash produced a real thriller with loads of
twists and turns. Eger took the lead for the first time early in the second at 3-4 but
Szolnok replied with three unanswered goals. The visitors came closer, however,
an action goal three seconds before the middle break halved their deficit (7-6). The
third saw only one hit apiece while Eger started taking control in the fourth. With
5:17 to go they were ahead at 8-9 but the title-holders managed to equalise twice (10-10). Szolnok could have gone ahead but missed a crucial 6 on 5 while Eger managed to bury another extra: just as in the previous one, Daniel Angyal put away the ball from the 2m line. Only 14 seconds were left and Szolnok couldn’t save the game to a tie from the last possession – the three points were crucial for Eger to continue its campaign in a fine position in the second half of the group stage.
Recco (ITA) could thank this and broke three points clear by beating Spandau
(GER), the brightest surprise of the season. And the Germans were on the verge of
causing another upset as Recco sat too comfortable in the driving seat after having
gained a 6-10 lead before the last quarter. With 3:25 to go, Spandau pulled one
back and with 00:39 remaining on the clock the hosts trailed by only one. Twelve
seconds from time they got the ball and had a 6 on 5 but couldn’t complete their
miraculous comeback – this time the magical 10-9 meant only a fine loss to
Spandau (previously they stunned the two Hungarian sides by winning with that
scoreline).
Jadran (MNE) claimed a big win in Sabadell (ESP) which virtually ousted the
Spaniards from the hunt for the qualifying berths. In fact, Jadran kept up with the
‘big boys’ of the group thanks to its great effort in this away match. The
Montenegrins were ahead for most of the time, after two periods they went 3-6
up and led by two before the last one (6-8). Sabadell levelled the score in 63
seconds early in the fourth but Jadran responded well with connecting goals, then
killed three man-downs to collect three pretty valuable points (8-10).
Though Alphen (NED) prepared to earn a positive result at last against another
newcomer Steaua (ROU), the Dutch couldn’t get off from the losing trail. They
were unable to find their rhythm while the Romanians enjoyed their best spell so
far. The hosts could score their first goal at 0-13, in the fourth period (after 24:36
minutes) and even though they added three more later but couldn’t avoid another
bad defeat.
Champions League, Day 7
Group A
Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) v Jug Croatia Osiguranje Dubrovnik (CRO) 8-6
A Hid-OSC Budapest (HUN) v Dynamo Moscow (RUS) 5-10
AN Brescia (ITA) v Partizan Belgrade (SRB) 13-9
Barceloneta (ESP) v Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) – Thursday at 19.15
Standings
1. Olympiacos 19, 2. Dynamo 14, 3. Brescia 13, 4. Jug 10, 5. Barceloneta 9 (6
matches), 6. OSC 6, 7. Hannover 6 (6), 8. Partizan 0
Group B
Astralpool Sabadell (ESP) v Jadran Carine Herceg Novi (MNE) 8-10
Szolnoki Dozsa-Kozgep (HUN) v ZF-Eger (HUN) 10-11
Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v Pro Recco (ITA) 9-10
AZC Alphen (NED) v Steaua Bucharest (ROU) 4-15
Standings
1. Recco 18, 2. Szolnok 15, 3. Spandau 15, 4. Eger 13, 5. Jadran 13, 6. Steaua 6, 7.
Sabadell 3, 8. Alphen 0
