Saturday, May 6, 2023

Romania, China and Germany laying claim to semifinal berths at the World Cup Aquatics Men’s Water Polo



Romania took a firm grip on Group A with two victories — 15-4 over Iran and 19-5 against Kazakhstan — while China and Germany both scored double victories in Group B on the opening day of the Division II competition in Berlin on Friday. China downed South Africa 16-6 and Malta 18-6 while Germany dispensed with South Africa 25-7 and Malta 15-5. In the other Group A matches, New Zealand lost to Kazakhstan 10-9 and Iran 17-14. Day two will decide the qualification semifinal combinations.

Group A

Romania 15 Iran 4

Romania’s power shooting and sharper play around the pool proved too much for Iran. The dominance of the Romanians came with a withering start, turning 3-0 at the first break into 5-0 and 7-1 before turning at 9-2. It was a 4-1 third quarter and a more sedate 2-1 to close the match. It could have been one goal more if the VAR decision at 0:13 favoured Romania, but the ball proved not to cross the line by a millimetre or so.

Romania used its strength, scored four goals at centre forward and four from counter-attacks.

Match heroes:

Francesco Iudean collected the kudos as best in pool with three goals, including consecutive goals on extra in the second quarter. David-Joan Bota and Andrei Prioteasa also scored three for Romania. Iran’s multi-scorer was Alireza Mehrikohneshahri who converted a second-quarter penalty foul and lobbed from outside for the fourth Iranian goal.

Turning point:

The 5-0 head start.

Stats don’t lie:

Romania shot nine more times more than Iran (32-21), converted three from five on extra and defended all five Iranian chances. The steals were fairly even at 7-6 and Iran landed the only penalty goal.

Bottom line:

Romania made a statement with a powerful performance that will rattle some cages. Iran struggled to make headway at times, but with such a short programme, it will be better for the match.

 

New Zealand 9 Kazakhstan 10

This was a tight opening match for both teams and Kazakhstan emerged a winner in a clash that was levelled at every number to nine, except eight. Kazakhstan came from 2-1 down to lead 3-2 at the first break, tied at five by halftime with New Zealand holding a 7-6 advantage going into the final eight minutes.

Kazakhstan went  from one down to one ahead and then 9-7 by 4:14 as an incredible three VAR decisions had to be made with the Kiwis on the losing end twice. Keegan Wicken drilled two goals in 45 seconds from the left side of the pool for 9-9 at 3:06 with a penalty shootout beckoning.

However, when Eduard Tsoy scored from the left-hand-catch position at 2:39, the Kiwis were up in arms as a Kazakh attacker was one metre out on the left post, which is illegal. The referees did not see it and the goal stood. It was to be the last score, even though several New Zealand shots looked promising. New Zealand gained an ejection in front of its goal, but could not call a timeout as it had already used them up. A dying-seconds ploy from a corner throw was clobbered by the incoming Kazakh player and the match was over.

Match heroes:

Murat Shakenov is the only player left from the team that served the nation so well for more than a decade. At 32, he is twice the age of at least three members of his team. His wily skills gave him four goals and player of the match. Kazakh goalkeeper Temirlan Balfanbayev made a critical seven saves. New Zealand’s Jamie Lee-Ogilvy and Wicken scored three goals each.

Turning point:

The final goal by Tsoy that won the match.

Stats don’t lie:

Kazakhstan had three more shots (24-21); converted a magnificent six from 10 on extra; scored the only penalty goal and made five steals to three. The statistics speak for themselves.

Bottom line:

Both teams are raw, and the first match will bode well for the rest of the series. Kazakhstan looked a little stronger on attack and some whiplash shots, especially from Shakenov, made the difference.

 

Romania 19 Kazakhstan 5

Romania raced through a second brilliant match, showing why it’s one of the contenders for the Los Angeles finals. A 4-0 head-start became 6-1 and 6-2 by the first break, increasing to 10-2 and 12-3 by halftime. The third period was even at two apiece and Romania showed its fierce determination by overpowering Kazakhstan 5-0 in the final period.

There were some excellent plays and strong centre-forward play by Levente Vancsik, scoring consecutive goals from the two-metre stripe in the last quarter. Romania worked the penalty situation, had excellent control of extra-man plays and made use of the deep line with one player seemingly brushing the back rope before he made a cross pass that eventuated in a score.

