Italy will play Greece while host Australia will take on Hungary in semifinal matches on Saturday, following quarterfinal matches at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on Thursday.
Overview
Italy defeated newcomer Georgia 18-12 in the first quarterfinal with a 6-3 third quarter being the decider.
Greece held off a fast-finishing Montenegro in a heart-stopping match with a 14-13 decision that could have gone to a penalty shootout. Greece led by five at one stage.
Australia came from nowhere to level the match at 18-18 in strange circumstances against Spain and force the shootout, which it won 5-3 for a stunning 23-21 victory.
Hungary shrugged off Croatia in the final quarter, claiming the last semifinal berth with an exciting and challenging 16-11 victory.
Day 3 Schedule
Women
Classification 5-8 Semifinals
11:30, China v Italy
13:15, Netherlands v Hungary
Men
Classification 5-8 Semifinals
15:00, Spain v Croatia
16:45, Georgia v Montenegro
Women
Classification 1-4 Semifinals
18:30, United States of America v Australia
20:15, Russia v Spain
Quarterfinal Match Reports
Match 2. ITALY 18 GEORGIA 12 (4-2, 3-3, 6-3, 5-4)
Italy did what it does best and that is to dominate and win matches. Georgia was no easy conquest but Italy had to show all its flair and skills to get the task done, now just one step away from the gold-medal final. Italy shot out of the box with the first four goals but it did not stun the Georgians who fought back to score twice on extra through Valiko Dadvani — the second on a double extra. Filippo Ferrero scored the second and third goals for Italy with the first on counter. The tempo continued in the second with Sandro Adeishvili countering and then turning to backhand into goal. Italy followed up with scores on extra and counter for 6-3. Dadvani was well in the picture with a strike from the top at 2:36 for 6-4 and at the other end of the pool he was red carded with substitution for some indiscretion. Losing the player with three goals was detrimental to Georgia’s chances, briefly bewildering the team. Matteo Iocchi Gratta made the most of the moment, scoring from close in on extra for 7-4. Georgia was not to be beaten and Besarion Akhvlediani hammered in a sharp response at 1:45, which became the halftime score.
The pendulum swung further in the Settebellos’ favour in the third quarter despite the efforts of Georgian Adeishvili who scored at two metres off a cross pass for 7-6 and at centre forward for 9-7. The match then drifted further Italy’s way with five unanswered goals with two on extra and the last on counter to Giacomo Cannella. The final quarter set the match in concrete for the Italians but it was tough going with goals traded from Adeishvili’s score from the top left to Alessandro Carnesecchi’s penalty strike for 17-11 at 1:06. When it looked all over there was another trade inside the last 40 seconds, giving Italy the 18-12 victory and access to the semifinals. Georgia is playing this level for the first time and head coach Revaz Tchomakhidze, a Georgian who played for Russia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, winning silver, said it was “a first step in the top league”.
Match Heroes
Ferrero and Francesco Condemi snatched three apiece in the field and goalkeeper Gianmarco Nicosia dragged in 13 saves from goal to be the best player. For Georgia, Dadvani before his expulsion and Adeishvili netted three apiece and goalkeeper Beka Kapanadze made 10 saves.
Turning Point
Italy going from two up to five up in the third period.
Stats Don’t Lie
Italy converted seven from 13 on extra and Georgia four from eight. Both teams converted a penalty foul with Italy winning the steals three to none and the shots 36-33.
What They Said
Marco Del Lungo (ITA) —Captain/Goalkeeper
On going up 4-0 in a World Cup quarterfinal:
“We were prepared for a very hard match as Georgia are a very good team. We were proud of our team’s efforts in how we controlled the game at the offensive and the defensive end”.
On winning against a strong team like Georgia:
“We are here to win. As a team we made the final of the World Cup an important target for us to reach, with a focus on building momentum for the Olympic Games in the future. We are very proud of this win today but we need to reset as a team to focus on a tough semifinal game ahead”.
