Men's Olympic Teams

Group A		Group B
Greece (GRE)		Hungary (HUN)
Italy (ITA)		Montenegro (MNE)
Kazakhstan (KAZ)		Romania (ROM)
Spain (ESP)		Great Britain (GBR)
Australia (AUS)		USA (USA)
Croatia (CRO)		Serbia (SRB)

**NOTE: Game Times were changed on July 1. Games are in order of time scheduled NOT IN ORDER of game number

Current London Time

Sunday, July 29

10:00 Game #1 GRE 6 vs CRO 8 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Croatia beat Greece 8-6 in the tournament's opening match. Greece ended the first quarter with a 2-1 lead, but it was tied 3-3 by half time and again after three periods as Evagelos Delakas (GRE) converted an extra man advantage play with only one second left on the clock. Three goals in five minutes in the fourth quarter from Croatian players Niksa Dobud, Miho Boskovic and Sandro Sukno had Greece struggling with 1:28 minutes remaining. A penalty goal by Greek player Ioannis Fountoulis narrowed the margin to two. Nikolaos Deligiannis (GRE) had a sensational first half in goal, making seven spectacular saves to keep Greece in the match. Croatian goalie pulled down 13 shots but Greece's shooting lacked the punch of the Croatians. Croatia was led by assistant coach Elvis Fatovic who was standing in for head coach Ratko Rudic who was serving a one-match suspension drawn at the FINA Super Final in Kazakhstan earlier this month.

Referees: ALEXANDRESCU Adrian (FINA) JUHASZ Gyorgy (FINA)
Delegate: AMINI Khosrow (FINA) SOSTAR Aleksandar (FINA)

11:20 Game #2 KAZ 6 vs ESP 14 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Spain's counter-attaching game and superior speed overpowered Kazakhstan 14-6 in opening day Group A play. Former Brazilian international player Felipe Perrone (ESP) was his team's star as he scored four goals in the first half, twice on the counter, one from seven metres and his fourth after he pounced on teammate Javier Garcia's rebound just one metre from the goal. Spain increased their first quarter superiority (4-2) to 9-3 by halftime.

Perrone opened the second half with a penalty conversion after nearly six minutes of play without a goal. The Spanish team's margin increased to 12-4 at the end of the third quarter although Kazakhstan's Vladimir Ushakov scored his second goal on an extra man advantage. Two of the tournaments oldest players featured in the final quarter: 41 year old Ivan Perez (ESP) scored from two metres; 39 year old Yevgeniy Zhilyayev (KAZ) snapped in an extra man cross shot to make it 13-5. The final goal of the match came from Sergey Gubarev (KAZ) after the exclusion of a Spanish player, his second of the match. Spain converted three of five extra man plays while Kazakhstan managed just one of six. Goalkeeper Vicente Aguilar (ESP) made four saves and Daniel Lopez (ESP) stopped seven as they each played in half of the game. Four time Olympian Nikolay Maximov (KAZ) who won silver and bronze during his tenure with Russia, made nine saves.

Referees: KRYUKOV Andrey (FINA) FIROIU Niculae (FINA)
Delegate:FARID Mohie (FINA) TOYGARLI Haluk (FINA)

14:10 Game #3 ITA 7 vsAUS 5 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: World Champions Italy proved the masters of extra-man plan beating Australia 8-5 in their Group A match. Six of Italy's eight goals came from six-on-five situations, while Australia scored four action goals and just one from five extra-man attempts. The extra-man play shaped the outcome of the game and Italian players Alex Giorgetti and Maurizio Felugo were masterful in this aspect of the game each scoring twice. Italy led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter and 5-2 by half time. Australia won the third period 1-0.

In a rarity for Italy they were kept scoreless for 13 minutes but fired in two goals for a 7-3 lead with 4:27 remaining in the match. Ironically the seventh goal of the match, also a man up advantage against Australia came from the arm of Pietro Figlioli (ITA) who represented Australia in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. Italian goalkeeper Stefano Tempesti was made to work all match, pulling down 17 saves, although 11 of those were from outside five metres. Joel Dennerley stopped 13 goals for Australia.

Referees: MARGETA Boris (FINA) KORYZNA Radoslaw (FINA)
Delegate: KRYUKOV Andrey (FINA) FIROIU Niculae (FINA)

15:30 Game #4 HUN 10 vs SRB 14 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Hungary's hoped of winning a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal were dealt a blow when they lost to European Champions Serbia in the opening round of men's water polo competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games Water Polo Arena. Olympic champions Hungary suffered their first defeat in 18 Olympic matches by losing to Serbia, 14-10. It was at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games that Hungary was last defeated in an Olympic match, falling to Yugoslavia in the preliminary rounds.

The Serbian players stamped their authority on today's game, putting Hungary and the world on notice of their intentions to compete for the Olympic gold medal. Playing with passion and purpose the Serbs turned a 2-2 opening quarter into a 5-3 half time lead. Daniel Varga (HUN) evened the score at 3-3 at two minutes into the second period but it would be 11 minutes before Hungary would score its next goal. As in the earlier stages, the third quarter pace was fast and the match was physical as 9 goals were scored, Serbia holding an 11-6 advantage. Serbian centre forward Dusko Pijetlovic was unstoppable, twice evading the Hungarian defenders with speeding bullets from inside two metres. Hungary managed 4 goals in the final quarter, but fell to Serbia in a final score 10-14. Serbian goalkeeper Slobodan Soro made 13 saves. Filip Filipovic said of the Hungarian team, "they are triple Olympic champions, so we were expecting more pressure from their side. We were expecting a tougher offence and defence."

Referees: BORRELL SANCHEZ Sergi (FINA) CAPUTI Massimiliano (FINA)
Delegate: SHARONOV Evgeny (FINA) SHAW Bill (FINA)

18:20 Game #5 ROU 13 vs GRB 4 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Romania beat Great Britain 13-4 in a Group B match of the men's competition. It was a memorable comeback day for the teams as Romania returns to Olympic competition for the first time since the 1996 Atlanta Games. It was 1956 that a team from Great Britain last competed in an Olympic Games. Both teams made a tentative start but by halftime the Romanian team was in control with Nicolae Diaconu scoring twice from distance to post a 6-1 lead.

Great Britain's captain Craig Figes took two penalty shots in the first half, converting on his first shot in the opening quarter. He drilled his second shot into the stomach of Romanian goalkeeper Dragos Stoenescu, who finished the match with 17 saves. Diaconu (ROU) scored his third on a counter attack midway through the third period. The goal of the match came off the hard of Tiberiu Negrean (ROU) after a short drive across the front of the goal where he flipped onto his back and tipped the ball back over his head to make it 9-1. Rob Parker (GBR) offered London fans some relief by scoring two goals within a minute to end the third quarter at 9-3. Romania increased the margin 13-3 with Diaconu grabbing his fourth goal and captain Cosmin Radu (ROU) scoring on a backhand goal that rebounded high off the goalkeeper who slapped the ball into the goal. Jack Waller (GBR) scored the final goal for the home team, on an extra man advantage opportunity.

Great Britain coach Craig Figes said "I was pleased with the performance. We had our chances, they put their chances away, we didn't."

Referees: MOLLER German (FINA) BERVOETS Anton (FINA)
Delegate: BADREDDINE Boukezouha (FINA) FOSTER Richard (FINA)

19:40 Game #6 MNE 7 vs USA 8 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: The United States beat Montenegro 8-7 in a Group B men's match in their first meeting in a major tournament. The experienced USA squad includes 10 members of the team that won a silver medal during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Team USA showed their calm demeanour under extreme pressure in the final period when Montenegro closed the game to one goal on three occasions.

Little separated the teams until five minutes into the second quarter when Layne Beaubien (USA) broke a 2-2 deadlock. A minute later USA's Peter Varellas scored an excellent lob from deep right for a 4-2 half time lead. Vladimir Gojkovic (MNE) left the field of play just before halftime and returned to the team bench early in the third period with a bandage over a cut above his left eye, but he was able to return to the game several minutes later. Montenegro switched goalkeepers bringing in former Serbian goalkeeper Denes Sefik. Drasko Brguljan (MNE) scored an extra-man attack just before Adam Wright (USA) drove down the right and lobbed one at the Montenegro goal to make it 5-3.

Varellas (USA) scored from the top with his left arm to extend their lead to 6-3. Aleksandar Radovic (MNE) brought the score back to 6-4 inside the final minute of the third period. Vjekoslav Paskovic (MNE) closed the margin to one just two minutes into the final quarter. Varellas scored his third goal off a cross pass just minutes later to give the USA a 7-5 advantage. Ivovic claimed his third goal with an overhead shot that caught the goalkeeper by surprise with 2:09 remaining.

