Rare Nantes Savona, with Pro Recco a good performance which gives us hope in view of the matches that count

Savona. The match between Rari Nantes Savona and Pro Recco, played today at Zanelli for the last day of the Scudetto round, had no importance for the standings. With the red and whites already certain of an excellent second place and the Italian champions first with full points, the result could not have changed the situation.

The match, however, represented an excellent test, considering the value of the two teams, in view of the upcoming European commitments and the final rush to win the Italian title. The hosts were called to confirm that this year they are less distant from the value of the Biancocelesti; the latter needed to regain confidence after the blow to morale suffered with the failure in the Italian Cup.

The news. The public responds by being present: with a large presence of young people, there are almost five hundred attendees. The derby, even though the same team has always prevailed for many years, has its appeal.

Before the start of the match, the president of Rari Nantes Savona, Daniele Polti, and the vice-president and sporting director, Giuseppe Gervasio, presented captain Valerio Rizzo with an award to celebrate the record of 600 Serie A1 matches played with the red and white cap which reached today.

The match opens with many errors in the offensive phase on both sides; wrong shots hitting posts and crossbars, errant passes. The two teams appear packed; Pro Recco seems to have not yet regained clarity after the bitter outcome of the Albaro match.
Younger broke the deadlock after 4’20” of play, finishing off a counterattack, face to face with Nicosia.
26″ pass: extra man for Rari, pass to the center for Patchaliev who pushes the ball into the net to make it 1-1.
Erdelyi is sent off, Fondelli’s shot is blocked.
New superiority for the red and whites who try to repeat the play in front of goal for Patchaliev, but this time Negri rejects his attempts twice.
42″ from the end of the half Condemi converted a penalty: 1 to 2 for Pro Recco.

Second half. On the first action Kakaris in the center eludes a double marker and puts the ball in the net: 1-3.
Cora goes into the cockpit; I turn the ball around, in the end Iocchi Gratta sends the ball to the post.
Extra man for Savona; Angelini calls a time-out and the action leads to Durdic’s goal who finds the winning opportunity for the 2-3 after 5’14”.

At the end of the match Valerio Rizzo stated: “Today we made some mistakes, but I remain banned from the referee’s appointment. Now we have the opportunity for redemption with the Len Euro Cup match in Berlin against Spandau next Saturday. Then there will be the playoffs where we hope to be all there in order to have the full team.”

The next match for the red and whites will be the return match of the quarter-finals of the Len Euro Cup scheduled for Saturday 27 April. The people from Savona will be engaged in the Schöneberg swimming pool in Berlin with the Germans of Wasserfreunde Spandau 04. The match will start at 7.30 pm.

The scoreboard:
Bper Rari Nantes Savona – Pro Recco 6-9
(Partials: 1-2, 2-3, 0-0, 3-4)
Bper Rari Nantes Savona: Nicosia, Rocchi 1, Patchaliev 1, Figlioli, Vavic, Rizzo 1, Cora, Bruni, Campopiano, Guidi, Durdic 1, Erdelyi 2, Da Rold, Bragantini. Coach Alberto Angelini.
Pro Recco: Del Lungo, Di Fulvio 2, Zalanki 1, Scarmi, Younger 2, Fondelli, Presciutti, Echenique, Condemi 2, Kakaris 1, Aicardi 1, Iocchi Gratta, Negri, Rossi. All. Sandro Sukno.
Referees: Luca Bianco (Gavardo) and Marco Piano (Genoa). Fin Delegate: Giuseppe Sorgente (Florence).
Note. Numerical superiorities: Savona 4 out of 10 plus 1 penalty scored, Pro Recco 3 out of 11 plus 3 penalties of which 2 scored.
Out for three fouls: With 6’18” left in the 4th half Vavic (S); with 1’11” left in the 4th half Rossi (R).
With 1’52” left in the 2nd half he was permanently sent off with Figlioli (S) substituting for protests.
With 1’26” left in the 3rd half, Angelini was booked for protesting.