Crossover matches Round 1-12

MONTENEGRO 10 JAPAN 9

Montenegro survived the Japanese onslaught having to draw level at one, five, six, seven and eight before winning the final quarter 2-1 and advance to the quarter-finals. It was anyone’s game and Japan looked the goods, sending in an artillery barrage of shots that at times bewildered the defence, but not the incomparable Dejan Lazovic, who made a terrific 20 saves for Montenegro, by far the best statistic of the tournament. Japan opened the scoring and led the way with Montenegro playing catch-up, going 9-8 at 5:49 in the last quarter, backed that up with Marko Petkovic magically scoring from the deep right. Kenta Arai brought it back to one at 1:07, but by then Japan had lost its mojo, missed some open opportunities and just could not maintain the mercurial momentum until the end. That drop in attacking play in the final quarter was noticeable. Montenegro, meanwhile, stuck to its plan and did the job. The match was over, the fans gone to the toilet or the bar and… wait… what’s this? The players were still in the pool, the officials were getting their heads together and VAR was used. Nearly 10 minutes after the final whistle, it was revealed Japan had called an illegal timeout with just one tenth of a second left on the clock. Montenegro had the chance for a penalty, but elected instead to play the ball and welcome the final whistle with the match in hand.

Match heroes
Dejan Lazovic (Main picture) with his 20 saves, for sure. Team-mate Miroslav Perkovic slotted three goals and Mitsuru Takata was the only double scorer for Japan.

Turning point
So many. Montenegro replied to Japan’s opening goal with four straight to be 4-1 early in the second period. Japan then sent in four unanswered. Goals were traded through to the fourth period and then the final turning point was the two Montenegrin goals in the last.

Stats don’t Lie
Montenegro shot five from seven on extra-man attack and Japan, sadly, just one from seven, a most telling statistic.

Bottom line
Montenegro played its game style, continued throughout and continually swatted off the pesky Japanese who were flitting around like moths to the flame. Japan will be unhappy at not making the top eight, but impressed once again with its style and once again, came so close to making the quarters. Montenegro deserved the victory and Lazovic deserves to achieve sainthood, or at least have a National Day in his honour. His effort could help his team go through to the medal round.

What they said
Vladimir Gojkovic (MNE) — Head Coach
“We expected that this would be hard and the first two periods they played so well, better than us, as we let them play their game. Although I am also satisfied because a few young players had a chance to play and get some experience. Our number one Lazovic played extra and kept us in the game. Then in the last period we rose to the occasion and our attack was good and we won this game, fortunately.”
Dejan Lazovic (MNE) —Goalkeeper, MVP, Tibor Benedek Award
“The game was so hard, harder than we expected. Japan has a style that does not suit any national teams. After all, we qualified for the quarter-finals, where Spain awaits us. There we have nothing to lose, so we will play fine.”
Yoshinori Shiota (JPN) — Head Coach
“First of all, it was our most important game, against Montenegro, and we tried very hard to win, but unfortunately, we couldn’t. This championship is a really good chance for my team to grow up and get experience. At the moment, we do not know who our opponent would be, so can’t speak about the tactic right now, but our best result from the previous tournaments is a 10th position and we want to improve that.”
Toi Suzuki (JPN) — Goal Scorer
“The game was really tough and a bit aggressive, I think. Our tactic and our shots did not work as we expected. It was an important chance we missed, and we need to rebound from this and improve. In the past, our best rank was 10th, so we need to achieve that. It is the only way to end this event appropriately.”

GEORGIA 7 CROATIA 13

Croatia made sure Georgia would not progress, leading 3-2 at the quarter, 7-4 at halftime and 10-4 at the final break. Georgia was nothing like the superstar team of two nights before when it went down 18-14 to Hungary. Gone was the speed on attack and the connections that made for some brilliant goals. Croatia, on the other hand, was dictating the play, building attack slowly, conserving energy when required and making sure of its options, while producing a rock-solid defence.

Match heroes
Konstantin Kharkov led the scorers for Croatia, using his left arm to excellent effort, three times from the deep right and once from the penalty line. Georgia’s Boris Vapenski scored twice in the first quarter, but he was shut down as were most of the team. Montenegrin goalkeeper Toni Popadic was named player of the match.

Turning point
Shifting from 3-3 early in the second quarter to 6-3 — which became 6-4 — and then moving to 10-4 by the final break. Keeping Georgia away from the goal for 11 minutes was chilling.

Stats don’t lie
Georgia managed four from 12 on extra-man attack and Croatia four from 10, the only close statistic. The goal difference, of course, was the biggest statistic that mattered.

Bottom line
Croatia is here to win and seemed to do it with ease against a team that could have produced more, given the opportunity, which Croatia did not allow.

What they said
Jure Marelja (CRO) — Assistant Coach
“The preparation for this game was a little bit nervous and I think the result doesn’t really show us what went on in the pool, in reality. We started a bit nervous, but much better than the last time against Japan. It is hard to predict the next game against Serbia, but it is kind of a water polo ‘El’Classico’. It will be a great game for the spectators and it would be a festival for the water polo sport too.”
Ivan Krapic (CRO) — Goal Scorer
“The game was not so easy, even if the scoreline showed otherwise. In the first two quarters we put ourselves together and managed the game, scored some easy goals and in the second half we had an easier job. We know everything about our next opponent; Serbia is one of the best teams in the world, but we’ve prepared ourselves well. If we are going to do our best, we could beat them.”
Dejan Stanojevic (GEO) — Head Coach
“We care about our hopes and dreams and we really wanted this game. But at this level, we shouldn’t make mistakes. But if we compare the teams, I cannot say that I am dissatisfied. We need for the rest of the games what we do not have today — discipline, clear heads and we need to play our game and not let the opponent team to play theirs.”
Marko Jelaca (GEO) — Athlete
“I think we played better last time than now, but now it is an emotional moment and I cannot think clearly. For every mistake we made in attack, they punished us with their counters. We received some easy goals and our morale just went down. After all, I am satisfied because this is our first championship and think we played well in the group games. Now it is the end here, but the future will be better.”