Spain turned the tables on Italy, winning its group 1-4 encounter 16-12 after losing 12-10 on day one. Greece did the same, defeating Hungary 16-10 after losing on day one, 13-12. In the battle for Sydney’s last qualification berth from Division I, Croatia firmed as the favourite, although it will not be decided until Sunday when it takes on triple Olympic and European champion Serbia.
Overview
It was moving day and two teams over-turned first-day results as they settled on rankings for the July finals series draw. There are no medals being handed out here, just final rankings and Greece did it self a huge favour with a commanding 16-10 victory over Hungary. Spain did the same to Italy, winning 16-12, leaving Sunday’s finale eagerly anticipated
The final rankings in this group, mean that any team could top the ladder depending on what happens on Sunday.
In Group D, with teams chasing places five-eight, Croatia dumped United States of America 18-12, polishing its game ahead of the all-important clash with Serbia. Serbia did the same in beating Netherlands 16-12. If Serbia bows to Croatia and USA defeats Netherlands, USA would finish sixth, but outside a trip to Sydney. If Serbia beats Croatia and USA still wins, Serbia would take the berth and USA would be third. So much to look forward to.
Match Reports
Match 17. Round 5-8. CROATIA 18 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 12 (4-2, 4-3, 7-3, 3-4)
Croatia made it two wins against USA in Alexandropoulos, claiming the day-one encounter 16-7 while the difference was trimmed somewhat today. Croatia started strongly, heading to 3-1 and 4-2 by the first break. Two more different players made the sheet for 6-2 in the first half of the second period. USA then came good with three goals to one with Ryder Dodd scoring two and Tin Brubnjak gaining his second Croatian goal. Marko Zuvela netted his second from the top to close the first half, making up for his first-quarter penalty miss. Ante Jerkovic grabbed a pair to start the second half, the first on counter and the second from deep right on extra for 10-5. Both teams had ineffectual timeouts before goals were traded to 12-7 when newcomer Luke Nelson gained his second from deep left. Croatia pushed out to 14-7, with Zuvela netting a third for 15-8 with a screamer from the top. Ben Liechty, fresh from USA’s eighth goal, accepted a ball on the hand at centre forward to score for 15-9 at the top of the fourth quarter. Konstantin Kharkov, with his third, and USA captain Max Irving’s extra-man goal lifted the score to 16-10. Zuvela and two more Irving goals drew the match closer to the final buzzer with Vlaho Pavlic finishing for 18-12 at 0:42.
Match Heroes
Zuvela was the star with five Croatian goals. Brubnjak and Kharkov netted three apiece. Captain Marco Bijac, jagged 11 saves in goal. USA Captain Irving was best with four goals and the two goalkeepers dragged down nine saves between them.
Turning Point
Croatia moving from 1-1 to 6-2 and then turning 7-5 into 11-5 and 14-7.
Stats Don’t Lie
Both teams worked hard on man-down defence with Croatia finished with four from 11 and USA four from seven. Croatia missed its one penalty chance and USA secured two. Croatia stole the ball 9-7 and outshot USA 26-24.
Bottom Line
Croatia is on a mission following losses to Italy and Spain. The fifth qualification spot is there for the plucking.
Match 18. Round 5-8. SERBIA 16 NETHERLANDS 12 (3-2, 4-4, 6-1, 3-5)
As on the first day when Serbia beat Netherlands 15-11, it was another four-goal margin today. Vasilije Martinovic started with the first two goals and his third came at 5-4 two minutes into the second quarter. The Dutch called a timeout, and although an extra-man shot did not come, an action goal did through Kas te Riele from deep right and within a minute Lars ten Broek had his second, from a six-metre free throw. Netherlands led 6-4. It only lasted 21 seconds as Serbia sent in four unanswered goals with the best from Petar Jaksic, who took the ball at deep right and moved right into goal to score for 9-6. Captain Nikola Jaksic wanted a piece of the action and scored a hat-trick in three minutes as Serbia went to the final period with a 13-7 advantage. Three minutes from the buzzer, Dutch official Sebastiaan Brands was sent from the bench. Nikola Jaksic scored his fifth on counter at 4:19 for 15-8. The Dutch were not finished, relishing the chance to play at this level, firing in four goals to Serbia’s one with the final score two seconds from time to Mart van der Weijden.
Match Heroes
Captain Jaksic was best in water with five goals in nine minutes of play in the second half. Martinovic continued his excellent run here with another four for Serbia. Ten Broek nailed three goals for the Dutch.
