05/09/2015 14:18
Fast-track victory for Greece, Finnish ladies rock in Thessaloniki
2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Men & Women
Thessaloniki, Greece, September 5, 2015. Hosts Greece started on the right foot their campaign in Round 4 of the CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup in Thessaloniki, as they easily edged past their opponents from England to book a spot in the ‘big final’.
Greece got the better of England with two victories to none at Avant Garde Sports Club, in front of some enthusiastic fans: Georgios Kotsilianos/Nikos Zoupanis beat Gregg Weaver/Philip Smith 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) and Dimitrios Niopas/Thodoris Papadimitriou managed to edge Jake Sheaf/Chris Gregory 2-1 (21-16, 14-21, 15-9), thanks to a 4-0 rally into the tie-break, which helped them take a 9-5 lead. The Greek side will now play Switzerland in the clash which will define the Pool C winner.
“We achieved a big win today against Sheaf/Gregory, maybe the biggest of the whole season so far for us,” Thodoris Papadimitriou said. “There will be no favourite in the final, it will be important to be on a good day and to stay focussed. We will do our best to qualify to the final round of the Continental Cup.”
England’s Chris Gregory said: “We didn’t play as well as we could. We had too many errors and we were inconsistent. We will try to take advantage of our second chance in the afternoon matches.”
Switzerland’s men edge Ukraine after ‘golden match’
The clash between Switzerland and Ukraine ended with the Swiss guys eventually prevailing at the ‘golden match’. Philip Gabathuler/Mirco Gerson gave Switzerland the lead by edging Oleksii Denin/Denys Denysenko 2-0 (23-21, 21-14) in the first match, before Ukraine stroke back thanks to Iaroslav Gordieiev/Vladyslav Iemelianchyk who beat Jonas Kissling/Alexei Strasser in two sets (21-14, 21-16) and it all came down to the ‘golden match’.
There, Gabathuler/Gerson got a hard-fought victory over Denin/Gordieiev 2-1 (21-18, 18-21, 16-14). The Ukrainians didn’t give up despite trailing 14:11 in the tie-break, they managed to make it 14-14, but eventually Gabathuler’s block over Denin ended the game in favour of the Swiss side.
Switzerland will now play against hosts Greece in the Pool C final, later on in the afternoon (16:00 local time) and the winner will qualify automatically to the Continental Cup Finals. On the other hand, Ukraine will face England on Sunday morning and the winner of that clash will have the chance to fight for the second place in Pool C and also for the remaining ticket to the final stage of the competition.
Switzerland’s Philip Gabathuler said: “I expected a tough game in the ‘golden match’, because our rivals are young and talented guys. However, we could really get through the game and I’m happy with our victory. Now we must recover and get ready for the final against Greece. Our opponents will have the home advantage and I expect another big fight. We must go for each ball and for each point.”
Finns off to solid start in women’s competition
In the women’s competition Finland looked for the quickest way possible to edge Scotland in the opener of Round 4 on Saturday morning in Thessaloniki.
Taru Lahti/Riikka Lehtonen beat Catherine Smy/Joanne Morgan 2-0 (21-9, 21-12) and so did Essi Hasu/Anniina Parkkinen in their matchup with Melissa Coutts/Lynne Beattie (21-14, 21-13), thus leading their side into a comfortable victory overall.
The Finns are already very close to the qualification to the final round of the Continental Cup, given the fact that following Azerbaijan’s late withdrawal Pool C consists of three teams (Finland, Greece, Scotland) and two of them will advance into the next round.
Scotland will have their last chance in the afternoon (estimated start time 17:40), when they will play hosts Greece.
“The facilities are great and we enjoy playing here,” Finland’s star player Riikka Lehtonen said. “Also, I'm happy to be back in Greece. This is my first Beach Volleyball tournament here, but I spent six months playing Volleyball for Olympiacos PIRAEUS back in 2009. We are pleased to start with a victory, but we must go on like this and stay focussed point after point. Going to the Olympic Games for the first time is a strong motivation for me. I have found a very good partner and we will do the best we can to achieve this goal.”
Scotland’s Joanne Morgan commented: “We played a good game, but we are disappointed for not getting a better result. At this level, we need to maximise our opportunities. We still think that Scotland can qualify to the next round and we will try to beat Greece in the afternoon.”
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