29/02/2016 12:38
Dinamo MOSCOW have already set sights on third CEV Cup crown, expect tough re-match with PERUGIA in Challenge Round
2016 CEV Volleyball Cup - Men
Moscow, Russia, February 29, 2016. Dinamo MOSCOW will be hosting on Thursday night Italy’s Sir Safety-Sicoma PERUGIA for their re-match in the Challenge Round of the 2016 CEV Volleyball Cup – Men. Dinamo MOSCOW are only two steps away from securing their progression to the semis and following their 3-0 away win in Italy, they will now need to claim another two sets to continue their campaign in the competition.
Last year’s CEV Cup gold medallists Dinamo MOSCOW started their journey in the 2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League but could not make the Playoffs 12 of Europe’s elite competition after a heavy away loss in the last leg of the League Round at the hands of Germany’s VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN.
As a result, Dinamo MOSCOW are now fighting for glory in the CEV Volleyball Cup and trying to secure their third title in Europe’s second most prestigious club competition after topping the final standing in 2012 and 2015 when beating Asseco Resovia RZESZOW and TRENTINO Diatec respectively, in the final.
Dinamo MOSCOW have had ups and downs in the Russian Superleague this year. They recently claimed their last match in that competition routing in three sets (25-13, 25-15, 25-22) Yenisei KRASNOYARSK. After this victory, Dinamo MOSCOW claimed back their second place in the standing with a margin of two over their closest competitors, i.e. Belogorie BELGOROD and Gazprom-Ugra SURGUT. Zenit KAZAN are the clear-cut leaders in the competition with a 10-point margin over the Muscovites.
It’s going to be difficult for Dinamo MOSCOW to close the gap and pose a threat to Zenit as the Russian Superleague will have no Playoffs this season and only eight rounds are left before completion of the competition. If they want to end the season with at least one trophy, the CEV Volleyball Cup is most likely to provide Dinamo MOSCOW with the only opportunity to achieve this feat.
The assistant coach of Dinamo MOSCOW, Roman Yakovlev (pictured right next to head coach Oleg Antonov) said: “We expect a very tough match with Sir Safety-Sicoma PERUGIA as in the first one we played in Italy they did not quite show their real level. This applies to many aspects of the game whilst we, on the other hand, performed really well. We do not expect any walkover on Thursday night and we are preparing for a real fight.”
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