Euro Cup 1/4 Finals , leg 1 , 2911/14

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Kick start for home teams in Euro Cup quarters

 By: Tim Hartog  Men, Euro Cup

A successful day for the home teams in the Euro Cup quarterfinals on Saturday. All first legs were won by the teams playing in front of their fans with Acquachiara highlighting their performance with a comfortable six-goal win over Olympic Nice who were held scoreless in the entire first half in Naples. The duo of centre-forward Fran Paskvalin and Stefano Luongo (pictured) combined for six goals in the win as the Italians looked to have decided the series in their favour already en route to equaling last year's performance when Acquachiara reached the semis but were eliminate there. Another team close to making it to the final four are Mornar who also held their opponent from scoring in the first two periods. Savona were hoping for good chances but instead fell to the Croatian side 10-5 and are now up for a daunting task of making up in the second leg at home in two weeks time. Sintez Kazan also did well by beating Posillipo at home 9-6 to enjoy a 3-goal advantage for the return match in Italy. The Russians needed a strong finish to do after Posillipo had made a comeback in the third period as the game went into its final phase with a levelled 5-5 score. A 4-1 run in the last eight minutes however secured the important win for Kazan. Also amongst the winners of leg 1 were Steaua Bucharest who kicked off the day of quarterfinal action by topping German opponents Waspo Hannover 9-7 at home in Romania. A hard-fought win was reached after the Germans had taken control in the opening period leading 1-3. The response by Steaua however was a good one as they managed to turn things around in the remainder and secured an important two-goal advantage, which could prove vital in an expected tough match-up in leg 2 in Germany. 

Euro Cup 2014-2015

Quarterfinals leg 1

Saturday, 29 November

Steaua Bucharest (ROU) vs. Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) 9-7 (1-3, 2-1, 4-2, 2-1)

Steaua scorers: Miroslav Randic 3, Petar Filipovic 2, Daniel Robu 2, Matej Nastran, Alexandru Ghiban.

Waspo scorers: Predrag Jokic 2, Marko Bolovic 2, David Kleine, Ingo Pickert, Bence Toth.

 

Sintez Kazan (RUS) vs. C.N. Posillipo (ITA) 9-6 (1-0, 3-2, 1-3, 4-1)

Sintez scorers: Albert Zinnatullin 2, Vladislav Timakov 2, Alexey Ryzhov-Alenichev 2, Zeljko Kovacic, Konstantin Stepanyuk, Dmitrii Elizarov.

Posillipo scorers: Valentino Gallo 3, Filip Klikovac 2, Vincenzo Dolce.

Mornar BS (CRO) vs. Carisa RN Savona (ITA) 10-5 (1-0, 2-0, 5-2, 2-3)

Mornar scorers: Ivan Domagoj Zovic 5, Marino Cagalj, Ante Corusic, Slavko Calic, Mitsuaki Shiga, Maroje Gluhaic.

Savona scorers: Luca Damonte 2, Jacopo Alesiani, Jacopo Colombo, Michele Pesenti.

Carpisa Yamamay Acquachiara (ITA) vs. Olympic Nice (FRA) 13-7 (4-0, 2-0, 3-5, 4-2)

Acquachiara scorers: Fran Paskvalin 3, Stefano Luongo 3, Antonio Petkovic 2, Amaurys Perez, Andrea Scotti Galletta, Giacomo Lanzoni, Giuseppe Valentino, Matteo Astarita.

Nice scorers: David Babic 2, Arthur Bruyere 2, Marino Divkovic, Michal Izdinsky, Manuel Laversanne.

Leg 2 to be played on Wednesday 17 December

Semifinals

11 February, 2015 (leg 1) and 4 March, 2015 (leg 2)

Finals

28 March, 2015 (leg 1) and 11 April, 2015 (leg 2)

Can Mornar stay perfect in Euro Cup?

 By: Tim Hartog  

In the Euro Cup tournament the group stage has been concluded and the remaining teams are set for a home-and-away showdown battling for the semifinals. On Saturday the interesting quarterfinal match-ups kick off. The day gets started in Romanian capital Bucharest where home side Steaua Bucharest hosts German ex-Champions League participant Waspo 98 Hannover. Both teams are off to exciting seasons so far and in the respective domestic competitions considered more than just top teams this year. Waspo finished the group D as winners but Steaua can count on home pool advantage to start this match-up. In Russia Sintez Kazan hosts Posillipo who are struggling this season. It could mean that the Russians, who topped group A in the previous round, can be considered favourites in this series, also because of their home start. The only squad to stay perfect in the previous group stage round are up for a competitive quarterfinal hosting the Italians from Savona. For Mornar, a semifinal berth would be a huge success but considering their Euro Cup form, maybe could even be simply living up to the expectations. Finally a third Italian representative gets to start at home. The talented roster of Acquachiara faces French side Olympic Nice, who finished on top of group C in the previous round despite being tied in points to fellow Naples based Posillipo. The home start for Acquachiara could turn out to be a major advantage in this battle. If top shooters Antonio Petkovic and Stefano Luongo can display their usual form, Acquachiara is tough to beat. 


Euro Cup 2014-2015
Quarterfinals leg 1

Saturday, 29 November

11.30: Steaua Bucharest (ROU) vs. Waspo 98 Hannover (GER)
18.00: Sintez Kazan (RUS) vs. C.N. Posillipo (ITA)
20.00: Mornar BS (CRO) vs. Carisa RN Savona (ITA)
20.00: Carpisa Yamamay Acquachiara (ITA) vs. Olympic Nice (FRA)

Leg 2 to be played on Wednesday 17 December

Semifinals
11 February, 2015 (leg 1) and 4 March, 2015 (leg 2)

Finals
28 March, 2015 (leg 1) and 11 April, 2015 (leg 2)