USA called a timeout in the final minutes of the game. They returned to play with a goal from USA captain and four time Olympian Tony Azevedo giving his team an 8-6 lead. Montenegro fought back delivering a goal by Gojkovic 11 seconds later. USA lost the ball on the next attack and Montenegro took a time out with 17 seconds remaining in the game. They were unable to get a shot away losing the match 8-7. USA had the better of the extra man statistics scoring two from six while Montenegro could only manage two from eight attempts. A telling statistic was the 31 shots taken by the USA compared to only 18 from Montenegro.

Referees: STAVRIDIS Georgios (FINA) FLAHIVE Daniel (FINA)
Delegate: DR MARTIN Gyorgy (FINA) IBERN Lolo (FINA)

London, England - July 29 - The U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team opened up competition at the 2012 Olympic Games with an 8-7 win over Montenegro at the Water Polo Arena. Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) scored what would prove to be the game winner with just :57 left in the match. Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) spurred the offense with three goals while Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) did the job in net, posting 11 saves. The victory puts Team USA at 1-0 in Group B standings. They meet Romania in their next match on Tuesday, July 31 at 7:40pm local time (2:40pm est/11:40am pst).

The two squads spent the first half of the opening period neutralizing each other before Montenegro broke through with a score at the 3:52 mark. Aleksander Ivovic would score the first of his three goals on the night to give Montenegro a 1-0 lead. That was short lived as two minutes later Adam Wright (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/NYAC) found Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) inside for a score to even the match at 1-1. The United States nearly went ahead but an Azevedo breakaway was foiled with eight seconds to go in the period.

Team USA scored right away to open the second stanza when Tim Hutten (Seal Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) buried a shot from outside to put the United States up 2-1. Three minutes later Montenegro found the cage on a shot right after an ordinary foul, and once more the match was all square. The United States went on a mini two goal run to close out the period and took a 4-2 lead into halftime. Layne Beaubien (Coronado, CA/Stanford/NYAC) delivered on a power play try and Varellas cashed in a lob shot to build the advantage.

Montenegro bounced back in the third, scoring the first goal of the period to draw within one, at 4-3, just 70 seconds into the quarter. Again the United States countered with two straight goals. This time it was Wright bulling his way to the cage and then lofting a lob shot past the keeper. That was followed by another score from outside by Varellas and Team USA led 6-3 with 3:29 remaining, their biggest lead of the match. Montenegro had the final word in the period, hitting with under a minute to go, drawing to within two at 6-4.

The match got tighter early in the fourth with Montenegro scoring a power play try to close within a goal, 6-5. Varellas answered for the United States with a goal at the 3:55 mark, pushing the United States ahead 7-5. The USA defense than followed with two massive field blocks on attempts by Montenegro, halting their offense. Undaunted, Montenegro battled back, scoring on counter attack with 2:09 remaining to make it a once goal game once more, 7-6. With just under a minute remaining, Azevedo came free to deliver the final USA goal, and the United States went up 8-6. Montenegro immediately came down the pool and scored, moving the difference back to one. Team USA looked to run the clock out but turned the ball over with :17 remaining. Montenegro called for a timeout but on their final possession failed to get off a clean look at the cage. The United States was able to hang on for the one goal victory, 8-7.

Team USA went 2/6 on power plays while Montenegro was 2/8. Neither team attempted a penalty shot.

Notes: This is only the second time since 2008 that the USA Men have beaten Montenegro in a major championship. The last was an 11-10 shootout victory at the 2011 FINA World League Super Final. Montenegro defeated Team USA 11-9 in a shootout at the 2010 FINA World League Super Final and 10-6 at the 2009 FINA World League Super Final. The two teams met on March 25 of this year in Thousand Oaks, CA. The match ended in an 8-8 draw. Tuesday evening's match against Romania will be broadcast on NBC, airing live in the Eastern time zone at 2:40pm and on delay in the Pacific time zone at 1:30pm.

Scoring
USA 8 (1, 3, 2, 2) P. Varellas 3, T. Azevedo 1, A. Wright 1, L. Beaubien 1, R. Bailey 1, T. Hutten 1
MNE 7 (1, 1, 2, 3) A. Ivovic 3, D. Brguljan 1, V. Paskovic 1, A. Radovic 1, V. Gojkovic 1

Saves - USA - M. Moses 11 - MNE - M. Scepanovic 4, D. Sefik 2
6x5 - USA - 2/6 MNE - 2/8
Penalties - USA 0/0 - MNE - 0/0

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo

WATER POLO PLANET.COM: the Alternative Voice    www.waterpoloplanet.com

Tuesday, July 31

10:00 Game #9 HUN 10 vs MNE 11 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Hungary, a 9 time Olympic champion in men's water polo was beaten for the second time this week at the Olympic water polo competition. In today's Group B match Montenegro came out on top 11-10. On Sunday, the team from Serbia upset Hungary by an even wider margin, 14-10.

The Hungarian team owns three consecutive gold medals from Olympic composition starting with the Sydney Games in 2000. The last time the Hungarians lost two consecutive games was in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics when they were on the losing end of a semi-final and bronze medal encounters.

It is not often that head coach Denes Kemeny (HUN) throws his hands over his face, but as the final seconds of the game ticked away, his dream of a fourth Olympic title in London may have been in doubt.

On the brighter side, Hungary scored 20 goals in their two losses, itself an amazing statistic in international water polo. The team from Montenegro was never behind and broke free of Hungary midway through the second quarter and able to post a 6-5 lead at halftime. Early in the third quarter the margin grew to three goals, but twice the Hungarians struck back to bring the difference to only one, 9-8 at the end of the third period.

Goals were traded in the final quarter but Denes Varga's (HUN) last three shots were all thwarted by goalkeeper Milos Scepanovic (MNE). Montenegro was able to maintain its one goal advantage, finishing 11-10.

Looking back, Hungary's ability to score on extra-man opportunities could have been the team's salvation especially inside the final minute of the game. The Hungarian team finished with an impressive seven goals from 10 attempts throughout the game. Montenegro scored only four times from 10 extra-man attempts, but their action shots helped them win the game. Montenegro has now beaten Hungary a total of four times in 2012, most noteworthy was their extra time win in the European Championships semi-final game.

Hungarian coach Denes Kemeny offered these comments: "Despite the loss, I have to say it was a much better performance compared to the match with the Serbs. We scored 10 goals, a feat few teams can achieve against Montenegro. But we committed too many mistakes at the back and presented them with unnecessary exclusions which they converted at crucial moments." The Hungarian coach continued: "Today we had a very balanced play, only a few small things are missing to get the right picture. It's probably our level of concentration. It's disturbing. I think we could have won this easily."

Hungarian player Tamas Kasas said: "I have seen many positive things today. We have lost against two of the best teams, but step by step we will get better. It's like Heaven and Earth, but we are still under water. Today we gave our hearts and soul, so we can build on this performance."

Ranko Perovic, Montenegro's head coach offered his respect for the Hungarian team. "They are a very experienced team of gold medallists from the last three Olympic Games. I wouldn't write them off after their second defeat. We are breathing easier now. We have had more desire and we are playing as we did throughout the summer. This is our second face and it shows that all teams will have problems with us."

Montenegro player Milos Scepanovic spoke for his team. "I'm very happy today, our first game we lost to the USA and we played very badly in a stressful situation. The last game wasn't good, the whole team played badly, but today was the total opposite. This was a champion game for us. It was very important to win our first game and this performance is the recipe for our next matches. I don't want to say too much but for now the door is open and we're ready."s

Referees: BORRELL SANCHEZ Sergi (ESP) FLAHIVE Daniel (AUS)
Delegate:AMINI Khosrow (IRI) TOYGARLI Haluk (TUR)

11:20 Game #10 CRO 8 vsESP 7 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Pandemonium as disallowed goal denies Spain the opportunity to draw with Croatia 

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: A disallowed goal in the final seconds of the game gave Croatia a controversial 8-7 victory over Spain in their Group A match. Ivan Perez (ESP) took a left handed backhand shot from outside five metres and the ball made its way into the bottom right of the goal. It was declared a goal by the goal line judge but was overruled by Slovenian referee Boris Margeta. The pool immediately erupted into a fracas as Spanish players, head coach Rafael Aguilar (ESP) and team officials approached the referee and FINA delegates pleading for the goal to be allowed.  

Croatian head coach Ratko Rudic, who sat out Spain's first game victory over Kazakhstan, joined in the debate. A television replay showed the ball seemingly crossing the line, but it was decided that the referee's decision was final, leaving Spain the choice to protest. The disputed goal came with two seconds remaining on the clock.  