Turning Point
Netherlands levelled the match at two, three, four and five, only for Serbia to rattle in eight goals to one over the second break. At 13-7 by the final intermission, Serbia had the match wrapped up.
Stats Don’t Lie
Serbia converted for from nine on extra and defended eight from 14. Serbia put away all three penalty attempts while Netherlands missed its sole chance. Serbia came up with seven saves to five and shot 33 to 30.
Bottom Line
Serbia was making sure of the win in preparation for the all-or-nothing encounter with Croatia.
Match 19. Round 1-4. GREECE 16 HUNGARY 10 (4-0, 5-3, 2-4, 5-3)
A loss on the first day was overcome on the fifth as Greece controlled far more of the match and made sure with some telling shots while applying defence to the maximum. Racing off to 4-0 and keeping Hungary scoreless in the first quarter was the key to the victory. That and going to 7-1 with two Efstathios Kalogeropoulos goals. Hungary scored twice and Greece two more as the halftime difference of 9-3 had the crowd well and truly on its feet. The margin stretched to seven after Nikolaos Gkillas pounded in a second on extra. Three Hungarian goals shut down the crowd with one each from brothers Vendel Vigvari and Vince Vigvari. For 11-7 at the final break. Semir Spachits locked on to a rebound to score on the left post; captain Stylianos Argyropoulos gained his third on counter and Evangelos Pouros made it 14-7 from wide left. Goals were traded as Hungary had the last say with Gergo Fekete scoring from the top right and Vendel Vigvari lobbing from 5m for 16-10 at 0:09.
Match Heroes
Pouros, Dimitrios Chatzis, Argyropoulos and Gkillas scored a hat-trick each and goalkeeper Emmanouil Zerdevas made nine saves. For Hungary, Fekete, Gergely Burian and Vendel Vigvari scored twice each.
Turning Point
The 4-0 start was damning. Hungary threw three straight for 11-7 late in the third but Greece responded in like for a seven-goal advantage that Hungary could only dream of bridging.
Stats Don’t Lie
Greece converted five from eight and Hungary three from seven on extra; both missed a penalty but Greece scored one; Hungary had the better of the steals at 8-5 and Hungary shot more at 34-31.
Bottom Line
Greece learnt from the first-day, one-goal loss and went on the forward foot to secure a handsome victory.
Match 20. Round 1-4. ITALY 12 SPAIN 16 (2-6, 5-3, 2-1, 3-6)
Spain made it a six-goal turnaround from day one, commanding respect from the opening quarter and staying on top throughout. Italy had the early lead but that’s all it was. Fran Valera equalised and took his team ahead at 3-2 while Alvaro Granados scored on extra and counter to have their team 6-2 up at the quarter break. The pair struck again in the second quarter as Spain surged to 8-3. A lean period followed as Francesco Cassia book-ended two Italian goals to narrow the margin to one. Bernat Sanahuja came to the rescue from deep right on action for 9-7 at the long break. A quiet third period favoured Italy with Unai Biel the sole Spanish contributor to the scoresheet. Marc Valls and Granados, both from outside, gave Spain a 12-9 advantage. Goals were traded to 13-12 before Granados went to the penalty line and Biel converted extra by 1:16. Two Italian timeouts yielded nothing and Valls made the most of an empty Italian goal, receiving a long pass from the back to close the match at 16-12.
Match Heroes
Granados buried five goals — two from penalty — with Valera and Biel slipping in three each. The goalkeepers made 10 saves between them. Cassia claimed three for Italy and captain Marco del Lungo pulled in 11 saves in the goal.
Turning Point
From 2-1, Spain went to 8-3 and, despite Italy coming back to within one goal three times, Spain held its nerve with the last three goals.
Stats Don’t Lie
Italy converted five from 12 on extra and Spain five from 13. Spain scored three penalty goals to two; Italy won the steals 7-5 and the overall shots 34-33.
Bottom Line
Italy stumbled for the first time in this tight competition, where medals are meaningless and non-existent, but rankings could be important come the draw.
Progress Points
Group 1-4: Spain 6, Italy 3, Greece 3, Hungary 0.
Group 5-8: Croatia 6, United States of America 3, Serbia 3, Netherlands 0.
Day 6 Schedule
13:30, Round 5-8, Serbia v Croatia
15:30. Round 5-8, Netherlands v United States of America
17:30. Round 1-4, Spain v Greece
19:45, Round 1-4, Italy v Hungary