Unacceptable Number of Goals Conceded at This Level
Pasković with his players during the match against Savona, Photo: Krsto Vulović
After more than ten years, Montenegro has introduced two representatives in the water polo Champions League, though they will have to wait for their first victory…
While the defeats in the first round were accompanied by commendable performances, the second round showed a more challenging scenario – Primorac struggled against Savona in Kotor (18:12), and Jadran m:tel faced a tough battle against Barceloneta in Trebinje (16:8).
“Our strategy was different; we aimed to challenge them with every decision made in attack and defense, striving to maintain balance for as long as we could,” expressed Vladimir Gojković, coach of the Novljan team.
His team was only able to keep up in the first half against one of the Champions League favorites.
“I believe that these matches provide valuable growth and lessons for our players – we identified several positive aspects in that regard. I am confident that we can gain significant insights from every Champions League game as we develop as a team,” Gojković added.
Aleksandar Ivović noted the high quality of Jadran’s game in the initial two quarters.
“We aimed to set a more aggressive pace, and it worked well until midway through the match. At 4:4, they scored two easy goals against us, which usually disrupts these types of games; those were two individual mistakes,” remarked Ivović.
photo: Vuk Ilić
He insists that this does not diminish Barceloneta’s victory.
“Even prior to the match, we recognized them as the clear favorites – they are a club aiming to reach the final stages of this competition. On the other hand, our goals cannot be compared to theirs,” added Ivović.
Kotor, the city renowned for producing European water polo champions, embraced the return of the Champions League after a 14-year hiatus, although there wasn’t much to celebrate at the “Zoran Džimi Gopčević” swimming pool.
“Conceding so many goals at this level is unacceptable,” commented Vjekoslav Pasković, coach of Primorac. “Perhaps there was an initial nervousness since this was our first game in the Champions League at this venue in 14 years, but our performance in that area was quite poor, and we need to focus on improving it.”
The coach, who led Primorac to a title after a long wait, anticipates better displays from his players.
“We have several players experiencing the Champions League for the first time, but this is merely the start of the season, and I have faith that we will improve in this environment as the season advances,” Pasković emphasized.
Champions League nights have returned to Kotor.
“I have special emotions connected to this pool. We have always received tremendous support from our fans, and though there weren’t many of them this time, I sincerely thank them and urge them to continue supporting these young athletes,” concluded Pasković.
In the next round, set for two weeks from now, Jadran will face Vaša, while Primorac will engage with Sabadell.
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