Georgia, Montenegro, Egypt and
Hungary won through their quarterfinals to make Sunday’s semifinals on the
second day of the ANOC World Beach Games qualifiers here in Hurghada. All four
topped their groups in the morning session and in the afternoon, Montenegro
came back to beat Romania 14-13, Georgia topped Kazakhstan 12-9, host Egypt
romped home 19-9 over South Africa and Hungary defeated Ukraine 10-6.
Group A
UKRAINE 10 GEORGIA 14
Georgia wrapped up the group with a
strong showing against an equally strong Ukraine. Georgia started the stronger
for a 3-2 quarter in which Ukraine’s Maksym Osyka converted a penalty with an
imaginative lob — a rare thing indeed. The second quarter was almost all
Georgia, converting two penalty fouls for a 6-1 margin and 9-3 turning into the
second half.
Ukraine won the third period 2-1,
including one from the top, and added another to start the fourth with a
six-metre foul free throw conversion. Georgia converted extra-man attack and
Ukraine responded. Goals were traded for 12-8 as the wind lifted while the sea
was relatively calm. From there, Georgia made sure of the victory and group supremacy.
Match Difference Makers
Giorgi Magrakvelidze was stupendous
with seven goals for Georgia. A trio of Ukrainians scored a hat-trick — Osyka,
captain Oleksandr Diadiura and Ihor Kechhedzhy.
The Decider
Going way back to the 6-2 penalty
goal in the second quarter.
Stats Critical
Georgia converted four from 10
extra-man chances to Ukraine’s two from eight and all penalty shots were netted
— Georgia with four and Ukraine two.
What Awaits The Teams?
Both teams now head to the
quarterfinals.
Group B
SAUDI ARABIA 6 MONTENEGRO 14
The match started in much lumpier
seas than the day before with high winds making for some tricky play. Saudi
Arabia opened and Montenegro replied for the quarter-time score. Montenegro won
the next period 4-2 with a penalty goal. It was more dominant in the third with
a 4-1 effort. In the fourth, Montenegro sent in two cracker goals, firstly,
star Nikola Brkic, turning his opponent and scoring with a taunting play with
the goalkeeper and then Brkic again with a six-metre, free-throw backhander.
It moved to 12-5 when Sultan Shalid
Alhawsawi struck for Saudi Arabia. Three in just over a minute closed the match
at 14-6.
Match Difference Makers
Montenegro’s Brkic, who has taken a
liking to this style of game. His three goals were spectacular. Stefan Porobic
and Petar Cetkovic also scored three. Saudi’s best was Bader Nasser Aldughther
with the fourth and last goals.
The Decider
The penalty goal in the second
quarter that started the slow wave to victory.
Stats Critical
Montenegro converted all extra-man
chances to Saudi’s three from five and scored the only penalty goal of the
match.
What They Said
Nikola Brkic (Montenegro) – First
match of the day, with an 8am start and quite a bit of wind, but we were
managed to do the things right and get the win. Now, we turn to the most
important game up until now in the tournament when we go up against Serbia.
Probably on paper, they are the best team before the tournament. But we’re
going to go for the win and play further on in this tournament.
What Awaits The Teams?
Montenegro topped the group and went
to the quarterfinal. Saudi Arabia had two losses and is staring at the
bottom-sector classifications on Sunday.
Group C
ROMANIA 13 SERBIA 12
Romania went 1-0 and 2-1 up with Serbia
coming back and taking the first-quarter lead at 3-2. It was 3-3 in the second period with Serbia
netting a penalty goal. Goalkeepers have been coming up at the end of quarters
and Serbian keeper Strajo Risticevic had his last-second shot blocked.
It was a much more exciting third
period, for the spectators at least, with Serbia going 7-5 and Romania coming
back to 7-7 with a penalty goal and then went 8-8 on counter. Serbia levelled
through Kristian Sulc, who was alone at two metres. Romania went 10-8 up and
10-9. Serbia pleaded for a penalty goal to no avail, but soon after made it
10-10 with 10 seconds left on the clock.
The all-important fourth quarter was
just as blistering with the team officials seemingly unaware of any sea
sickness from the undulating pontoon. Serbia struck first, Romania missed a
penalty opportunity, but levelled on extra for 11-11. Serbia hit the lead and
Romania answered from the left side of the pool.
Romania took a timeout, gained a
penalty shot and converted for 13-12 at 1:38. It came down to the final seconds
when Risticevic came up and had his shot rejected by opposite Dragos Stonescu.
The ball rebounded past the halfway and by the time Risticevic recovered, full
time had blown and Romania had secured second place in the group and Serbia
third, behind group winner Egypt.
