Written by World Aquatics Water Polo
Correspondent Russell McKinnon
Photos courtesy of Jo Kleindl/DSV/World Aquatics
Israel and New Zealand have qualified
for the World Aquatics Women’s Water Polo World Cup finals in Long Beach,
United States of America in June. In third-day action of the Division II
competition in Berlin on Thursday, the pair won its groups with Israel downing
Kazakhstan 19-8 and New Zealand sending off South Africa 16-3. Germany beat
Uzbekistan 15-8 for fifth place and Great Britain bettered Ukraine 10-4 for
seventh classification.
Qualification cross-overs
Israel 19 Kazakhstan 8
Israel was never going to be headed
in this match and during the entire four matches only trailed by a goal for two
minutes to South Africa in the opening encounter on day one. Israel has the
tools to contest the finals in Long Beach, which it has now qualified for.
With players of the ilk of Shunit
Strugo, Maria Bogachenko, Alma Yaacobi and Tahel Levi to name a few, Israel
will make a mark on the world of women’s water polo. Today, the quarters fell
3-1, 4-2, 6-2 and 6-3 in Israel’s favour. It was lovely to watch Veronika
Kordonskaia produce a push shot on counter and Noa Sasova outmuscle two
defenders for a centre-forward goal.
Match heroes:
Ayelet Peres, with nine saves in
goal, was named best in pool. With 26 saves for the week in such a dominant
team, her workload was made even more remarkable by the fact she shared goals
with Michal Kats and Natali Kurtsev who took 14 between them. Bogachenko
(above) with five goals and 13 for the week, was the highest scorer. Team-mate
Strugo (below) whipped in a backhand from wide left of the post in the final
second for four goals and a magnificent 20 for the tournament. On the other
side, Viktoriya Khritankova kept her team in the play with the first four goals
— 10 for the week — but even she could not stop the Israeli onslaught.
Turning point:
The six Israel goals in the third period
that changed the scoreboard from 7-5 to 13-5.
Stats don’t lie:
Israel shot 31 times to Kazakhstan’s
24; converted three from eight on extra to Kazakhstan’s three from seven;
rattled in six penalty goals to none and made 11 steals to four.
Bottom line:
Israel was the revelation in Berlin
and it will be a tantalising wait to see how it performs in Long Beach.
Kazakhstan will now set its sights on the World Aquatics Championships and the
Asian Games with a lot more experience for the newcomers in the team.
New Zealand 16 South Africa 3
Like Israel, there was never any
doubt that New Zealand would come through and collect the second and last
qualification berth for Long Beach. By keeping South Africa scoreless for 15
long minutes, the Kiwis were able to come from 3-1 to an awesome 15-2.
The first quarter was tight as New
Zealand’s first goal did not come until 2:45, followed by the second at 2:03.
Bernadette Doyle made it 3-0 before South Africa’s Kelsey White drilled one
from the top for 3-1 at 4:12.
Halftime arrived with New Zealand 6-1
ahead and then it was 12-1 at the final break. The score mounted to 15-1 and in
a flurry of penalty shots, Amber Penney gained South Africa’s second goal while
New Zealand converted three from the five-metre line. It was Penney who closed
the match with a missile from nine metres.
Match heroes:
Kiwi goalkeeper Jessica Milicich
(above), who plays for Spandau in the German league and had many of her
team-mates in the stands cheering her along, was named best in pool. She made
seven saves in her three quarters in the water in what was the cleanest sheet
of the tournament. Emmerson Houghton scored four goals and Doyle three, giving
them 14 goals each for the week.
Turning point:
The first 12 minutes when South
Africa was scoreless and New Zealand three ahead.
Stats don’t lie:
New Zealand went 31-17 on shots;
three from six on extra to one from one; four penalties to one and stole the
ball 12 times to 11 — a good stat for South Africa. Penney scored twice for
South Africa and nine for the week. Ruby Versfeld, who was kept scoreless
today, finished with 12 goals.
Bottom line:
New Zealand managed to close out
South Africa from anywhere near the six-metre zone, except for the one penalty
foul. That was a magnificent effort and it shows what will be needed against
the top-line nations in Long Beach. South Africa did well to make the finals
and will draw strength from that for the upcoming two World Aquatics
Championships and the Paris Olympic Games.
Classification 5-6
Germany 15 Uzbekistan 8
Germany headed home the winner, but
it took some time to wrest control and shrug off a determined Uzbekistan. The
match was tied at one, two, three and four and that was a minute inside the
third period — 4-4. A triple from Germany forced a chink of light to become an
open door as the momentum raged until the 9-5 three-quarter advantage.
It was pushed out to 11-5 and 14-6
with goals traded for the 15-8 final scoreline.
Match heroes:
Gesa Deike, who won the best-player
award and Aylin Fry scored four goals apiece for Germany with Fry netting three
of the first five German goals. Deike had a triple in the third period (13 for
the week) with a pair lifting the match to 7-4. Sokhibakhon Sayfiddinova also
scored four, giving her 14 for the tournament as her team’s best scorer.
Turning point:
The German triple to lift from 4-4 to
7-4 in the third and then the shutout fourth period.
Stats don’t lie:
Germany took 32 shots to Uzbekistan’s
23; won the extra-man count with three from six to three from nine and made
seven steals to five. Germany converted its sole penalty attempt and Uzbekistan
went two from two.
Bottom line:
Both teams have big agendas this year
with Germany out to qualify for the European Championships and Uzbekistan to
contest the Asian Games. This tournament would have helped both teams set their
sights a little higher.
Classification 7-8
Great Britain 10 Ukraine 4
A four-goal final quarter is what
separated these two defiant teams. The result was still in doubt at the final
break, although Great Britain was always leading the match. From 1-1 it became
3-1 to Great Britain by the quarter break and then 5-1 by halfway through the
second quarter.
The momentum swung Ukraine’s way,
picking up the last goal of the half on penalty. Niamh Nurthen opened the
second-half scoring three minutes in, gaining her third goal. Then Anastasiia
Shevchenko set in one of the longest goals of the tournament, followed less
than a minute late by Oleksandra Belinska’s extra-man goal to close the match
to 6-4 three minutes from the final break.
Kathy Rogers, who scored the opening
goal for Great Britain, swept in a centre-forward goal and another from top
left to make it 8-4, draining the energy from Ukraine. Rogers shot her fourth
from the same position as the last for 9-4 at 3:03 and Nurthen plundered her
fourth from the same position on extra to close the match at 10-4.
Match heroes:
Rogers (above) claimed the
player-of-the-match award and Nurthen was equally handy, both scoring four
goals. Anastasiia Zelenko scored twice with one penalty goal.
Turning point:
Firstly, the four goals from 1-1 to
5-1 and secondly a shut-out final quarter and four goals to Great Britain.
Stats don’t lie:
Great Britain took 31 shots to 19;
converted four from six on extra-man attack to one from three and made nine
steals to four. Ukraine scored the only penalty of the match.
Bottom line:
It has been a long time between
drinks for the Britons, not having played at World Aquatics or European level
for nine years. Hopefully that drought has ended as they now seek European
Championship qualification. For Ukraine, it was a welcome respite from the
troubles at home and a first chance to see this level of water polo.
Final Classifications
Israel and New Zealand qualify for
World Cup Finals. Kazakhstan and South Africa, losing finalists. 5th, Germany.
6th, Uzbekistan. 7th, Great Britain. 8th, Ukraine.
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