05/09/2015 22:39
Greek triumph over Switzerland after ‘golden match’ drama
2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Men
Thessaloniki, Greece, September 5, 2015. On Saturday night Greece’s men booked a place in the final round of the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup, much to the joy of the public in Thessaloniki, after beating Switzerland with 2-1 wins overall, to settle for first place in Pool C.
The clash between the two morning semi-finals’ winners couldn’t have been more dramatic and it was eventually decided in favour of hosts Greece, who managed to earn the first place of Pool C and thus to secure their qualification to next June’s final round of the Continental Cup.
The first match was a Swiss triumph for Philip Gabathuler/Mirco Gerson over Dimitrios Niopas/Thodoris Papadimitriou. The match ended in two sets (21-16, 23-21) even though the Greek duo had taken the lead for some time until the middle of both stanzas.
Switzerland came really close to another victory, but Georgios Kotsilianos/Nikos Zoupanis eventually turned things around and edged Jonas Kissling and Alexei Strasser 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-13).
So, it all came down to the ‘golden match’, which was worth the wait for all the fans who witnessed it at Avant Garde Sports Club, in Thessaloniki:
Kotsilianos/Zoupanis beat Gabathuler/Gerson 2-1 (21-15, 18-21, 15-12), as they played their fourth match in 11 hours. It was a memorable effort from both sides. The Greeks won rather comfortably set 1, but Zoupanis got injured on his right toe at the beginning of set 2 and the momentum changed. Gabathuler/Gerson looked in better shape, took the lead (11:8) and kept it until the end. Nevertheless, the tie-break of the ‘golden match’ was another story, as Kotsilianos/Zoupanis were too tough to break, didn’t let their rivals take the lead at any time and celebrated a hard-fought victory with a spike by Zoupanis (15-12).
Switzerland will now have to fight for the second place, on Sunday afternoon (15:00 local time) against the winner of the matchup between England and Ukraine, scheduled for Sunday morning (09:00 local time).
Home hero Georgios Kotsilianos said: “We are happy for qualifying to the finals and with the way we achieved it. We played well in both our games against the Swiss guys, and I think that the fans enjoyed some beautiful matches. My partner’s minor injury wasn’t so important, but it did stop our momentum. Anyway, in the tie-break of the ‘golden match’ we managed to clear our mind and get the result we wanted so badly.”
Click here for further information on the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup
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