Croatia had a 2-1 quarter time advantage and extended their margin to 5-3 at half time. Five-time Olympian Igor Hinic (CRO) scored his first goal of the Olympic tournament on extra man attack. Hinic is looking to add to his impressive medal collection of six major titles including a silver medal from the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

Croatia led the game 6-3 and then 7-4 in the third period before Albert Espanol (ESP) changed the dynamic, delivering three goals over and above his opener early in the game. Espanol's third for 7-6 behind came off a rebound of his penalty shot attempt. Felipe Perrone (ESP) delivered the 7-7 equalizer, just 10 seconds from the final break.

The final quarter was frantic. Sandro Sukno (CRO), the son of Olympic water polo champion Goran Sukno (CRO) converted a penalty shot for his second of the match with 1:07 remaining. Then came a long pass to Perez who secured a foul outside five meters followed by his controversial shot that resulted in pandemonium after the goal was disallowed.

Spanish head coach Rafael Aquilar: "The goal line official's job here is to watch the goal line and to make a decision. That is his only job here. He decided that it is a goal but he has not been consulted. The most important tournament in the world is the Olympic Games and I don't understand why they're not using TV." Felipe Perrone (ESP) was certain what he saw: "It is difficult to get back into the pool after this. Five thousand people have seen the goal, only one referee didn't."

Spain made an official protest following the game but the decision of the referee was confirmed.

Referees: MARGETA Boris (SLO) KORYZNA Radoslaw (POL)
Delegate: FARID Mohie (EGY) WHITEHOUSE John (AUS)

14:10 Game #11 AUS 7 vs KAZ 4 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Australia gets the better of Kazakhstan

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Australia notched their first Group A victory beating Kazakhstan 7-4 in today's match. The win partly makes up for their 8-5 defeat against world champions Italy on Sunday. Today's win was the third time in four outings this year that Australia have beaten Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan provided stiff opposition, but they were always trailing Australia. The team from down under went two up early in the first quarter. Scores at the end of first, second and third periods were 2-1, 4-1, and 6-3.  Rhys Howden (AUS) scored twice as Australia soaked up the pressure and locked in their victory.  

Australia converted only three of their extra man chances and they will be looking to improve their overall percentage after missing 9 chances. Kazakhstan converted three from 13 man-up situations. Murat Shakenov (KAZ) scored on a glorious counter attack against goalkeeper Joel Dennerley (AUS). Dennerley made several excellent saves during the game. It was Kazakhstan's second loss, having fallen to Spain 14-6 in their first match on Sunday.

Kazakhstan head coach Sergey Drozdov (KAZ) took stock in the lessons he learned from today's game. "We must change for the next game, make the most of our man-up situations and be more forceful on the attack. We will look at the videos and work on it. The players tried very hard and of course they wanted to win. We made a few mistakes when defending and that cost us." Asked about his team's chances of progressing, Yevgeniy Zhilyayev (KAZ) stated: "They are getting less and less. I think we can aim for eighth place overall, we would be happy."

Australian head coach John Fox said: "Defensively it was much better. Obviously I was a lot happier as we had only conceded one goal at half-time. At the beginning of the third quarter we had a lapse and let in two easy ones, but the rest of the game was pretty good. Attack-wise we still have to pick up our game as our conversions are not right at the moment. Today's game was harder than a lot of people probably anticipated. Kazakhstan has a bad game against Spain but they are up to the task now. Basically this was their survival game,"

Australian player Rhys Howden on the match: "We got off to a good start and we were always on top of them. After the half, they scored two quick goals (against us) but we just had to focus and stick to the defence.  

Referees: ALEXANDRESCU Adrian (ROU) SPIEGEL Ulrich (GER)
Delegate: SHAW Bill (CAN) IBERN Lolo (ESP)

15:30 Game #12 GRE 7 vs   ITA 7 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Greece snatch draw with world champion Italy

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Italy, the reigning world champions, were held to a 7-7 draw in their Group A match against Greece today. Greece took the lead four times compared to Italy's three. Two goals were delivered late in the third period by Alex Giorgetti (ITA) put the Italians 6-5 at the end of the quarter.

Ioannis Fountoulis (GRE) and Maurizio Felugo (ITA) traded goals early in the final quarter before Christos Afroudakis (GRE) converted an extra-man advantage attack after a time-out to make it 7-7 with two minutes and 54 seconds left. The three remaining time outs were taken, but tactics hatched in those one minute breaks failed to produce a winning strategy for either team.

Greece captain Georgios Afroudakis, the older brother of Christos, hit the post with his trademark fade-away, centre-forward turn as it neared the final minute. Italy failed a goal attempt after a time out in the last 22 seconds. Greece needed to convert more than on of their 11 changes on extra-man attack while Italy made five from 12. Italy arrived at the match with an 8-5 win over Australia in the opening round of the tournament. Greece had lost to Croatia 8-6 on day one of the Olympic competition. 

Greece, under the coaching of Serbian Dragan Andric, were previously coached by Alessandro Campagna, now in charge of Italy. Assisting Campagna were Francesco Attolico and Amadeo Pomlio. The trio were Olympic champions for Italy at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. The two assistant coaches went on to claim bronze medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Allesandro Campagna, head coach of Italy offered that "it was an interesting match in that it was balanced and the result is correct. Neither team managed to lead by two goals. We played well enough to earn this draw." Player Piertro Figlioli (ITA) said: "We played well in defence and yet there was not big difference between the teams. There are no easy games in Olympic competition. We drew with them in a tournament in Italy recently. Both teams definitely studied each other."

From the Greek team, head coach Dragan Andric was pleased with the outcome. "It was a good result. They are world champions and we missed two world championships. It is important that we played well for the whole match, not just for three quarters like we did against Croatia in the first game. We have to play fantastic defence. Greek player Georgios Afroudakis expressed that today's game "was a very good result as we played a very good match. A draw today is a great result for us against Italy. Both teams deserved to win. Our next game against Kazakhstan is one that we must play to win. We are a much better team than Kazakhstan so we expect to win.

Referees: BRGULJAN Marijo (MNE) CIRIC Mihajlo (SRB)
Delegate: KRYUKOV Andrey (KAZ) SHARONOV Evgeny (RUS)

18:20 Game #7 SRB 21 vs GRB 7 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Serbia overcomes slow start to beat plucky Great Britain

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: FINA World Cup champions Serbia took some time to surge past Great Britain 21-7 in a Group B match. Under the watchful eye of water polo enthusiast Price William, the Duke of Cambridge, sitting among the crowd in the main spectator stand, Great Britain seemed inspired by the occasion and the chance to play one of the leading teams in the world.  

The script called for Serbia to steamroll the British, but the score sheet showed a different story with the match tied at 3-3 after the first quarter. Rob Parker (GBR) rifled in a shot for a 4-3 Great Britain lead against an accomplished team that has appeared in the final of the last six major world tournaments, winning five of them.

Serbia's experience shone through as they went on to score an additional 18 goals and conceding only three more from the Brits. Ciaran James (GBR) scored two of them and one was notched by captain Craig Figes (GBR). Serbia's Andrija Prlainovic was the team's top scorer with five goals. The most valuable player from the 2011 FINA World Championships, Filip Filipovic (SRB) netted four goals. Serbian captain Vanja Udovicic (SRB) and Stefan Mitrovic (SRB) scored three goals each. The key statistic of the game was Serbia's superiority with 37 shorts to 23 for Great Britain.

Filip Filipovic (SRB) said: "We realised after the UK scored five goals that we needed to step it up. We respect Great Britain but we didn't allow this against Hungary in the previous match." Asked about being down 4-5 in the second quarter Serbian team captain Vanja Udovicic acknowledged: "It was our mistake; it is very difficult to enter in a new game, especially against Great Britain, as they are not first-class in the group. We played very well in the second half, it was our game in second half."

British head coach Cristian Iordache reported: "The first two quarters were really good against the European champions. Unfortunately we don't have that much experience, but with more time we will be able to offer much better performances. The Serbian players are older and stronger. In the second half they controlled the game. We learn from every game. The boys try hard, day by day, to improve their level." UK player Ciaran James spoke about injuring his nose during the match. "It was the very first attack where I put my head underwater and learned that you just can't do that. You just get hit and I did. We came out strong but we made silly mistakes in defence. We lost our concentration. They have some big guys and it showed. The support we have is amazing and this was the best game I've played in. I can't praise the fan support enough."

Referees: PINKER Gus (RSA) MAKITA Kazuhiko (JPN)
Delegate: BADREDDINE Boukezouha (ALG) FOSTER Richard (USA)

19:40 Game #8 USA 10 vs ROU 8 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Red cards mar USA victory over Romania

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: The USA backed up a first day win over Montenegro to defeat Romania 10-8 in Group B play but the result was marred by two red cards for misconduct, one issued to each team in the final minutes of the game.

