Olympiacos reclaimed the Super Cup
and became the third team in history to win back-to-back titles. In the
all-Greek, all-Piraeus final they showed some outstanding defending to beat
Ethnikos by seven goals. Olympiacos are now tied-first with Spain’s Sabadell on
the all-time ranks with three Super Cup triumphs.
Women’s Super Cup, final: Olympiacos
Piraeus (GRE) v Ethnikos Piraeus (GRE) 11-4
Though Ethnikos took the better
start, opened the scoring and Eleni Sotireli stopped a penalty, but soon
Olympiacos started rolling, as expected, hit two in 34 seconds and added one
more to lead 3-1 after eight minutes.
Though a nice action goal halved the
distance early in the second, soon Ethnikos’ problems started getting more and
more visible. And that was their man-up play. They couldn’t put the ball away
in 6 on 5s which partly credited the reds’ defence, but since they closed the
game with a disastrous 0 for 11, that also told something of their composure in
front.
Without man-up goals they didn’t have
any chance against the mighty European champions. Even though Olympiacos’
offense wasn’t that overwhelming either (Ethnikos’ special zone which usually
put a player almost next to the goalie caused some problems for them too),
still, it was efficient enough to widen the gap quarter by quarter.
Limiting Ethnikos to a single action
goal per period, their victory was never in question – they led 5-2 at halftime
and 7-3 before the last break. The LEN Trophy winners started the final period
with a fine goal from the centre goal from Alkistis Benekou but their momentum
gone 21 seconds as Ioanna Chydirioti replied from action immediately for 8-4.
Then Olympiacos killed three
man-downs in a row before Nikola Eleftheriadou hit another one from action, and
towards the end two goals from 6 on 5s truly mirrored the difference between
the sides.
Eight months after the Euro League
Final Four fiesta in this pool, Olympiacos could celebrate another trophy –
their second Super Cup in as many years. They join fellow Greek side
Vouliagmeni (2009 and 2010) and Spain’s Sabadell (2013 and 2014) in winning
back-to-back titles – and also caught up Sabadell on the all-time ranks as this
was their third Super Cup after 2015 and 2021, while Ethnikos lost their second
final after 2010, that time they were beaten by Vouliagmeni, so they are not
really lucky with playing against fellow Greek teams.
Quotes
Alexandar Ciric, coach, Olympiacos
“We are happy for another great
achievement! I am proud of this team, of these girls, of this club. It was a
nice final here, in the National pool of Piraeus, and we celebrated, together
with the Olympiacos fans, another European title. It’s the seventh European
title for this team, I'm happy to belong here! Congratulations to everyone,
let's keep going strong to achieve all our goals."
Margarita Plevritou, player,
Olympiacos
“This is our seventh European title
and the feeling is unique every time. I am proud to be a member of such a team,
with so much quality and in every game, we show our teamwork, finally getting
what we deserve.”
Stefanos Leandros, coach, Ethnikos
“It's a big honour to participate in
a European final and we are delighted to be here today. I am incredibly proud
of my players, and we will keep fighting till the end of the season in the
Greek championship and also in the Euro Cup. Today, Greek water polo was
celebrating with this game of Olympiacos and Ethnikos, and our city Piraeus
should be very proud of his teams. Piraeus is the centre of European Water
polo. Congratulations to Olympiacos and Mr. Ciric for this success. We already
feel excitements for the upcoming games in the LEN Euro Cup.”
Alkisti Benekou, player, Ethnikos
“We were ready for this final. We
were prepared well, and we are proud of our team. It is very important for our
club to be able to play in a European final and we are hoping for better days.
I believe we lost so many chances in extras and that cost us the title.
Congratulations to Olympiacos. It's a real celebration of Greek water polo
anyway.”
17 December 2022
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