Serbian Cup: Radnički emerges victorious in drama in Šabac; Vukovi debut at F4
New Belgrade, Radnički, Crvena zvezda, and Novobeogradski vukovi will play at the final tournament of the Serbian Cup.
The most interesting of the four quarterfinal matches was the one in Šabac, where the home club hosted Radnički. Considering the quality of the two teams that compete at the European level, the duel in Šabac was a derby, but Kragujevac was the favorite. However, Radnički secured a ticket to the Final Four only after penalty shootouts - 15:14 (1:2, 4:3, 3:3, 3:3 - 4:3).
Throughout the match in Šabac, a fierce battle was fought. The home team was more often in the lead, but in the final moments, Kragujevac was closer to victory. Radnički took the lead for the first time in the second half only in the middle of the last quarter, thanks to Nikola Jakšić and Marko Janković (10:9). Then, after Valik Dadvani's goal, two minutes before the end, Uroš Stevanović's team had a new advantage (11:10) and a chance to settle the match, but they missed it. On the other side, Novaković used a player advantage for Šabac 17 seconds before the final whistle, equalized to 11:11, and took the match to penalties.
In the first series, Radnički's goalkeeper Stefan Todorovski stopped Aleksandar Kovačević's shot, but in the fourth round, the Šabac team canceled the deficit when Pavle Gavrilović saved Filip Janković's attempt. However, in the last series, Radnički's first goalkeeper, Radoslav Filipović returned to the goal and saved Andrija Korać's attempt. Previously, on the other end of the pool, Nikola Jakšić was precise, and Radnički advanced to the final tournament.
The most efficient player for Radnički was Nikola Jakšić with four goals (plus one in the penalty shootout), followed by Marko Janković with three and Valiko Dadvani with two. On the other side, Ognjen Stojanović and Aljoša Mačić scored two goals each.
Novobeogradski vukovi, with Nenad Vasilovski on the bench, achieved the greatest success in the history of the young club by reaching the F4. Novobeogradski vukovi defeated Partizan 18:11 (4:3, 7:2, 4:6, 3:3). Some were expecting an exciting match, but Vukovi proved to have a more experienced team this season compared to Partizan, which is under a new beginning this season with Stefan Ćirić back on the bench. However, everything was resolved quickly in the first half. After an initial lead by the black and white team (3:1), Vukovi made a series of 10:2 and went to the halftime break with a six-goal advantage of 11:5. Ćorić scored seven goals for Vukovi, Gogov found the net four times, Aleksandrov three times... Canepa, Kutajar, Dimić, and Adamović scored two goals each for Partizan.
The "older brother" of Vukovi, the defending champion, Novi Beograd, easily dealt with Valis as expected in Valjevo, winning 13:6. The top scorer of the match was Vasilije Martinović, who scored three goals for Novi Beograd, while Vlahopuls, Lukić, and Ćuk each scored two goals for the winners. Bućan had the same performance for Valis.
Crvena zvezda, as determined by the draw, was scheduled to host Vojvodina in the quarterfinals. However, due to renovation works at the "25.maj" pool, the two red-and-white clubs met in Novi Sad. Vojvodina kept pace with Crvena zvezda until halftime when they were only one goal behind (3:4). But in the second half, Belgrade dominated. Radanović led Zvezda to victory 14:6 with four goals. Basara, Šulc, Danković, and Gajić each scored two goals. The most effective player for Vojvodina was the experienced Uroš Kalinić, who scored three times.
Serbian Water Polo Cup Quarterfinals
NBG Vukovi - Partizan 18:11 (4:3, 7:2, 4:6, 3:3)
Šabac Eliksir - Radnički 14:15 (2:1, 3:4, 3:3, 3:3 - 3:4)
Valis Vega - Novi Beograd 6:13 (3:4, 2:3, 0:4, 1:2)
Crvena zvezda - Vojvodina 14:6 (3:2, 1:1, 4:2, 6:1)
