WP World League, Day 2: Montenegro stuns Italy, Greece downs Spain, both reach Super Final
Montenegro was flying in the last two minutes against Croatia – and they just brought their great momentum over and used it during the entire match against the world champion Italians to win the first semi-final and book their spot in the Super Final with a commanding 14-10 win. The second semi was more balanced and even more entertaining as both Greece and Spain came up with some brilliant plays. The game never stopped thrilling those watching it, Spain kept coming back till the end but a fantastic shot 6 seconds from time sent Greece to the final here – and to the Super Final too. Serbia struggled a bit before sinking France to meet Hungary for the 5th place as the Magyars came back from 9-11 down against Croatia, staging an astonishing 4-0 rush in the last three minutes.
Montenegro made the almost impossible and came back from 8-10 against Croatia in the last two minutes. This time they didn’t need any of those miracles – though it was a kind of wonder how they demolished Italy in three periods. Gaining a 6-goal lead against the world champions is a great feat, the Montenegrins demolished their rivals’ defence, netted 4 in the first two periods apiece and added five in the third.
For a while the Italian defence tried to withstand the pressure but the Montenegrins demolished them in three periods - Photos: Istvan Derencsenyi
The second semi also ended in an upset as Greece managed to overcome Spain, the team which reached three grand finals in a row in the previous three seasons (2019 Worlds, 2018 and 2020 Europeans). Though Spain was in control in the first two periods, the Greeks enjoyed a brilliant spell in the third and a 3-0 rush gave them the edge for the rest of the game. Spain fought hard, came back from 7-9 and from 9-11 but the Greeks had the last laugh as Stylianos Argyropoulos' stylish 6m shot decided the game 6 seconds before the end. It means that Greece will face Montenegro in the final here – whatever the outcome will be, these two already booked their respective spots in the Super Final, while Italy and Spain, finalists in Gwangju 2019, faces off the last available berth in the bronze medal game.
Georgios Dervisis netted a couple of crucial goals for the Greeks
In the opening game of the day Serbia needed almost three periods to down France as the Olympic champions’ concentration level was somewhere deep down, in the negative range… Their head coach Dejan Savic’s address on an elevated voice-level reached its purpose as after standing 4-4 after two periods, they won the second half 6-2.
In the other match for the 5-8th places, Croatia seemed to have the game in hand against Hungary, just like they had done a day earlier in the QF against Montenegro as they led 9-11 with little more than 3 minutes remaining. But they blew it again, the hosts produced an amazing finish, netted four unanswered goals to set up a great final day showdown with their old foe Serbia.
Keep on eye on this 19 year-old rookie: Vendel Vigvari came up big with three goals – and he hopes that his mentor, the late legend Tibor Benedek watches him proudly from above
Match reports
Quarters: 3-4, 1-4, 3-5, 3-1
Referees: Aleksander Voevoedin (RUS), Frank Ohme (GER)
ITALY
Marco DEL LUNGO, Gianmarco NICOSIA – Francesco DI FULVIO 3/5, Stefano LUONGO 2/5, Andrea FONDELLI 0/3, Edoardo DI SOMMA 0/0, Jacopo ALESIANI 0/2, Nicholas PRESCIUTTI 0/0, Gonzalo ECHENIQUE 3/9, Niccolo FIGARI 0/0, Christian NAPOLITANO 0/0, Lorenzo BRUNI 0/0, Vincenzo DOLCE 2/5.
Acting coach: Amadeo Pomilio
MONTENEGRO
Dejan LAZOVIC, Slaven KANDIC (n. e.) – Drasko BRGULJAN 0/0, Duro RADOVIC 0/0, Marko PETKOVIC 2/3, Vlado POPADIC 1/4, Miroslav PERKOVIC 2/2, Stefan VIDOVIC 0/0, Aleksa UKROPINA 1/2, Aleksandar IVOVIC 1/7, Vladan SPAIC 4/5, Dusan MATKOVIC 2/4, Dusan BANICEVIC 1/1.
