The Tenerife side bounced back from a poor start and convincingly defeated Neukölln Berlin in the quarter-finals of the continental competition held this Thursday at the Acidalio Lorenzo pool in Santa Cruz. The other semifinalists: White Sharks Hannover, Galatasaray, and Zaibas.
Tenerife Echeyde began their defense of the Nordic League title this Thursday. And they did so at home, in a beautifully decorated Acidalio Lorenzo pool, ready to host a Final Eight featuring eight top European teams from seven different countries. The “chicharreros”, hosts in this final stage of the continental competition, faced Neukölln Berlin for a spot in the semifinals. The goal was clear: to win. And although the start was far from promising — with two early goals from the Germans, courtesy of Gottfried, who surprised the local goalkeeper, youth player Iván Prunell (2-0) — the Germans took the lead, but the chicharreros quickly responded and turned the game around within a strong five-minute stretch. Diego Mercado appeared at center-forward, joined by the day’s MVP, Djordje Stanic, who scored twice, and Ashworth Molthen with his signature left-handed shots. The islanders’ comeback was on, successfully countering the German push, who also managed to score through a penalty by Costa and a powerful shot from Kechedzhy. However, the scoreline now read 5-4, and the game had taken a completely different direction, with Albert Español’s players dominating the match.
If Echeyde struggled in the first period, they shifted into high gear in the second, opening with a 3-1 run. Stanic was again key with a tip-in at center-forward, as well as youth player Sergio Prunell from the penalty spot, and Iker González. At 8-5, the Canarians were pulling away, and although Berlin briefly breathed with another penalty converted by Costa, a crushing new partial followed. A 6-0 run saw the Germans vanish under the solid defense of the Acidalio squad, who were also highly effective in attack, with power-play goals from Stanic and Luis Araya, the first senior team goal by Enrique Ramírez, and a lovely spin shot from Álex Andión. It was a chicharrero tsunami, and the score surged from 8-6 to a lopsided 14-6 at halftime.
After the break, with the match well under control, the Santa Cruz side kept playing with defensive and offensive intensity. The reward: goals from Marc Salvador and Luis Araya on the counterattack (16-6). The gap kept growing, and Neukölln Berlin couldn’t break through the locals’ defense until Weber scored with a precise shot during a power play (16-7). But it wasn’t a setback for Albert Español’s men, who stayed committed to their high-pressure plan, which proved too much for the visitors. Kike Ramírez and Álex Andión punished again, bringing the score to 18-7. Victory was within reach, but just to be sure, Echeyde kept pressing, reaching 21 goals (Ashworth Molthen, Kike Ramírez, and Álex Andión), with eight minutes still left. The Berliners were sinking at the Acidalio, but kept fighting, scoring two more (Costa and Augusti), which did little to soften the heavy 21-9 scoreline.
With the match nearly decided, the final quarter featured several good saves by local goalkeeper René Girasole, along with more high-quality goals from Ashworth Molthen, Diego Mercado, and a hat trick by the outstanding Iker González, increasing the final margin to 26-12. Not even the three goals scored in the last quarter by the visitors (Costa and Augusti x2) could stop the attacking avalanche from a dominant Tenerife Echeyde, who will play in the semifinal of the Nordic League Final Eight tomorrow, Friday (7:30 PM). The dream of a second title remains alive. Their opponent will be White Sharks Hannover, who surprised in the day’s opening match at the Tenerife venue. The Germans came back in the final quarter against Romania’s Rapid Bucharest and completed their epic win in the penalty shootout (16-14). On the other side of the bracket, the other two title contenders advanced convincingly. Galatasaray defeated Italy’s Rari Nantes Sori (19-11), and current runner-up Zaibas from Lithuania overcame the Dutch team ZV De Ham (17-9). They will face each other in the other semifinal tomorrow (6:00 PM).
Match Sheet
Tenerife Echeyde (26): Iván Prunell, Kike Ramírez (3), Diego Armando Mercado (2), Djordje Stanic (5), Luis Araya (3), Iker González (4), Ashworth Gen Molthen (4), Nacho Gutiérrez, Marc Salvador Magaña (1), Álex Andión (3), Ferran Soriano, Sergio Prunell (1), and René Girasole
Coaches: Albert Español and Bruno Abad
Neukölln Berlin (12): Nikoloz Shublaze, Marko Augusti (3), Aly El Aassar (1), Nicola Sartore, Phillip Gottfried (2), Noel Eisenreich, Marc Weber (1), Moritz Ostmann, Ilja Khristenko, Tamas Tanczer, Maximilian Costa (4), Ihor Kechedzhy (1), and Hussein Amr
Coach: Sascha Pacyna
Referee: Tomas Kašeta
Quarter Scores: 5-4, 9-2, 7-3, and 5-3
Venue: Quarter-final match of the Final Eight of the Nordic League, with spectators present, at the Acidalio Lorenzo pool in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.