Showtime in New York: Fradi beat Recco in thrilling shootout

At their joint tour showcasing water polo in New York, Champions League title-holder FTC Telekom and Euro Cup winner Pro Recco played their first official game. They didn’t hold back anything as the clash offered everything one may expect from a match of these two giants. At the end, Fradi prevailed in a dramatically spotlit shootout

If this was a foretaste of what to expect from these two brilliant side’s Super Cup Final on October 8 then all fans should rush to the ticket-counters to book their seats for the Budapest showdown. This dramatic match thrilled the New York fans, offering everything top-class water polo should.

Recco had a strong start in New York. Credit:Pro Recco

Recco stormed to a 0-3 lead but FTC climbed back so the Italians led only 4-3 after the action-packed first period. It was even till 5-5, when Daniel Szakonyi stopped Francesco Cannella’s one-on-one and Szilard Jansik put Fradi ahead for the first time in the game.

After several joint trainings and scrimmages, and also a couple of minor fights already in this game, a rather serious duel ended in the 4-minute ejection of Stylianos Argyropoulos. Recco equalised from the penalty but in the following minutes the Italians were unable to beat incoming goalie Marton Levai, while Vince Varga managed to score shortly before the middle break for 7-6.

Recco couldn’t really capitalise on the four-minute man-up and the game remained balanced till 9-9. Then the last two MVPs of the Final Fours, Krisztian Manhercz and Dusan Mandic, came up with a couple of blistering shots, and for the first time, the Magyars led by two, at 11-9.

Fradi (FTC) geared up in the second half, Credit: FTC-Telekom

Still, Recco staged a strong finish, netting three goals in a row to retake the lead at 11-12, but next came Fradi with a double to make it 13-12. With two minutes remaining, Luke Pavillard levelled it up once more, then at the end Recco had a ball to win the match, but Francesco di Fulvio hit the post with his lost shot.

The decision came in the shootout, where the Champions League winners prevailed, despite their penalty-stopping magician Soma Vogel, recovering from his injury, hitting the water only in the middle break when some spectators enjoyed the chance to shoot penalties to him and Gianmarco Nicosia.

In the real shootout at the end, Recco could put away only one penalty, while the Hungarians scored three to earn the win. Shooters might have been affected by the special environment created for the shootout as complete darkness enveloped the pool. The lights were only directed to the shooter and the goal and the goalie. Still, it ended as has been usual in big finals since 2018 where Fradi are part of a shootout.

The key moment in the Shootout Theatre: Marton Levai stops Alvaro Granados’ penalty. Credit: FTC-Telekom

FTC-Telekom v Pro Recco 13-13, penalties: 3-1

Scorers

FTC: Manhercz 3, Fekete 2, Vámos, Jansik, Varga, Argyiropoulos, Di Somma, De Toro, Vismeg, Molnar

Recco: Di Fulvio 2, Iocchi Gratta 2, Cannella, Presciutti, Pavillard, Granados, Irving, Mladossich, Patchaliev, Fondelli, Condemi

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

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