16/12/2015 20:25
Galatasaray leave no chance to Danish champions
2016 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup - Men
Istanbul, Turkey, December 16, 2015. Turkey’s Galatasaray HDI ISTANBUL hosted Denmark’s champions GENTOFTE Volley on Wednesday night and secured their promotion to the Round of 16 of the 2016 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup – Men with a second 3:0 victory (25-12, 25-23, 25-23) to follow up on the one from two weeks ago in the outskirts of Copenhagen.
The hosts did not leave any chance to their opponent in the first set and comfortably cruised to a terrific 25-12 win. GENTOFTE Volley organised their play, and especially their defence, a lot better in the second set but their efforts were not enough to stop Galatasaray HDI’s star players Liberman Agamez and Milan Katic, so the hosts secured also the second set (25-23) and with it also their promotion to the next round of the competition. With two sets already in their pockets Galatasaray HDI changed quite a few players in their starting six bringing in young opposite Melih Siratca as Agamez got some little rest. At the beginning this move seemed to be a risky one since the hosts quickly trailed 2:7 in the early stages of the third period. Their coach Nedim Özbey did not change his mind giving Galatasaray’s young players a chance to show what they are capable of and this choice in the end paid dividends. Galatasaray HDI recovered just before the first technical time-out (8:7) and were able to hold on to a small lead to finish it off at 25-23 for their second straight victory over the Danish national champions in two weeks.
After the match Galatasaray HDI head coach Nedim Özbey congratulated his players and he highlighted the fact that it is going to be only harder from now on in the 2016 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup.
GENTOFTE Volley’s mentor Peter Borglund commented: “The result is not pleasant of course. Galatasaray HDI is a team that we can say is “better” than us. They had a good start and we played under a lot of pressure today. I quite liked the performance my players showed after the first set. But Galatasaray HDI were better and had the right edge in the most critical moments. It was great to play in this environment.”
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
|