Romania set the pace early on in this one, scoring the first goal of the match less than 90 seconds in to grab a 1-0 advantage. Two minutes later the United States had an answer with a goal from Layne Beaubien (USA) off a restart for a 1-1 game. Romania responded with a score right as a power play concluded to go back in front, 2-1. At the 1:50 mark in the first period Varellas scored his first of the day, a near side delivery to beat the keeper and tie the match at 2-2. Romania came back with a power play goal less than a minute later, only to see John Mann (USA) cash in a power play score of his own for a 3-3 match after one.

In the second, Romania surged ahead with consecutive scores to go in front 5-3 with 2:11 remaining in the period. USA drew a six on four advantage on their next possession and Adam Wright (USA) bounced home a shot from in close for a 5-4 score at the half. The third quarter belonged to the USA as they outscored Romania 3-0 to grab a 7-5 lead. Bailey started things off with a redirect from two meters and followed that up with a power play try from in close for a 6-5 lead. Varellas closed things out with a power play strike with a little over a minute to play to build the two score advantage headed to the fourth.

The match was far from over as Cosmin Radu (ROU) scored first in the period to close within 7-6. The USA started to rebuild the advantage with a deep shot from Wright and a final tally from Varellas to take a 9-6 lead with 2:09 remaining. Romania came back with another power play score, this time at the 1:14 mark to get back within two at 9-7. Bailey put the match away as he followed his own miss for a rebound score with just :50 remaining in the match giving the United States a 10-7 lead. Moments later USA team captain Tony Azevedo (USA) was given a game misconduct, leading to a power play for Romania. 

Alexandru Ghiban (ROU) converted the extra man play but with just three seconds left it did not factor in the decision and the USA took the match 10-8. USA went 7 for 13 on power plays while Romania was 5 for 13. Neither team attempted a penalty shot. The last time these two teams met in a major championship was the 2010 FINA World Cup, a 14-12 victory by the USA. 

Romanian head coach Istvan Kovacs denied the team's lack of energy: "I don't think we ran out of anything, we just didn't take our opportunities. We had a man up at 5-5, we set it up nicely but missed the shot. As we fought on we fell back by two and then three goals and again we had further extra man opportunities but we couldn't convert them. The USA scored from their attempts and that made the difference." Romanian player Kalman Kadar (ROU) said: "Yes, we had our chances, but in the third period we had a lot of chances. The US is full of good defenders and our defence wasn't as good. In the end, we didn't have the power to come back into the game and even when we did, it was too late." 

Terry Schroeder (USA) head coach admitted: "Yes, we struggled for so long. Two nights ago we had an emotional win against Montenegro and it took us half of the game to settle down tonight and to get into the rhythm. Merril Moses (USA goalkeeper) had a great game. He is very talkative and emotional, he has made some mistakes, but I gave him a chance tonight and he took it very well."

Adam Wright (USA) revealed his concerns about being one goal down at half-time: "It was a big game. We were playing nervous, playing scared, you could tell by the look on our faces. If we're going to do well in this competition, we can't have a game like tonight. We didn't follow the game plan. They took advantage in the first half, but we brought it back to get the win." Ryan Bailey (USA) offered: "We were trying to shut them down from the beginning. We had a slow start, but we had a better defence in the second half. That was the difference. We are on track. Two wins are as good as it can get.

Referees: STAMPALIJA Dragan (CRO) CAPUTI Massimiliano (ITA)
Delegate: FIROIU Niculae (GER) SOSTAR Aleksandar (SRB)

London, England - July 31 - The U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo battled back from a first half deficit to down Romania 10-8 in preliminary play. The win moves Team USA to 2-0 in Group B as they ready for a match with Great Britain on Thursday evening. Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) and Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) each scored three goals on offense while Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) posted 12 saves in the victory. Bailey's second effort goal off a rebound of his own miss with just :50 to play sealed the deal for Team USA. The United States next match against Great Britain is set for 7:40pm local time/2:40pm est/11:40am pst. The match will air live on NBC on the east coast and on delay on the west coast at 12:20pm.

Romania set the pace early on in this one, scoring the first goal of the match less than 90 seconds in to grab a 1-0 advantage. Two minutes later the United States had an answer with a goal from Layne Beaubien (Coronado, CA/Stanford/NYAC) off a restart for a 1-1 game. Romania responded with a score right as a power play concluded to go back in front, 2-1. At the 1:50 mark in the first period Varellas scored his first of the day, a near side delivery to beat the keeper and tie the match at 2-2. Romania came back with a power play goal less than a minute later, only to see John Mann (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC) cash in a power play score of his own for a 3-3 match after one.

In the second, Romania surged ahead with consecutive scores to go in front 5-3 with 2:11 remaining in the period. Team USA drew a six on four advantage on their next possession and Adam Wright (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/NYAC) bounced home a shot from in close for a 5-4 score at the half. The third quarter belonged all to Team USA as they outscored Romania 3-0 to grab a 7-5 lead. Bailey started things off with a redirect from two meters and followed that up with a power play try from in close for a 6-5 lead. Varellas closed things out with a power play strike with a little over a minute to play to build the two score advantage headed to the fourth.

The match was far from over as Romania scored first in the period to close within 7-6. Team USA started to rebuild the advantage with a deep shot from Wright and a final tally from Varellas to take a 9-6 lead with 2:09 remaining. Romania came back with another power play score, this time at the 1:14 mark to get back within two at 9-7. Bailey put the match away as he followed his own miss for a rebound score with just :50 remaining in the match giving the United States a 10-7 lead. Moments later USA team captain Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) was given a game misconduct, leading to a power play for Romania. Romania scored, but with just three seconds left it did not factor in the decision and Team USA took the match 10-8.

Notes: Team USA went 7/13 on power plays while Romania was 5/13. Neither team attempted a penalty shot. The last time these two teams met in a major championship was the 2010 FINA World Cup, a 14-12 victory by Team USA.

Scoring
USA 10 (3, 1, 3, 3) P. Varellas 3, R. Bailey 3, A. Wright 2, J. Mann 1, L. Beaubien 1
ROU 8 (3, 2, 0, 3) C. Radu 4, A. Iosep 1, R. Georgescu 1, A. Ghiban 1, K. Kadar 1

Saves - USA - M. Moses 12 - ROU - Stoenescu 8
6x5 - USA - 7/13 - ROU - 5/13
Penalties - USA 0/0 - ROU 0/0

FLASH QUOTES

Terry SCHROEDER (USA) - head coach

On whether USA struggled to get going:

"Yes, we struggled for so long. Two nights ago we had an emotional win (against Montenegro) and it took us half of the game to settle down tonight and to get into the rhythm."

On good saves from goalkeeper Merrill MOSES (USA) towards the end of the game:

"He had a great game. He is very talkative and emotional, he has made some mistakes, but I gave him a chance tonight and he took it very well."

Adam WRIGHT (USA)

On being one goal down at half-time:

"It was a big game. We were playing nervous, playing scared, you could tell by the look on our faces."

On changes before the next match against Great Britain:

"If we're going to do well in this competition, we can't have a game like tonight. We didn't follow the game plan. They took advantage in the first half, but we brought it back to get the win."

On having 10 players with previous Olympic experience:

"That absolutely helps, nothing can replace experience. It's something that is important, which we can draw from."

Ryan BAILEY (USA)

On turning the game around in the second half:

"We were trying to shut them down from the beginning. We had a slow start, but we had a better defence in the second half. That was the difference."

On their next match:

"We are on track. Two wins is as good as it can get."

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo

WATER POLO PLANET.COM: the Alternative Voice    www.waterpoloplanet.com

Thursday, August 2

10:00 Game #13 ESP 13 vs AUS 9 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Spain rebounds from controversy to defeat Australia

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Spain made amends for a controversial loss to Croatia on Tuesday by beating Australia 12-9 in a men's Group A match at the Water Polo Arena on Thursday. It was the second win for Spain, a team with aspirations of Olympic medals foremost in their minds. They are still smarting from having what would have been a tying goal against Croatia disallowed. That decision has affected their position in the group phase on the way to the quarterfinals.

Ten different Spanish players scored the first 10 goals as their team led at the quarter-time breaks, 2-1, 5-4 and 9-5. The third period was the critical one where Spain when out to four goals ahead whereas Australia was kept scoreless for nearly eight minutes.

The margin went to five when Felipe Perrone (ESP), one of the stars of the tournament, took his total to eight goals in three matches when he scored on a counter attack to make it 11- 6 with five and a half minutes remaining. It was a margin from which Australia could not recover.

One of the highlights for Australia was the form of Billy Miller (AUS) who scored all four of his goals in the first half. He also scored a fifth goal just one second from full time. The Australian team has one win and two defeats through three days of group play. In order to advance to the quarter finals they must collect a victory over Greece or Croatia. Their conversion rate in extra-man attacks was five from 12 while Spain scored four times in 10 attempts.

