GZC Donk, De Zaan, Amersfoort and Het Ravijn reach semi-finals of KNZB Cup
The water polo teams of GZC Donk, ZV De Zaan, ZPC Amersfoort, and Het Ravijn have reached the semi-finals of the KNZB Cup tournament. GZC Donk fought hard to win against UZSC (16-15), Het Ravijn defeated MNC Dordrecht at home (16-11), ZPC Amersfoort secured a victory against ZV De Ham (15-10), and defending champion De Zaan remains in contention for a new final with a tight 10-9 win over PSV.
UZSC - GZC Donk 15-16
GZC Donk had to give it their all against UZSC. The match seemed decided several times as the guests from Gouda took a three-goal lead or more. However, the team from Utrecht never gave up. With less than three minutes left, UZSC closed in on GZC Donk, bringing the score to 15-16. Despite numerous chances for both sides in the final minutes, that remained the final score of the goal fest at the De Krommerijn pool. Andras Garancsy and Joep de Jong each scored four times for UZSC. Stan van de Heuvel was the top scorer for GZC Donk with four goals.
Het Ravijn - MNC Dordrecht 16-10
Het Ravijn had a tough match at home, but MNC Dodrecht could not do more than successfully compete. The team led by Filip Klajevic was simply too strong. Yoran Loos performed well for the Twente team, scoring five goals. Emiel Wouters and David de Vries each scored three times. Croatian Patrik Simac netted three goals for the Dordrecht team. Second goalkeeper of Dordrecht, Menco Muller, who played two strong periods throughout the match, stated, "Today we played with a younger group and had a good match where we could practice our game."
Photos by Wim Beunk and Robert van Rossum can be found on the image bank.
The match can be viewed via this livestream.
ZPC Amersfoort - ZV De Ham ZC 15-10
ZPC Amersfoort had to work hard in the first eight minutes against De Ham (4-3), but in the second part, coach Mark Siewers' team dominated the visitors from Krommenie. At halftime, Amersfoort had a 10-4 lead. De Ham prevented the gap from widening in the third and fourth periods, but the door to the semi-finals was already closed long before the end. Goal machines Max van de Werve and Sebastiaan van Mil each added four goals to their season total. Bradley Sap was the top scorer for De Ham with three goals.
ZV De Zaan - PSV 10-9
The ZV De Zaan team did not perform at their best against PSV, but their spot in the top four was never in real danger. PSV veteran Robin Lindhout scored his third goal of the evening 16 seconds before the end, bringing the score to 10-9 at De Slag pool. However, this late goal was not enough to unsettle the Zaan team led by coach Andreas Miralis. PSV fell behind 4-1 in the first eight minutes. Throughout the game, the characterful team of coach Hans Willemsen proved to be evenly matched with the favored home team. Nevertheless, De Zaan secured a spot in the semi-final, while PSV exited the tournament with pride.
The match can be viewed via this livestream
The draw for the semi-finals will take place after the weekend.