Coach: Vladimir GOJKOVIC
Shots:
ITA: 10/29 (34.5%) – MNE: 14/28 (50.0%)
Extramen:
ITA: 5 for 17 – MNE: 8 for 14
Penalties:
ITA: none – MNE: 1 for 1
Saves:
ITA: 5/19 (26.3%) – MNE: 10/20 (50.0%)
While it was an extremely slow start for the Italians a day before against Hungary (scored only four in three periods, which brought nine altogether, while in the last one they netted five) – this time it was an all-in game against Montenegro right from the beginning. The Montenegrins managed to target the weaker points in the Italian defence and in the first half they did a splendid job. Indeed, netting 8 goals in two periods against Italy is a great feat in anybody’s language (it didn’t improve Italy’s situation that their head coach Alessandro Campagna had to watch the game away from the bench because of his suspension).
Until 3-3 the sides were on level but then came three Montenegrin goals in a row while Italy was silent for 5:16 minutes. Though they pulled one back from an extra but Dusan Matkovic reset the three-goal cushion (they stood 4 for 5 in man-up, quite a feat against the world champion team). Italy then had a 6 on 5 after a time-out, but a 2m line violation ruined their plans, at the other end Vladan Spaic tipped a fine lobbed pass in from the centre to give Montenegro a 4-8 lead for halftime.
An easy finish for Spaic in the first man-up after the break further extended the gap, and even though Francesco di Fulvio made a great shot from the distance but Spaic was on fire, completed a hat-trick with a magnificent back-handed shot for 5-10. And there were more for the Montenegrin centre, after a time-out he finished a 6 on 5 spectacularly while Italy was still struggling with their man-ups (here MNE was 6 for 8, ITA was 2 for 8). Gonzalo Echenique’s action goal was nice and Italy could have come a bit closer after an annulled Montenegrin goal but a block denied their man-up once more while Marko Petkovic’s ball sneaked in with some luck – so instead of –4, Italy was 6 goals down at 6-12. Italy needed a 6 on 4 to finally convert an extra situation, but even though they denied the initial attempt of the Montenegrins in their next man-up, their rivals found the way to send the ball home after the corner (it was Petkovic again) and Dejan Lazic came up with a big save on a clear shot in a man-down – so it looked all settled before the last break as Montengro led 7-13.
Italy went all-in, scored twice in 51 seconds but could not capitalise on it – and Miroslav Perkovic’s easy 6 on 5 had a calming effect, which was mirrored by two more blasted Italian man-up (they finished the day with a disastrous 5 for 17). Montenegro was somewhat slowed down, mostly because it lost five players due to three fouls in the last period – but it did not endanger their great win.
Amadeo Pomilio, assistant coach, Italy
“We didn’t play well in defence and our powerplay didn’t improve since yesterday either. The first period was OK, but then we started missing our chances and Montenegro played really well in offence. It was our second game after a long time, we need to spend more time together to reach the level we once had. We have to rebuild our team so we have to use our time well until the Olympics.”
Vladimir Gojkovic, coach, Montenegro
“Yesterday we needed some luck and we were in uncertain situation but today it changed, we played really well, we did some great things in offence. It was our goal to qualify for the Super Final, now we achieved that and hope to play one more game at this level. However, we still need to stay on the ground as our big task is to qualify for the Olympics so have to stay calm until Rotterdam.”
Vladan Spaic, MVP of the game, Montenegro:
“We played really well, I think the key was our defence. If we can defend hard and well, then our offence can work like this. We can be proud to have a game like this against the world champions.”
Quarters: 2-3, 2-2, 4-1, 4-5
Referees: Michiel Zwart (NED), Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU)
GREECE
Konstantinos GALANIDIS, Emmanouil ZERDEVAS (n. e.) – Konstantinos GENIDOUNIAS 1/2, Dimitrios SKOUMPAKIS 2/2, Marios KAPOTSIS 0/1, Ioannis FOUNTOULIS 3/6, Alexandros PAPANASTASIOU, 2/3 Georgios DERVISIS 1/2, Stylianos ARGYROPOULOS 2/3, Konstantinos MOURIKIS 0/1, Cristodoulos KOLOMVOS 0/2, Konstantinos GKIOUVETSIS 0/0, Angelos VLACHOPOULOS 1/6.
Coach: Theodoros VLACHOS
SPAIN
Daniel LOPEZ, Unai AGUIRRE (n. e.) – Alberto MUNARRIZ 3/7, Alvaro GRANADOS 2/3, Martin FAMERA 1/3, Bernat SANAHUJA 0/1, Marc LARUMBE 0/0, Alberto BARROSO 2/5, Francisco FERNANDEZ 1/1, Sergi CABANAS 0/0, Felipe PERRONE 1/5, Blai MALLARACH 0/1, Alejandro BUSTOS 1/2.