Australian coach John Fox revealed: "Our defence was much better in the first round games against Italy and Kazakhstan. Today it was shocking. Unfortunately we are not very consistent at the moment. We have some very good areas in the game, but we have others that are letting us down. We worked hard for the equalizers, really hard, then we let two soft ones in. We also spoke about how to stop their counter attacks, but we didn't do it and that was also decisive. We have two more games and we are still in the hunt for the quarterfinals. We are looking to the games against Croatia and Greece and we have to make some adjustments."

Australian goalkeeper Joel Dennerly offered: "I would have liked to have done better. There were a few goals scored that I could have saved. They had a very good counter attack, it's something we need to be aware of. I guess we just need to change things up. Spain got three quick goals at the start of the third quarter. It was good for James Clark (AUS) to step up and he showed that for the rest of the game." Australian teammate Gavin Woods (AUS) said: "I was disappointed as I wanted to win. We found it a bit hard to come back from the third quarter. Our game against Croatia is going to be a hard physical contest, but I will stay positive."

Spanish head coach Rafael Aguilar spoke about the controversy from their July 31st game against Croatia: "The players are intelligent, they've erased the last match and turned over a new page. All of my players had opportunities to score a goal. We played a really good game and we try to play with spirit." Three Spanish players offered their own perspective following today's match: Ivan Perez (ESP) - "We've recovered well. It's all in the past and now is the present. It was very difficult and very hard. Australia is physically very strong, they are a good team." Goalkeeper Inaki Aguilar (ESP): "The win wasn't the result of my individual work, but because of good team work. I was good because the team was good. We had 10 different scorers which reflects the Spanish way to spread the work among team members. This is very important to us." Guillermo Molina (ESP): "We are thinking about the next match and we want to be in the quarterfinal. I want to think that the other teams in the other group are worried about playing us. We need to build up some energy, so tomorrow we can start to prepare for the match against Greece."

Referees: CIRIC Mihajlo (SRB) ROASTART Steven (USA)
Delegate: AMINI Khosrow (IRI) FIROIU Niculae (GER)

11:20 Game #15 KAZ 4 vs GRE 11 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Greece keeps finals hopes alive with big win over Kazakhstan

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Greece scored their first win from three outings with an 11-4 victory over Kazakhstan in a Group A match. Ioannis Fountoulis (GRE) was the top scorer with five goals from seven shorts. Two of his goals were from the penalty line. He is the tournament's leading scorer with nine goals.  

Fountoulis scored twice in the opening quarter and added a third in the second as Greece moved from 2-1 at the quarter to 6-1 at half time. Greece captain Georgios Afroudakis scored twice from the centre forward position in the second period, once on an extra-man advantage and the second when smothered by three players. He added a third in the third period. Fountoulis scored the penalty goals on either side of the final break.

Kazakhstan worked hard and had goalkeeper Nikolay Maximov (KAZ) to thank for some crucial saves. However the Kazakhstan team not being able to score for long periods was a testament to Greece's superior defence. Rustam Ukumanov (KAZ) brought the crowd to life with by landing two goals in the last three minutes to narrow the margin of differential.  

Greece dominated the extra-man play, scoring five from seven attempts. Kazakhstan scored on only one of three extra-man opportunities. It was Greece's first win after an opening day loss to Croatia (8-6) and a draw with Italy. The team from Kazakhstan has yet to score a point in the Group A standings following their losses to Spain (6-14) and Australia (4-7) earlier in the week.

Sergey Drozdov, head coach of Kazakhstan expressed his disappointment and concern about play by his athletes: "Today we played our worst match so far. We played badly in attack, badly in defence and committed all the mistakes we wanted to avoid. On top of that, Greece played very well. I don't know the reasons for it, but our best players were way under their usual level. We will try to get back to a better level, to change some elements in our game. We have two more matches, first against Italy and then against Croatia. They are very strong teams but we will go on. We don't consider this Olympic Games finished."

Yevgeniy Zhilyayev (KAZ) of the Kazakhstan team spoke about today's game and their next game: "In our attack we were much worse than the other team. However it was a nice feeling to have the crowd on our side, but it didn't change the score. We have a day and a half to prepare for our next game." His teammate Rustam Ukumanov (KAZ): "We played really badly and our defence wasn't very good. Of course I am disappointed. It's always a good feeling to score, but those goals didn't decide anything."

Greek head coach Dragan Andric (SRB) explained: "It was important for us to stay focused and to use this match as an opportunity to practice our defence and not to concede easy goals. Based on our play we should be in the quarterfinals." Asked to discuss their match with Spain on Saturday the Greek coach offered: "They (Spain) have huge motivation and are excellent on the counter attack. We have to be careful not to chase them up and down the pool. We know each other well as we have had joint training sessions, but it's not going to be easy."

Greek players Ioannis Fountoulis on today's match: "It was an important match for us to win, we are in a good position. We did well from the beginning, we want to win. We expected the game to be like this if we concentrated. In the last game (7-7 tie with Italy) we didn't have the same motivation as we did today. They are a very tough team with very good results, but I think we are at the same level as them." His teammate Georgios Afroudakis (GRE) contributes: "Nothing is easy if you don't play well. We focused from the beginning and after the second half we controlled the game and finally we took our first victory. We believe we are at the same. We should take victory against Spain."

Referees: SPIEGEL Ulrich (GER) LITTLEJOHN Brian (GBR)
Delegate: FARID Mohie (EGY) WHITEHOUSE John (AUS)

14:10 Game #17 MNE 11 vs   SRB 11 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Titans inseparable after foul plagued 11-11 clash

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Gold medal contenders and neighbours Montenegro and Serbia battled to an 11-11 draw in their men's Group B match today. Andrija Prlainovic (SRB) was dominant throughout, scoring his customary five goals and integral in two of the last pivotal points of the match.

For the third time at these Olympics, Prlainovic (SRB) scored five goals but he also gave up a foul from which Aleksandar Ivovic (MNE) scored for 11-10. Prlainovic (SRB) took the final short 16 seconds from time, only to see it blocked.  

Serbia was never behind. Montenegro trailed by two goals on six occasions. Montenegro went 10-9 and 11-9 down in the fourth period before Ivovic scored and Mladan Janovic (MNE) equalized the score in the last two minutes.

Four Montenegro players did not see the game out including Ivovic (SRB). One Serbian player was retired early through three major fouls. Assistant coach Dejan Stanojevic (SRB) was red carded and sent from the pool deck. In extra-man play, Montenegro converted nine of 17 and they successfully defended 13 of Serbia's 19 attempts with a man advantage.

The game was a referee's nightmare. The pair awarded 36 major fouls as two of the best teams on the planet enthralled a packed stadium.  

Serbian head coach Dejan Udovicic broke down his team's play: "In the first two quarters the game went as we had expected but in the following two we played badly. Our man down strategy didn't work. We conceded five goals on five man-down occasions while during the first half they got zero in their eight attempts. Maybe they changed something that we didn't recognise." The Serbian skipper continued his analysis: "In the second half we didn't play at our level, but Montenegro is a very good team, they also showed their strength. It's a good thing from our point of view that despite playing under our standard for two periods, we didn't lose. We are still in front of everybody in the group standings, so we are on the right track to finish in first place in our group. So I should say at this point I am satisfied with this draw. We are in the quarterfinals for sure and to be honest, it doesn't matter whom we will play. All the teams are strong but I think this group is stronger."

Serbian player Zivko (SRB) shared: "After four quarters it was very tough. It was a fight from the beginning to the last second. The result was OK for both teams. We had a two goal lead for a few moments and we could have won. In the last attack Montenegro had a shot for the victory. The most important thing is the one point (which they did not get)." Andrija Prlainovic (SRB) explained: "We had the advantage for most of the game but in the end we suffered by conceding so many goals. In our next match we are going to win against the USA. I'm not confident but I hope. We will relax, stay calm and see what the tactics will be."  

Ranko Perovic (MNE) the Montenegro head coach confirmed: "This is a result which reflected the match. Both sides have made mistakes, but we have to be satisfied with the result." Serbian player Nikola Janovic (MNE) said: "We expected that the game would be close. We brought it back and closed the gap. The match did not begin very well and we made a few mistakes. We had a chance of winning at the end. It means a lot to have the first position in our group. We have a good chance to win it with this result."

Referees: STAVRIDIS Georgios (GRE) CAPUTI Massimiliano (ITA)
Delegate:KRYUKOV Andrey (KAZ) TOYGARLI Haluk (TUR)

15:30 Game #18 ROU 15 vs HUN 17  Scoresheet and Play by Play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: It took three matches for Hungary to kick into gear in their Olympic gold medal defence, beating Romania 17-15 in a men's Group B match today. Norbert Madaras (HUN) turned up with two goals in two matches but delivered seven after a final display with his left arm. Winless after the first two days of competition, Hungary has to use all their skills to fend off a Romanian team fighting for its Olympic survival.