Romania is coached by dual Olympian Bogdan Rath who played the 1996 Olympic Games with Romania and the 2004 Olympics with Italy.

Match heroes:

Vancsik took the official match honours, but Tudor-Andrei Fulea scored a hat-trick in the second quarter after scoring the opening goal for the match-high four. He scored on penalty, with a lob and on two counters. Andrei Neamtu was another Romanian triple scorer. Kazakhstan’s best was Ruslan Akhmetov with three field goals.

Turning point:

The opening 4-0 that had Kazakhstan on the back foot for all of the match.

Stats don’t lie:

Romania shot 33 times to a paltry 17; converted five from nine on extra-man attack to two from four; made 14 steals to six and piled in three penalty goals to none. This is where stats define the play and the result.

Bottom line:

Romania is heading to Los Angeles, no doubt. It has the all-round play, the big men up front, the speedsters and the power shooters. Kazakhstan tripped up for the first time and needs to reshape its game ahead of the crucial second-placing clash with Iran on Saturday.

 

New Zealand 14 Iran 17

Iran survived a third-quarter collapse to defeat New Zealand by three goals. The name of the game was outside shots and these baffled the goalkeepers and defenders alike. The key to the win was the five-goal opening spurt by Iran and superior statistics.

That 5-0 lead was trimmed by two at quarter time and enhanced to 7-2 and 9-4 by halftime. Iran was in the box seat and New Zealand looked to be too far behind. However, head coach Matt Claridge put a rocket under his team during the break and the third period was another matter entirely.

Keegan Wicken, who scored three in the morning against Kazakhstan, cemented himself to the top spot and sent in three identical goals, followed by a Nicholas Paterson penalty and a goal from the right from Sean Bryant for an amazing 10-9 deficit. Goals were traded to give Iran a 12-10 lead at the final break.

The Kiwi resurgence continued in the fourth as Amosa Gould converted extra from slap bang in front and Wicken plundered a fourth with a “weak” lob that just crossed the line for 12-12. Soheil Rostamian, who already had four goals in the bag, blasted from the top for the go-ahead goal. Jamie Ogilvie-Lee also scored from the top for 13-13, However, sadly for New Zealand and joyfully for Iran, three goals had the margin out to 16-14 before a goal apiece in the last minute or so, settled the match at 17-14. Alireza Mehrikohneshahri scored the last two Iranian goals to give him four in the match.

The one dark spot was the red card dished out to Iranian Arshia Almasi for misconduct at 2:21 in the second quarter. It needed a VAR decision to send him packing.

Match heroes:

Rostamian with his five goals and Wicken for his stand-up performance that lit the fire for what was a remarkable match.

Turning point:

The five at the start and then the five unanswered goals that the Kiwis scored in the third period. The final turning point was Iran’s control and surge in the final five minutes.

Stats don’t lie:

Iran had 32 shots to 26; converted six from 10 on extra to New Zealand’s commendable five from eight; six steals to four and four penalty goals to one. Those are the statistics that win matches.

Bottom line:

Iran bounced back for second place in the group on goal differential and has an excellent chance to make Sunday’s qualification semifinals. New Zealand now has the awesome task of upsetting Romania for any redemption after two close losses. 

 

Group B

China 16 South Africa 6

South Africa had to play second  fiddle to a very focused China under the coaching of the famed Petar Porobic. China was skilful in all areas, rose to take high balls and quickly moved the ball into dangerous situations, long before South Africa could assemble the troops. It was a classy performance and something South Africa took too long to adjust to.

South Africa converted its first two extra-man attacks and looked settled, until China struck back with a vengeance, slipping out to 4-2 by the quarter, 9-2 by halftime and 13-2 by the final break. South Africa won the final quarter 4-3 with two penalty strikes, one on action and the last on counter six seconds from time. South Africa went scoreless for nearly 24 minutes beforehand.

Match heroes:

Chufeng Zhang grabbed five goals and Yu Liu four while South Africa’s Ross Stone scored twice. Chinese goalkeeper Honghui Wu made seven saves for his three periods.

Turning point:

After South Africa scored the opening two goals, China then went on a blitz while completely shutting out the African nation.

Stats don’t lie:

China had by far better the shooting stats with 35 attempts to South Africa’s 21. It converted four from seven on extra to two from three; scored two of three penalty attempts to South Africa’s two from two and both teams made five steals.

