Sporting record biggest ever win against Cocks

With half of the group phase played, Sporting and Cocks occupied third and fourth places respectively, with the Portuguese side on five points, one more than their guests.

WIth Cocks winning the first leg by two goals (25:23), Sporting’s mission was not just to get the victory, but to overturn the head to head record with a win by more than two.

• Sporting won by 9, beating their previous biggest Champions League winning margin (8 vs Metalurg)
• Tonight was also Sporting’s best offensive performance in the Champions League, with 38 goals scored
• Both best scorers netted eleven times: Frankis Carol Marzo for Sporting and Teemu Tamminen for Cocks
• Sporting stay third in Group C but are now 3 points clear of the Finnish side

GROUP C
Sporting CP (POR) vs Cocks (FIN) 38:29 (23:15)

The first half was a one-sided affair as Sporting put on an offensive masterclass, scoring 23 in the first thirty minutes alone. Marko Vujin’s second goal gave Sporting an advantage of 4 within ten minutes.

The Finnish visitors steadied the ship for a while, but Sporting scored from four straight fastbreaks before the interval, as Vitalii Shitsko in the Cocks goal was powerless to stop them. Led by the impressive Frankis Carol Marzo, who scored 8 in the first half alone, Sporting led 23:15 at half-time.

Sporting took their foot off the gas after the break, scoring “only” 14 in the second period, an honourable tally in itself, but one which seemed to pale in comparison to their first half efforts. Nevertheless, the Portuguese side’s advantage grew further, as the hosts were up by 11 with ten minutes to play.

Cocks reacted, thanks to a solid performance by Teemu Tamminen (11 goals) but that was not enough.

Also scoring 11, Frankis Marzo led his team to its biggest ever win in the Champions League, coupled with Sporting’s best ever offensive performance.

Sporting’s Ivan Nikcevic had praise for the beaten visitors: “Riihimäki Cocks were better than that result. They played well. We need to keep going at this level.”

Cocks coach Gintaras Savukynas, however, was magnanimous in defeat: “Congratulations to Sporting CP, they were the better team today. There was no doubt about the winner.”