Champions League Men: FTC gain revenge against Recco, as Hannover edge Mladost to get off the mark

FTC-Telekom came up big to beat Pro Recco in a 30-goal epic, taking revenge for their tough home loss on Day 1 in the Champions League Quarter Final Stage. Waspo 98 Hannover also managed to upset Mladost in a thriller to gain their first points in the group, a result which also ruined the Croats’ slim hopes of reaching the finals – as the six-point advantage of the two giants with just two rounds to go looks more than enough for them to progress.

2025/26 Champions League Men
Quarter Final Stage, Day 4
Tuesday 21 April

Group B

Pro Recco (ITA) 14-16 FTC-Telekom (HUN)
Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) 15-14 Mladost Zagreb (CRO)

Standings: 1. Recco 9pts, 1. FTC 9pts, 3. Mladost 3pts, 3. Hannover 3pts

Pro Recco (ITA) 14-16 FTC-Telekom (HUN) (4-6, 0-4, 6-3, 4-3)

Fradi fielded three junior players as Dusan Mandic, Akos Nagy and Vendel Vigvari were all sidelined with injuries – their coach Balazs Nyeki eased the pressure on his team by stating beforehand that this match would not be the most important in the common history of Fradi and Recco.

How the Hungarians played in the first half told a very different story. It was Fradi at its best, a flawless performance from the title-holders, who stormed to a 4-10 lead by half-time.

It’s hard to recall any recent match where Recco were blown away in such devastating fashion. Krisztian Manhercz hit five goals, four right away in the first quarter where Fradi were 6-for-6 in six-on-five.

On the contrary, Recco missed four, still they kept up as Luke Pavillard, then Max Irving fired two in from the perimeter and Alvaro Granados also buried a penalty – but the Magyars led 4-6 after eight minutes.

The more stunning scenes came in the second period. Though Fradi missed their first extra, they also killed one and then Bence Haverkampf, one of the 20-year-olds, hit his second from the following extra (he spent the previous season in Recco on a lease…) and since the Italians were unable to create real chances in the next two six-on-fives, Edoardo di Somma’s incredible backhand finish in Fradi’s man-up extended the gap to four goals.

There were more lows in Recco’s conversion rate, and Soma Vogel also produced his trademark penalty save, this time stopping Granados’ shot, while Zsombor Vismeg sent the ball home from the 2m line.

Granados was soon fouled out as he didn’t realise his second exclusion and stayed in the water for a third major and a penalty.

Manhercz buried it and by half-time, Fradi were on course not only to avenge the 9-13 defeat in Budapest, but also to take over the top spot from their rivals.

Five minutes were enough for the home side to regain some composure – they had lost the second period 0-4 – and with some highly aggressive defending, steals and ensuing counters they halved the gap in three minutes.

Marton Vamos halted their run with a pinpoint blast, and that somewhat killed Recco’s momentum as they missed their next two man-ups, though the Magyars also wasted two in this phase.

Recco’s next goal came after three minutes, Francesco di Fulvio’s rocket ended up in the net, but Gergo Fekete replied with an action goal for 8-12.

Szilard Jansik put away FTC’s next extra, amidst adventurous circumstances, but Giacomo Cannella also converted a six-on-four 25 seconds from time. And a loose ball, another exclusion and a perfect finish from di Fulvio brought Recco back to 10-13 in the last second of the third.

Fradi killed two man-downs early in the fourth – though lost two more players with three majors, including di Somma – before Cannella finally hit a great one from distance and Recco trailed by only two with 5:21 to play.

Fekete kept his calm and netted their extra, but they missed the next one and di Fulvio blasted another from action for 12-14.

Recco had a man-up to come back to one, but missed it, and Fekete left no chance for Gianmarco Nicosia once more.

Di Fulvio kept Recco in the game with another 6m blast with 2:27 remaining, but Fradi managed to survive the hosts’ next two possessions.

When Sandro Sukno called his last time-out, only 1:11 remained on the clock. Recco forced a man-up and a lucky rebound ended in a penalty, Di Fulvio made no mistake, scoring his fifth for 14-15 and there were still 45 seconds to go.

A block denied Vamos’ 6m shot and a quick flying substitution of the goalie gave the hosts at least 20 seconds to go for a seven-on-six.

However, the feed to the 2m line was hunted down by the defenders and Jansik sent the ball into the empty net to beat the buzzer and seal Fradi’s great win.

Though the two-goal victory might not be enough to overtake Recco, the revenge still satisfied the title-holders.

Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) 15-14 Mladost Zagreb (CRO) (2-3, 3-4, 6-5, 4-2)

Waspo demonstrated once more that they deserved the chance to play in the Quarter Final Stage.

They brought down Mladost in a similar way to how they had done against Marseille and Sabadell – even though the favourites led for most of the time, the Germans never gave in, stayed close and held their nerve in the most heated moments to score the last three goals.

Though the hosts broke the ice, the Croats quickly settled and, with some fine finishes in their man-ups, went ahead to lead 2-3 after eight minutes.

Zoran Bozic equalised from a counter right away at the start of the second period, but Mladost hit back with a fine double in 57 seconds and even though Denis Strelezkij pulled one back with a penalty, Franko Lazic converted an extra and a bit later Luka Bukic finished off another counter to make it 4-7.

Lukas Kueppers hit one from distance, then Mladost missed two extras in the remaining one and a half minutes, but still were up by two at half-time (5-7).

Nikola Milardovic’s action goal kicked off the third and soon Waspo had a man-up to make it even, but missed it, and Josip Vrlic had an easy put-away in a six-on-four at the other end.

Just 32 seconds later, a counter ended in a penalty, Ivan Nagaev buried it to restore the three-goal gap.

Both sides converted an extra, so Mladost still enjoyed a 7-10 advantage halfway through the third, but again it melted soon as Waspo came up with back-to-back hits from the centre, by Luka Lozina and Sam van den Burg.

Matias Biljaka sent the ball home from a six-on-five after a time-out, but Milardovic replied with an action goal and Mark Gansen hit the back of the net from an extra to make it 11-11 with 0:07 on the clock.

Still, that was enough for Josip Vrlic to take a distant shot to beat the goalie and the buzzer, so Mladost still held on for 11-12 after this action-packed period which saw 11 goals (6-5).

A minute into the fourth, Van den Burg levelled it with another fine action goal but Franko Lazic, though Mladost had missed an extra a bit earlier, regained the lead for the Croats.

They wasted another six-on-five before making the third one, Vrlic was set up at the post and he hammered it in for 12-14 with 3:13 remaining.

Still, approaching the endgame, the Mladost defence didn’t click and incoming goalie Ivan Marcelic couldn’t really help his side.

Strelezkij and Gansen both sent the ball through the arms from distance, in a span of 44 seconds, and it was even again at 14-14, with 2:10 on the clock.

Mladost had a man-up but couldn’t play it well, while Waspo also earned one and Kueppers fired it in after a time-out – so for the first time after 1-0, Waspo led and only 1:09 remained.

The Croats earned another man-up, but some heroic efforts from the hosts, including a big save from Felix Benke, denied the three shots and secured the desired three points for Waspo, fully deserved.

This also killed Mladost’s last hope of making a miracle – with Fradi’s win, the two favourites are now six points clear, leaving little or rather no doubt that they will travel to Malta in June.

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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

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