Winners of the last four editions,
2016 and 2019 champion Sabadell and 2017-18 victor Kinef Kirishi failed to
reach this year’s Final Four as they fell short in their respective
quarter-finals against Olympiacos and Uralochka. Two Hungarian teams joined the
top flight in the evening, Dunaujvaros and UVSE, a historical feat as it will
be the first time that two Magyar sides play for the most coveted trophy.
Quarter-finals, 2nd leg
Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) v Astralpool
Sabadell (ESP) 10-5, aggregate: 22-19.
Dynamo Uralochka (RUS) v Kinef
Surgutneftegas Kirishi (RUS) 7-10, pen: 6-5, agg: 24-23.
Dunaujvarosi Foiskola (HUN) v
Lifebrain SIS Roma (ITA) 10-6, agg: 21-17,
UVSE Budapest Hunguest Hotels (HUN) v
CN Mataro (ESP) 9-9, agg: 21-18.
Winners advanced to the Final Four –
losing sides will play in the LEN Trophy Final Four.
The ‘early afternoon session’
couldn’t have been any more exciting. The re- match of the 2019 final between
Sabadell and Olympiacos already produced a brilliant contest two weeks ago when
the Spaniards managed to beat the Greeks once more and gained a two-goal lead.
Now, after a low-scoring first half (3-2) the hosts netted two action goals in
47 seconds late in the third to go 6-3 ahead but the Spaniards could pull one
back before the last break. After an early exchange of goals the aggregate
score was still even at 7-5 but then Olympiacos staged a fantastic finish. They
shut out Sabadell in the last 6:39 minutes while netting three goals to claim a
big win and a place in the Final Four again.
In the all-Russian derby Uralochka
had stunned favourite Kinef in Kirishi in the first leg – they had led by five
goals and could save three till the end. While it still had looked like a great
result, it turned out that Kirishi was far from giving in though for a while
their efforts did not bring the desired result. After jumping to a 1-3 lead in
the first, the home side climbed back and kept the score around even for most
of the time. With 3:56 to go it was still 7-7 but just like in Athens, a
fantastic 0-3 surge from Kinef – with a goal from Evgeniya Ivanova 0:01 from
time – sent the players to the 5m line as the penalties decided the outcome.
The first round ended at 3-3, in round 7 both goalies managed to catch the
respective shots, then another save from Evgeniia Golovina in the 9th round
ended the contest and secured Uralochka’s berth in the F4 – for the first time
since 2007. At the same time, Kirishi will miss back-to-back Euro League F4s –
ever since they had reached their first finals in 2005, this never happened to
the team which could not make the cut only in three years (2008, 2014 and
2019).
Then came the ‘Margaret Island
session’ – both matches featuring a Hungarian side were played in the famous
indoor pool of the Alfred Hajos Complex. The first started from equal terms as
Dunaujvaros and Roma played an 11-11 tie in the Eternal City. Now the hosts
took control immediately, in the first half only goalie Fabiana Sparano kept
the Italians in the match (it stood 5-3) – but in the third she couldn’t help
either as the Magyars jumped to an 8-3 lead. Though it seemed to be over but a
missed penalty and a wasted 6 on 4 from the hosts and three goals from
connecting possessions by the Romans created some excitement with 3:15
remaining at 8-6. But Gerda Brezovszki’s double in 42 seconds killed the
Italians’ momentum and sent Dunaujvaros to the top four for the first time
since 2006.
UVSE began the return leg from a
comfortable position as the Hungarian champion earned a three-goal advantage in
Mataro. However, the Spaniards fought hard and after falling 2-0 behind early
one, they came back to 3-3 and had a couple of chances to go ahead. The home
defence did a fine job, though, shut out their rivals in the second quarter and
could score a late goal to go 4-3 ahead by halftime. While it was quite an even
match, Mataro went on struggling in front and was able to score again after
17:30 minutes – na agonisingly long period for a team which tried to make a
miracle. The Magyars weren’t flying high either but scored a couple of man-ups
to feel themselves in safe. The fourth saw an unusual approach from the
visitors, they went all-in and started playing 7 on 6 immediately with the
goalkeeper also attacking. It worked somewhat as they could come back to 9-9
after being 8-5 down (conceded only one goal to the empty net from 20m), but it
did not count in aggregate and UVSE missed penalty in the last second didn’t
count either. It means that the Hungarians return to the Final Four after 2016
when they finished runner-up.
LEN shall allocate the respective F4s
in March, the draws will be conducted after the hosts are announced.
For detailed results:
http://len.microplustiming.com/LENEuroLeagueWomen/indexCL_web.php?cal=1
13 March 2021
No comments:
Post a Comment