Bottom line:

China is back on track since the Covid-19 shutdown affected all levels of sporting endeavours in the Middle Kingdom. Porobic demands a lot of his team, even when having a timeout in the third he was making sure the players knew what he wanted, big time. The South African team is completely new and will take time to adjust.

 

Germany 15 Malta 5

Germany collected a second win and now has the vital encounter with China to see who finishes top of the group. Germany swept aside Malta, built on a 2-0 start and 5-2 by the quarter break, 8-4 at halftime and 10-5 heading in the final quarter.

Big man Zoran Bozic was all over the field with the net in sight; Fynn Schuetze was deadly on the right and Ferdinand Korbel loved being close to the posts, scoring off a high cross pass and outgunning the defender and an advancing goalkeeper for his third goal. Veteran Mateo Cuk flicked in a brilliant high pass to centre forward at 9-4, making it two sensational scores from two metres.

Germany has shooters all over the roster and this made it difficult for Malta to respond. The best score for the Maltese was Liam Galea with a beautiful centre-forward backhand.

Match heroes:

Bozic was the best and his goalkeeper, Felix Benke, was on fire with nine saves, one ahead of Malta’s Jake Tante.

Turning point:

This was really acceleration point as Romania exploded from 9-5 ahead to 15-5.

Stats don’t lie:

Romania shot 29 times to 20; converted all four extra-man attempts to Malta’s plausible three from four; slotted both penalty attempts to Malta’s one and made 11 steals to five.

Bottom line:

Germany has two big wins under the belt and now needs to counter the speed of the Chinese, if it wishes to gain top spot and an “easier” semifinal qualifier. Malta has two losses and its clash with also winless South Africa will be another test.

 

China 18 Malta 6

China burned Malta, reacting to a goal down to shoot to 4-1 and 5-2 by the first break, keeping Malta scoreless in the second for a 10-2 halftime lead; going to 13-3 and 14-5 by the last break and then 17-5 before closing at 18-6.

China was clinical at times, scoring early on the extras, making small spaces where balls could be grabbed and shot and generally penetrating the Maltese defence.

Match heroes:

Honghui Wu collected the top prize for his six saves in half a match in goal for China. Chufeng Zhang was the shining light with the ball, scoring five goals, replicating his morning’s tally. Six other players scored a pair. Ben Plumpton and Dino Zammit scored twice for Malta.

Turning point:

The 4-1 start and then keeping Malta scoreless for 11 minutes from the first until the third quarters.

Stats don’t lie:

It was a tight contest in the statistics despite the wide margin of the final score. China shot 31 to 30; converted four from nine on extra to two from seven; the teams scored a penalty each and China made six steals to one.

Bottom line:

China is making a huge statement with its two victories while Malta needs to work harder against the faster and fitter teams.

 

Germany 25 South Africa 7

South Africa had nine scorers as it blasted past South Africa, starting with a 7-1 opening quarter and closing with an 8-1 period. The middle periods were a more sedate 5-3 and 5-2. The match was all about action with relatively few major fouls and only one penalty foul.

Germany played with the swiftness of a team much smaller, but the talent on show was immense, especially the 20-year-old Yannek Chiru whose whiplash action needed slow motion to watch. He snapped in goals at will and with six to his credit, he is a big hope for the future of Germany wasserball.

Once settled, South Africa played spirited water polo in the middle two periods. However, in the fourth, it was absent on defence too many times, allowing Germany to utilise those gaps to excellent effect.

Match heroes:

Chiru had three in the first quarter, jumping on a rebound for his third from the deep-left position. His fourth came in the third and the last two in the closing stages, including the last from the top. Mark Gansen, Denis Strelezkij and Zoran Bozic netted three each.

Turning point:

That five-goal avalanche from 2-1 to close the first quarter.

Stats don’t lie:

They were near perfect with a monumental 42 shots to a meagre 19; three from three on extra to three from six; a stunning 13 steals to none while South Africa scored the only penalty goal on offer.

Bottom line:

Germany, as the host, is making sure it can please a home crowd, winning twice and placing itself squarely in a position to get back to elite company in the World Cup finals. South Africa will be gunning for Malta tomorrow, thanks to two big matches of preparation.

Progress Points

Group A: Romania 6, Iran 3, Kazakhstan 3, New Zealand 0.

Group B: China 6, Germany 6, South Africa 0, Malta 0.

Written by World Aquatics Water Polo Correspondent Russell McKinnon

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