Spain and Montenegro will play off for fifth position on Saturday following classification 5-8 semifinals at Sydney Olympic Patk Aquatic Centre on Friday.
Overview
Spain was first through to the fifth-place play-off, defeating the youthful Croatian team 18-14 and in the second encounter, Montenegro beat Georgia 18-16 in another thrilling encounter.
Day 4 Schedule
Classification 7-8
15:00, Croatia v Georgia
Classification 5-6
18:45, Spain v Montenegro
Classification 1-4 Semifinals
16:30, Australia v Hungary
20:15, Italy v Greece
Match Reports
Classification 5-8 Semifinals
Match 5. SPAIN 18 CROATIA 14 (5-4, 6-4, 3-2, 4-4)
Spain, still keening from the penalty-shootout loss to the Aussie Sharks the night before, made sure of victory over the youthful Croatian team. Spain is without some of its stars here, but played forcefully against a Croatian side not lacking zest and quality. Spain went 3-1 ahead after Vlaho Pavlic gave Croatia the early lead. By quarter time it was 5-4 where Pol Daura and Unai Biel scored twice each for the Spanish. Bernat Sanahuja and Pavlic traded goals to start the second quarter. The break came when magnificent centre forward Roger Tahull struck twice either side of a Miguel de Toro centre-forward goal. Tahull’s second was with an outstretched arm high and flicked backward while heavily defended. Nardo Dragas and Marc Valls traded; Pavlic and Valls swapped and Pavlic nailed a penalty goal for 11-8 at the long break.
Dragas and Daura exchanged goals, albeit three minutes apart in the third. Biel on extra and Pavlic from the top pushed it to 13-10. Tahull struck the last of the period from his usual centre-forward position. The 21-year-old Pavlic struck his seventh goal on extra from the top right at 7:34 of the fourth quarter. De Toro with a quick slap off a cross pass and Sergi Cabanas from top right moved it to 16-11. Croatia rallied with three goals to close to two at 3:52. However, Biel and Daura increased their tallies on two attacks and at 18-14 by 2:19, the match as a contest was over.
Match Heroes
Pavlic was the undoubted star with an incredible seven-goal haul for the beaten Croatians. Captain Mauro Cubranic took in 11 saves in goal. For the victorious Spanish, Daura and Biel netted four each and Tahull three.
Turning Point
From one down to 3-1 ahead. It’s where Spain took control and stayed ahead.
Stats Don’t Lie
Spain converted nine from 14 on extra and denied Croatia six of 12. Spain took the steals 11-5 and the shots 33-28.
Match 6. GEORGIA 16 MONTENEGRO 18 (2-3, 5-6, 4-5, 5-4)
Montenegro did what was needed and expected against Georgia, although the newcomer to this stage, thought differently. The fact George was just two goals behind was splendid. Montenegro shot to a 3-0 lead in less than four minutes and seemed to swim away with the match so early. However, an unsuccessful swim to the penalty line seemed to rattle the team. This gave an inlet for Georgia, under the guidance of 2000 Olympic silver medallist Revaz Tchomakhidze. Giorgi Magrakvelidze fired in on extra and captain Nika Shushiashvili converted a penalty foul for 3-2 by quarter time. Danilo Stupar started the second quarter like he did the first as Montenegro eased to 5-2 with Shushiashvili nailing his second on extra from deep left. Balsa Vuckovic scored on penalty and counter for his second and third goals giving Montenegro separation. However, Georgia smashed in three, including two Andria Bitadze goals — the first climbing out past his costume to accept a wide pass to the far left post and the second a backhander from two metres. All of a sudden, it was a one-goal match. A Montenegrin pair, including a second for Dusan Maktkovic, on counter, stretched it to three. Dragoljub Rogac calmly slotted from the right side for 9-7 with three seconds left before halftime.
The third period was just as frantic with Georgia hanging on doggedly. Goals were traded and then Montenegro sailed one past the keeper and failed to get by on penalty. Georgia had a timeout and Besarion Akhvlediani scored twice either side of Dusan Matkovic’s counter goal — his third strike. Vasilije Radovic and Duro Radovic made it 14-10 with Akhvlediani narrowing to three at the final break. Georgia won the final period 5-4 with a last-gasp extra-man goal — that was the last two goals in eight seconds for 18-16 down, a fine achievement for the first time on this stage.
Match Heroes
Vuckovic and Matkovic scored three each for victor Montenegro. The goalkeepers made 10 saves between them. Shushiashvili netted four and Akhvlediani three for Georgia.
Turning Point
Montenegro going 14-10 in the third, which gave the space needed to get to the final buzzer.
Stats Don’t Lie
Montenegro buried five from eight on extra, the same as Georgia. Montenegro missed two of its three penalty attempts while Georgia was perfect with one. Montenegro made 11 steals to six and shot one less than Georgia’s 34.
What They Said
Dusan Matkovic (MNE) — Three Goals
On bouncing back after Thursday’s loss:
“We're happy about the win, but there are a lot of things we need to improve. To receive 16 goals against any team is a lot, so that's definitely something we have to work on. And yeah, we're looking forward to tomorrow's match.”
On what the team will work on ahead of final match against Spain:
“I think we have to work on our defence. We have to get it together because they're an amazing team. It's not worth talking much about how much quality they have because we are all very aware of all of that. So yeah, we respect them a lot, but that doesn't mean we'll prepare any different, so we are prepared to fight.”