The finals of this year Croatian Cup of Snježana Ušić will be played in the city hall in Kaštel Stari on Wednesday, March 9 at 6 pm, with a live broadcast on SPTV.
It will be the day for which the entire city with ‘seven places’ lives from the moment they found out that their favorites, ‘little ones’ and ‘marines’, will decide on the title of Croatian champion. The title has been in the showcases of the Bojan Stranić Volleyball Center in Zagreb on the Sava since 2018 because the volleyball players of Mladost have so far lifted the trophy high into the air.
It was through Zagreb that both Kaštela teams reached the finals. After a great turnaround in SD Peščenica, Kaštela defeated the favored Dinamo in the semifinals, after the home team led 2-0 in sets (21, 18). But then there was an incredible turnaround, and the Kaštela team won three sets in a row (20, 18, 13) for the final 3: 2, the result of which they became the first finalists of the Croatian Cup.
Marina Kaštela also won the semifinals in Zagreb, against the undefeated Mladost in the Super League, 3: 0 (24, 22, 18), using the heavy schedule European program of Mladost, which in no way diminishes their well-deserved victory.
The city derby turned into the finals of the National Cup, for the first trophy in the 2021/22 season. The hall will surely ‘burn’, more tickets will be required, and it is great that other Croatian volleyball fans will be able to enjoy this tense match live on SPTV, in which each team comes with its chances for the title. After all, how unpredictable the cup of the competition is since both teams at the semifinals were guests of the favorites!
Team Mladost have been winning the Croatian Cup since 2018, before the team of Marina Kaštela, which won this important trophy with a 3: 1 victory over Osijek in the 2016/17 season. Let us also mention the fact that the year before, in the 2017/18 season, the teams of Kaštela and Marina Kaštela met in the semifinals, which were then played in two games, and that Kaštela won both matches with 3: 1. With the same result, Mladost defeated the Kaštela team in the final. And when we remember the finals in the last few years, let’s mention at the end that in the 2019/20 season Mladost beat Kaštela 3-0 in the final.
Both teams have been preparing for this day for this volleyball day in Kaštela, a city with a long and bright history of our volleyball.
Nominally, the hosts, although the organization is signed by both clubs, are the volleyball players from Kaštela, whose calm coach Zoran Grgantov says:
“This year we have greatly rejuvenated the team, so there are a lot of players who have almost no experience of playing in the Super League. Although some volleyball experts expected us to fight for survival, even to drop out of the Super League, we are stable in the middle of the table after the 18th round. We played even better than the Super League in the Croatian Cup, where we achieved three victories in three away games. The Cup final is ahead of us, it is also our domestic, local derby. Although Marina Kaštela is currently in the table ahead of us, better quality and therefore the favorite in this match, the result in any competition comes only if the team plays engaged, quality and focused. We will try to achieve all these preconditions and we hope that then the result will be as we wish. “
Marina Kaštela’s coach, Milorad Krunić also did not want to make bombastic announcements before the finals:
“I think this is a great thing for the city of Kaštela, to have two teams in the finals of the Croatian Cup. Our way to the finals was not easy at all, we had three away games, but all three of them, Veli Vrh, Rijeka CO and Mladost, won by 3 : 0. We have timed the form just for the semifinals of the Cup and now we are in great shape. I must point out that my team worked for this final all year round, that we have great harmony and determination and that it is beautiful to feel that. This atmosphere is not from yesterday, it really lasts a long time. The girls cheer on each other, whether on the field or on the bench. We get the most out of the game, which is what the results show in the end.”
