Vojvodina in Top 8 Challenger Cup for Women
The Serbian women's champion team, Vojvodina, has qualified for the quarterfinal phase of the Challenger Cup. 17 clubs participated in the qualifications, divided into four groups, and eight of them advanced to the next stage.
The rejuvenated Red Star team failed to surprise and ended the European season this weekend without earning a point in Group D of the Challenger Cup.
Challenger Cup 2024/25 for Women, Qualifications
Group A (Novi Sad)
Vojvodina hosted Group A at "Slnoj bari" and opened the tournament with a convincing victory over Sliema from Malta with a score of 20-5. Jovana Radonjić stood out in the attack, a newcomer from Red Star, scoring five goals.
In the second round, the Novi Sad team faced Manchester in a crucial match for further advancement. Slađana Drezgić's team led for most of the first half, but the British team did not give up and equalized twice in the final minutes of the second quarter (4-4, 5-5). Vojvodina entered the second half with a slim lead of 6-5 and dominated in the third quarter (6-2), securing a 14-9 victory. Radonjić was once again efficient, scoring four goals, and the Russian Savčenko matched her performance in the winning team.
With victories over teams from Malta and the UK, Vojvodina secured the second spot and a ticket to the quarterfinals.
The match between the Red and Whites and Turkish Izmir in the final round determined the winner of the group. The Turkish team, the winner of the first Challenger Cup for women, was the favorite and claimed the top spot with a 13-8 triumph. The most effective player of the match was the Olympic silver medalist and Australian national team representative, Danijela Jacković, who found the net five times against Vojvodina. Irina Amliajeva stood out for the home team with three goals.
First round
Vojvodina - Sliema 20-5 (5-0, 6-2, 7-0, 2-3)
Scorers for Vojvodina: Radonjić 5, Kavalkante and Damnjanović 3, Amliajeva, Popov, Savčenko 2 each, Švec, Pantović, Trmčić 1 each.
Manchester City - Izmir BSK 6-12
Second round
Vojvodina - Manchester City 14-9 (2-1, 4-4, 6-2, 2-2).
Scorers for Vojvodina: Savčenko and Radonjić 4 each, Švec, Trmčić, Amliajeva, Kavalkante, Damnjanović, Moćan 1 each.
Izmir BSK - Sliema 23-2
Third round
Vojvodina - Izmir 8-13 (1-2, 2-4, 1-5, 4-2)
Scorers for Vojvodina: Amliajeva 3, Damnjanović 2, Trmčić 1, Pereira 1, Popov 1.
Manchester City - Sliema 18-9
Standings: 1. Izmir (Turkey) 9, 2. Vojvodina (Serbia) 6, 3. Manchester City (Great Britain) 3, 4. Sliema (Malta) 0.
Group D (Alba Iulia)
Last year, Red Star won silver in the first Challenger Cup. They lost to Izmir in the final in Zagreb.
However, the team underwent a drastic rejuvenation over the summer, so the Belgrade Red and Whites, now coached by Ivana Ćorović, entered the second edition of the Challenger Cup without high ambitions.
Red Star suffered heavy defeats against Sporting (7-28) and Esslingen (3-26) at the tournament in Alba Iulia (Romania), then put up a decent fight against the strong Galatasaray team in the third round but still ended up pointless (10-15).
In today's final match, the Belgrade Red and Whites lost to the home team Unirea (4-22)
First round
Sporting Lisbon - ŽVK Red Star 28-7 (8-1, 6-3, 6-1, 8-2)
Scorers for Red Star: Marinković 2, Milenković 2, Trbanos, Ribić, Janković 1 each
Unirea Alba Iulia - Esslingen 12-9
Second round
Esslingen - Red Star 26-3 (6-0, 4-2, 8-0, 8-1)
Scorers for Red Star: Trbanos 2, Milenković 1
Galatasaray - Unirea Alba Iulia 10-8
Third round
Red Star - Galatasaray 10-15 (1-4, 4-4, 2-2, 3-5)
Scorers for Red Star: Ribić 3, Milenković 2, Jelenić 2, Trbanos 1, Lazović 1, Janković 1.
Sporting - Unirea Alba Iulia 13-11 (penalty shootout)
Fourth round
Sporting - Esslingen 11-10, Galatasaray - Unirea Alba Iulia 10-8
Fifth round
Galatasaray - Esslingen 10-8
Unirea Alba Iulia - Red Star 22-4 (5-2, 5-0, 5-1, 7-1)
Scorers for Red Star: Janković 2, Milenković 1, Marinković 1
Standings: 1. Sporting (Portugal) 11, 2. Galatasaray (Turkey) 9, 3. Unirea Alba Iulia (Romania) 7, 4. Esslingen (Germany) 3, 5. Red Star (Serbia) 0.
Standings in other groups
Group B (Valletta): 1. Jadran Split (Croatia) 9, 2. Blau-Weiß Bochum (Germany) 6, 3. Sirens ASC (Malta) 3, 4. Hapoel Emek HaYarden (Israel) 0
Group C (Strakonice): 1. Mladost (Croatia) 9, 2. Otter Swimming Club (Great Britain) 5, 3. Dalton College SK (Turkey) 3, 4. Asten Johnson Strakonice (Czech Republic) 1.
Quarterfinal Phase
The winners and runners-up from the first round have qualified for the quarterfinals: Izmir, Vojvodina, Jadran, Blau Vajs, Mladost, Otter Swimming Club, Sporting, and Galatasaray.
The teams will be divided into two groups by draw (each group will have two first-place and two second-place clubs from the initial phase). The tournament will be played with a knockout system, and two teams from each quarterfinal group will advance to the Final Four.
