Water Polo, Men's prelims, Day 4 -Croatia beats Italy, Montenegro ousts USA

Serbia escapes with a great fourth period against the Aussies

Six sides are already on board for the quarter-finals: in Group B Croatia, Italy, Spain and Montenegro are all through, while the US and the French bowed out. In Group A Greece and Brazil are in safe, Japan is out and one of three sides, Hungary, Serbia and Australia must also leave in two days time.

Game 4, 19.30 – Group A: Greece v Brazil 9-4 (3-1, 1-1, 3-2, 2-0)
Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), Sergey Naumov (RUS)

GREECE: Konstantinos Flegkas, Emmanouil Mylonakis, Georgios Dervisis 2, Konstantinos Genidounias 1, Ioannis Fountoulis 2, Kyriakos Pontikeas, Christos Afroudakis 1, Evangelos Delakas 1, Konstantinos Mourikis, Christodoulos Kolomvos, Alexandres Gounas 2, Angelos Vlachopoulos, Stefanos Galanopoulos (GK). Head coach: Theodoros Vlachos
BRAZIL: Slobodan Soro, Jonas Crivella, Ruda Franco, Ives Alonso, Paulo Slaemi, Bernando Gomes, Adrian Baches, Felipe da Costa 2, Bernardo Rocha, Felipe Perrone 1, Gustavo Guimaraes, Josip Vrlic 1, Vicinius Antonelli (GK). Head coach: Ratko Rudic

Extramen
Greece: 2 for 10
Brazil: 1 for 13

Penalties
Greece: 1 for 1
Brazil: none

Brazil ran out of miracles: after three wins, including a real shocker over Serbia, the hosts went down against Greece without any real chance to earn points. Defence was the key when they made headlines by beating the world champions two days ago as they held the Serbs on 5 goals. This evening less than 10 minutes gone and the Greeks already netted four. They were patient, waited for the occasion and executed precisely and effectively. Brazil’s Serbian goalie, Slobodan Soro could not come up with wonder stops this time, he did his job but couldn’t add any big extra for this encounter. And the hosts’ offence wasn’t that effective either, though all credit goes to the Greek defence as they were tremendous throughout the entire match.

Though Brazil came back to 4-2 in the middle of the second, soon the Greeks denied them in two man-ups and a fine set-up in a 6 on 5 earned them a 5-2 lead early in the third. One more killed extra at the Greek goal, Evangelos Delakas’s fine rocket on the other end and it was 6-2, enough to break the home players’ will and enthusiasm. Brazil could pull one back later, but another patiently played man-up reset the four-goal gap. A late goal in the third gave some hope for the locals, but at 7-4 their team still seemed a bit far from making the fourth straight win. In fact, that was the last one they could score, another Greek goal from a man-up situation in the fourth decided the outcome. It was typical: officially it wasn’t a 6 on 5 goal, just as in three other occasions, the ball hit the back of the net between the 22-25th second of the possession, when the excluded player comes back but the defenders are still on the move to find their normal positions – it’s the Greeks’ favourite time to finish the 6 on 5 (perhaps 6 on 5.5). It doesn’t appear in the stats but a very effective way to score – this triumph was secured by goals like these.

This means that the Greeks joined the Brazilians in the quarters and they are in the best position to win the group.

Christos Afroudakis, captain, Greece:

"I think it's a very important match for us of course because we have qualified for the next phase. We started the match very well and we were really concentrated. We startled our opponents and I think we were much more prepared than Brazil."
"We demonstrated our power and our ability to win. Our secret, in my opinion, is that we have team spirit; we are a really compact team. The key is, we have to continue like this, because we really want to be in first."
"It's a matter of our character. We really stress that everyone plays for his teammate, not for himself. That's our general mentality. So we have created a united team like this."

