Reigning Czech national champions CEZ KARLOVARSKO claimed on Thursday night a hard-fought 3-2 victory in the first of two matches with Sport LISBOA e Benfica – where a spot in the group stage of the elite CEV Champions League Volley 2022 is at stake. The Czechs dropped a 2-0 lead and were unable to finish the match in their favour in a closely contested fourth set before they regrouped to seal a 15-12 tiebreak win. Still, they will need to claim a victory by any score next week on home soil if they are to reach the next stage of the competition.
“Our performance was good, and we had the chance to win 3-0 or 3-1, but we made too many mistakes at key moments of the match. Benfica is a good team and finished the sets in their favour. I think it was a nice game for the crowd to watch.”
Adam Zajicek
Player of CEZ KARLOVARSKO and MVP
Jiri Novak, head coach of CEZ KARLOVARSKO: “It is a good result as we won the game. I hope we can play just as good in the second leg, because we won the last home games but maybe we will feel some pressure as we are trying to advance to the group stage. I want to see a good game.”
Raphael Thiago Oliveira, player of Benfica: “The game was not easy; we had to come back and use their little mistakes. We never thought about winning 3-0 or something like that. We knew it was going to be hard, but the result will be different in the second leg.”
“We knew it would be a difficult game. They play a strong and modern Volleyball. We made a few mistakes but also had some good individual moments. The qualification is still open, and we will negotiate it in the second leg.”
Marcel Matz
Head coach of Benfica
