USA men make big opening statement

Match Reports

Group A

KAZAKHSTAN 5 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 18

 

World Cup bronze medallist USA went into top gear at the get-go with a blistering 5-0 start that had the Kazakh team reeling and something it could not recover from. USA is the form team and is hoping that the World Cup dais visit will become a regular thing in the coming 12 months.

That opening salvo was trimmed to 5-1 at the first break, brought on a levelled second quarter for 9-5 at the turn and then the accelerator hit the floor as USA finished the third period 13-5 up and cruised to 17-5 before Kazakhstan’s Murat Shakenov (33) was red-carded in front of his goal. USA settled the score with an extra-man goal for the 18-5 victory.

Tyler Abramson was on fire with two in the first half a third from deep right in the third and a pair in the last quarter with a counter-attack strike. USA’s deadly extra-man attack was built on cross passes along the goal line.

Match Heroes:
Abramson, with his five goals, did enough to impress and Johnny Hooper pinched in with three. For Kazakhstan, goalkeeper Temirlan Balfanbayev, son of former Olympic referee Alan Balfanbayev, made three saves in as many seconds early in the fourth as he smacked down two and then stopped Hannes Daube’s penalty shot as part of his 10-save haul. Dushan Markovich led his team’s scoring with three in the first half — all on extra-man attack.

Turning Point:
The 5-0 start, for sure.

Stats Don’t Lie:
USA took 33 shots to 23; converted a magnificent eight from 12 to Kazakhstan’s equally impressive four from five, while both teams missed one of their two penalty chances.

Bottom Line:
USA takes on Australia and Kazakhstan faces Greece in Wednesday’s matches.

AUSTRALIA 9 GREECE 13

Greece has all the recent success and medals to dangle in front of opposition teams. The medals needed rattling as the Aussie Sharks were fiercely scoring goals and refusing to be shaken off by the more professional athletes of Greece.

Australia started through captain Nathan Power and after newcomer Aristeidis Chalyvopoulos equalised with his first international goal four minutes into the match, Australia made it 2-1 and Greece responded for 2-2 at the first break. Greece won the next period by a goal, going 4-2 and 5-3 by the turn.

Goals were traded at the start of the third and Power closed it to 6-5 down from two metres. Greek captain Ioannis Fountoulis had his penalty rejected by the left post and Luke Pavillard equalised with a left-handed shot that creased the head of a defender. Greece showed how vulnerable Australia was on the left-post position with two goals to finish the period 8-6 ahead. By this stage the foul count heavily favoured Greece.

Power and Charlie Negus pulled the match back to within one at 8-7 and 9-8. Inside the last four minutes, Greece stepped up, scored from a six-metre free throw, on extra and the penalty line for 12-8 by 1:14. Power punched one in on extra but Greece’s Stylianos Argyropoulos was left free to score a flattering 13-9 goal. It was a big change from February when Greece won their World Cup qualifier 20-5.

Match Heroes:
Power, with his four goals helping keep Australia in the hunt. Argyropoulos, with three goals, led his team of nine goal-scorers.

Turning Point:
The three goals in the final quarter that took Greece from 9-8 to 12-8, breaking Australia’s back.

Stats Don’t Lie:
Greece had the better of the extra-man count at five from 10 while defending six from nine. Australia shot twice more at 35-33 and Greece converted two from three from the penalty line.

Bottom Line:
Australia has improved so much after the forced stay at home thanks to the government’s anti-Covid campaign sealing the borders. To turn a 15-goal loss earlier in the year to a four-goal defeat is improvement indeed. Greece had the control, having to level twice and holding out Australia after it levelled at six. From there, Greece had the finger on the victory button.

What They Said

CHALYVOPOULOS Aristeidis  GRE — Debut International — One Goal

“It was my first match. I feel great as I have been waiting for this my whole career. It’s good to play international games and see how it is and really compete. Personally, I helped my team as best I could and helped earn the three points.”

HAMILL Tim  AUS  Head Coach (Above)

“It was a much improved performance against Greece when we played them in the first round of the World Cup (Podgorica, Montenegro — 20-5 defeat). We wanted to get into the grind and stay with Greece for the first two quarters. There were key moments, especially on extra-man where we took the foot off the gas. We lacked execution on some opportunities.”

POWER Nathan  AUS  Captain and Four Goals

“It was really good for a first game. We had tremendous preparation in Japan. We were aggressive and created our own opportunities. We were in it right up until the end. I was impressed by the boys and will carry on this way against USA and Kazakhstan.”