Romania levelled at 1's, 3's, 6's, 7's, 8's and again at 9's leading up to half time. The second half was tougher with Romania coming back to 11-10, but them watching as the goal fest reached 14-11 after three periods. Romania scored consecutive goals to narrow the match to 15-13 after a Hungarian spurt, but it went 17-13 in Hungary's favour in the last three minutes. Romania scored the last two goals. They must have been surprised to have scored 15 goals against Hungary but to still have lost the game.

Hungary played better as a team up front, but needs to work harder on defence if they wish to have any chance of qualifying fourth and taking on the top team in the other group during the quarterfinals. Andrei Busila (HUN) and Alexandru Ghiban (HUN) scored three goals each for Romania.  

One of the best goals of the tournament came from Marton Szivos (HUN) on counter to take Hungary to a 9-8 lead. Aiming to become the first person in any Olympic sport to join his father and grandfather as gold medallists, Szivos saw the ball drop short, so he turned, kicked it high with his foot and then dragged the ball backwards into the bottom left of the goal. "It was lucky, it's not something I practice, but I am happy with any way the ball goes in the goal," said the Magyar player. Hungary netted seven from 13 on extra-man plays while Romania scored six from 14 chances.

Romanian head coach Istvan Kovacs was proud of his team's scoring output: "I'm extremely happy with our performance as we came up with it against a fantastic team. Scoring 15 goals against Hungary that's too many. Of course, conceding 17 is also way too many. All in all, it was great entertainment, a show. We applied different tactics since we were defeated several times in a series of warm up matches, often by 10 goals on each occasion. We tried to force the Hungarians into a position game, pressing them hard and it worked for at least two periods. The Hungarians are better players capable of scoring in the crucial moment. We have the seven or eight classy players but when I have to send them to the bench, we could not produce the same quality."

Four Romanian players offered their thoughts - Andrei Busila (ROU): "This match was very important for our chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals. It will be very difficult to beat Montenegro in our next match, and then Serbia two days later." Tiberlu Negrean (ROU): "Of course we had our chances, but they are Olympic champs three times and have more experience than us. We played three very good games and I think we can spring a surprise and beat one of them." Kalman Kadar (ROU): "Yes we wanted to win. It was a very, very hard match and very close. They are Olympic champions and we did everything today. We have to win in our next games. It's our last chance and we have to do our best." Cosmin Radu (ROU): "We played at our maximum but we came up against a good team who were set not to make any mistakes."

Hungarian coach Denes Kemeny (HUN) commenting on his team's first win: "I think it could have been much easier, but for several reasons we were unable to build a substantial lead in the early stages. A deflected shot found the net and that started to cause some turmoil at the back. Our attacking play was overwhelming and I cannot say anything bad about that part, but we committed a handful of mistakes. After a while we terrorized ourselves psychologically and we couldn't keep order in front of our goal."  

Hungarian player Tamas Kasas (HUN) spoke about the importance of today's match: "It was very important, it was a very big match for us. Now we have to perform well, but we don't have extra motivation from this win. We need to fix our defence, it was horrible. We can't win the competition with 15 goals for the opposition. Now we have to play to win, we can't have a weak defence." His Hungarian teammate Marton Szivos said: "As soon as we enter the pool it feels like Hungary (due to the fan support) which is really helpful to the team. It was really important to win today. It was a decisive game for us to get out of the group."

Referees: BALFANBAYEV Alan (KAZ) BORRELL SANCHEZ Sergi (ESP)
Delegate:SHAW Bill (CAN) FOSTER Richard (USA)

18:20 Game #16 vs GRB 7  vs USA 13 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: The US men notched their third straight victory at the 2012 Olympic Games with a 13-7 defeat of Great Britain. Team Captain Tony Azevedo (USA) scored four goals and Ryan Bailey (USA) added three to pace the offense. Merrill Moses (USA) worked the first period in goal and Chay Lapin (USA) finished off the match with the duo combining for 13 saves. The USA currently sits in first place in Group B with their next match against Serbia set for Saturday.

The USA opened the match with a flurry of goals all from Azevedo (USA). He scored first following an ordinary foul, then followed with a power play goal and concluded with a penalty shot score leaving the United States up 3-0 with 4:00 to play. Minutes later Shea Buckner (USA) scored his first goal of the Olympics on a power play and then John Mann (USA) closed the period with a goal from two metres for a 5-0 advantage.

In the second, Moses gave way to Lapin in the goal but the United States offense kept on firing. Adam Wright (USA) buried a shot less than thirty seconds into the match for a 6-0 lead. Buckner hit for his second goal a minute later and the United States were in command at 7-0. Great Britain's Rob Parker scored the first of his three goals on the night at the 4:40 mark to get the host nation on the board, trailing 7-1. Two minutes later, Bailey got free inside for a score and Team USA was up 8-1. Great Britain closed the half with two straight scores and clawed to within 8-3 by intermission.

On the first possession of the second half Azevedo hit for a power play goal on the bounce, giving the United States a 9-3 lead. Great Britain rattled off two straight goals from Rob Parker (GBR) and closed to within 9-5 with 4:28 to go in the period. Team USA responded with a score from Peter Varellas (USA) as he painted the inside corner on the nearside for a 10-5 lead with 4:06 left in the third. Four minutes followed with each side unable to find the cage until Great Britain broke through with a power play score from Parker (GBR) at the horn, leaving the United States ahead 10-6 going to the fourth.

The USA put things away in the fourth with three straight goals. Jeff Powers (USA) drew a penalty, converted by Bailey, and the United States went up 11-6. Bailey scored his third of the night a little over two minutes later as he redirected a pass from Azevedo into the cage. Leading 12-6, Powers iced the game for the Americans with a shot from distance for a 13-6 advantage with 3:19 left. Great Britain would add one final score with :27 remaining, but the outcome had been determined by then. 

The United States went five for ten on extra-man attack and they were two for two on penalties. Great Britain was converted on three extra man opportunities but they did not attempt a penalty.

UK player Ciaran James offered his thoughts about his team's play: "We have been thinking about it a lot. As soon as we go down in games we get motivated, even more motivated than usual. We start again as a team saying it's 0-0. Getting more shots away on target is something we need to do, and we did it, but just getting shots away on target isn't enough, you need to score." His teammate Rob Parker spoke about scoring three goals for the UK in tonight's match: "It was great, but I always say, to score you need the other players to work to set it up and thanks go to the centre forwards. We're a tight team and a goal is an extra. It's good to score in front of a home crown. The last two games started positively and it's a target for our team to stick together. We showed out character when we came back against a team who are Olympic silver medallists. We trust our coach and our tactics. The team stuck to our game plan and it started to work. I have had so many messages from people that I haven't seen for years saying they are watching and that it looks like a great sport. I hope it does encourage more people to play. It's a fun sport and I hope the exposure helps."

Terry Schroeder the USA head coach spoke about the leading players of his team, four-time Olympians Tony Azevedo and Ryan Bailey (USA): "They are great leaders. This team is full of experience: we have these two guys at their fourth Olympics, four guys with three time Olympic experience. Those guys have a good, strong voice, and leadership on the team, it means a lot and they help me a lot. I think Serbia is the best team in the world right now, they have consistency in the last four years, they are the top team. They have a great balance, good centre-forwards, great shooters, a good goalie. They are going to be tough to beat and it will be very difficult to beat them twice if we meet them again later (in the tournament)."

Ryan Bailey, the USA's top scorer offered his thoughts about the pressure from Great Britain in today's match: "After the first quarter we probably relaxed too much and they made our lives miserable, they really made us work for every goal. These guys (my teammates) are making my life easy, I am nothing without them. They work so hard for me and I am able to deliver the end result." Chay Lapin (USA) is making his Olympic Games debut and was asked if the USA eased up after the first quarter: "It was great. I was a little nervous, but I enjoyed the match. It was high energy. We maybe played a little slower, but Great Britain came out to play. We stuck to our game plan and now we will get ready for the match against Serbia."

Referees: WILLIAMS Cory (NZL) NI Shiwei (CHN)
Delegate: BADREDDINE Boukezouha (ALG) DR MARTIN Gyorgy (HUN)

London, England - August 2 - The U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo took their third straight win at the 2012 Olympic Games with a 13-7 defeat of Great Britain. Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) scored four goals and Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) added three to pace the offense. Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) worked the first period in goal and Chay Lapin (Long Beach, CA/UCLA/NYAC) finished off the match with the duo combining for 13 saves. Team USA currently sits in first place in Group B with their next match against Serbia set for Saturday at 7:40pm local time/2:40pm est/11:40am pst. The match will air live on NBC in the east at 2:40pm est and on delay in the west at 3:40pm pst.

