Champions League Men: Jadran Herceg Novi claim huge win in Belgrade

Jadran m:tel Herceg Novi and HAVK Mladost pulled off crucial away wins on Day 3 of the men’s Champions League Group Stage. The Montenegrins beat last season’s finalists Novi Beograd, while Mladost scored the final three goals in Budapest to fend off Vasas’s late surge. Elsewhere, the Italian sides cruised to comfortable victories – Recco thrashed Jadran Split, while Brescia overwhelmed CSM Oradea.

Champions League Men
Group Stage, Day 3
Tuesday 11 November

Group A

Vasas Plaket (HUN) 10-13 HAVK Mladost (CRO)

Group B

VK Novi Beograd (SRB) 11-12 Jadran m:tel Herceg Novi (MNE)
Pro Recco (ITA) 15-9 VK Jadran Split (CRO)

Group C

CSM Oradea (ROU) 11-16 AN Brescia (ITA)

Group A

Vasas Plaket (HUN) 10-13 HAVK Mladost (CRO)

Mladost had to survive a late scare, but a brilliant 0-3 finish earned them three crucial points in Budapest.

Vasas buried two extra-man goals in just 47 seconds to take a 2-1 lead, but after missing another six-on-five, the momentum shifted. Mladost struck twice to edge ahead 2-3 after the opening eight minutes.

Defences tightened further in the second quarter. Both teams converted one extra, then killed off the next opportunities. While the Croats were sharp from close range, they struggled to beat Marton Mizsei from distance – though Ivan Marcelic was equally strong in Mladost’s goal, denying Vasas sharpshooter Bogdan Durđic on a couple of occasions.

Konstantin Kharkov’s fierce perimeter strike doubled Mladost’s lead a minute before half-time, and the hosts failed to capitalise on two more man-up chances before the break.

That proved costly as Kharkov opened the third with another thunderous goal in a six-on-five, and after a successful man-down defence, Josip Vrlic finished off a counter for 3-7.

Vasas, showing the same attacking struggles seen against Olympiacos (when they managed only five goals on Day 2), finally found some rhythm, scoring twice to halve the deficit after missing four straight man-ups.

Luka Loncar restored Mladost’s cushion with a close-range finish, but Tamas Gyarfas replied from distance to keep Vasas within reach at 6-8 heading into the fourth.

Vrlic quickly re-established the three-goal gap with a powerful centre shot just 43 seconds into the final quarter, only for Soma Lakatos to respond immediately from a man-up.

That set off an attacking flurry – Ante Vukicevic converted on extra, but Vasas hit back with two rapid action goals to close the gap to one within 35 seconds (9-10).

Tension mounted, and after two minutes of fierce battling, Angelos Foskolos struck his second from the centre – a superb backhand that levelled the score at 10-10 with 3:27 remaining.

The Croats, however, kept their composure and found their best finishes when it mattered most.

Within 53 seconds, Franko Lazic fired home in a six-on-five, a crucial block denied Vasas at the other end, and Andrija Basic’s fierce bouncer made it 10-12.

Marcelic then produced his 12th save of the night during a man-down, effectively sealing the contest. Luka Bukic’s fine action goal from Ivan Nagaev’s pinpoint assist added the finishing touch, completing Mladost’s decisive 0-3 run in the final three minutes.

Group B

VK Novi Beograd (SRB) 11-12 Jadran m:tel Herceg Novi (MNE)

For eight minutes, it looked like just another familiar chapter in this rivalry, as Novi Beograd dominated from the start. The Serbs raced to a 2-0 lead and, although Jadran managed to get on the scoreboard, the hosts were sharper at both ends and led 4-2 after the opening period. Late in the quarter, Jadran’s Francesco Valera missed a penalty, giving the home side an extra lift.

After that action-packed start, the second quarter began to resemble the old, fierce defensive battles between the Serbians and Montenegrins.

For four and a half minutes, it was a physical contest filled with exclusions, but both goalkeepers and defences stood firm. NBG missed a six-on-four opportunity, and after a third successful man-down defence, Strahinja Gojkovic delighted his father, Vladimir, on Jadran’s bench by breaking the deadlock with a fine action goal for 4-3.

After both teams missed another man-up, Jovan Vujovic finally converted to level the game with 1:12 remaining, and just 36 seconds later, Dorde Lazic struck again to give the Montenegrins their first lead (4-5).

Novi Beograd’s struggles continued after half-time, as Vasilije Radovic fired in from a free throw to double Jadran’s advantage.

Having been shut out for the entire second period and facing a 0-4 run, the Serbs looked shaken. Their attack had stalled – until, after 10 and a half minutes without a goal, salvation came from an unlikely source, their goalkeeper.

