Olympiacos was defeated by Jug Dubrovnik but proved that it is one of the best European teams. Jug Dubrovnik are the new reigning champions of the LEN Champions League after edging a tight final match of European club waterpolo's premier competition 6-4 against Olympiacos in the Alfréd Hajos Swimming Stadium in Budapest tonight.
Key action:
Olympiacos looked as if they would take the first quarter by a single-goal margin after Paulo Obradovic scored from a central position but Jug Dubrovnik struck back through Konstantinos Mourikis in the final minute to leave the scores level at 1-1 at the first break.
The second period seemed to be following a similar pattern, Iannis Fountoulis edgind the Greeks back in front only for Jug to equalise courtesy of Hrovje Benic's goal while enjoying a player advantage. However, it was the Croatian side who bucked the trend late on to take a 3-2 lead, Georgios Ntoskas giving away a five-metre penalty which Felipe Perrone dispatched to put Jug in the ascendancy at the half-time interval.
These two teams were well-matched though and the nip-and-tuck nature of the final continued as Olympiacos reined in Jug with a fierce bouncing shot from Alexandros Gounas during a player advantage. Both goalkeepers were in fine form which added to the tight nature of the contest but Olympiacos keeper Josip Pavic was annoyed with himself for not keeping out Xavi Garcia's thunderbolt of a throw from open play in the last minute of the third quarter, Jug taking a potentially vital 4-3 lead into the last period of the match.
It should have come as no surprise though that the see-saw flow of the match continued, Aggelos Vlachopoulos restoring parity for the Greeks before Maro Jokovic put the Croatians ahead again almost immediately. Emmanouil Mylonakis nearly came up with yet another equaliser but he was thwarted by Jug goalkeeper Marco Bijac who remained stoic despite heavy pressure from the Greeks as the game entered its final moments. Olympiacos were desperate to regain possession with less than 20 seconds to go but gave away a five-metre penalty which Perrone made no mistake with to secure the 2016 Champions League title for the team from Dubrovnik.
Match data:
The quarters: 1-1, 2-1, 1-1, 2-1
Goals:
1st quarter: 0-1 Mourikis, 1-1 Obradovic
2nd quarter: 1-2 Fountoulis, 2-2 Benic, 3-2 Perrone
3rd quarter: 3-3 Gounas, 4-3 Garcia
4th quarter: 4-4 Vlachopoulos, 5-4 Jokovic, 6-4 Perrone
Squads:
Olympiacos (Thodoris Vlachos): Pavic, Mylonakis, Delakas, Fountoulis 1, Smith, Pontikeas, Doskas, Mourikis 1, Gounas 1, Kolomvos, Mallarach, Vlachopoulos 1, Galanopoulos
Jug: Bijac, Macan, Fatovic, Loncar, Jokovic 1, Garcia 1, Ivankovic, Vrlic, Perrone 2, Benic 1, Obradovic 1, Popadic
Olympiacos was defeated by Jug Dubrovnik but proved that it is one of the best European teams. Jug Dubrovnik are the new reigning champions of the LEN Champions League after edging a tight final match of European club waterpolo's premier competition 6-4 against Olympiacos in the Alfréd Hajos Swimming Stadium in Budapest tonight.
Key action:
Olympiacos looked as if they would take the first quarter by a single-goal margin after Paulo Obradovic scored from a central position but Jug Dubrovnik struck back through Konstantinos Mourikis in the final minute to leave the scores level at 1-1 at the first break.
The second period seemed to be following a similar pattern, Iannis Fountoulis edgind the Greeks back in front only for Jug to equalise courtesy of Hrovje Benic's goal while enjoying a player advantage. However, it was the Croatian side who bucked the trend late on to take a 3-2 lead, Georgios Ntoskas giving away a five-metre penalty which Felipe Perrone dispatched to put Jug in the ascendancy at the half-time interval.
These two teams were well-matched though and the nip-and-tuck nature of the final continued as Olympiacos reined in Jug with a fierce bouncing shot from Alexandros Gounas during a player advantage. Both goalkeepers were in fine form which added to the tight nature of the contest but Olympiacos keeper Josip Pavic was annoyed with himself for not keeping out Xavi Garcia's thunderbolt of a throw from open play in the last minute of the third quarter, Jug taking a potentially vital 4-3 lead into the last period of the match.
It should have come as no surprise though that the see-saw flow of the match continued, Aggelos Vlachopoulos restoring parity for the Greeks before Maro Jokovic put the Croatians ahead again almost immediately. Emmanouil Mylonakis nearly came up with yet another equaliser but he was thwarted by Jug goalkeeper Marco Bijac who remained stoic despite heavy pressure from the Greeks as the game entered its final moments. Olympiacos were desperate to regain possession with less than 20 seconds to go but gave away a five-metre penalty which Perrone made no mistake with to secure the 2016 Champions League title for the team from Dubrovnik.
Match data:
The quarters: 1-1, 2-1, 1-1, 2-1
Goals:
1st quarter: 0-1 Mourikis, 1-1 Obradovic
2nd quarter: 1-2 Fountoulis, 2-2 Benic, 3-2 Perrone
3rd quarter: 3-3 Gounas, 4-3 Garcia
4th quarter: 4-4 Vlachopoulos, 5-4 Jokovic, 6-4 Perrone
Squads:
Olympiacos (Thodoris Vlachos): Pavic, Mylonakis, Delakas, Fountoulis 1, Smith, Pontikeas, Doskas, Mourikis 1, Gounas 1, Kolomvos, Mallarach, Vlachopoulos 1, Galanopoulos
Jug: Bijac, Macan, Fatovic, Loncar, Jokovic 1, Garcia 1, Ivankovic, Vrlic, Perrone 2, Benic 1, Obradovic 1, Popadic
