Champions League: New Belgrade secure in Romania; Ferencvaros victorious in Kragujevac
Serbian clubs recorded a mixed performance in the second round of the Champions League.
New Belgrade defeated Oradea 15-9 (3-2, 4-2, 5-3, 3-2) away, while Radnicki suffered a heavy defeat against European champions Ferencvaros - 5-12 (2-2, 1-3, 0-3, 2-4) at their home pool.
Last week, in the first round, Novi Beograd beat the Romanian champions Steaua at "11.april", and today they secured points against the second-best club in Romania. New Belgrade has a younger team compared to last season, while Oradea has brought in several reinforcements, including goalkeeper Lazar Dobozanov, who defended New Belgrade's goal last season. However, the Serbian and regional champions entered this match as favorites and lived up to that role.
In contrast to the match against Steaua, which was only decided in the final quarter, New Belgrade controlled the match from the beginning in their away game in Romania. The Romanians scored the opening goal, but the guests replied with three goals. By the end of the second quarter, the Serbian team led by three goals for the first time (6-3), and by the middle of the third quarter, they doubled the lead - 10-4, maintaining the difference until the end. Vasilije Martinovic led the attack of Živko Gocić's team with four goals, three were scored by Đorđe Vucinic, two each by Milos Cuk and Greek representatives Angelos Vlahopoulos and Dimitrios Skoumpakis. Dusan Trtovic and Đorđe Vucinic also scored once each.
The Radnicki and Ferencvaros duel, considering the aces of these two clubs, was the highlight of the round. However, to the disappointment of the home fans, an equal battle was only seen in the first half.
Ranicki took a 2-0 lead within a minute and a half, followed by a series of five goals by Ferencvaros between the second and 24th minutes. To make matters worse, Radnicki lost one of their top scorers, Strahinja Rasovic, to his third personal foul by the end of the first half. Lazar Vicokovic saved the hope of the home team with a goal at 3-5 in the last second of the first half. However, thanks to brilliant defense and poor execution of Radnicki's extra player opportunities (2/15), Ferencvaros dominated the second half, making another series of 5-0. At the beginning of the final quarter, the guests led 10-3, and the question of the winner was settled.
Dusan Mandic shined with four goals in the Ferencvaros team, while Drašović (2), Rašović, Vasić, and Vićković scored for Radnicki.
Champions League 2024/25, round two
Group A: Oradea - Novi Beograd 9-15 (2-3, 2-4, 3-5, 2-3), Steaua - Vaspo Hanover 13-12 (penalties).
Standings: 1. New Belgrade 6, 2. Oradea 3, 3. Steaua 2, 4. Hanover 0.
Group B: Radnicki - Ferencvaros 5-12 (2-2, 1-3, 0-3, 2-4), Dinamo Tbilisi - Jadran Split 10-16.
Standings: 1. Ferencvaros 6, 2. Jadran 5, 3. Radnicki 1, 4. Dinamo 0.
Matches of Groups C and D will be played on Wednesday.