Milan Glusac spotted the opportunity after a save, noticing his opposite number out of position, and lobbed the ball into the empty net.

However, Jadran hit back just 41 seconds later, Gojkovic finding the net in a man-up for 5-7. Milos Cuk reduced the gap with a six-on-four conversion, but Matija Sladovic kept his composure on another extra to restore Jadran’s two-goal lead.

Viktor Urosevic halved the deficit again with an action goal for 7-8, but a missed man-up soon proved costly as Radovic struck once more from distance.

The Serbs responded through Vasilije Martinovic, who capitalised on Sladovic’s red card to score from the left wing for 8-9 with three seconds remaining in the quarter.

Though Cuk’s shooting lacked its old sharpness, he opened the fourth with a powerful effort to equalise. Yet his next attempt was saved, and Dmitrii Kholod finished coolly to restore Jadran’s lead.

That proved pivotal. Over the next two minutes came the decisive phase – a block stopped NBG’s man-up, then Vujovic outmuscled his defender at centre-forward to make it 9-11 with 4:20 to play. The Serbs earned another extra, but Cuk’s shot was blocked again.

Jadran also missed a six-on-five, but a recovered ball launched a counter, and Lazic finished it off for 9-12 with 3:09 remaining.

Novi’s next man-up was again snuffed out by a block before Cuk finally broke through. With two minutes left, the hosts needed two goals, but couldn’t create any real danger.

In the dying seconds, Martinovic converted a penalty, but it came too late – only six seconds remained, and Jadran held on for an absolutely crucial victory.

Group B

Pro Recco (ITA) 15-9 VK Jadran Split (CRO)

Recco showed no mercy against Jadran – or their former goalkeeper Marko Bijac. The Croat, who spent three seasons with the Italian giants, could do little to help his side withstand the onslaught.

Recco blew their rivals away inside eight minutes. They opened with two strong man-down defences and struck twice within the first three minutes.

Zvonimir Butic finally put Jadran on the board with a fine action goal, but the hosts replied with two powerful shots from the perimeter. The pattern repeated soon after Loren Fatovic’s strike, as Recco needed only 57 seconds to add another pair and move 6-2 ahead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second, again, Recco denied Jadran on the extra man before Matteo Iocchi Gratta launched a rocket from distance and Giacomo Cannella converted another man-up for 8-2. After two more goals apiece, Recco went into half-time 10-4 up, leaving little suspense for the rest of the game.

The third saw the Italians maintain their defensive discipline. Following an early exchange of goals, they kept the Croats scoreless for the remaining seven minutes, while Francesco Cassia struck twice to extend the margin to 13-5.

The rhythm shifted slightly in the fourth as Jadran enjoyed their best spell, scoring three times in a row. But Iocchi Gratta responded with another extra-man goal, and Francesco Di Fulvio rounded off the performance with a sharp perimeter shot to seal Recco’s third straight victory.

The Italians look firmly on course for the quarter-final round, while Jadran, suffering a third consecutive defeat, already seem to be heading for the exit.

Group C

CSM Oradea (ROU) 11-16 AN Brescia (ITA)

Fresh from the fond memories of thrashing Primorac two weeks ago, Oradea’s fans crammed into their arena, hoping for another miracle. But Brescia had other ideas – and they were determined to never let it happen.

The atmosphere erupted when Sebastian Oltean opened the scoring, yet Brescia struck back with a clinical response, firing in four goals in quick succession. Filip Gardasevic also missed a penalty to deepen Oradea’s early troubles.

Still in the first period, Tommaso Gianazza and Jacopo Alesiani added two more within 39 seconds for 2-6, and just 24 seconds before the break, Oradea’s David Belenyesi converted from close range to pull one back.

A fine block denied Brescia’s first six-on-five in the second, and when Gardasevic unleashed a fierce shot from the perimeter to make it 4-6, the crowd roared again.

Soon after, CSM had a man-up to narrow the gap to one – but they squandered it, and Filippo Ferrero punished them immediately on the counter. It was 4-7, not 5-6, and the pain only got worse as Brescia buried two more six-on-fives within a minute, even killing a man-down in between.

Alesiani struck again from open play, completing a 0-4 burst that floored the hosts. At half-time, the Italians were cruising, 4-10 up.

Brescia’s momentum rolled on into the third, as Oradea began to lose their composure – though credit must go to Brescia’s brilliant defensive structure, which forced mistake after mistake.

By 6-14 at the end of the third, the contest was effectively settled.

In the final quarter, Brescia’s focus dipped and Oradea seized the chance to finish strong. The hosts won the period 5-2, pleasing the crowd, with Gardasevic catching fire late to finish with six goals.

Both sides earned applause, but it was the Italians who left the pool smiling – a second away win, both against direct rivals in the battle for second place behind FTC.

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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

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