TURKEY 5 MONTENEGRO 16

Tournament favourites Montenegro were victorious in their opening Group A encounter with Turkey in the final game on Day One of the LEN European Nations Trophy at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.

Mladan Janovic led the scoring with four goals, while Nikola Janovic scored three as Montenegro dominated.

Montenegro accelerated to a three-goal lead after the first period. Mladan Janovic converted a penalty after he was impeded by Sezai Kiziltan when through on goal, before captain Veljko Uskokovic and Nikola Janovic scored from man-up opportunities.

Mladan Janovic made the score 4-0 before Turkey responded with Berk Gunkut scoring their opening goal. Mladan Janovic then completed his hat-trick with an extra-man goal before Turkey captain Halil Beskardesuer scored. Drasko Brguljan scored from a man-up for Montenegro to maintain their three-goal cushion at half-time.

Emre Coskun scored a thunderbolt 28 seconds into the second half but Montenegro hit back immediately through Nikola Janovic. Aleksandar Ivovic got on the scoresheet to take the tournament favourites’ advantage to five, while further goals from Nikola Janovic and Milan Ticic made it a seven-goal cushion. Damjan DaniLovic extended the advantage further with an extra-man strike.

Mladan Janovic opened the scoring in the final quarter with his fourth goal, and Vjekoslav Paskovic converted a penalty to get on the scoresheet. Coskun scored his second from eight-metres out for Turkey to claw one back. Brguljan scored his second, while Boris Zlokovic claimed his first goal of the competition.

Predrag Jokic scored his first with two minutes remaining, before Omer Yaman responded for Turkey.

Result: 5-16 (0-3; 2-3; 1-5; 1-5)
 
Turkey: 1 Atila Sezer, 2 Ali Can Gagatay, 3 Omer Yaman (1 goal), 4 Anil Sonmez, 5 Ruso Yakimouig, 6 Hakan Hatipoglu, 7 Sezai Kiziltan, 8 Berk Gunkut (1), 9 Aytag Yegin, 10 Emre Coskun (2), 11 Halil Beskardesuer (Capt, 1), 12 Can Guven, 13 Tan Diptas

Montenegro: 1 Zdavko Radic, 2 Drasko Brguljan (2 goals), 3 Vjekoslav Paskovic (1), 4 Damjan DaniLovic (1), 5 Nikola Janovic (3), 6 Milan Ticic (1), 7 Mladan Janovic (4), 8 Veljko Uskokovic (Capt, 1), 9 Aleksandar Ivovic (1), 10 Boris Zlokovic (1), 11 Vladimir Gojkovic, 12 Predrag Jokic (1), 13 Milos Scepanovic

GREAT BRITAIN 20 ISRAEL 9

Great Britain triumphed with a convincing victory over Israel in their opening match of the LEN European Nations Trophy at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.

Captain Craig Figes led the way with four goals, but his goalscoring exploits were eclipsed by Lancaster’s Tom Curwen, who claimed seven.

Great Britain opened the scoring through Figes but Israel were swiftly level through Amit Seker’s penalty when Matthew Thresher was excluded twice, firstly for a foul and secondly for impeding play on his way to the exclusion box.

Alex Parsonage and Mark Banwell took Britain’s lead to 4-1 midway through the period before Ofir Golombek pulled a goal back for Israel. Curwen claimed his first of the match from a man-up but Gil Lunliner reduced the deficit once more.

Lancaster’s Curwen claimed his second, but then Bristol Central’s Thresher – who was celebrating his 27th birthday – was excluded for a third time to end his participation in the contest.

Lancaster pair Andrew Squires and Curwen (twice) scored as Britain accelerated to a six-goal lead at the start of the second period before Or Keren pulled back one. Parsonage then added his second from a fast break but Israel’s Navot Luria scored as the half ended 10-5.

Scott Carpenter scored twice in the third period with Adam Scholefield also scoring, while Ayal Keren replied with three for Israel.
 
Curwen, Banwell and Figes (two) scored before Luria pulled one back.

Curwen then added three goals to take his personal tally to seven, with Sedgefield’s Chris Gilbertson also scoring.

Result: 20-9 (6-3; 4-2; 3-3; 7-1)
 
Great Britain: 1 Ed Scott, 2 Sean Ryder, 3 Mark Banwell (2 goals), 4 Scott Carpenter (2), 5 Craig Figes (Capt, 4), 6 Andrew Squires (1), 7 Alex Parsonage (2), 8 Tom Curwen (7), 9 Rob Parker, 10 Adam Scholefield (1), 11 Chris Gilbertson (1), 12 Matthew Thresher, 13 Matthew Birch

Israel: 1 Itamar Inbar, 2 Shy Hemed, 3 Ofir Golombek (1 goal), 4 Navot Luria (2), 5 Maoz Gaver, 6 Or Keren (1), 7 Gil Lunliner (1), 8 Amit Seker (Capt, 1), 9 Ayal Keren (3), 10 Ori Raz, 11 Dolev Koifman, 12 Itamar Schwartz, 13 Alex Malkis

BELARUS 10 MACEDONIA 11

Macedonia triumphed in a close match with Belarus in the second Group A game on the first day of the LEN European Nations Trophy at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.

