Women’s LEN Trophy, Ethnikos outperforms Dunaujvaros, wins second title

Ethnikos left no doubt which was the better side in the final: after beating Dunaujvaros 8-12 in the first leg five days ago, the Greeks claimed another big win, this time by five goals. A 4-0 storm at the beginning of the return leg did the damage and secured easy cruising for the home side which captured its second LEN Trophy after 2010.

Women’s LEN Trophy, 2nd leg: Ethnikos Piraeus (GRE) v Dunaujvarosi Foiskola (HUN) 14-9. Aggregate: 26-17

Finals like this can basically take two paths in the return leg: the home side, fuelled by the success from the first leg, carries on and does not leave any room for doubt right from the beginning. Or, with a trophy at stake, the game starts with a tense struggle, the underdog team smells blood and can create a havoc where the ‘expect the unexpected’ scenes can set up a miracle.

In Piraeus, it turned out early on that this match would belong to the peaceful first version. Ethnikos, gaining a four-goal advantage last Friday, doubled that lead right in the first period as the host side stormed to a 4-0 lead. They killed Dunaujvaros’ first two man-ups, netted an action goal in between, then converted three 6 on 5 in as many attempts – and led 5-1 after eight minutes, by eight in aggregate, so it was obvious that the LEN Trophy will remain in Greece three periods later.

Dunaujvaros had a better surge, came back to 6-4 – similarly to the first leg, they could score three goals in the first half of the second quarter – but soon before the middle break the Greeks hit back with a double in 37 seconds to lead 8-4 at halftime.

They added two more for 10-4, so the Hungarians could not even hope for a tighter match any longer – by the end, they could reduce the gap to five goals, but it was clear that Ethnikos was on a different level during these five days.

The Greeks could celebrate their second victory in this competition after 2010, while Dunaujvaros lost its third final (won once). It was a fourth win for the Greek clubs (the first since 2014) and with 10 appearances in the finals in total, they are now tied with the Russians in the all-time ranks (Italy is still on top with 13 appearances and 10 triumphs).

In four days, we’ll witness if the Euro League trophy also stays in Piraeus on the occasion of the Final Four, due this weekend, and host Olympiacos is a clear favourite there.