Coach: David MARTIN
Shots:
GRE: 12/28 (42.9%)– ESP: 11/28 (39.3%)
Extramen:
GRE: 5 for 12 – ESP: 4 for 9
Penalties:
GRE: 1 for 1 – ESP: 3 for 3
Saves:
GRE: 12/23 (52.2%) – ESP: 10/22 (45.5%)
Appearing in the three big finals of the previous three years (2018: Europeans, 2019: Worlds, 2020: Europeans), Spain reached a favourite status despite claiming ‘only’ the silver medals on each occasion. However, in a game against Greece nothing ever can be taken granted – and this match-up could also be considered as an ‘extended’ edition of a Champions League super clash between Barceloneta and Olympiacos Piraeus, the premier teams of the respective nations. (These national teams rely heavily on these two clubs, indeed Theodoros Vlachos coach both Olympiacos and Greece, while Spanish head coach David Martin is the brother of Jesus, the boss in Barceloneta.)
So here the systems didn’t need too much refreshing and it was visible in the first period as both sides netted some fine goals from well-composed actions. Spain did a bit better and took a 2-3 lead – then in the second period the defences took over and froze the standings for a while. Goalies were on top too, especially Dani Lopez who delivered a series of tremendous saves in succession (he stood with 9 well before the middle break). Lately Spain could convert a 6 on 5 after a time-out, but Greece broke its 11-minute long silence from a man-up and 55 seconds later Georgios Dervisis could also beat Lopez from the distance. Spain earned a penalty inside a 6 on 5 and Alberto Munarriz’s ball just crossed the line though Konstantinos Galandis seemed to have his hand on the shot 11 seconds before the buzzer (4-5).
However annoying this last act was, Greece came back strong and produced a stunning 3-0 rush while Galandis offered two great saves in man-downs. He had another one soon but after the corner Alberto Barroso decided to finish the task on his own and his blast found the back of the net, ending Spain’s 6:25 minutes long drought. But the Greeks did the same as the Spaniards in the previous period, earned a penalty in a man-up and Ioannis Fountoulis sent the ball home to crown their brilliant 4-1 period.
They could start in 6 on 5 (remained 17sec from the end of the previous one) but could not convert it under time-pressure while the Spaniards made theirs with a ‘slam-dunk’ by Martin Famera. Luck was on Greece’s side however, Fountoulis’ shot might have flown wide but a blocking hand deflected it to the top right corner to retain the two-goal lead (9-7). Alvaro Granados’ brilliant drive-in halved the gap once again with plenty of time remaining (5:22). And almost the same action was sold once more, this time Felipe Perrone set himself up for a clean shot and equalised for 9-9. Greece wasn’t done, Anastasios Papanastasiou’s blast just bounced in from the cross-bar, then Galandis made a great save on a centre-shot, then they added a brilliantly played man-up goal to go 11-9 up again – so the match didn’t stop entertaining for a single second. Again, Barroso rocketed the ball to the net in a 6 on 5 after a corner with 2:17 to go, so the game was still wide open. And on level soon as Alejandro Bustos had a great move to earn a penalty and Granados was on target for 11-11. With 1:20 on the clock, Greece got a man-up but could not set up the finishers at the post, Spain’s possession was eventless, Vlachos called a time-out 31 seconds from time and it paid off. It was a great effort by Stylianos Argyropoulos, a pinpoint shot from the right perimeter (add that after 9 saves in the first half, Lopez posted only a single catch in the second half). It was a game winner 6 seconds before the end, which sent Greece to the Super Final.
Theodoros Vlachos, coach, Greece:
“The two teams know each other really well as most of the players meet on club level too and I think after three or four years my team finally play with confidence against Spain. This is great as Spain could play for the gold medal in the last three big tournaments so it’s a big win for us and may show that we are on the right track before the Olympic qualification tournament. I liked my players’ approach, how they kept going during the whole match, I can say that I was satisfied with their performance.”
David Martin, coach, Spain
“Congratulation to Greece, they played really well today. It’s not easy to maintain a good level for three days, I think ours was not on the level we expected, Greece played much better today. We are without our centre-forwards and the game we have to play requires more moves and I think we were a bit exhausted in the second half.”