Team USA opened the match with a flurry of goals all from Azevedo. He scored first following an ordinary foul, then followed with a power play goal and concluded with a penalty shot score leaving the United States up 3-0 with 4:00 to play. Minutes later Shea Buckner (Villa Park, CA/USC/NYAC) scored his first goal of the Olympics on a power play and then John Mann (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC) closed the period with a goal from two meters for a 5-0 advantage.

In the second, Moses gave way to Lapin in the goal but the United States offense kept on firing. Adam Wright (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/NYAC) buried a shot less than thirty seconds into the match for a 6-0 lead. Buckner hit for his second goal a minute later and the United States were in command at 7-0. Great Britain's Rob Parker scored the first of his three goals on the night at the 4:40 mark to get the host nation on the board, trailing 7-1. Two minutes later, Bailey got free inside for a score and Team USA was up 8-1. Great Britain closed the half with two straight scores and clawed to within 8-3 by intermission.

On the first possession of the second half Azevedo hit for a power play goal on the bounce, giving the United States a 9-3 lead. Great Britain rattled off two straight goals and closed to within 9-5 with 4:28 to go in the period. Team USA responded with a score from Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) as he painted the inside corner on the nearside for a 10-5 lead with 4:06 left in the third. Four minutes followed with each side unable to find the cage until Great Britain broke through with a power play score right at the horn, leaving the United States ahead 10-6 going to the fourth.

Team USA put things away in the fourth with three straight goals. Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) drew a penalty, converted by Bailey, and the United States went up 11-6. Bailey scored his third of the night a little over two minutes later as he redirected a pass from Azevedo into the cage. Leading 12-6, Powers iced the game for the Americans with a shot from distance for a 13-6 advantage with 3:19 left. Great Britain would add one final score with :27 remaining, but the outcome had been determined by then.

The United States went 5/8 on power plays and 2/2 on penalties while Great Britain was 3/7 and did not attempt a penalty.

Scoring - Scoresheet
USA 13 (5, 3, 2, 3) T. Azevedo 4, R. Bailey 3, S. Buckner 2, P. Varellas 1, A. Wright 1, J. Powers 1, J. Mann 1
GBR 7 (0, 3, 3, 1) R. Parker 3, C. James 2, C. Figes 1, J. Vincent 1

Saves - USA - C. Lapin 8, M. Moses 5 - GBR - E. Scott 6
6x5 - USA - 5/8 - GBR 3/7
Penalties - USA - 2/2 - GBR 0/0

Terry SCHROEDER (USA) - head coach

On the leading players of the team, four-time Olympians Tony AZEVEDO and Ryan BAILEY (USA):

"They are great leaders. This team is full of experience: we have these two guys at their fourth Olympics, four guys with three times. Those guys have a good, strong voice, and leadership on the team, it means a lot and they help me a lot."

On their next opponents, Serbia, who they play on Saturday:

"I think Serbia is the best team in the world right now, they have consistency in the last four years, they are the top team. They have a great balance, good centre-forwards, great shooters, a good goalie. They are going to be tough to beat and it will be very difficult to beat them twice if we meet them again later (in the tournament)."

Ryan BAILEY (USA)

On pressure from Great Britain after the first quarter:

"After the first quarter we probably relaxed too much and they made our lives miserable, they really made us work for every goal."

On being USA's joint top scorer with seven goals in three matches:

"These guys (my teammates) are making my life easy, I am nothing without them. They work so hard for me and I am able to deliver the end result."

Chay LAPIN (USA)

On making his Olympic Games debut:

On whether the USA took their foot off the gas after the first quarter:

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo

19:40 Game #14 ITA 6 vs CRO 11 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Croatia defeats Italian world champions to lead Group A standings

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Croatia scored an emphatic 11-6 victory over world champions Italy in a men's Group A match. It earned Croatia, the 2012 FINA World League champions, a third consecutive win and group leadership with two matches remaining in their group. Italy has one win, a draw and a loss.  

Croatia opened with three goals and then Italy bounced back into the match dominating the next 13 minutes, 5-2 at the end of the period. With the margin narrowed to 5-4 but favouring Croatia it looked like an interesting match would unfold in the second period. This was not to be as Croatia continued their assault to lead 8-5 at the end of three periods. The Croatian team would deliver a final crushing blow scoring an impressive three goals in the final two minutes.  

Italy was troubled by the Croatian defence and the vigorous tactics between the two extremely physical teams. Miho Boskovic and Sandro Sukno were the top scorers for Croatia with three goals each. Croatia converted only five of their 14 extra-man attacks but Italy was challenged by completing only three of 13 opportunities. Pietro Figlioli and Valentino Gallo netted twice each for Italy.

Italian head coach Alessandro Campagna (ITA) remarked: "It was a tough game as we started really badly. They led 3-0 but we came back to 5-5. We then lost the opportunity to score more goals in the following extra-man situations. We then had three misses towards the end of the third quarter and we couldn't narrow the gap to one. After this the difference just started growing so the game actually finished a couple of minutes before the end."

Italian player Niccolo Gitto (ITA) is already thinking beyond today's loss: "I'm looking forward to facing Kazakhstan on Saturday and I am confident we can remain strong. Today we played well and we trained and prepared in Italy. We have a great coach and a great team atmosphere. I'm confident we can beat them."

Italian teammate Pietro Figioli (ITA) was of the following opinion: "I think we had a lack of strength. We knew what we had to do, but these things happen. In the third quarter especially we were losing 3-0 and we started to rush. It's the Olympics, everyone wants to kill everyone. We are world champions and everyone wants to beat us. It's a long tournament and nothing changes. We can still win our next two games and go through. It's just a matter of respecting our game plan and carrying on."

Croatian head coach Ratko Rudic (CRO) seems confident after today's match: "We could not be first if we lose (our next games) against Kazakhstan and Australia. We are starting to think about our opponents from Group B and the quarterfinals. I think this may be the best Olympic tournament of all and I have been a part of them all in the last 25 years. We have come here to win the gold medal and we will see what is going to happen."  

Croatian player Sandro Sukno commented on the match: "We went in strong and deserved the win. There is no pressure. I am doing what I love within a great team. It's going to be hard (going up against Australia) as they are a good team. We need to prepare well and start strong." Croatian teammate Maro Jokovic spoke about the difference between today's match and their previous game against Spain: "Our man-up play was the main difference and our concentration was poor in the other matches. Our zone defence was extraordinary and we stopped their counter-attack play."

Referees: JUHASZ Gyorgy (HUN) ALEXANDRESCU Adrian (ROU)
Delegate: IBERN Lolo (ESP) SOSTAR Aleksandar (SRB)

WATER POLO PLANET.COM: the Alternative Voice    www.waterpoloplanet.com

Saturday, August 4

10:00 Game #21 MNE 12 vs ROU 8 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Montenegro advances while Romania fate hangs by a thread

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Montenegro moved into the quarterfinals with a 12-8 victory in Group B over Romania in the fourth day of the London 2012 Olympic Men's Water Polo competition. It was Montenegro's second win, to go with their draw and a loss, but enough to progress to the last eight teams chasing an Olympic medal.

The loss for Romania almost spells doom for their medal hopes. They will require a miracle the magnitude of Great Britain beating Olympic champions Hungary in a game to be played later tonight. Romania may have opened the scoring in today's match, but it was Montenegro that held a firm grasp on the match despite Romania's best performance of the week. Montenegro led 3-1, 5-2 and 8-4 at the quarter time breaks. Aleksandar Ivovic (MNE) scored three lifting his tournament tally to 11 over four games.

Nicolae Diaconu (ROU) scored two of his three goals in the last quarter as Romania matched Montenegro in all phases of the game. Diaconu now has nine goals from his four matches. When asked his thoughts about today's match, the player responded: "We started bad and we never had the lead. But we were very tired from our first three games. This was our last chance to qualify. The goalkeeper was better today but our attack was bad."

Istvan Kovacs (HUN) the Romanian head coach was candid about his team's play: "After our loss to Hungary, these guys knew that their dreams were virtually over, though we had two matches ahead. And their spirits work like this - after the chances are gone they are not there 100%, neither physically or mentally. I even had to keep some players on the bench since their negligence destroyed the team's discipline. Sometimes we went for nicely set actions and missed. The Montenegrins didn't give a dam to play nicely. If they saw their chance for a shot, they just let the ball fly. They play straight and merciless. In this sport this is the way to win matches."

Nikola Janovic (MNE) thought he and his teammates did what they needed to do: "We played a high quality match. I'm satisfied. We are a very good team. Britain (their next likely opponent) isn't as good as the other teams in the group but we will still concentrate in the same way." His teammate Drasko Brguljan (MNE) was optimistic on his team's future: "We are only a small country, but only of couple of medal changes, but we are hoping to be the first to grab a medal (our next match against Great Britain on Monday) is not going to be a training match. We will not take them lightly, however we will try to get a good lead in the first half so that we can rest for our next match."

