Overview

In the groupings, Hungary took two points from a 16-15 penalty-shootout (11-11 full time) win over Netherlands and Greece came from an amazing seven goals down to defeat Serbia 16-15.

And Italy leads Group B with two victories, downing United States of America 15-8. Spain also had a clear win — 14-10 over Croatia to held second place on win differential.

Match Reports

Match 5. Group A. NETHERLANDS 15 HUNGARY 16 in penalty shootout FT: 11-11. Pens 4-5 (4-3, 0-3, 3-2, 4-3)

Netherlands proved itself to be of this level, leading 4-2 and 10-8 at separate stages. The match went to penalties thanks to an Adam Nagy goal three seconds from time after the Dutch came from 8-7 down at the final break, racing to 10-8 and breaking a 10-10 deadlock at 29 seconds through a Kas te Riele penalty goal. It was splendid to watch as the Dutch regained some of that killer instinct its team used to show in the 1970s. Hungary opened through Gergo Fekete (and he closed the match, as well) before the Dutch asserted control at 3-1. Fekete levelled at 4-4 early in the second quarter and brothers Vendel Vigvari and Vince Vigvari pushed Hungary out to 6-4 in a scoreless quarter for the Dutch. Nagy made it a three-goal difference to start the second half, scoring the first goal from deep right after six from the other side of the pool. Netherlands made it 3-1 for the rest of the period and progressed to 10-8 after four straight goals. A Hungarian timeout yielded no score but the word was out to settle, be patient, and the goals will come. Peter Szalai buried one from downtown and Zsombor Vismeg levelled at 10-10 nearly three minutes later, off the left-post position on extra. The last two goals took us to the shootout where all goals were successful until Hungary switched in Kristof Csoma, who was rested for the early shots after making 11 saves in the match. He shunted away Sam van der Burg’s shot with his shoulder, leaving Fekete to score the winning goal.

Match Heroes
Fekete and Nagy scored three each and Csoma made 11 saves in goal for Hungary. Bilal Gbadamassi, Max van der Werve, Mart van der Weijden and Lars ten Broek scored twice each for the Dutch.

Turning Point
The final goal for Hungary that forced the shootout.

Stats Don’t Lie
Netherlands scored five from none on extra and shut down four of Hungary’s seven attempts. Netherlands netted both penalty attempts as did Hungary with its sole effort. The Dutch stole the ball seven to four and had 30 shots to 28. Dominating the stats was not enough for Netherlands.

Bottom Line
Hungary had the experience when needed most.

Match 6. Group B. SPAIN 14 CROATIA 10 (4-3, 5-2, 2-2, 3-3)

Spain rebounded from its first-day loss to Italy with a solid 2-0 start, that only became a complication when Croatia levelled at four. After that it was all Spain as the team, gelled, enjoyed extra-man attacks and pierced the defence better than Croatia. Five different players scored Spain’s opening goals while Vlaho Pavlic netted two for Croatia. Spain enjoyed the lead at the first break but had Croatia’s Marko Zuvela converting extra for 4-4. The response from Spain? Five straight goals with Alvaro Granados gaining his second and third and Bernat Sanahuja his second, on counter this time. Granados’ third goal found a gap in a defensive wall of three players on extra. The match swung the way of Croatia 4-2 going into the final period. And at 11-8 there was still hope (reference Greece’s comeback). However, Alberto Munarriz, as he did late in the third period, sent in consecutive missiles from a six-metre free throw. Unai Biel needed VAR to see that his shot left the hand before possession time expired and at 3:39, Spain was comfortable at 13-8. Zvonimir Butic scored twice by 1:28, but Granados claimed player-of-the-match kudos with his fourth goal at 0:58 and the final score of 14-10.

Match Heroes
Granados headed the scorers with four while Sanahuja and Munarriz slotted here each and goalkeeper Unai Aguirre made 14 saves. Pavlic and Butic nailed three each for Croatia.

Turning Point
That two-goal start set the scene for Spain and the closest Croatia came was 4-4.

Stats Don’t Lie
Spain had the better of the extra-man count at six for 11 and stopping seven from 11. Croatia converted the sole penalty shot; Spain made two steals to one and both teams shot 33 times.

Bottom Line
Spain was looking for salvation after the two-goal loss to Italy on day one. The fact it was never headed, says heaps about the team.

