The qualification to Men’s Polo Champions League Final 4 has been celebrating since Friday night Olympic!
With one legendary turnaround in the last eight minutes (13-13)the “red and white” sent the match with the Barceloneta in the penalty shootout, where I heroed him Zerdeva who caught two penalties, took the victory (18-19 total score) and the two points, mathematically ensuring their presence in the top 4 of the competitionone turn before the final of the quarter-final stage!
Despite the fact that the Spaniards were playing at home for their… survival, however, with Dino Genidounias (5 goals) as the protagonist, the Piraeus team managed to leave Barcelona with the double after ten years and in February 2014 , throwing the great Catalan team out of contention, in a sensational match from start to finish.
In the last matchday, on Easter Tuesday, Olympiacos welcomes the indifferent Brescia at “Papastrateio”, where he will have the opportunity to celebrate tonight’s success with his fans!
The match:
The game was balanced in the first eight minutes, with Barceloneta on her part to take advantage of the player above and find two goals in the first 3 minutes, thanks to the goals of Famela and Tahul. In the meantime, Olympic he had temporarily leveled with Nikolaidis from the point guard position after a quick counter-attack. In the 4th minute, Fundoulis took advantage of the first situation with a player more for the “red and whites”, equalizing at 2-2, before in a corresponding phase Tahul made it 3-2 and a little later Vamos with a nice strong shot formed at 3-3 of the octave.
Mistakes and tough defenses dominated the second periodwhere the Spaniards had the upper hand throughout, thanks to an excellent display from Tahul, who with his third goal made 4-3 at 18′. The reply was delayed, but came from Genidounias four minutes later (4-4), before Famera, with his second personal goal, made it 5-4 in favor of the hosts two minutes before half-time. Despite the fact that Barceloneta then had two more players, the “red and white” defenses came out and so the half ended with a score of 5-4.
Rapid reflexes from Nikolaides! ??
The Olympiacos man capitalises on a second chance to score a massive goal ??#WaterpoloCL #waterpolo pic.twitter.com/fN2MQhrhVo
— Water Polo Champions League (@WaterpoloCL) May 3, 2024
Explosive start for Hrvoje Kolianin’s team in the third eight minutes, with Olympiakos equalizing once again with a penalty Genidounia in the first seconds (5-5). In the ‘caps’, the Catalans took the lead again at 6-5, with the ‘red and whites’ then taking out the defense with a man less and scoring on the opposite side of the pool for the new tie (6-6) after the rebound which Nikolaidis got! However, the continuation was not similar, with Pavyard finding two personal goals and giving the Spaniards a two-goal lead for the first time (8-6). Piraeus lost by one golar of Genidounias at the end of their attacking time, with Barceloneta making it 9-7 with two men up! The exchange of “blows” did not stop in this highly aggressive eight minutes, which ended with score 10-8 in favor of Barcelona after the goals of Vamo and Tahul.
In the fourth and last eight minutes, o Olympic he came in determined and psyched for the big upset. With his excellent defense as an ally, but also the celebrant tonight, Dino Genidounias to find two incredible goals, one being submerged and the other from ten meters (!), the “red and white” tied at 10-10 in the first 2 minutes! Sanahuja gave a “breather” to Barceloneta, with him Alafragki to answer immediately for 11-11!
With their morale high, the Piraeus continued to take out the defenses thanks to their inaccessible block, at the time when the attack was working like clockwork. With Foudoulis scoring from the closed corner in the 4th minute, o Olympiacos made it 12-11 and took the lead for the first time in the match! Famera equalized with a man more, before the formidable Genidounias gave Olympiacos the lead again with a penalty (13-12) with his fifth goal of the match!
In the 1:27′ before the final, the home team equalized again with the man above, with Olympiakos in the last minute missing three great chances to get the double, as the shots attempted by the “red and whites” found the Spanish keeper and ended in corner kick.
Somehow, the match went to penalties, with Olympiakos coming out the big winner thanks to Zerdeva’s two saves, and with a score of 6-5 to capture the 2 points of victory, thus ensuring the qualification to the Final 4 to be held in Malta!
The eight minutes: 3-3, 5-4, 10-8, 13-13, 18-19 Fri.
Barceloneta (Elvis Fatovic): Aguirre, Famera 3, Sanaugia 3, Muniarit, De Toro, Laroube, Pavillard 2, Paul Garcia, Tahul 3, Perrone 1, Biel, Bustos 1, Porter
OLYMPIC (Hervo Kolianin): Bigiats, Lonsar, Vamos 2, Genidounias 5, Fundoulis 2, Gouvis, Gillas, Bouslie, Alafragis 1, Dimos, Nikolaidis 2, Papanastasiou 1, Zervedas
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