Group B

CANADA 13 CHINA 10

China might have won three-quarters of the match, but when you are four down at quarter time with no goal in the bag, the writing is on the wall. The Canadians started with four different scorers and three coming from the penalty line, which were the building blocks of victory.

Canada was aggressive from the start, driving into the goal zone, upsetting China and allowing them to give up major fouls. China came close, scoring four of the first five goals of the second quarter for 5-4 and then giving away two goals for 7-4. Jiahao Peng struck twice on extra-man attack with one a gift pass to his free position. Canada’s timeout, called by former long-time Canadian women’s coach Pat Oaten, yielded no change in the score. The third period was Canada scoring and China responding for 11-10. Nicolas Constantin-Bicari opened the final period for Canada on extra at 6:21 and stout defence, tiredness and wayward shots sprinkled the attacks. It was not until the last half-minute that Bogdan Djerkovic hurled a last-gasp shot when both teams had headed to the far end, going in to seal a three-goaler for the Canadians.

Match Heroes:
Peng, with his four goals, two consecutive and the last a fantastic tip in that had the match at 11-10. For Canada, it was Constantin-Bicari and Aleksa Gardijan who scored three each.

Turning Point:
The 4-0 start, which translated into a three-goal victory.

Stats Don’t Lie:
Canada won the match with four penalty goals to one; converted three from eight on extra-man attack and threw 33 shots to 29.

Bottom Line:
Fantastic match by both teams with Canada deserving the win. Canada now faces Italy and China takes on France on Wednesday.

FRANCE 6 ITALY 13

This was a match in two parts, as the cliché goes. Tight, explosive, defensive, action goals, penalties earned and scored and then it all changed. France was taunting Italy by scoring go-ahead goals, leading 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 at the quarter break. It went 4-2 and 5-4 after Italy had regrouped and levelled. From there on it was all Italy as France struggled to make viable sortees into Italian territory.

The Settebello equalised through Andrea Fondelli on a six-on-four play just before halftime. It was a 3-0 third period with Fondelli grabbing another. Eduardo Di Somma scored his second for 9-5 to open the final spell and on the next French attack, VAR was required to confirm Alexandre Bouet’s goal, which came  nearly 13 minutes after captain Ugo Crousillat’s 5-4 penalty strike. Lorenzo Bruno backhanded for 10-6 and two Fondelli efforts on action had it at 12-6 before Francesco Condemi converted a penalty. Bouet had an opportunity to convert a penalty but for the excellence of Italian goalkeeper Marco del Lungo. Italy started badly , but finished with finesse.

Match Heroes:
Fondelli, with his four goals — three on action. Crousillat and Enzo Kharz scored twice for France.

Turning Point:
Fondelli’s score on double extra late in the third that set in train and avalanche of goals.

Stats Don’t Lie:
France’s wilting under Italian pressure was shown by the number of shots taken. Italy slammed in 35 attempts to France’s meagre 18. Italy converted four from seven on extra-man attack and defended five from eight. Italy also had the benefit of the only two penalty scores while France missed its one.

Bottom Line:
Italy is all class and France showed for nearly half the match that it could better or match opposition of this level. However, Italy is used to being in tight situations and squeezing out of them. Italy faces Canada and France plays China in equally exciting match-ups on Wednesday.

What They Said

CAMPAGNA Sandro  ITA  Head Coach

“We suffered for two quarters and then we came out well under pressure. France has grown a lot and it wasn’t easy to play against them. I hope to make the final against Spain.”

Group C

ARGENTINA 5 CROATIA 24

This was the first time that these two countries have competed against each other at senior men’s level. It will be something Argentina won’t forget, despite the huge margin.

It was a case of Croatia trying to race back into the top echelon of the sport after losing out in the World Cup qualifiers in front of a home crowd. The team is now primed for the upcoming match with Hungary in what is potentially the group decider, although Montenegro might have something to say about that.

Croatia was relentless, scoring the first four goals, giving up a pair to Argentina and then proceeding to 8-2 by the first break. The march went to 12-2 with Guido Martino claiming his team’s third, on extra-man attack a minute or so before halftime.

The third period was all Croatia with seven goals, pairs to Konstantin Marinic Kragic and Ante Vukicevic. The score shifted to 21-3 and Argentina converted a penalty and needed VAR to agree with the referee’s asumption that Tomas Tilatti had crossed the line for 21-5. Vukicevic and two Luka Bukic goals finalised the 24-5 scoreline.

Argentina will now try and use this match as a baseline for further matches in Fukuoka.

Match Heroes:
Marinic Kragic was player of the match with his five goals, one more than team-mate Vukicevic.