Macedonia were on top throughout, with Belarus only drawing level with 6 minutes 11 seconds remaining. However, Macedonia immediately hit back to restore their lead and hold on for victory.

Siarhei Fralou opened the scoring for Belarus, but Macedonia’s Marko Basic equalised before Ivan Vuksanovic, Saso Popovski and Vladimir Krekovic took the lead to 4-1.  Aleksey Kuzmenko pulled one back for Belarus with 10.8 seconds remaining.

Kuzmenko scored his second for Belarus to go one behind early in the second period, but Macedonia captain Popovski claimed his second to extend the lead once more. However, Dzmitry Kulik got a goal for Belarus to halve the Macedonia advantage at half-time.

The teams could not be separated in the third, with Risto Maljkovic and Nenand Petrovic scoring for Macedonia. Ivan Kulakov and Kulik replied for Belarus.

Kulakov took Belarus level for the first time in the game early in the fourth quarter and Maljkovic and Armenaic Elizbaran exchanged strikes for eight goals apiece. However, Macedonia then scored three times in succession to move into the ascendancy.

Sloppy defending allowed Belarus captain Dzmitry Vankevich to score twice to bring the team to within one goal and a time-out was called with 28.8 seconds remaining, with Belarus looking to equalise. However, Macedonia stole the ball before calling a time out of their own to see out the match and hold on to win.
Result: 10-11 (2-4; 2-1; 2-2; 4-4)
 
Belarus: 1. Mikhail Yazerski, 2 Ivan Kulakov (2 goals), 3 Aliaksandr Andrayuk, 4 Dzmitry Kulik (1), 5 Alexcei Zalugnyi, 6 Armenaic Elizbaran (1), 7 Aliaksandr Navumenka, 8 Dzmitry Vankevich (Capt, 2), 9 Siarhei Fralou (1), 10 Aleksey Kuzmenko (3), 11 Uladzimir Martyniuk, 12 Vladimir Basic, 13 Kanstantsin Kavaleuski

Macedonia: 1 Milos Urosevic, 2 Sava Isakovski, 3 Ivan Vuksanovic (2 goals), 4 Risto Maljkovic (2), 5 Nenad Ivanovski, 6 Saso Popovski (Capt, 2), 7 Marko Micic (2), 8 Vladimir Kreckovic (2), 9 Nenad Petrovic (1), 10 Marko Basic, 11 Radislav Kocovski, 12 Bobi Kuzmanovski, 13 Darko Stosic

FRANCE 33 IRELAND 5

France romped to victory over Ireland to state their intentions for the top place in Group B.

Captain Frederic Audon led from the front claiming 10 goals in a variety of guises – with one-on-ones, lobs and centre-forward strikes all part of his repertoire. Centre forward Mickael Bodegas claimed eight.

A 9-1 first-quarter score line meant the result was never in doubt, but Ireland were committed throughout and scored in each of the period to prevent a shut-out. Captain Christopher Hodgkinson performed admirably in goal, saving Ireland from conceding further on numerous occasions.

The French onslaught was relentless, but Ireland created enough opportunities to show the kinks in France’s armour. Jonathan Kirk scored Ireland’s first from the centre-forward position, but Yann Vernoux and Bodegas had already struck for France, who went on to score seven more in the opening period.

Ten goals were shared in the second period, with Ireland’s Alan Fogarty and Darren McHugh improving their tally, but France continued to press and scored an array of goals.

France eased off the pedal in the fourth quarter, with Audon scoring four of their five goals, with Remi Saudadier adding the other, after McHugh had opened the account for the period.

France then demonstrated their ruthless streak, going up through the gears with 11 strikes in the fourth period, with Ireland’s solitary strike coming 17.1 seconds from the end through Graham Fogarty.

Result: 33-5 (9-1; 8-2; 5-1; 11-1)
 
France: 1 Jonathan Moriame, 2 Romain Blary (5 goals), 3 Arnaud Jablonski, 4 Frederic Audon (Capt, 10), 5 Yann Vergeade (1), 6 Remi Saudadier (1), 7 Mickael Bodegas (8), 8 Jean Baptiste Favry (2), 9 Yann Vernoux (1), 10 Yann Clay (1), 11 Marc Amardeilh, 12 Quentin Chipotel (4), 13 Soufien Riabi

Ireland:  1 Christopher Hodgkinson (Capt), 2 Alan Fogarty (1 goal), 3 Eoin Nolan, 4 Kevin Thornton, 5 Graham Fogarty (1), 6 Patrick Lowery, 7 Darren McHugh (2), 8 Jonathan Donnelly, 9 Ciaran Walshe, 10 Jonathan Kirk (1), 11 Michael Kelleher, 12 Stephen Murphy, 13 Eoin Doyle

POLAND 6 UKRAINE 7

Ukraine came out on top in a tight and bruising encounter with Poland after Vladyslav Soslovskiy scored twice in the final quarter to ensure a win.

