Men’s Division II Water Polo Tournament I Germany sinks Australia, setting up showdown with Georgia for Sydney ticket

Match Reports

Match 57. Quarterfinals.
NEUTRAL ATHLETES B 13 FRANCE 14 (2-2, 3-6, 2-2, 6-4)

Thomas Vernoux almost single-handedly ended Neutral Athletes B’s winning run in Malta. The French captain hammered in eight goals, including his team’s 14^th late in the fourth quarter from a penalty, which proved crucial at 11-14. Nikita Dereviankin and Timur Shaikhutdinov struck twice in the last minute, but it wasn’t enough to force a shootout. France had edged ahead early in the first quarter and after a strong second quarter, successfully held on to its lead until the final buzzer.        

Match 58. Quarterfinals.
UKRAINE 9 GEORGIA 20 (2-3, 4-5, 1-5, 2-7)

After stunning Canada in the Round of 16, Ukraine was unable to reproduce the same heroics against Georgia, which cruised to a comfortable victory. The Ukrainians managed to stay close in the first half (6-8), but collapsed in the second (3-12), as Georgia took full control following the turnaround. An impressive team performance saw all 12 of Georgia’s outfield players make the scoresheet, with Valiko Dadvani leading the way with five goals.                 

Match 59. Quarterfinals.  
AUSTRALIA 11 GERMANY 14 (3-3, 5-4, 2-2, 1-5)

Germany’s powerful finish extinguished Australia’s hopes of reaching the top four. The Aussie Sharks had suffered from slow starts earlier in the tournament, but this time failed to go the distance, as Germany roared back from 10-7 down in the final nine minutes – hitting seven goals to Australia’s one – to secure a remarkable victory. Germany captain Denis Strelezkij capped a fine individual display with a game-high six-goal haul, steering his team to Sunday’s semifinals, where Georgia awaits.

Match 60. Quarterfinals.  
MONTENEGRO 14 ROMANIA 8 (2-3, 6-2, 2-2, 4-1)

Montenegro recovered from an early wobble against Romania to stay firmly on track for a top-two finish. Despite trailing 2-3 at the first break, the favourite stepped up in the second period, quickly snatching the lead and never letting it go. Romania kept pushing in the third, but was unable to reduce the gap and it only got worse in the last quarter, as Montenegro – inspired by Strahinja Gojkovic’s five goals – surged into the semifinals, where it will face France for a ticket to Sydney.            

Match 53. 9^th-16^th Classification.
BRAZIL 14 PORTUGAL 9 (5-2, 4-4, 5-1, 0-2)

A 4-0 opening burst put Brazil on the right track against Portugal. Hat-tricks from Rafael Vergara and Paulo Oliveira saw the South Americans take charge, as Brazil led by an unassailable seven (14-7) heading into the final quarter. Despite being completely shut out in the fourth, Portugal’s response was too little, too late. 

Match 54. 9^th-16^th Classification.
CANADA 15 TURKIYE 14 (1-5, 5-5, 5-2, 4-2)

Canada appeared to be still wallowing in its Round-of-16 defeat to Ukraine, as Turkiye established a 4-0 lead inside five minutes. The Canadians woke up in the second period and started to strike back, but couldn’t reduce the deficit. In the third, the North Americans’ class finally began to show, rifling in four unanswered goals to level the scores (10-10), but Turkiye regained the lead to set up a thrilling finale. After 13-13, Reuel D’Souza struck twice in the last minute to get Canada over the line, including a buzzer-beater on extra to win it.      

Match 55. 9^th-16^th Classification.
SLOVAKIA 16 CHINA 13 (5-2, 2-6, 6-4, 3-1)

Slovakia got off to the perfect start against China, firing in the first five goals, but China orchestrated a clinical response to take a narrow 7-8 lead by halftime. The Slovaks were rattled, but regrouped and soon wiped out China’s advantage in the third quarter. Slovakia still had plenty to do in the fourth and goals from Samuel Balaz, Lukas Seman and Adam Furman’s sixth of the game – right on the buzzer – sealed the victory. 

Match 56. 9^th-16^th Classification.
MALTA 16 ARGENTINA 15 (3-3, 5-4, 4-4, 4-4)

Host Malta edged an entertaining contest with Argentina, with Ivan Nagaev hitting almost half (seven) of its goals. The South Americans provided plenty of resistance, battling back from 3-0 down to lead 4-5 early in the second quarter, but Malta immediately regained the advantage. However, it could never shake off its rival, who refused to lie down. In the last quarter, Malta moved four clear (16-12), which proved to be just enough, as Argentina again started to claw its way back, firing in the last three goals.   

Match 51. 17^th-20^th Classification.
KAZAKHSTAN 13 SLOVENIA 18 (1-4, 3-1, 5-7, 4-6)

After a slow start against Great Britain on Friday, Slovenia made sure it didn’t make the same mistake against Kazakhstan and surged to a 4-1 lead by the first break. Kazakhstan tightened its defence in the second period, while its attack reduced Slovenia’s advantage to just one (5-4) by halftime. The floodgates then opened in the third and fourth quarters, as 23 goals flew in, but despite Murat Shakenov’s best efforts – hitting six for the Kazakhs – it was the Slovenians who won.       

Match 52. 17^th-20^th Classification.
SINGAPORE 10 POLAND 19 (4-3, 2-4, 2-6, 2-6)

Poland clicked into gear after a disappointing first quarter saw it trailing Singapore 4-3. The Europeans dominated the remaining periods, smashing in 14 goals, while only conceding six, as Singapore completely slipped away after halftime. Andrzej Maciejewski top scored for Poland with six, while Bartosz Grabinski and Maksymilian Krakowiak each fired in four.           

Match 50. 21^st-24^th Classification.
SOUTH AFRICA 23 HONG KONG 22 (7-4, 6-7, 5-8, 5-3)

Matthew Neser’s six goals helped South Africa edge a 45-goal thriller with Hong Kong, as both attacks enjoyed a fruitful morning in Malta. The South Africans came out firing, building an early four-goal advantage (7-3), but Hong Kong kept striking back to stay in contention. By halftime, the gap was down to two (13-11), and another flurry of goals in the third quarter saw the Asians nudge ahead (19-18). South Africa stepped up in the final eight minutes to wrestle back the lead and held firm to earn a slender victory. It was a bitter blow for Hong Kong captain Hei Man Cheng, whose eight-goals ended up being mere consolation strikes.  

Day 6 Schedule

1st-4th Semifinals
France v Montenegro
Georgia v Germany

5^th-8^th Classification
Neutral Athletes B v Romania
Ukraine v Australia

9^th-12^th Classification
Canada v Slovakia
Brazil v Malta

13^th-16^th Classification
Portugal v Argentina
Turkiye v China

17^th-18^th Classification final
Slovenia v Poland

19^th-20^th Classification final
Kazakhstan v Singapore

21^st-22^nd Classification final
Great Britain v South Africa