Match 3. GREECE 14 MONTENEGRO 13 (7-3, 2-3, 3-4, 2-3)
Greece nearly handed the match on a platter to Montenegro, However, after leading by five at one stage, Greece had to defend a hard-charging Montenegro in the dying minutes. A red card against Greece and some smart coaching gave Montenegro an equalising chance with seconds left on the clock only to hit the cross bar and see a semifinal dream die.
Greece was magical in the first quarter, ripping home seven goals to three. Captain Stylianos Argyropoulos netted the fifth and sixth goals on counter and deep left on extra after four different players provided the first four goals. For Montenegro, Strahinja Gojkovic opened all scoring on penalty and brought up the 5-3 goal from the top with Dusan Matkovic converting extra at 3-2. Alexandros Papanastasiou ignited an Exocet missile from the top to close the scoring at 7-3, 25 seconds from the first break. Goals were traded early in the second quarter; Papanastasiou hit the crossbar on penalty and Danilo Stupar went on counter for 8-5. Argyropoulos burnt the net on penalty for 9-5 at 3:52. Montenegro held sway for the rest of the period with Balsa Vuckovic scoring from the top for 9-6 and several point-blank shots failing to find their mark, which could have changed the complexion of the match. Greece was 9-5 at the long break.
Gojkovic and Argyropoulos swapped goals in what was the first four minutes of the third period — both from outside. Greece called a timeout and Konstantinos Gkiouvetsis responded on penalty for as four-goal advantage. That was whittled to one as Gojkovic, Matkovic on extra and Stupar on counter brought it to one in just over two minutes. Greece head coach Theo Vlachos was unperturbed and with five seconds remaining, Semir Spachits converted extra from the left-post position for 12-10 going into the final quarter. In the fourth, Matkovic’s counter was thwarted by goalkeeper Panagiotis Tzortzatos and several other Montenegrin shots hit wood and stopped short of the line. Spachits was the recipient of a rebound to score for 13-10; Ioannis Alafragkis rifled one in from top right and Gojkovic replied from the top off a rebound that landed handily. Vasilije Radovic scored from the right-post spot, four metres out for 14-12 at 2:41. Another attack failed, as did Greece’s. Montenegro called a timeout and Gojkovic’s shot was tipped over the goalie. Gojkovic shot again but Tzortzatos was equal to the task. Greece attacked, gained an ejection in the dying seconds and scored through Efstathios Kalogeropoulos at 0:06. Montenegrin head coach Dejan Savic challenged for an earlier indiscretion by Kalogeropoulos, who was red-carded and his goal disallowed and the clock reset to 40 seconds. Matija Sladovic converted the extra. Greece controlled the ball for 28 seconds and Montenegro went to a timeout with eight seconds remaining. The play was for Radovic to surge forward and shoot, which he did, hitting the crossbar. Greece took the final few seconds to make sure of a semifinal berth.
Match Heroes
Greek captain Argyropoulos with his four goals was a steadying force. However, Tzortzatos was the true star with 11 saves in goal. Gojkovic hammered in five for Montenegro.
Turning Point
Montenegro nearly pulling off an equaliser in the final minute.
Stats Don’t Lie
Greece converted four from eight on extra and defended seven from 11. Greece scored three from four on penalty and Montenegro scored once. The steals were tied at four and Montenegro shot more at 38-32.
What They Said
Theodoros Vlachos (GRE) —Head Coach:
On coming out of the blocks very strong, going up 7- 3 in the first quarter. Do you think that a start like that ended up deciding the match?
“Yes, that was very important in the first quarter. I asked from my players to start like this, OK, sometimes you ask, but maybe it will not happen, but we were really very good in that that in offence and in the defence. We were leading 7 to 3, I think, in the first quarter. That gave us confidence to continue and to believe that, OK. Today we were better than Montenegro. I think we did it the whole game, except some stupid mistakes, mistakes that then gave them opportunity to think that they can come in the game again. So, finally, the result is for us and we qualified to the semifinal and that’s what we wanted before the start of the game.”
Panagiotis Tzortzatos (GRE) — Goalkeeper
On the match:
“Every time we play this kind of team, like in Asia, Montenegro and Serbia have quite a similar style. They play strong physically. We know that they would play like this, we can play in their temple. We try to play faster because we are better in the transition. I think we went to some silly mistakes. They had three open counter-attacks, one against zero and they stayed in the game because of them. We played a pretty good offence. We need to play a little bit better in defence and we'll be OK.”
