Jadran water polo players faced their fifth defeat of the season against a different opponent for the third time.

Following losses to Ferencvaros and Jadran from Split, the Novljani were also outplayed by the European water polo giants, Jug, today at Škver.

The Dubrovnik team secured a narrow victory with a score of 9:8 (2:0, 4:3, 2:2, 1:3), while Petar Radanović’s team was just eight seconds away from tying the game.

Unfortunately, after the timeout, their execution faltered, resulting in goalkeeper Darko Đurović being left to take a shot that went over the crossbar.

Jug claimed the first quarter with a score of 2:0, and led 3:0 at the beginning of the second quarter, with Lazar Vukićević scoring the home team’s first goal in the 0th minute.

By the end of the half, Maro Joković increased the score to 6:2 from the penalty spot. The visitors had a four-goal lead twice during the match, but Danilo Stupar and Radović reduced the deficit with Stupar scoring once and Radović scoring twice, bringing the score to 7:8 with just over five minutes remaining.

Despite numerous missed opportunities on both sides, the Dubrovnik team moved ahead to 9:7, before Vasilije Radović made it 9:8 with 39 seconds left.

The visitors utilized the full attack, but Jadran struggled to find an opportunity to challenge Toni Popadić.

The two teams will face off again on Saturday at the Gruž swimming pool.

“We started the match poorly, failed to capitalize on our chances, and did not adhere to our strategy discussed beforehand. Jug made the most of our errors. I hope we can analyze this and secure a win against Jug on Saturday,” said Novljan captain Martin Gardašević.

Danilo Radović and Ivan Nagajev each scored two goals, while Vasilije Radović, Vukićević, Stupar, and Dmitrij Holod added one each, though Đurović managed to save only five shots.

For the guests, Franko Lazić and Joković were the standout players with three goals each, while Popadić recorded 13 saves.

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