Match 7. Group A. GREECE 16 SERBIA 15 (3-4, 4-7, 6-3, 3-1)

Greece survived an heroic match, especially with captain Stylianos Argyropoulos leading the way with a magnificent six-goal haul with his last four in the final two quarters. It was a match of two parts, as head coach Theodoros Vlachos said after the match. “One half was good and one half was bad.” He was referring to how his team was caught asleep at the wheel, going from 3-2 ahead to 9-3 in arrears and then 11-4 behind. It took some time for Vlachos to call a timeout — after seven straight goals — but even then he appeared calm. Nikolaos Gkillas scored the goal of the tournament so far, when he accepted a cross pass to the top right, fumbled the ball and shot while falling away, to secure the 11-7 goal one second from the halftime buzzer. Nikolaos Gardikas scored on counter to open the third period and followed up on extra for 12-9 after Nikola Jaksic plundered his third. Luka Gladovic pushed it out to 13-9 by 6:04. Greece then scored four straight with Serbian head coach Uros Stevanovic being given a yellow card. Argyropoulos scored from penalty and the top for 13-13, lifting the full house of Greeks into a frenzy after long periods of quiet. Serbia had extra in the dying seconds and Vasilije Martinovic snared his fourth goal after three in the first half, on extra with a second remaining in the period. Nemanja Stanojevic, who scored Serbia’s first goal, struck from the top right at 6:20 for a two-goal advantage.

Semir Spachits responded, the recipient of a counter-attack cross pass from Evangelos Pouros while heavily covered. A Serbian timeout reaped nothing, then all hell broke loose. Petar Jaksic was ejected on a red card for an alleged kick to the opponent’s head above water and Vlachos was given a yellow in the mayhem. Following the decision on the violence foul in which Serbia would be one man down for the rest of the match, Stevanovic made his own challenge for an earlier altercation. It was dismissed but Stevanovic stayed waving and remonstrating, gaining a red card. He failed to leave the pool deck and Argyropoulos converted the penalty for 15-15 at 1:31. Stevanovic pleaded with the secretary’s bench but had to be pulled away by his staff. He eventually left the deck. Argyropoulos stood up and scored the winner on extra at 0:45 from the top. Emmanouil Zerdevas made two magnificent saves on the Serbian attack and a Greece timeout settled the team. However, Greece went forward and shot two before the final buzzer sounded, showing its attacking resolve en route to a famous victory. This was one of the most incredible comebacks of all time.

Match Heroes
Argyropoulos starred with six goals, including the winner for Greece. Martinovic was a constant thorn with his four goals and Nikola Jaksic fired in three for Serbia.

Turning Point
That seven-goal deficit late in the second quarter had Greece on the ropes, but head coach Theodoros Vlachos had faith in his team. But for the red card, it could have been a different result.

Stats Don’t Lie
Greece dominated the statistics with six from 12 on extra and denying Serbia six of its 14 attempts. Greece put away three of four penalty attempts and Serbia two. Greece won the steals 5-3 and the overall shots 36-29.

Bottom Line
Both teams scored last-second goals; Serbia went seven straight and Greece went 10-4 after that. It really came down to the Petar Jaksic’s red card and Greece’s nerve held to gain an improbably victory, much needed after losing by a goal to Hungary on day one.

Match 8. Group B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 8 ITALY 15 (3-4, 0-3, 4-5, 1-3)

Italy moved one step closer to qualification for Sydney with a powerful showing against USA. Italy was never headed and a pair of goals to Francesco Cassia had Italy 3-2 ahead. USA skipper Max Irving also had two by now. Jacopo Alesiani lobbed on counter to start the second quarter for 5-3 while newcomer Eduardo Campopiano netted twice on extra with the second a spectacular movement from the deep right into the goalmouth while heavily defended, literally controlling the ball across the line. Lorenzo Bruni opened the third from centre, well out, lobbing over the advancing goalkeeper. Campopiano made it 9-3 from the deep right. Goals were traded to 12-9 and the last break, player-of-the-match Giacomo Cannella scoring his second on extra. Italy rattled in the first three goals of the fourth period for 15-7 with Ryan Ohl responding for the USA at 0:20 from the deep on extra.

Match Heroes
Filippo Ferrero and Campopiano netted three each for Italy and the goalkeepers chimed in with 12 saves between them. For USA, Irving scored three and goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg pulled in nine balls.

Turning Point
The break from 3-3 to 9-3 up for Italy.

Stats Don’t Lie
USA managed to get the calls but converted just five from a huge 17 attempts. Italy made sure of five from 11. Italy scored twice from the penalty line but lost the steals 7-4 and the overall shots 31-29.

Bottom Line
Italy made it a second straight victory after defeating Spain 12-10 on day one and deserved to have this difference today.

Progress Points

Group A: Hungary 5, Greece 3, Serbia 3, Netherlands 1.
Group B: Italy 6, Spain 3, Croatia 3, United States of America 0.

Day 3 Schedule

13:30, Group A, Serbia v Hungary
15:30. Group B, Italy v Croatia
17:30. Group A, Netherlands v Greece
19:45, Group B, Spain v United States of America

Useful info for Athletes, Coaches and National Federations

Open Water stars connect with fans and next generation of…

Men’s Division I Water Polo Tournament I Serbia sees red in…

Men’s Division II Water Polo Tournament I Australia digs deep to…