Danilo Stupar (MNE) — Goal Scorer
On the match:
“We started the game very bad, but our team can go into the game very hard and get tired , but we need a little more luck to go our way.”
On needing more luck:
“Yeah, I definitely agree. We missed some chances. I think we should’ve gotten a penalty, but we have to do better.”
Match 1. SPAIN 21 AUSTRALIA 23 in penalty shootout. FT: 18-18. Pens: 3-5. (6-3, 5-6, 5-4, 2-5)
Australia did the unthinkable by scoring 4-1 in the last three minutes to force a penalty shootout and then send in five perfect shots to three for an unforgettable, roof-lifting, historic victory over Spain. This will be talked about like the Aussie women winning gold at the Sydney Olympics in the same pool, 26 years ago.
Australia held 2-1 and 3-2 advantages in the opening quarter, much to the joy of the 2000-strong crowd. However, Spain came back with a vengeance with the next four goals with two to Marc Valls and a second for Unai Biel. Spain was looking like not missing the star performers Alvaro Granados and Alberto Munarriz, who stayed at home. There was a trade of goals to 8-5 with Bernat Sanahuja netting twice — both on penalty. Charlie Negus scored from deep left for the Aussie Sharks and Jacob Mercep from penalty, his second goal. Roger Tahull, the menacing centre forward who already had a handful of ejections, scored for 8-5 and Marcus Berehulak nabbed a second from top right. Sanahuja and Blake Edwards from centre forward took it to 10-7 and Berehulak rammed home a third. Tim Putt left the water on three majors in his hallmark 150th international, taking Tahull with him. Fran Valera for his second off a cross pass and Mercep for his third narrowed the match to 11-9 at 0:34. Berehulak emerged from the pool with blood streaming from a cut over his left eye. He left the pool deck needing stitches and a thorough VAR review failed to charge anyone for the alleged assault. Spain was in charge at halftime.
The first four goals came inside the four-minute mark with two apiece in the third period. Australia took a timeout. A heavily bandaged Berehulak was back and Mercep grabbed another on extra. Sanahuja and Valera took Spain to 16-12 with captain Nathan Power narrowing it to three for the home side, a minute before the final break. Edwards was the first scorer of the final quarter, from deep left on extra. Spain won a challenge for a penalty, which Sanahuja converted for 17-14. Power was ejected with a red card — fourth Aussie outed for the match compared to two Spanish players — and an Aussie protest failed. Berehulak plastered the goal from the top for 17-15 at 2:59. Sergi Cabanas joined the growing list of players out of the match and Spain threw the protest ball into the pool again for no result. Milos Maksimovic gained his third foul and Spain went to a timeout. Mercep came up with an Aussie goal after a failed Spanish attack. Sanahuja replied at 1:03; Byrnes scored at 0:35 and in what can only be described as “mayhem”, Berehulak scored off a six-metre shot after the referee inadvertently stopped the match. On review the goal was disallowed and Australia had the ball for another eight seconds. The top shooters were denied and Byrnes shot from bottom right, suckering the ball into goal under the arm of Unai Aguirre at 0:01, sending the match to a shootout at 18-18. Australia shot first and sent in all five attempts. Spain’s second attempt was saved by Laurence Barker, who played the last quarter replacing Nic Porter and faced the shootout. Australia won 23-21 and made the semifinals in an event in which it has been this far twice before, winning silver and bronze.
Match Heroes
Mercep with six and Berehulak with four while Byrnes grabbed three goals for the Aussie Sharks. Sanahuja fired in seven goals, Valera four and Biel three for Spain. Goalkeeper Aguirre took in eight saves.
Turning Point
Australia scoring 4-1 in the final three minutes to force the shootout.
Stats Don’t Lie
Australia scored five from 14 and Spain five from 12 on extra. Spain sent in three penalty goals to one; Australia won the steals five-two and Spain the shots 36-35.