Felipe Perrone, captain, Brazil:

"It wasn't good. Maybe we relaxed a little bit, but it's a long tournament, and we need to recover from this defeat and think about the next game against Hungary (HUN). We need to win our next matches so we can go into the quarterfinals with good sensations."
"I think Greece played really well. They have an amazing defence and we couldn't break it. It was not that bad a game but we need to find solutions for that kind of game."
"The defence was good. We only allowed nine goals, and we played well with a man down. But our attack was terrible. As I said before, we can't keep relaxing. We need to keep going and keep focused in this tournament. It's difficult to come back when you get so relaxed."
"We are a little upset because we lost the match, but our next goal is the quarterfinal. We need to forget this match quickly, think about Hungary, and try to find these good sensations again."

 

Game 5, 20.50 – Group B: Spain v France 10-4 (3-1, 3-0, 1-1, 3-2)
Referees: Fabio Toffoli (BRA), Peter Molnar (HUN)

SPAIN: Dani Lopez, Alberto Munarriz, Marc Roca 1, Ricard Alarcon, Guillermo Molina 2, Marc Minguell 1, Balazs Sziranyi, Albert Espanol 1, Roger Tahull, Francisco Fernandez, Blai Mallarach 2, Gonzalo Echenique 3, Vicente Aguilar (GK). Head coach: Gabriel Hernandez
FRANCE: Remi Garsau, Remi Saudadier, Igor Kovacevic, Enzo Khasz, Romain Blary, Thibault Simon, Ugo Crousillat 2, Michal Izdinsky, Mehdi Marzouki1, Mathieu Peisson, Petar Tomasevic, Alexandre Camarasa 1, Jonathan Moriame (GK). Head coach: Florian Bruzzo

Extramen
Spain: 5 for 13
France: 2 for 13

Penalties
Spain: 2 for 2
France: 0 for 1

No mistake from Spain, they beat the French with ease – as expected. They didn’t let the French into the game, earned a 2-0 lead early, and after 2-1 they scored a psychologically important goal for 3-1, two seconds before the end of the first, courtesy of Gonzalo Echenique. And right after the restart they added two more in 54 seconds, and in a match between a favourite and an underdog the 5-1 usually does the harm to the weaker side: they settle for this outcome. Though the Spaniards didn’t produce a really sparkling game as they disappeared from the radar for 6:07 minutes in offence but the French couldn’t come any closer in the meantime. And again, a goal in the dying moments by Albert Espanol (0:11 from time in the second) just added to the Frenchmen’s unhappiness. The Gauls could score again after 16:23 minutes, at 7-1, when the ship had long gone, while the Spanish can continue their cruise to the best eight and possibly in the top position.

Gonzalo Echenique, player, Spain:

“We played very intensely, with a lot of competition, and we rose up to play - to play the game we needed to play in order to win. We were shooting the ball really well and our good attack helped us to have a good defence as well. All of these things came together for us to win."
"We are very happy because, as a team, we really wanted to make it to the quarterfinal stage. But we still have a game left to play in our group and we want to win it. So for now, we will focus on our game against Montenegro (12:50, Sunday 14 August at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium) and then we will think about the quarter finals."

Alexandre Camarasa, player, France:

"Spain's team is very good, they beat Croatia by five points. We expected to do better, but it's OK. We never give up because it's our team. The blood of our team is to never give up. We are in the Olympics, so we can't let the game play without us. I gave my heart. I gave everything into this game."

 

Game 6, 22.10 – Group A: Serbia v Australia 10-8 (2-2, 2-3, 2-1, 4-2)
Referees: Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU), Xavi Buch (ESP)

SERBIA: Branislav Mitrovic, Dusan Mandic, Zivko Gocic, Sava Randelovic, Milos Cuk 1, Dusko Pijetlovic 1, Slobodan Nikic 2, Milan Aleksic 2, Nikola Jaksic 1, Filip Filipovic 1, Andrija Prlainovic 2, Stefan Mitrovic, Gojko Pijetlovic (GK). Head coach: Dejan Savic
AUSTRALIA: Joel Dennerley, Richie Campbell 1, George Ford, John Cotterill 2, Tyler Martin 1, Jarod Gilchrist, Aidan Roach 1, Aaron Younger 1, Joel Swift 1, Joe Kayes 1, Rhys Howden 1, Mitch Emery, James Stanton-French (GK). Head coach: Elvis Fatovic

Extramen
Serbia: 4 for 11
Australia: 2 for 10

Penalties
Serbia: 1 for 2
Australia: none

Serbia has escaped – so far – but they went through some scares before securing their win which gave them life. At half-time they were trailing 4-5, and it was still 7-7 with 5:08 remaining on the clock. A loss would have meant something in the range of an earthquake, to see the Serbs going home after the prelims. But the world champs are strong, have character and guts and when it was badly needed, they came up with three connecting goals in the last minutes, securing the much awaited victory.

