Radnicki defeated Novi Beograd 13:10 in a big Serbian derby played in the 10th round of the Premier VRL League. With this victory, Radnicki took revenge for defeats in the first half of the VRL League and in the Serbian Cup semifinals.
Partizan pulled off a surprise victory in the tenth round by defeating Sabac 16:13. Primorac narrowly defeated Crvena zveza 13:12, and Jadran easily triumphed over Buducnost 22:10.
2026 Premier VRL League, Round 10
(quarters 3:1, 4:2, 3:4, 3:3)
Radnički practically secured the win against midway through the match. Between the 14th and 19th minutes, the home team, led by Nikola Jaksic, went on a 4:0 scoring run, stretching its lead from 4:3 to 8:3. Although Novi Beograd fought back and managed to close the gap to two goals on a few occasions, Radnicki thwarted the hosts’ comeback attempts.
Neither team scored until the middle of the first quarter. Strahinja Rasovic opened the scoring for Radnički, but Vasilije Martinović equalized from the penalty spot shortly afterward. Nikola Dedovic then scored two consecutive goals, putting Radnicki ahead 3:1. The home team maintained a two-goal lead for a while, and just before the end of the second period, Serbian captain Nikola Jaksic scored twice within 39 seconds—first from the field and then from the 5 m line—extending Radnički’s lead to 7:3. Jaksic continued his impressive performance in the second half, making it 8:3 with an extra player.
Nikola Jaksic Photo by Igor Lazarevic
Novi Beograd struggled to find the net for almost eight minutes until Vasilije Martinovic scored the visitors’ first goal from a man-up situation. The visitors began to mount a comeback, quickly adding two more goals (6:8). However, Nikola Jaksic halted Novi Beograd’s momentum by scoring his fourth goal. Still, he then committed a penalty foul, which allowed Lukic to reduce the deficit to 7:9. Just before the end of the third quarter, Viktor Rašović made it 10:7 from a counterattack.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Nikola Jaksic and Dusko Pijetlovic added powerplay goals, extending the hosts’ lead to 12:7. It was clear at this point that the three points would remain in Kragujevac. Novi Beograd could not catch up with its rival.
One of the keys to Radnicki’s victory was an exceptional shot conversion rate of over 70% (7 out of 10) during man-up situations, while Novi Beograd managed to score from only 2 of their 9 shots with an extra player.
In addition to Nikola Jaksic, who scored five goals, goalkeeper Radoslav Filipovic played a significant role in Radnicki’s win, making 15 saves.
Aleksa Ukropina, a left-handed Montenegrin goal scorer who played for Radnicki a few years ago, made his debut for Novi Beograd. Ukropina had joined the team a few months ago, but was unable to play until his two-year suspension for a doping violation had expired. He was the best scorer for the away team alongside Lukić, Martinović, and Vasić, each netting two goals.
There were no goals until the middle of the first quarter of the big derby in Kragujevac. Strahinja Rasovic converted a 6 on 5 to make it 1:0, and Vasilije Martinovic immediately leveled from the 5m line. Nikola Dedović responded with two quick goals and gave Radnicki a 3:1 lead. The home team maintained a two-goal lead for a long time. At the end of the second period, Serbia’s captain Nikola Jaksic scored two goals in 39 seconds (one from the field, the other from the box), giving Radnicki a big lead of 7:3.
(quarters 5:4, 5:6, 4:2, 4:1)
Partizan secured its first points of the season with a surprising victory over Sabac, which had been the league leader until recently. The match was evenly contested in the first 16 minutes. The teams were tied at 10:10 at halftime, but Sabac never managed to take the lead during the first two quarters. The visitors forced an exclusion in their first possession in the third period, and Lazic converted a man-up to put Sabac in front for the first time in the game – 11:10. However, this would be the only lead for Sabac, as Partizan quickly responded with a 3:0 run, making it 13:11 and maintaining their advantage until the last break at 14:12.
Strahinja Neskovic (Partizan) photo by Slobodan Sandić
In the fourth period, there were no goals for a long time – until the 30th minute, when Neskovic scored to extend the hosts’ lead to 15:12. Partizan widened the margin to 16:12 with 78 seconds remaining. Sabac scored a consolation goal in the dying seconds.
Strahinja Neskovic played a crucial role in Partizan’s valuable victory, scoring four goals. Novakovic had te same output n Sabac.
(quarters 2:2, 5:4, 2:3, 3:4)
The second match played at the Banjica pool was also thrilling. Primorac started strong against Crvena Zvezda, taking a 6:3 lead in the middle of the second quarter. However, Red Star quickly made a comeback, going on a 4:0 run in just over two minutes to earn a 7:6 advantage. Primorac managed to tie the score in the third period. Before the final eight minutes, the teams were tied at 9:9.
The intense battle continued in the fourth quarter, with the Kotor-based team taking the lead at 11:9, but the home side responded to tie it again at 11:11. The guests then scored two consecutive goals, regaining a 2-goal lead (13:11)by the 30th minute. Although Belgrade quickly halved the deficit, Primorac managed to maintain its narrow lead
Left-handed Djuro Radović led Primorac’s offense with three goals.
(3:5, 1:9, 4:4, 2:4)
As expected, Jadran convincingly defeated Buducnost in an away match. Jadran held the lead from the start, but Buducnost kept up in the first eight minutes. At the first break, the hosts were 3:5 behind. However, Jadran was practically flawless in the second quarter – the visitors scored nine goals, conceding only one, and already at half-time they had a double-digit lead – 14:4. In the final minutes, Jadran, led by teenagers Strahinja Gojković (five goals) and Danilo Stupar (four), increased the difference to 12.
Photo by Filip Roganovic
Match of Round 11
(4:2, 3:3, 4:2, 3:1)
Due to Partizan’s participation in the Conference Cup next weekend, the first match of the 11th round was played today. Primorac hosted Partizan. Like in the match against Sabac, the Black and Whites showed that they had progressed, but they didn’t make a new surprise. The visitors scored the first goal, but Primorac led 4:2 after the first quarter. In the next two quarters, Partizan came back from time to time, but did not manage to equalize and ran out of gas for the final period. Primroac’s best scorers were veteran Draško Brguljan and young Balša Vučković.
The outcome of the match was significantly influenced by the man-up conversion. Primorac scored five power play goals, and Partizan did not convert a single one of 6 on 5 shots.
- Radnički 10 – 25
- Primroac 11 – 25
- Šabac Elixir 10 – 22
- Novi Beograd Tehnomanija 10 – 20
- Jadran m:tel 10 – 19
- Crvena zvezda 10 – 6
- Partizan 11 – 3
- Budućnost One 11 – 3
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
