Arkas IZMIR vs. Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE – 2012 CEV Champions League preview
Turkey’s Arkas Izmir is set to meet Zaksa Kedzierzyn-Kozle of Poland in the second match of 2012 CEV Champions League Quarter Final stage.
The Halkapinar Sports Hall in Turkish City IZMIR will host the match on Wednesday, February 8. This is going to be the second meeting between these two teams in the challenge round of the European tournament.
Previously, they crossed their paths last week. The first match was held in Kozle, Poland, where visiting team emerged successful. Arkas defeated Zaksa in four-set match and went on front with 1-0.
Once again, the two sides will take centre stage and only one will catch the limelight. If Arkas wins the match, it will go straight into the Playoffs 6. However, if Zaksa overcomes the Turks on their home soil, it will be a stunning upset and score will
be tied. Then both teams will play a golden set, which will determine the qualifier of next round of the tournament.
Turkish teams started the European campaign in Pool ‘A’ alongside Noliko MAASEIK, Iraklis THESSALONIKI, and CSKA SOFIA. The League Round of the 2012 CEV Champions League was full of thrilling encounters. Arkas played six matches and finished the preliminary
round with overall record of 5-1. They clinched success in five matches, while dropped only one match. It was pretty impressive on Arkas’ part as team clawed its way to the top position in Pool A. Next up, the Turks entered the Challenge Round and competed
against Zaksa.
The opposite team had the support of local spectators and seemed pretty determined to win the match. However, Arkas demonstrated a stellar performance and crushed the hopes of Polish team to see the face of victory. Turkish hotshots returned home with a
victory in hand and now are preparing for the next home match. The prospects are high that Turkey will do better against Poles like the previous match.
Team from Kozle was placed in Pool C along with three other teams in the League Round. Polish team had a tough competition with archrival Russian Trentino PlanetWin365 in the group. Both teams finished with 5-1 record but Polish team was pushed to second
position on raking chart due to its slightly low win/loss ratio. Russians completed the first round with 16 points, while Poles earned 13 points. Nonetheless, the Polish squad moved ahead and entered the Challenge Round.
In the round opener, they were challenged by Turkish Arkas which came hard on them. The city of Kozle set up the field of play but home team failed to deal with the stronger opponent. Poles dropped the decision in front of local audience and regretted the
home loss.
They have a fair chance to cover the deficit in the next match, which is coming up on Wednesday in Turkey. Zaksa will be required to put body, mind, and soul, in order to make a difference.
All eyes are set on second match of the round, which has extreme importance. Keep your fingers crossed in the support of your favourite team.
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