Turning Point:
There wasn’t one. Having such explosive firepower meant the opposition was never a threat.  

Stats Don’t Lie:
Croatia fired in 37 shots to 23; converted five from seven on extra and defended eight from 10 — a huge statistic in itself. Croatia made the most of the penalty fouls with four conversions to none.

Bottom Line:
Hungary beckons for Croatia and Argentina fronts Japan on Wednesday.

What They Said

MARELJA Jure  CRO  Assistant Coach

On playing a lower-ranked team in the first match:
“We felt the pool, the atmosphere, but our most important match is Hungary (Wednesday).We are very satisfied with the form of the team even before the match. We are heading in the right direction, to move on to Hungary. The future of this tournament is important with Olympic Games (qualification) the main thing. We will go further, match by match and try and win every match. It’s a great chance to get to the Olympic Games and we will improve game by game.”

ECHINIQUE Tomas  ARG  Brother of Italian Player Gonzalo Echinique

“It was a difficult game, but I was very proud of my team. Croatia is one of the best teams in the world and it was a pleasure to be in this match.”

On  whether he would like to play against his brother and the Italian team:
“I would like to play against him as Italy is one of the best teams and really difficult. We talk a lot, probably too much sport and the game, but he advises me about different teams. Gonzalo is really happy playing for Italy.”

MONTENEGRO 35 SOUTH AFRICA 10

Montenegro, like Croatia before it, used today’s opening match as a stepping stone to greater things. It was a case of watching one end of the pool only.

Montenegro, like Croatia, failed to make the World Cup finals despite hosting a round and having home spectators. The itch is there for a big year with the Olympics just a year away. Montenegro rattled through the periods 6-1, 10-0 and 9-5 for what was now a marathon encounter with all but one Montenegrin with at least one goal.

The third period set the spectators alight, turning their support to South Africa with those five goals, including a fortuitous goal to Jonathan Swanepoel who passed the ball to the centre forward and the goalkeeper stretched his arm out to intercept only to steer the ball into the net. Joshua Faber scored the fifth and sixth goals with two rocket shots, the first from 10m.

Come the final quarter and the ink had almost run out of my pen. Montenegro went to 27-6 and while the goals still mounted for the Europeans, South Africa amassed another four to prove it can play at this level. Staggeringly, there were 45 goals scored.

Match Heroes:
Dura Radovic, with an incredible seven goals from seven attempts. Bogdan Durdic sent in five from five. For South Africa, four players scored twice in a valiant and defiant stance. ,

Turning Point:
The opening whistle where Montenegro set sail, scoring the first five goals.

Stats Don’t Lie:
Montenegro took a humungous 46 shots to 29; converted four from six and defended two from five on extra-man attack. It had the better of the penalty goals with three to South Africa’s two.

Bottom Line:
Montenegro now has the daunting task of facing Spain in the second day’s play and South Africa will get no respite by taking on dual Olympic champion Serbia.

What They Said

VIDOVIC Stefan  MNE  Three Goals (Pictured)

“It was good that South Africa had the possibility to play us. It is very important for the water polo world that South Africa is here and that water polo can grow in Africa and give us more teams. About the game, South Africa gave us a fright from the beginning until the end and scored 10 goals. They gave us some problems, but we did what we wanted and that was to open the tournament in the best way. Congratulations to my team.”

MARLOW Vaughn  RSA  Head Coach

“Ten goals for, but 35 against. Not what we wanted. We’re in a very tough group. We know the landscape, but we’ll take small positives for the second part of the tournament. They pressed us for four quarters. We are a small team with few matches and players to call on.”

On the best part of the match:
“Coming out in the third quarter. We showed a little fight and pride and the goals trickled in.”

Group D

HUNGARY 16 JAPAN 8

Give credit where it is due and that is to both teams for a fantastic match played with great agility, speed and promise. Hungary might have collected the three points and the eight-goal margin will seem normal to some, but normal this was not.

Japan was in the match until midway through the third period when it started slipping away. Hungary is a tough nut to crack and equally so tonight as it seemed to step up when needed and matched the fast Japanese, scoring counter-attacks goals that are normally the realm of Japan.

Hungary went 2-0 ahead and Japan tied at two and three and went ahead 4-3 before Toni Nemet equalised before the first break. Hungary went ahead through feisty left-hander Gergo Zalanky and Japan turned the tables for 6-5. Hungary, inspired by Denes Varga with a flick shot from two metres, helped send Hungary 7-6 ahead at halftime.

Captain Szilard Jansik, who took over the reins from Varga when he went into retirement, scored his second of the period for 10-7 and the separation that took the match away from Asia and into Europe.

