Classification 1-8 Quarter-finals — Budapest

SPAIN 7 MONTENEGRO 6

Spain held on for grim death to defeat Montenegro 7-6 in their quarter-final clash that had a Spanish bent to it all match. Spain held a 2-0 advantage at the start, 4-2 in the second quarter and then 5-3 before halftime. That two-goal break became three at the start of the third period until Montenegro pulled it back to one. At the top of the fourth, Spain made it 7-5 and it was not until 1:35 that Montenegro picked up the last goal, losing by a goal. It was a terrific match for all sorts of reasons, mainly the closeness and the feeling that Spain was always going to win, despite what Montenegro threw at it. The burgeoning crowd was behind both teams as it was preparing for the upcoming Hungary- Italy match. There was one controversial moment when Bernat Sanahuja was taking a penalty shot half a minute from the final break when 6-5 up. The ball appeared to pop from his hand and the team claimed the defender had interfered, but the referee was adamant all was correct.

Match heroes
Blai Mallarach was the only double scorer for Spain as it was a team effort. On the other side of the ledger, Bogdan Durdic snapped in two goals inside the last three minutes of the third period to bring the match alight and 6-5 to Spain.

Turning point
Moving from 2-2 to 6-3 in the space of 13 long minutes.

Stats don’t Lie
Montenegro was better on extra-man attack with four from nine to Spain’s four from 12. Spain had seven more shots than Montenegro and this could have been a telling point.

Bottom line
Spain was the better team, with the better movement and should perform magically in the semifinals. Montenegro could only level once.

What they said
David Martin (ESP) — Head Coach
“It’s never easy in a quarter-final and Montenegro is a great team; they played amazing in defence. Their goalkeeper was brilliant, but finally the most important thing is that we are in the semifinal and we are looking for the next game against Croatia. I watched their game against Serbia; they played very well in defence and their goalkeeper was amazing. It will be very difficult, but it is the semifinal and we are at the world championships.”
Felipe Perrone (ESP) — Captain
“There was no way we thought this could be an easy game. We were prepared and the most important thing was to win. Against Croatia we can expect a tough match. They play fast, they have the best centre in the world, but we came here to win the gold.”
Vladimir Gojkovic (MNE) — Head Coach
“I cannot be satisfied because we lost the game. We were in the game during the whole match. They were in a three-goal advantage in the third quarter after one miss in defence and seemed it would be too much. But we came back and the game was decided in the last minute. Spain deserves the victory because they scored one more goal. I am satisfied with our young players because they believed that we could win this game and they made everything for that goal. For our team every game is important, I hope we can improve during the next one, against Serbia.”
Uros Cuckovic (MNE) — Athlete
“Spain played a good game, but I want to congratulate my team-mates because they fought really hard. We were very good competitors and I am sorry that we couldn’t force the penalty shootout. Experience was on their side. I have a little regret, but we played a good game today.”

 

HUNGARY 10 ITALY 11

This was one of the most fantastic of world championship matches and reigning champion Italy displayed superb skills en route to what it hopes will be a second crown come Sunday night. Hungarian fans were dismayed as their team worked tirelessly, but struggled to pierce what was an almost concrete-like defence. Italy tried to take a stranglehold on the match after Hungary led 3-2 at the first break. A three-goal burst at the  start of the second quarter was where Italy won the match and when Francesco di Fulvio lobbed in a long outside shot eight seconds from halftime, Italy was where it wanted to be. The margin shifted to 8-6 at the final break and then 9-6 as the fourth period started to unfold. Marton Vamos offered some Hungarian reprieve, but at 9-7 down, Hungary was on the ropes. It swiftly moved to 11-7 and more than 6000 fans moaned. There was just 2:21 on the clock and Italy was in a happy position. However, Hungarian players showed true grit and determination, loosing a barrage of shots that yielded three goals in about 90 seconds. Italy had 17 seconds to retain the ball and take it to the semifinals, which it did.

Match heroes
Di Fulvio was the man with his three goals in the second quarter. It was the fulcrum on which Italy built its attack and slowly pulled away from Hungary. He finished with four, one more than Vamos.

Stats don’t lie
Hungary had all the chances on extra-man attack with 18, but could only convert six of these. Italy managed four from nine.

Turning point
The three goals in the second for Italy and the three goals for Hungary in the final quarter were pivotal moments.

Bottom line
Both teams played spectacularly and both had ample opportunities to control the match. However, it was Italy’s night and the 5-5 score late in the second quarter was the last time that Hungary was close to winning. Denes Varga’s goal in the first quarter was the last time Hungary had the lead at 3-2.

What they said
Alessandro Campagna (ITA) — Head Coach
“It was a good match, a big fight. We would not have been able to beat the Hungarian national team without outstanding individual performances, but this time everyone added theirs. We played well especially in defence; we worked hard in order to play in the semifinals.”
Francesco Di Fulvio (ITA) – MVP, Tibor Benedek Award
“The stands were full, it was difficult for us to play, but for Hungary as well, the pressure was on them. It was a good game for us from the start till the end. We know Greece well; we have to prepare, but we are on the right path.”
Tamas Marcz (HUN) — Head Coach
“The Italians played well, they did what they had to. We have to be angry with ourselves if we want to find the key to defeat. We conceded a series of action goals in the second quarter; we left the players we wanted to mark unguarded. We didn’t want to let Di Fulvio shoot from the perimeter, but we couldn’t force them to take the shots from the wings. We had a lot of bad ideas in our six on fives; we took bad decisions. Water polo has become a quick game, and those who can make the right decisions at such speed, shall win the match — and this time it wasn’t us. There is no question, we have to give the maximum in the remaining two matches as well as we will face serious opponents.”
Gergo Zalanki (HUN) — Athlete
“I can’t give you any smart reasoning; maybe they were better prepared for the match than we were. They geared up better, but nothing surprising, we know them. When we had a chance, we hurried things. Congratulations to the Italians; they played well; we made more mistakes.”