Novi Beograd (SBR) v Genesys-OSC Budapest (HUN) 17-9
It was clear that OSC could stand a chance in the home of last season’s runners-up if they could come up with the same high-quality game which had earned them a point in Marseille two weeks ago. As the results shows, the Hungarians were able to keep that level for one and a half periods – then they were cracked under the growing pressure generated by the Serbs.
The first period brought three goals apiece and OSC looked sharp in the second as well, managed to equalise twice. At 5-5, Radomir Drasovic blasted one for 6-5 and then came the first blow for the Magyars when Joao Fernandez could finally make a save in a man-down. At the other end Alvaro Granados put NBG’s 6 on 5 away, so it stood 7-5 and not 6-6. OSC had three more shots, on equal strength, but couldn’t make any damage while Angelos Vlachopoulos’ fierce bouncer gave the hosts an 8-5 lead 19 seconds before the middle break.
Nothing changed after the three-minute interval, after a double exclusion and soon a single one, NBG could play a 5 on 4 and Drasovic sent the ball home with ease. The Magyars started losing their composure, had two man-ups in a minute but none of their shots imposed any danger. On contrary, Dimitriois Skoumpakis hit one from the home side’s next extra, so Novi Beograd was in a 5-0 run. OSC could finally halt their scoreless phase after 10:04 minutes, but Viktor Rasovic replied from a man-up so the Serbs led 11-6 before the final period.
And that one turned into a scoring festival, nine more came, the Hungarians’ defence collapsed as they conceded six more – after hitting 16 in Berlin on Day 1, now NBG stopped at 17.
How they saw it
Zivko Gocic, coach, NBG
“I didn’t expect this big victory, still, it’s very good for us, we played a great game. I think the main difference was the aggressivity, especially in defence. We had a good rhythm there, that was key for today’s match.”
Daniel Varga, coach, OSC
“Our biggest problem today was our rival. NBG is a quality team, we knew we would have a tough time, still, receiving 17 goals is too much. I’d say I was satisfied with the first half, I liked the team’s performance during those periods even if our opponent already took a three-goal lead. Then in the second half our game dropped to a level where no team should play in the Champions League. I know we missed two of our key guys, but I still cannot accept this performance from my players. OSC cannot play on this level in any matches, and definitely not in the Champions League. We need to find our way back to the higher standards and I hope we can go forward soon.”