They struggled though for quite a while in this match, too, similar to the previous three rounds. The Aussies took the lead, the Serbs responded with two goals but three came from Down Under for a 2-4 lead but before the alarm sign would have went off, Milan Aleksic and Milos Cuk netted one apiece in 54 seconds to level the score in the second period. Still, their rivals went one up as Rhys Howden sent the ball home in the very last second for 4-5.

It took more than four minutes for the Serbs to level again, Aleksic put away a 6 on 5 and 26 seconds later they were ahead again, Andrija Prlainovic converted a penalty. Richie Campbell was on fire, though, his blast found its way to the net from the next attack so the Serbs were still not on the safe side before the last period (6-6).
After Prlainovic’s action goal in the fourth the Serbs missed a 6 on 5, and instead of going two up, it was even again, John Cotterill scored a great action goal for 7-7. Then came the whirlwind, two man-up goals in 67 seconds, by Nikola Jaksic and Filip Filipovic and only 1:51 remained. The Aussies blew their last chance when Joe Kayes hit the post while in extra, and Slobodan Nikic scored one from the centre, ending the contest – a consolation goal from Cotterill didn’t help that much to ease the Aussies’ pains.

Serbia came back to life by winning the first game here and as they face Japan in the last round of the prelims they are almost surely through to the QF while the Aussies need to beat Greece and also a Brazil win over Hungary to reach the best eight – not the brightest chances, to be honest.

Slobodan Nikic, player, Serbia:

"I feel really good. There was a lot of pressure on us this whole day. And now I hope we will keep playing like we did today. Who knows who we will play against in the quarterfinals but today we finally showed our mentality and our quality."
"I think we were more motivated than them. It seemed like they were starting to slow down in the last quarter and we took advantage of that. Also, we are a team with a lot of experience in these situations and that's the reason we played with more self-confidence that last quarter, and we broke them."
"I don't know. We have also been thinking about that. We've been saying, 'What's going on with us?' Because usually we play much better. But this tournament is long. There are eight matches and we've just finished the fourth. We have more chances to come back and play water polo the way we know how to play."

 

Game 1, 9.00 – Group A: Hungary v Japan 17-7 (5-1, 6-2, 2-2, 4-2)
Referees: Stanko Ivanovski (MNE), Masoud Rezvani (IRI)

HUNGARY: Viktor Nagy, Gergo Zalanki, Krisztian Manhercz 4, Balazs Erdelyi, Marton Vamos 1, Norbert Hosnyanszky 1, Adam Decker 1, Marton Szivos 1, Daniel Varga 1, Denes Varga 3, Gabor Kis 5, Balazs Harai, Attila Decker (GK). Head coach: Tibor Benedek
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi, Atsushi Arai 1, Mitsuaki Shiga, Akira Yanase, Atsuto Iida, Yusuke Shimizu 1, Yuki Kadono 1, Koji Takei 3, Kenya Yasuda, Keigo Okawa 1, Shota Hazui, Tomoyoshi Fukushima (GK). Head coach: Yoji Omoto

Extramen
Hungary: 1 for 2
Japan: 3 for 9

Penalties:
Hungary: 1 for 1
Japan: 1 for 1

A game virtually decided upon the teams’ introduction: the difference in height and weight was so visible and later in the water the quality of the playing skills further expanded the gap. Since the Japanese didn’t change their game plan and tried to neutralise their rivals’ advantages by man-by-man marking with an aggressive approach, the Magyars found themselves on a good old playground, where they can do what they enjoy best: playing one on one. They made it simple, only three or four players took part in the attacks to set up the largest possible playing field, keeping distance from each other to close out the other defenders to help the other pair, then they easily used their enormous physics to make themselves free to take the shots. It’s telling that they have only two 6 on 5s in the entire game – the Japanese were not strong enough to stop them even through fouling. Especially Gabor Kis, with 205cm and 110kg – he netted five but could have scored 8-9 goals (had 11 attempts altogether).