Quarters: 3-3, 1-1, 1-3, 1-3
Referees: Ruben Garcia (SUI), Vyacheslav Byelyevtsov (UKR)
FRANCE
Clement DUBOIS, Hugo FONTANI (GK, n. e.) – Rémi SAUDADIER 0/1, Romain Marion VERNOUX 0/0, David CAUMETTE 1/2, Nicolas MISSY 0/4, Thomas VERNOUX 1/2, Ugo CROUSILLAT 1/6, David BABIC 0/3, Mehdi MARZOUKI 0/4, Charles CANONNE 0/0, Pierre Frederic VANPEPERSTRAET 2/2, Alexandre CAMARASA 1/3.
Coach: Nenad VUKANIC
SERBIA
Branislav MITROVIC, Gojko PJETLOVIC – Dusan MANDIC 3/5, Nikola DEDOVIC 2/4, Sava RANDJELOVIC 0/1, Drasko GOGOV 0/3, Dusko PJETLOVIC 0/1, Nemanja VICO 0/0, Radomir DRASOVIC 0/2, Filip FILIPOVIC 2/5, Andrija PRLAINOVIC 2/6, Viktor RASOVIC 0/1.
Coach: Dejan SAVIC
Shots:
FRA: 6/27 (22.2%) – SRB: 10/28 (35.7%)
Extramen:
FRA: 2 for 6 – SRB: 2 for 7
Penalties:
FRA: none – SRB: 3 for 3
Saves:
FRA: 9/19 (47.4%) – SRB: 12/18 (66.7%)
Dejan Savic was yelling for a minute or so, perhaps he didn’t even take a breath while he was addressing his players during the middle break – addressing in this case was an absolute understatement, let us add. The head coach’s anger was more than understandable as his boys, most of them are the reigning Olympic champions, only imitated water polo, at least compared to the level they are capable of playing. It was visible on the scoreboard too as it showed 4-4 against France, which lost badly to Greece on Friday but this time used all its chances and did its utmost in defence to hold off the Serbs. The favourite sides had some embarrassing spells like unable to score for 7 minutes in the second period...
Savic’s intervention did not bring immediate effect as the French took the lead once more early in the third before the Serbs began to show something they were famous for. Like two goals in 43 seconds, then Gojko Pijetlovic saved a penalty, while Andrija Prlainovic netted one from the following possession, so it was 5-7 and not 6-6, and Savic’s voice level was definitely lower during the last interval.
Dusan Mandic’s action goal further cooled the heat, though the French pulled one back and soon had a one-on-one counter but Alexandre Camarasa hit the bar from 2m – and just as previously happened, the Serbs earned a penalty at the other end and Prlainovic didn’t make any mistake. That was the last chance for the French (instead of 7-8, now they trailed 6-9), soon came another fine shot from Nikola Dedovic so at the end it looked like a comfortable win – though it was anything, but...
Dejan Savic, coach, Serbia:
“You haven’t seen me yelling like this? I can tell you: me neither! We played without discipline, both in attack and in defence, way below our expected level. France played really well, they did a good job. After the break we showed something, a bit of discipline, a bit of quality, but I’m not satisfied at all.”
Nenad Vukanic, coach, France
“It was a different game, there was no tension as yesterday it was about the qualification (against Greece), now it was just a great opportunity as my players felt the excitement that they could play against the Olympic champion team. We need games like this, to feel the pressure, to see where we are compared to teams like Serbia. Of course, we missed a couple of great chances to keep the game even closer but it was intentional from my side to choose a younger player to take the penalty in a crucial moment. He needs to use to this kind of pressure, and perhaps next time when it will really count he will be much calmer and collected.”
Quarters: 3-2, 4-6, 1-1, 5-2
Referees: Robert Horvath (SVK), Sergey Naumov (RUS)
HUNGARY
Soma VOGEL, Viktor NAGY (n. e. – Daniel ANGYAL 1/2, Krisztian MANHERCZ 2/5, Tamas SEDLMAYER 2/2, Adam NAGY 1/1, Norbert HOSNYANSZKY 1/4, Toni NEMET 0/2, Szilard JANSIK 0/2, Balazs ERDELYI 1/3, Gergo KOVACS 2/3, Tamas MEZEI 0/0, Vendel VIGVARI 3/4.
Coach: Marcz TAMAS
CROATIA
Marko BIJAC, Toni POPADIC – Marko MACAN 0/0, Loren FATOVIC 2/6, Niksa DOBUD 1/2, Maro JOKOVIC 2/6, Luka BUKIC 2/6, Rino BURIC 1/2, Andro BUSLJE 2/63, Lovre MILOS 0/1, Josip VRLIC 0/1, Hrvoje BENIC 1/8, Javier GARCIA 0/4.