What They Said
Matthew Byrnes (AUS) — Equalising Scorer
On beating Spain:
“Amazing ,obviously. It was a thriller here at home in Sydney which was great. The crowd was amazing helping us get over the line. It’s been a long grind, so to get it to pay off like that in the first game is great. We’re obviously very hungry for a medal. We’re not finished here.”
On his goal to force the game into a shootout:
“It was all set up by the boys, I was just in the right place ,right time at the end. I’ll take that, but it was a whole team effort, which is great.
“The cohesion in this team is incredible. We’re just super stoked, so we’re going to use this momentum moving forward, we’re not done here, that’s for sure.
“We haven’t got any silverware yet as a team. It’s our goal here in Sydney to get silverware.”
Luka Krstic (AUS) — Penalty Shooter
On the atmosphere:
“I think this is by far the most atmospheric, most electric game I’ve been a part of. To be able to not only win the game but come back after everything… it was just a wonderful experience we came back in front of our home crowd. Everyone was cheering and no one stopped believing in the team. We were down players; everything clicked at the end.”
On taking the first penalty shot:
“I personally love to go first. I like to break the ice; that’s just my mentality and I went in almost knowing that I’m going to score. To me, a penalty (shot) is all a mental game in my head. I was like this is it, it came to this, it came to penalties; might as well just put it all on and score.”
Blake Edwards (AUS) — Two Goals
On making a comeback to the team:
“I’m just so glad, recovering from double hip surgery .I had about 18 months out of the pool; it’s just such a special group and watching from afar I know what this group is capable of. I was just itching to get back and be a part of it and to the boys’ credit they welcomed me back after a long time. I’m just so proud to be part of this team and that performance tonight is exactly the reason why I was so driven and motivated to return.”
Match 4. HUNGARY 16 CROATIA 11 (5-5, 4-3, 4-2, 3-1)
Hungary overcame a determined and youthful Croatian team with superior skills and accurate shooting when needed. The Croatians were resourceful for their age and proved a worthy opponent but it was Hungary who would progress to the semifinals.
Following the excitement of the previous match it seemed there was more coming with plenty of Hungarian and Croatian flags flying in the crowd. Croatia shot to a 2-0 lead and goals were traded to 4-3 before Gergo Fekete grabbed his third goal for 4-4. Fran Dobric shot from the top right, which was becoming the go-to shot on cross pass. Vendel Vigvari levelled at five, three seconds from time from the same spot. Krisztian Manhercz countered for the first goal of the second quarter with Viktor Tonicic dragging the ball back into goal off a cross pass at centre forward. Two more Hungarian goals, including a third for Manhercz on counter, had the score at 8-6. Mislav Curkovic scored off centre forward from a cross pass for 8-7 and a Croatian penalty attempt hit the right post. Vigvari replied for 9-7 with Nardo Dragas bringing it back to one goal for 9-8 at the halftime break.
Hungary started the second half with a pair of goals, including Fekete’s fourth. Manhercz had his penalty shot rejected while Vlaho Pavlic made sure of his for 11-9. Vigvari nonchalantly accepted a cross pass to the right post, turned and backhanded into goal for 12-9 at 2:43. Goals were traded for 13-10 by 1:20, the score at the last break. Hungary went to a timeout early in the fourth period for no goal while Cuckovic caned Hungary at the other end for 13-11 at 6:00. Vigvari converted extra from the top left; Zalanki smashed in a wide-right shot and the margin was suddenly four at 3:31. Croatia called a timeout as a team-mate scored a goal but nothing came of it and the final nail was driven in by Peter Szalai in a centre-forward drive at 0:43 for 16-11.
Match Heroes
Fekete and Vigvari scored four each and Manhercz three. The Hungarian goalkeepers made 12 saves between them. For Croatia, Mauro Cubranic took in 14 saves and Curkovic and Pavlic scored twice each.
Turning Point
Hungary coming from two down twice in the first quarter to lead 6-5 early in the second and never relinquish the lead.
Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary converted four from eight on extra and defended six from 12. Both teams missed a penalty attempt with Croatia scoring once; Hungary won the steals nine to five and the shots 39-36.
What They Said