Courtesy: LEN
Olympiacos won the women’s Super Cup for the second time after 2015 as they beat Kinef Kirishi 14-11, thanks to a 5-0 blast in the second period. Playing at home, they led 9-6 at halftime and never let the Russians back to the game.
Super Cup Final
Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) v Kinef-Surgutneftegas Kirishi (RUS) 14-11
The teams didn’t wait a minute to launch full-scale attacks and the shooting bonanza produced seven goals, six of them coming from action. The Russians led by two goals twice and were still 4-6 deep into the second when Olympiacos caught the wave and staged a 5-0 rout. The first four were hit a span of 2:13 minutes and the LEN Trophy winners could never really recover from that blow.
Tatiana Zubkova brought Kinef close for one last time early in the third at 9-8 (she hit 5 in the game), but the hosts responded quickly. They netted two in 40 seconds, then Ioanna Stamatopoulou denied a one-on-one shot from close range in man-down and Elena Xenaki’s brilliant left-handed centre-shot decided the outcome. It was 12-8 (instead of 11-9) – and the Greeks enjoyed an easy cruising in the remaining the game. The Russians had a couple of desperate attempts in the fourth, after coming back to 14-11 from 14-9, but missed more man-ups, only a 7 on 6 worked, when goalie Anna Karnaukh scored from the wing, to offer something special at least.
Quotes from the coaches
Charis Pavlidis, coach, Olympiacos: “We are absolutely happy, we won everything in this season. This is the fifth trophy for this team in 2021, and I am very grateful for this for our supporters, our president, our fans. I see a great potential in this team, and I hope we can go on to have more success in the future.”
Aleksandr Naritsa, coach, Kinef “We are obviously disappointed. Something went wrong, the team didn’t work as it was expected, it’s a pity. We should analyse what happened.”
The men’s final will take place on Monday at Szolnok: 19.00 Pro Recco (ITA) v Szolnoki Dozsa (HUN).