Match Difference Makers
Stonescu had a great match in goal
for Romania. Maximilian Costa fired home five goals and Tommaso Insinna four.
Serbia’s best was Sulc with four.
The Decider
The 13-12 penalty goal that sealed
the match.
Stats Critical
Romania’s two from three from the
penalty line were critical and Serbia had only one chance, which it converted.
On extra, Romania converted four from 12 and Serbia four from 13. It was more
like Wrestlemania in the pool with plenty of heavy fouling, much of which went
unchecked.
What They Said
Maximilian Costa (Romania) – I don’t
quite know what made the difference, but we could stay calm in the big moments
of the match. It was a hard game, very physical. But we stayed calm, and we
used our chances with discipline. This is an attitude that we can show in each
game.
We love to play against Serbia. They
are a nice opponent. But now we look to the next game, our next opponent, and
we won’t give up. We will see, but anything is possible. What we do know is
that we will give our best.
Risto Maljkovic (SRB), Head Coach –
It’s a tough game. We expected a game like this. We didn’t have enough time to
accommodate to these conditions. It’s not an excuse because they are a very
good team. But of course we cannot be satisfied to drop two games in our group.
But we will keep playing until the end.
The deciding factor, we didn’t have
enough physical preparation to finish the game. We play very well for three
periods. Then we stay out of oxygen, and we cannot finish the games as we want.
What Awaits The Teams?
Romania stayed on target with the
quarterfinal berth against Montenegro and Serbia is out in the wilderness,
looking for ninth position.
Group D
HUNGARY 12 KAZAKHSTAN 5
It looked like it could be a
Hungarian stroll in the park — or leisurely dip in the ocean, in this case —
but as the wind subsided somewhat and after Hungary went through the opening
quarter 4-0, Kazakhstan scored three goals in 27 seconds with captain Eduard
Tsoy gaining the last two from the top and the second with a centre-forward
backhand. It lifted to 5-3, Hungary missed a penalty attempt and Kazakhstan
brought it to 5-4 to close the half.
Hungary had to work for the 2-1 third
quarter, scoring a penalty goal and another on counter. Heading into the last
period 7-5 up, Hungary stepped up a notch and shut out Kazakhstan, leaving it
long shots to try and score, while piling in five more goals for 12-5.
Match Difference Makers
Marton Kereszturi amassed four goals
and Rolf Bencz three for Hungary while Kazakhstan’s best were Tsoy and Ruslan
Akhmetov with a pair each.
The Decider
The 8-5 score on extra to start the
fourth quarter — the spur for victory.
Stats Critical
Hungary converted one from two
penalty attempts. Hungary had the better of the extra-man goals, scoring two from
five to Kazakhstan’s none from four.
What They Said
Tamas Boros (Hungary) – Every game we
play gets better and better. Beach water polo is more difficult than the normal
game, so we try new ways to practice and tactics we carry into the game. Every
day here, we get better and better. We hope that when the final is played in
two days, we will be there and that we can call ourselves the champions.
What Awaits The Teams?
Hungary made it two wins from two
against Kazakhstan in the two-team group, thus taking top spot and a
quarterfinal berth, as did Kazakhstan.
Final Points
Group A: Georgia 6, Ukraine 3, Kuwait
0,
Group B: Montenegro 6, South Africa
3, Saudi Arabia 0.
Group C: Egypt 5, Romania 3, Serbia
1.
Group D: Hungary 6, Kazakhstan 0.
Quarterfinals
MONTENEGRO 14 ROMANIA 13
From 4-1 behind, Montenegro fought
back to hit the lead in the third period and onwards to victory. Romania was
2-0 and 4-1 ahead, closing the opener at 4-2. The score edged out to 6-3 with
Montenegro coming back to trail 6-5 at halftime.
Romania went 7-5 ahead and then it
fell off the rails as Montenegro got up steam and kept its opponent scoreless
for nearly a full quarter by scoring four goals in a minute and a half to head
into the final quarter 9-7 up. Romania responded at the start of the fourth,
but three Montenegrin goals pushed the score to 12-8 with just over three
minutes remaining.
Goals were traded to 14-11, Romania
converted a penalty goal, Maximilian Costa nailed his fifth goal with 15
seconds remaining, but he gave up a foul two seconds later, was sent for the
match and Montenegro closed with a penalty attempt, which was missed. It then
held out Romania for the last eight seconds to win.
Match Difference Makers
Andrija Korac was masterly on
extra-man attack with three of his five goals coming from snap shots. Stefan
Porobic scored four and it could have been five if he did not miss the final
penalty attempt. Costa and team-mate Alexandru Gheorghe were to the fore with
five goals each for Romania.
The Decider
The four-goal spurt that lifted
Montenegro from 5-7 to 9-7.
