Sharpshooters Recco open up four-goal lead against Radnicki in Euro Cup final
Pro Recco’s pursuit of a first Euro Cup title remains firmly on track, as they beat SPD Radnicki 12-16 in the opening leg of the final in Serbia on Saturday night. Captain Francesco Di Fulvio led the Italians’ charge, top scoring with five, as Recco fought back brilliantly from 6-3 down in the second quarter to put one hand on the trophy and take home a four-goal advantage ahead of the decisive second-leg in two weeks’ time.
2024/25 Euro Cup Men
Final, First-Leg
Saturday, 10 May 2025
SPD Radnicki (SRB) 12-16 Pro Recco (ITA)
SPD Radnicki started the first-leg confidently and opened the scoring in the second minute through a Nikola Jaksic penalty. The Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist smashed the ball into the bottom left corner and gave Recco goalkeeper Marco Del Lungo no chance.
The hosts continued to dominate the early exchanges, and with 3:39 on the clock, Valiko Dadvani rifled in a powerful shot from the right side to put the Serbians two up.
Radnicki number one Radoslav Filipovic – who also stood on the podium alongside Jaksic in Paris last summer – was in fine form and made several great saves, before Francesco Cannella finally found a way past him with 3:16 remaining in the first.
Soon, the scores were level at 2-2, as Recco captain Francesco Di Fulvio settled his players by firing in from the perimeter during a six on five.
The home fans were quickly on their feet again, though, when Strahinja Rasovic broke down the left-hand side and fed the unmarked Petar Jaksic to put Radnicki back in front, and then Dusan Vasic converted a well-worked six on four to make it 4-2 seven seconds before the first buzzer.
In the second quarter, the Regional League champions extended their advantage to three inside the first minute, as Dusko Pijetlovic over-powered his marker on two metres to make it 5-2.
Andrea Fondelli replied for Recco with a stunning strike, but Rasovic was on target from a man-up to restore the hosts’ three-goal lead at 6-3 and it looked as if the Italians were in for a rough night.
The 11-times Champions League winners began to show their quality, though, and hammered in four unanswered goals to turn the game around and finish the half 6-7 in front.
Gonzalo Echenique, Matteo Iocchi and Francesco Condemi were the scorers to make things even at 6-6, then Recco worked the ball nicely around the perimeter to Iocchi, who arrowed in a pinpoint shot that flew into the top-right corner to the put the visitors ahead for the first time, 1:36 before the turnaround.
In the third, Rasovic struck from a man-up – bouncing the ball under the left-arm of Del Lungo – but Di Fulvio responded within a minute, also from a six on five, to reclaim the lead for Recco.
With 2:37 on the clock, the Italians took a two-goal lead for the first time in the game, as Condemi scored from a man-up to make it 7-9 and Iocchi completed his hat-trick for 7-10 with 1:14 remaining.
Del Lungo had been in sensational form, making several blocks to keep Radnicki at bay, but at the end of the third, Rasovic’s shot from distance somehow went through him for 8-10.
The Serbians man-up conversion rate was really hurting them at this stage, as their tally stood at two from 11, while Recco’s was seven from 12.
At the beginning of the fourth, things got worse for the hosts, as Lukas Durik lost his marker Nikola Jaksic on two metres to comfortably make it 8-11, but two excellent strikes from Dadvani hauled Radnicki back within touching distance at 10-11.
Fondelli and Di Fulvio re-established Recco’s three-goal lead, then Nikola Murisic was on target from a man-up midway through the final quarter.
Recco captain Di Fulvio was really beginning to find his range from distance, and he hit another pinpoint effort from deep for 11-14, and Cannella finished off a fast counter for 11-15, as the game started to slip away from Radnicki.
Nikola Jaksic buried his second penalty of the game with 2:33 to go, but Di Fulvio put Recco four ahead again after unleashing another sublime shot from a man-up to score his fifth of the night.
The final minute saw Recco mostly maintain possession, much to Radnicki’s frustration, as they forced two corners and comfortably held onto their four-goal lead.
Ultimately, Recco’s shooting proved the difference, as they fired in 16 goals from 32 shots, with nine from 16 attempts on extra, while the hosts could only manage 10 goals from 23 shots, and five from 19 man-ups.
The Euro Cup final second-leg takes place on Saturday 24th May. You can watch all the action live on www.euroaquaticstv.com, and stay up-to-date with all the results and real-time updates through the European Aquatics App. Download it here: Google Play.
Andy Rollé for European Aquatics
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