Croatia, fifth at the Tokyo Olympic Games, upset silver medallist Greece 12-11 in their Group D encounter after trailing 7-5 early in the third period.
As with any match, extra-man statistics proved the difference and the patient, steady attack from the Croatians came to the fore, while Greece toiled hard, but drifted to 12-9 behind, grabbing the last two goals in the final 93 seconds.
Match heroes
Ioannis Fountoulis, with his four goals, inspired Greece, as always, but it was Josip Vrlic (CRO) who earned the Player-of-the-Match award for his two goals and standout play at centre forward, which was sorely needed in the second half after captain Ivan Krapic was absent from the match soon after halftime with an injury. Marko Bijac kept Croatia’s goal brilliantly and was instrumental in the victory.
Turning point
Definitely, the third period. Greek captain Ioannis Fountoulis netted his fourth for 7-5 and then Croatia responded with three straight extra-man goals to go into the final period 8-7 ahead. Greece made it 8-8 and 9-9 in the final period until Croatia sent in three more extra-man strikes to seal the match.
Stats don’t lie
The Croatian extra-man conversion rate of nine from 14 (Greece was 3/12) was the fatal flaw in Greece’s defence. All credit, though, for Greece’s excellent conversion of field goals.
Bottom line
As with all teams playing these European qualifiers, it is a time to experiment and insert younger players into the programme and see how they perform. Greece has the older, more experienced players and should have maintained the lead until the end.
What they said
Ivica Tucak (CRO) — Head Coach
“I am very satisfied with our victory in the first game our team played after the Olympics. Very important for our victory was the percentage of 9/14 in the player above. I saw some important elements that I wanted, and we will now prepare for our next obligations.”
Dimitris Kravaritis (GRE) — Head Coach
“Croatia seemed more ready in the game than our team. He had also made a camp with Montenegro, while we had fewer days of preparation. In the third eight minutes we made some mistakes, the fatigue came, we managed to equalise 9-9, but Croatia escaped two goals and finally won. We used some new players. Greece is the silver medalist of Tokyo; it takes patience and dedication.”
New team, new year, same results so far for Serbia | Defending Olympic champ Serbia downs reigning world champion Italy
SERBIA-ITALY, Group C
SABAC (Serbia) – Olympic champion Serbia maintained its Tokyo momentum with a lead-from-the-front 12-9 Group C effort against Italy, who disappointed with seventh ranking in Japan last year.
Serbia was two up at the quarter, three ahead at halftime and the final break and went four clear in the last period before Italy made it 11-9 inside the final minute. Serbia had the last say when Dusan Mandic netted his third goal.
Match heroes
Veteran Strahinja Rasovic scored four, including two from well outside, and all came before the last break. Mandic used his left arm to lethal effect. Newcomer Luca Marziali took his opportunity backhanding his first goal and scoring off a cross-pass when 6-5 behind and then struck twice more in the last 96 seconds of the match — both coming off rebounds. New captain Andrea Fondelli scored twice for Italy.
Turning point
By leading 4-1 early in the second quarter the match had turned fully in Serbia’s favour. It’s hard for any team to come back from that far against Serbia.
Stats don’t lie
The extra-man count had Serbia on the front foot, converting six from 13 while Italy gained four from 12. Serbia took five steals off Italy with one against.
Bottom line
To beat Serbia, you have to score first and keep the team honest. Youngsters making it to the big stage for the first time can find playing Serbia in Serbia with a hugely partisan crowd, very daunting.
What they said
Dejan Savic (SRB) — Head Coach
“I hope this game proved it was a very tough game because of the young players from both sides who wanted to prove that they must play in the selection of the first team of Italy and Serbia. This is most important for us because it is the beginning of this year and I hope now we can choose younger players for the game against Slovakia on the 8th of March.”
Alessandro Campagna (ITA) — Head Coach
“The match was very good; a nice game. We were very close; we missed something so that we could stay more close. At the end of the third quarter the gap was three goals, but we had the chance to be tied, to be in front, and we missed this kind of goal and after we didn’t play well on defence in the last quarter.”
Source: FINA
Shuaeeb Is a seasoned sportswriter, social worker, and philanthropist. He has been renowned for his support of disabled sports persons and championing for equal rights and opportunities for all sports persons. He is also a father of 4 children and married to His partner Moana who is of Australian descent. He currently does sports volunteering and disability support work aside from writing for this August media.
Discussion about this post