The water polo players from Novi Beograd Tehnomanija achieved a great victory at the start of the quarter-final stage of the Champions League, after defeating the Greek Olympiacos with a score of 12:10. Serbian national team players Nikola Lukić, Vasilije Martinović and goalkeeper Milan Glušac led the home team to victory, but they were put to an end by Aleksa Ukropina with two goals and Marko Dimitrijević with a decisive goal half a minute before the end.
Lukić and Martinović marked the first quarter with an excellent game. They scored two goals each. The game was tough, with strong defenses and until the last minute it was tied 2:2. Then Lukić lost to Martinović for the lead and in the next attack he converted a penalty kick and 4:2 was an excellent result.
Pouros and Alafragis cancelled out the home team’s advantage from the first quarter. Then the Belgrade team showed quality. They immediately got up and in 40 seconds they regained the lead through excellent Martinović and Perković, only for the nervous Greeks to be punished by Lukić with a player more. As in the second quarter, the Greeks started more concretely in the third half. With two goals, they brought drama back to the game. The home team was wandering with a player more.
In the fourth attempt in this part, Lukić was not successful, but Gladović reacted excellently for 8:6. To make things even better, Glušac defended the five-pointer Genidunjas.
Everything went according to plan until the last 40 seconds. But Zalanki shone. First he reduced the deficit and after an unsuccessful goal by the home team, he swam on the counterattack and in the last second equalized the score at 8:8. Thus, Novi Beograd paid for the poor goal by the home team in this part.
Ćuk earned his third suspension, so Martinović hid a five-pointer that caused coach Mijalkovski to react with a yellow card. Zalanki scored for the Greeks’ first lead. Lukić finally converted the two-man advantage, but there was no cure for Zalanki. With his fourth consecutive goal, he returned the minimum to his team. In the next action, the home team again had two players more and Ukropina equalized 10:10. The home team had a new opportunity after Mijalkovski and Šapić’s timeout with a player more. Ukropina set up a handball, and the Serbian team regained the lead 11:10 with 3.30 to go.
The visitors then had two more players but Kilas’ shot was blocked. Coach Grka Fatović took the last timeout with a player more 96 seconds before the end. Kilas was unsuccessful again and 32 seconds before the end Marko Dimitrijević put an end to New Belgrade’s well-deserved triumph.
In the next round, Novi Beograd will host Barceloneta, who made a break in Brescia 13:11.
Novi Beograd Technomania – Olympiacos 12:10 (4:2, 3:2, 1:4, 4:2)
“Vlaho Bata Orlić” Pool. Referees: Kovač (Hungary) and Bourget (France). Penalties: Novi Beograd 14, Olympiacos 17. Peterci: Novi Beograd 2 (2), Olympiacos 3 (2).
New Belgrade: Glušac, Pljevančić, Ukropina 2, Gladović 1, Ćuk, Janković, Trtović, Dimitrijević 1, Perković 1, Martinović 3, Lukić 4, Pješivac, Gavrilović, Milojević.
Olympiacos: Zerdevas, Anyal, Gilas, Genidunias 1, Funtoulis, Gouvis, Zalanki 6, Dimou, Alafragis 1, Kakaris 1, Nikolaidis, Papanastasiou, Zorzatos, Pouros 1.