Coach: Ivica TUCAK
Shots:
HUN: 13/28 (46.4%) – CRO: 11/39 (28.2%)
Extramen:
HUN: 4 for 11 – CRO: 6 for 9
Penalties:
HUN: none – CRO: 1 for 1
Saves:
HUN: 9/20 45.0% – CRO: 7/20 (35.0%)
By look, the Croats were heavy favourites: preparing for the crucial Olympic Qualification Tournament in February they paraded in full gear (arrived with their best line-up), while the hosts, already having secured their place in Tokyo, could let a handful of their star players gain strength after recovering from injuries.
Still, the young guns offered some fine moments in the opening period, nice counters from Vendel Vigvari and Tamas Sedlmayer, which gave the Magyars a 3-1 lead. Ivica Tucak thought it was time to make order, called a time-out, and even though they had some luck to put away a 6 on 5 (on the third attempt), early in the second they were heating up and scored three from back-to-back possessions, while the hosts could convert a man-up in the meantime, then missed the next one so the Croats were 4-5 up. Soon it stood 6-6: after a converted penalty by Luka Bukic, Sedlmayer and Vigvari were on target again from action. The 19 year-old rookie was on fire (he was one of the last super-talents raised by the late legend Tibor Benedek), soon he netted his third, giving the lead back to the Magyars and sending Croatian star goalie Marko Bijac to the bench. Still, the Croats were ahead again after burying a 5 on 4, then Andro Buslje blasted one in from the distance, with the Magyars missing their man-up between the two.
The 6-goal second period could have given some confidence for the Croats and incoming goalie Toni Popadic delivered three saves in a row but his mates could not capitalise on it. Instead, in the middle of the period Balazs Erdelyi broke Popadic’s magic from the right wing for 8-8. Soma Vogel in the other goal also found his rhythm and started stopping the shots, keeping the tiring Magyars in the match. After a long phase of exhausting swimming, Loren Fatovic managed to find some free space and lobbed the Croats’ lonely goal in the third, with 22 seconds remaining, so they held on for 8-9.
The Magyars kicked off the last period with Gergo Kovacs’ pinpoint shot but Rino Buric responded with a fine one-timer from a man-up, then Hrvoje Benic managed to find a hole between Vogel’s hand and the post after the 4th shot in the same possession. For the first time, the Croats led by two and the Magyars seemed to run out of ideas (and strength). After a time-out, however, Norbert Hosnyanszky was supported by a lucky bounce in making it 10-11 with 3:04 to go. The clock went down to 1:38 when the Magyars got a 6 on 5 and Adam Nagy put it away so it was even again with 1:19 to go. The Croats were on verge to blow a two-goal lead in the last period once again (after their quarters against Montenegro), especially when they faced another man-down 32 seconds from time. Since Krisztian Manhercz netted it brilliantly 13.8 seconds before the buzzer, they found themselves to save the game to a penalty shootout. They tried a 7 on 6, but Vogel posted another save, what’s more, Angyal even sent the ball to the empty net from 25m to make their comeback even more remarkable.
Tamas Marcz, coach, Hungary:
“I was happy to see how the team came back. The players never stopped believing and stuck to our playing scheme, did not panic and that great reaction enabled us to win this match. It’s a great feat as we played against a really strong Croatian team and today, unlike against Italy, I saw great performances from almost every player which encouraging as they really think they can make the Olympic team, which is quire right, and also makes my job harder and harder when I have to narrow the squad when the time comes.”
Sandro Sukno, assistant coach, Croatia:
“It’s not easy to speak about this match right after it finished. Again, we were leading by two but could not keep it. We conceded too many goals, our defence could not bring its usual level and that is another problem we have to talk about. Our priority is the Olympic qualification, we have to be ready by then.”
Vendel Vigvari, MVP of the game, Hungary:
“It was a huge honour to play for the national team and to be part of a game like this and help the team the way I was able to do. It was a good game and a very physical game against a very strong Croatian side, especially after our tough loss to Italy yesterday. For me, this is a new level and a great experience, the pace is really high but I’m here to learn and get used to it. And of course, I really hope that Tibor (Benedek) proudly watches me from above, I try my best to show that he taught me a lot of great things.”