Four goals to Hungary at the start of the fourth period dulled the noise from the terraces jam-packed with screaming Japanese supporters earlier. Keigo Okawa brought back some joy for 14-8 until Varga and Jansik closed proceedings. This was a class match for every minute and it was sad that Japan was not closer, although the absolute beauty of the Hungarian attack was unmatched.

Match Heroes:
Zalanky, whose four goals came in the second half, earned him player of the match while Jansik also grabbed four. Japan’s  Toi Suzuki and Mitsuru Takata took two apiece. The four goalkeepers amassed 10 Hungarian saves and 12 for Japan.

Turning Point:
Varga’s centre-forward flick and Adam Nagy’s counter-attack that took Hungary from one behind to one ahead just before halftime.

Stats Don’t Lie:
Hungary shot 38 to 30; converted three from five on extra-man attack and defended a magnificent nine from 10, which was the difference in the match. Hungary scored the only penalty goal.

Bottom Line:
Hungary faces Croatia and Japan plays Argentina on Wednesday. The huge Japanese contingent left happy with the effort of their stars, promising to come back. Pity they did not stay for the last match of the night between two great nations.

SERBIA 14 SPAIN 16

The water polo just gets better and better. Spain flourished with a six-goal advantage over dual Olympic champion Serbia and looked to go even higher until Serbia said: “Enough is enough” and scored the last four goals to improve its losing goal differential.

It started as a Strahinja Rasovic display of brilliance and ended as an Alvaro Granados masterclass with his three goals — two on extra from the top and then on a counter with a long pass from goalkeeper Unai Aguirre. Granados caught Serbian goalkeeper Branislav Mitrovic stranded, firing a missile past his ear,

Evergreen captain Felipe Perrone (Below) opened the second quarter on counter and Granados blasted in another on extra with Alberto Munarriz repeating the dose from the same position on the next attack for 6-2. Alejandro Bustos dragged back a cross pass on extra and Spain was 7-2, forcing Serbia to take a timeout. The ploy worked with Rasovic gaining a third from deep left and soon after converted a penalty for his fourth. Blai Mallarach whipped in a left-hander on extra and Radomir Drasovic responded for 8-5.

The third period was just as hot with Perrone scoring the first two goals, followed by Serbian captain Nikola Jaksic. Granados on extra and Drasovic and Rasovic for his fifth  from the top was opening the match up. Mallarach and Rasovic from the penalty line took it to 12-9. Mallarach’s wicked left-hander came into play again from the top for 13-9. Just when we thought it was the final break, Sava Randelovic speared one in from deep left with five seconds left for 13-10.

Martin Famera took Spain to 14-10 and Perrone netted his fourth on the next Spanish attack off a cross pass. The five-goal margin was daunting. Bernat Sanahuja stretched he margin to six and Granados was pulled up for leaning forward on a penalty shot attempt, which could have given him six for the night. Then the Serbian tidal wave arrived almost becoming a tsunami. Four goals pulled Serbian within two at 0:57 with Jaksic scoring twice from centre forward. The Spanish mojo was dying. However, with Serbia looking to score quickly, the player was called offside and Spain went to a timeout to stall the match with nine seconds remaining. Spain shot and took a corner, closing the match with the correct result.

Match Heroes:
Granados finished with five goals and was named best in water, although Rasovic was the highest scorer with six goals for Serbia.

Turning Point:
Turning from two behind to 7-2 ahead really set the tone for the match.

Stats Don’t Lie:
Spain shot 34 to 29, scored an impressive eight from 11 on extra-man attack to Serbia’s five from six. Serbia made two penalty goals while Spain missed its one chance.

Bottom Line:
Spain is the world champion and the line-up tonight was the same team that won gold last year in Budapest. That experience is unbelievable. Spain will now use that experience against Montenegro in the next match and Serbia will regroup South Africa.

Progress Points

Group A: Greece 3, USA 3, Australia 0, Kazakhstan 0.
Group B: Italy 3, Canada 3, France 3, China 0.
Group C: Hungary 3, Croatia 3, Japan 0, Argentina.
Group D: Spain 3, Montenegro 3, South Africa 0, Serbia 0.

Wednesday Schedule

Match 09, 09:00, Italy v Canada
Match 10, 10:30, China v France
Match 12, 12:00, Croatia v Hungary
Match 13, 13:30, Spain v Montenegro
Match 14, 16:00, South Africa v Serbia
Match 15, 17:30, Greece v Kazakhstan
Match 11, 19:00, Japan v Argentina
Match 16, 20:30, United States of America v Australia