Ukraine took a one-goal lead at the end of the first period following goals from Kostyantyn Shevchenko and Tymur Shylin’s penalty, with Piotr Wojcik pulling one back less than three seconds from the interval.

Tomasz Rozycki opened the scoring in the second with an extra-man conversion following Shylin’s exclusion and Poland scored again through Marcin Scierwicki to take the lead for the first time in the game. But Ukraine hit back. Marek Debski was excluded after a tussle with Denys Kolesnikov and the centre forward scored a quick-fire extra-man goal. Poland restored the lead when Robert Sekula struck following Kolesnikov’s exclusion but Ukraine levelled through Soslovskiy.

An attritional third period saw three Ukrainians excluded without Poland taking advantage, and Volodymyr Voytenko scored the solitary goal to restore the slender advantage.

Soslovskiy scored first in the final period before Shevchenko, Ukraine’s captain, received his third major and was excluded from the remainder of the game. Poland levelled with goals from Sekula and Wojcik. But Soslovskiy put Ukraine ahead with barely a minute remaining and Poland could not equalise.

Result: 6-7 (1-2; 3-2; 0-1; 1-2)
 
Poland: 1 Michal Diakonow (Capt), 2 Marcin Scierwicki (1 goal), 3 Piotr Michalski, 4 Adam Perka, 5 Marek Debski, 6 Pawel Ulchurski, 7 Tomasz Rozycki (1), 8 Michal Bar, 9 Radoslaw Haraczko, 10 Robert Sekula (2), 11 Piotr Wojcik (2), 12 Wojciech Leszek, 13 Rafal Wocik

Ukraine: 1 Denys Volonchuk, 2 Kostyantyn Shevchenko (Capt, 1 goal), 3 Tymur Shylin (1), 4 Vadym Kozlov, 5 Volodymyr Voytenko (1), 6 Roman Olefirenko, 7 Denys Kolesnikov (1), 8 Vladyslav Soslovskiy (3), 9 Sergiy Pantyukov, 10 Yevgen Obedinskyy (1), 11 Igor Piperko, 12 Serhiy Grishyn, 13 Petro Radivilov

MALTA 15 BELGIUM 8

Malta stormed to victory in the opening match of the LEN European Nations Trophy at the Manchester Aquatics Centre with a convincing triumph over Belgium.

John Soler, with five goals, and Steve Camilleri, with four, starred for Malta, who dominated proceedings with a physical performance.

Soler scored the opening goal of the tournament in the first quarter, before Malta captain Paul Privitera and Camilleri scored, with Cedric Grammens scoring twice for Belgium.

Four unanswered goals in the second quarter handed the initiative to Malta. Belgium’s Thomas Delorge had opened the second period with an extra-man goal, but the remainder of the period was all Malta, with Matthew Zammit scoring twice. Soler and Camilleri added further goals.

Belgium scored first in the third when Michael De Boever converted an extra-man opportunity. But Camilleri scored his third goal of the game from a man-up at the other end. Soler then scored twice in quick succession before Zammit conceded a penalty, which Belgium’s captain Tom Van Oost converted. Samuel Gomez reduced the deficit to four, but Privitera scored his second of the game to restore the five-goal advantage.

Van Oost conceded a penalty early in the fourth, which Camilleri executed, before the Belgian skipper pulled a goal back. Belgium then forced an exclusion and the coach called a time out in a desperate attempt to galvanise his side to claw back five goals. De Boever scored from the extra man, but Malta pressed again, with Michele Stellini, Karl Montfort and Soler adding further strikes.
 

Result: 15-8 (3-2; 4-1; 4-3; 4-2)
 
Malta: 1 Josie Cachia, 2 Niki Lanzon, 3 Paul Fava, 4 Paul Privitera (Capt, 2 goals), 5 Mark Meli, 6 John Soler (5), 7 Steve Camilleri (4), 8 Jurgen Borg, 9 Karl Montfort (1), 10 Matthew Zammit (2), 11 Clint Mercieca, 12 Michele Stellini (1), 13 Ian Bugeja

Belgium: 1 Pieter Van Snick, 2 Stefen Van Tieghem, 3 Kevin Chavepeyer, 4 Thomas Delorge (1 goal), 5 Niels Verhegge, 6 Ken De Wilde, 7 Samuel Gomez (1), 8 Michael De Boever (2), 9 Cedric Grammens (2 goals), 10 Tom Van Oost (Capt, 2), 11 Sammy Claes, 12 Niels Vanderlinden, 13 Michael Callens