Stats Critical
Montenegro produced the best
extra-man stats with seven from 12 to Romania’s four from 13. Penalty goals
were hard to come by with the winner converting one from three and the loser
one from two.
What Awaits The Teams?
Montenegro has earned a semifinal
berth against Hungary and Romania will play Ukraine in the classification 5-8
semifinals on Sunday.
GEORGIA 12 KAZAKHSTAN 9
Georgia held all the cards, never
being headed, although the match was levelled at one, two, five, six, seven and
eight. Georgia led 4-2 at the first break with Kazakhstan winning the second
quarter 4-2 for 6-6.
Kazakhstan levelled twice in the
third with Georgia slipping out 9-8 and a failed penalty attempt denying Kazakhstan
the even score at the final break. Five penalty fouls were awarded in the final
quarter with the only two successes going the way of Georgia, who went to 11-8
and 12-9 with two minutes remaining.
Match Difference Makers
Georgian captain Giorgi Magrakvelidze
and Kazakhstan’s Ruslan Akhmetov both scored five goals. Kazakh goalkeeper
Madikhan Makhmetov stopped three of five penalty attempts and Georgian goalie
Giorgi Gvetadze made two from three.
The Decider
Probably the penalty shooting of
Georgia, or more precisely, gaining the fouls, especially snaring five in the
final quarter.
Stats Critical
In a high-fouling match, Georgia
could only convert three from 14 on extra-man attack with Romania scoring four
from nine. The penalty-goal stat was also not good at three from seven for the
victor and one from three for Romania.
What Awaits The Teams?
Georgia faces host Egypt in the
semifinals and Romania will play Ukraine in the classification five-eight
semifinals.
SOUTH AFRICA 9 EGYPT 19
Opening a match 5-0 puts a dampener
on the excitement level, especially for the trailing team. Egypt started well and
after 5-0 at the quarter break, it went 6-0. South Africa responded on extra
and followed up with its first penalty goal for 6-2. By halftime, Egypt was
still firmly in the driving seat with a five-goal margin intact at 8-3.
A 6-3 third quarter boosted the
margin to eight at the final break. South Africa pressured hard in the final
quarter, losing it 5-4 and stopping two penalty shots. However, Egypt was an
impressive 19-9 winner.
Match Difference Makers
Egypt’s star shooter Ahmed Elsapagh
and team-mate Omar Ghounim fired in five goals each. South Africa’s Michael
Stewart converted three penalty goals and Matthew Neser also scored three, all
on extra-man attack.
The Decider
The opening period and extending that
to 6-0 in the second quarter.
Stats Critical
Egypt was deadly on extra-man attack
with nine from 14 attempts — the best of the weekend — while South Africa
scored four from 11. South Africa converted all three penalty attempts and
Egypt one from three.
What Awaits The Teams?
Egypt, with its adoring crowd, will
play Georgia in the semifinals and South Africa will front Kazakhstan in the
classification five-eight semifinals.
UKRAINE 6 HUNGARY 10
Hungary applied itself solidly around
the bucking pool and made sure of the victory. It opened the scoring and soon
went 3-1 down as Ukraine pounced on errors and found gaps. Hungary converted
extra-man attack for 3-3 before the first break.
The match progressed in Hungary’s
favour with three goals making it 6-3 with Ukraine closing the half on extra for
6-4. Hungary scored the only two goals of the third quarter and even missed a
penalty attempt. It was two apiece in the fourth with three goals coming in a
frenetic last minute.
Match Difference Makers
The top scorer was Ukrainian captain
Oleksandr Diadiura with four goals. Hungarian captain Tamas Boros and Marton
Kereszturi both scored three for the victor.
The Decider
The second-quarter dominance where
Hungary moved from 3-3 to 6-3.
Stats Critical
Hungary did the better on extra-man
attack with three from five while defending seven of eight. Ukraine was perfect
from the penalty line with two and Hungary managed one from two.
What Awaits The Teams?
Hungary plays Montenegro in the
second semifinal tomorrow and Ukraine clashes with Romania in the classification
five-eight semifinals in the morning.
Sunday Schedule
Match 16, 08:50, Men, Semifinals 9-12
KUW v SRB
Match 17, 09:40, Men, Semifinals 5-8
RSA v KAZ
Match 18, 10:30, Men, Semifinals 5-8
ROU v UKR
Match 5, 14:30, Women, Czech Republic
v Zimbabwe
Match 6, 15:20, Women, South Africa v
Greece
Match 19, 16:10, Men, Semifinals EGY
v GEO
Match 20, 17:00, Men, Semifinals, MNE
v HUN
Written by World Aquatics Water Polo
Correspondent Russell McKinnon
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