Denes Varga also had fun as he is the master of leaving the defenders behind – so the game was won by the middle of the second period, and the Magyars went on setting a scoring record for this Olympics so far, stopping at 17 goals.

Daniel Varga, player, Hungary:

"This was our first victory of the tournament but I've not been satisfied with our overall performance here. We have five points and now we want seven, then we shall see where that takes us. We were disappointed with our first three games as we had the victory in our hands but each time we gave a goal away in the last few seconds."
"We want to finish with a win and guarantee our place in the top four. Then we can focus on the quarterfinals. We expect a difficult game against Brazil as they have surprised everybody."

Yoji Omoto, head coach, Japan:

"We had a very good start. We were strong on both defence and on the attack. The Hungarian goalkeeper was really good today and that threw us out of our rhythm. They got a lead and they are so good, all they needed to do was manage the game from there.”
"We were close to reaching the next round but, of course, we have been edged out. We have been able to prove though, that our speedy and mobile style of water polo can work at the Olympic level. We need to brush up on our tactics so we can really harness the strengths of our players."

 

Game 2, 10.20 – Group B: Croatia v Italy 10-7 (1-1, 4-3, 3-2, 2-1)
Referees: Mark Koganov (AZE), Daniel Flahive (AUS)

CROATIA: Josip Pavic, Damir Buric 1, Antonio Petkovic, Luka Loncar, Maro Jokovic 1, Luka Bukic 1, Marko Macan, Andro Buslje 1, Sandro Sukno 5, Ivan Krapic, Andelo Setka 1, Javier Garcia, Marko Bijac. Head coach: Ivica Tucak
ITALY: Marco del Luongo, Francesco di Fulvio, Niccolo Gitto, Pietro Figlioli 1, Andrea Fondelli 1, Alessandro Velotto, Alessandro Nora 1, Valentino Gallo 2, Christian Presciutti, Michael Bodegas 1, Matteo Aicardi, Nicholas Presciutti 1, Stefano Tempesti (GK). Head coach: Alessandro Campagna

Extramen
Croatia: 5 for 15
Italy: 2 for 10

Penalties:
Croatia: 1 for 1
Italy: 1 for 1

Apart from a short spell in the middle of the second period when the Italians scored twice in 53 seconds to take a 2-3 lead, they chased the Croats for most of the time but at the end they missed the train. Still in the second, the title-holders managed to net three goals and retake the lead before the middle break for 5-4. A great goal from Sandro Sukno early in the third gave the Croats a 6-4 lead and even though Italy could respond and bounced back to 6-6, there came Sukno again with two more brilliant long-range blasts which sent his team 8-6 up before the final period. It was his 5th goal of the game, so he was pretty much winning the special duel featuring him and goalie Stefano Tempesti with whom he plays for the same club (Recco) in the season.
The Settebello pulled one back from a dying man-up, courtesy of Valentino Gallo but a little more than a minute later he missed the next attempt at the end of a 6 on 5 and that turned out to be a decisive moment. 44 seconds later Luka Bukic put away an extra at the other end, so it was 9-7 and not 8-8. Gallo’s next shot hit the post, while Damir Buric sent the ball home from a man-up for 10-7, and even if 4:09 minutes were left, it was virtually over. After beating Montenegro, the Croatians hunted down another giant and improve their chances to finish atop in the group.

Sandro Sukno, player, Croatia:

"It's all about the quarterfinal. If we lose that we are going home. We know what it takes to win the Olympic gold medal as it was a special moment for us to win in London. We are preparing to win again and that experience will help us. We know we may face Serbia in the quarterfinal but we are ready for anybody."
"We beat a very good team today but it was a close game. I thought we controlled all the game, we played well and we are satisfied but the most important game is the quarterfinal."

Alessandro Campagna, head coach, Italy:

"We feel good. We had a great start to the Olympics and we've been able to get a spot in the quarterfinal. Now we have four days to prepare for that match, but before that we are going to have to play the United States so we need to prepare for that match as well."
"We can't predict what's going to happen in the other group. We need to work on our strategy and play our game. We didn't play well enough to win today but if we beat the United States we can get to eight points and hopefully win the group."

 

Game 3, 11.20 – Group B: United States v Montenegro 5-8 (1-2, 0-0, 2-2, 2-4)
Referees: Radoslaw Koryzna (POL), Georgios Stavridis (GRE)

USA: Meryll Moses, Thomas Dunstan, Benjamim Hallock, Alex Obert, Alex Roelse, Luca Cupido 1, Joshua Samuels 2, Tony Azevedo, Alex Bowen, Bret Bonanni 1, Jesse Smith, John Mann 1, McQuin Baron (GK). Head coach: Dejan Udovicic
MONTENEGRO: Milos Scepanovic, Drasko Brguljan 1, Vjekoslav Paskovic 1, Antonio Petrovic 1, Darko Brguljan 2, Aleksandar Radovic, Mladan Janovic 1, Uros Cuckovic, Aleksandar Ivovic, Sasa Misic 1, Filip Klikovac 1, Predrag Jokic, Zdravko Radic (GK). Head coach: Vladimir Gojkovic

Extramen
USA: 0 for 10
Montenegro: 4 for 10

Penalties
USA: none
Montenegro: 0 for 1

It wasn’t that easy as the result would suggest, for three periods it was a pretty even game with a lot of efforts in defending but a brutal foul finally decided the match as playing 4 minutes in man-down in the last period usually equals of losing, as it happened this case.

The first half saw only three goals (not a single one was netted in the entire second period), Montenegro led 2-1 while the Americans’ struggle to score was really visible as they missed three 6 on 5s alone in the second period (Montenegro had one). A fourth man-up also gone but soon Joshua Samuels levelled the score with an action goal deep into the third. Still, the Montenegrins was also about to halt their scoreless minutes and replied with two fine man-up hits for 2-4. John Mann’s classical goal from the centre gave some hope for the US for the last period but that was lost right in the first minute when Alex Roelse was thrown out from the match for brutality. Though Meryll Moses saved Mladan Janovic’s penalty, after the corner-throw Janovic put away the ball for 3-5. The 4-minute man-down limited the US chances, still, a counter brought them closer but Darko Brguljan reset the two-goal cushion soon and that was repeated later when the Montenegrins responded in 15 seconds for 5-7 with 3:34 remaining. The US team had some desperate attempts after getting back to equal strength but they couldn’t beat Milos Scepanovic in the goal (he posted a 72.2% saving percentage, 13 stops on 18 shots) while Antonio Petkovic netted one more man-up with 10 seconds from time. This meant that Montenegro will almost surely go through while the US team is out of the hunt for the quarter-final berth.

Predrag Jokic, captain, Montenegro:

"Physically, it was very tough and we had to press hard to stop their counterattack. It was difficult but we had more power and more experience than the USA team, who are very young. Right now we are a better team than them.
"The start was difficult but we played a good defence, as we have for the whole tournament. I thought we were unfortunate to lose by just one goal to Croatia and Italy."

Tony Azevedo, captain, USA:

"We had three punches out of the water and a busted lip in the Spain game and not a single brutality call. It's unbelievable that they called a brutality on our guy. Both players were grabbing each other and not one thing went on out of the water. It's really amazing to me."
"Our game against Italy will probably be my last game with the US team, so I'm going to come out positive and lead the guys. We are just going to try and go out on a positive note."

Classification

Group A
1. Greece 6, 2. Brazil 6, 3. Hungary 5, 4. Serbia 4, 5. Australia 3, 6. Japan 0

Group B
1. Spain 6, 2. Italy 6, 3. Croatia 6, 4. Montenegro 4, 5. USA 2, 6. France 0