Romanian head coach Ranko Perovic (MNE) spoke confidently about his team's play: "We've had some bad experiences with the Romanian team in the past so we took this match seriously and started strong. Towards the end we conceded some easy goals but the match had already been decided. We have to respect our opponent (likely Great Britain on Monday) and the game. We are stronger but Great Britain have improved so we have to be careful."
 
Referees: FLAHIVE Daniel (AUS) BALFANBAYEV Alan (KAZ)
Delegate: AMINI Khosrow (IRI) TOYGARLI Haluk (TUR)

11:20 Game #22 CRO 11 vs AUS 6 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Croatia continues winning ways, drubs Australia 11-6

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Croatia kept up their 100% winning record in Group A by beating Australia 11-6 in the men's action. It was Croatia's fourth win. Australia is on the verge of dropping out of medal contention due to their one win, three loss record.

Australia scored first but Croatia shot 3-1 early in the second quarter. The score was 5-2 at half time and with a late goal on an extra man attack by Croatia, the score favoured them 8-4 at the final break. Four time Olympian Thomas Whalan (AUS) saw his dream of making the final eight slipping away, but he still scored three goals in the second half. His goals today were the first goals of his London 2012 experience: "It feels good for my own confidence, but it's no consolation. We're still not down and out. I'm certainly not laying down. I'm giving my all and the boys are giving their all. It's not a lack of confidence this team has. No matter what the results are, I just know we will bounce back."

Australia head coach John Fox (AUS) accepted responsibility for his team unsuccessful plan: "We scored six goals from 29 shots. They scored 11 from 18. We talked about shot execution, what we needed to do to score, but we only did it six times. It's our fault. Their defence is good but there are certain ways to break it. We didn't. If Greece win against Spain (as he expects Italy to defeat Kazakhstan later today) then we are out. It's as simple as that. We will be cheering for the Spanish."

Maro Jokovic (CRO), Sandro Sukno (CRO) and Niksa Dobud (CRO) scored two each for Croatia, who need only to beat Kazakhstan on Monday to complete their group sweep ahead of Wednesday's quarterfinals. Sukno (CRO) observed: "It is maybe psychologically important, but all the teams in the other group are tough too. It doesn't really matter how many I score as long as the team wins." His teammate Miho Boskovic (CRO) was pleased with his team's play and offered his explanation about what goes on underwater: "Finishing (at the) top of the group was most important thing because there are some tough teams in the other group. It is rough (under the water). It's not quite boxing under there, but more like wrestling most of the time."

Winning coach Ratko Rudic (CRO) was complimentary of his Australian opponents: "Australia is a very uncomfortable opponent. They've got a strong defence and they are strong swimmers. We have been stopped in the first quarter but later we gained back our style of play and won. I have wanted the first spot because now we can start preparations for the quarterfinals. The next and last group match against Great Britain is without any significance, but we will play it professionally."

Both teams converted three of nine on extra man attack.

Referees: SPIEGEL Ulrich (GER) JUHASZ Gyorgy (HUN)
Delegate: SHAW Bill (CAN) FOSTER Richard (USA)

14:10 Game #23 GRE 9 vs ESP 11 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Spain defeats Greece, 11-9 in fourth day of Group A play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Spain progressed to the men's quarterfinals by defeating Greece 11-9 in a Group A match. It was the third win for four outings for Spain. The Iberians are assured a spot in the top eight regardless of their final match against Italy on Monday. Greece has three points from four games and need to beat Australia for the final berth.

Spain used their all-around shooting skills with Biai Mallarach (ESP), Albert Espanol (ESP) and Filipe Perrone (ESP) netting two each. Perrone (ESP) lifted his tally to nie for the week with one from the penalty line and the other on Spain's favoured counter attack in which they left the tournament after three days.  

Greece was a worth opponent and kept in touch, but Spain led 4-3, 8-5 and 9-7 at the quarters. The margin stretched 11-8 which proved too big a gap to bridge. Evagelos Delakas was the sole double scorer for Greece. Both teams scored twice on man-up situations, Greece enjoying 10 chances and Spain only seven.

Greek head coach Dragan Andric (SRB) explained why he thought his team lost: "We haven't overcome the fear and pressure. They (Spain) have had more competitive matches than us. We have conceded too many goals in the first two quarters, eight in total. Then the stress disappeared and we started playing as we should. (Our match against Australia on Monday) is the most important match. We will have to win that one or get at least a draw (to qualify). We have to deal with the big pressure."

Greek player Georgios Afroudakis (GRE) offered his explanation for his team's loss: "We didn't make a good start. We were nervous and we were not good defensively. The key was the poor start. (In our next game against Australia) it will be like a final as we need to win. But we are a good team and we can play better." His teammate Theodoros Chatzithedorou (GRE) said about today's match and Monday's next game: "We are disappointed because we missed our first chance to go through to the quarterfinals, but we will now focus on Australia in a game that is very important for us. (Losing) is not the way that I want to leave the Olympics. I am dreaming of returning to Greece on August the 12th, not on Monday." 

Spanish head coach Rafael Aguilar (ESP) confirmed that his team is playing better and better, game by game: "We try to speed up now. This is the Olympic Games where each match is demanding, but we have to reach our peak soon. It's important to keep the team's spirit high and the best way to do it is by winning matches." Spanish player Albert Espanol (ESP) spoke about what worked well in today's game: "We started really well and had a strong rhythm from the beginning. It was our first goal (to qualify for the quarterfinals) and we have achieved that, but we have a long way in front of us and the games will be more difficult." Spanish player Ivan Perez (ESP) offered his relief that his team has advanced to the quarterfinals: "In the third quarter we maintained a good defence and this gives us confidence for the next game (against Italy on Monday). We are very happy, but now the challenge is to finish in as high of a position as possible." 

Referees: BRGULJAN Marijo (MNE) ALEXANDRESCU Adrian (ROU)
Delegate: KRYUKOV Andrey (KAZ) WHITEHOUSE John (AUS)

15:30 Game #24 ITA 9 vs KAZ 6  Scoresheet and Play by Play

Italy qualifies for quarterfinals with 9-6 victory over Kazakhstan

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: World champions Italy joined the quarterfinal qualifiers with a 9-6 victory over Kazakhstan in a fourth day Group A match  Italy's second win, to go with one draw and one loss, was enough to reach the final eight before their fifth group match against Spain on Monday. Kazakhstan's fourth consecutive loss means they will play only one more game before leaving the competition.

Italy led 4-2 at the end of the first quarter thanks for a last gasp Pietro Figlioli goal on extra man attack. The goal increased Italy's margin to 8-4 at half time. Kazakhstan was the better team of the second half. Cristian Presciutti (ITA) was the top scorer with three goals. One was on counter attack, another on extra man attack, and he had an excellent finish with a cross pass on the two metre line. Figlioli converted a penalty for his second goal. Valentino Gallo also netted two. Italian goalkeeper Stefano Tempesti stopped 12 shots.  

Kazakhstan played up to Italy for long periods but the team dropped off in segments. Captain Yevgeniy Zhilyayev (KAZ) and Alexey Shmider (KAZ) scored twice each, Italy netted five from 12 on man up situations compared to Kazakhstan which converted only two from 11.

Kazakhstan's head coach Sergey Drozdov (KAZ) offered an upbeat assessment of his team's play: "Today we had our best match in the tournament. We made mistakes in the first half, mainly in man down, but for the second half we changed some things and it got better. Italy is a very good team, so losing to them that way is fine for us. In the last match against Greece we played really badly. Our players felt a bit ashamed. Today they wanted to show they could be up to the task. And our best players played much better. Nikolay Maximov in goal was fantastic, he was the key to having such a close match."

Rustam Ukumanov (KAZ) was excluded from the match in the second quarter, explained his situation: "I don't feel good about that, but the referee is always right, I can't judge. Players don't want to be excluded but the referee has to referee. We will have a rest. We get ready and try to show a good game (against Croatia on Monday)." Teammate Sergey Gubarev (KAZ) was reticent to speak about his own play but explained: "I can't talk about my personal performance, as I can't just, but the team played a decent game and we did our best against the world champions. It wasn't an equal game but we fulfilled our coach's guidelines."

Italian head coach Alessandro Campagna (ITA) shared little: "I want my players to play a good match until the end. I was trying to motivate them before the last period."  Italian player Cristian Presciutti (ITA) said: "We played very well and it was important to reach the quarterfinals. Now, every team in the quarterfinals have a chance to win the tournament. We played easy, for a long time today and in the last quarter we were playing in a relaxed way."  

Valentino Gallo (ITA) was quoted: "We don't think about the other teams so we have to think about ourselves only and the way we play. There are five or six teams that could win, as they all play the same way. We are one of the six teams, but we must react to ensure we stay in the competition." Italian teammate Pietro Figlioli (ITA) offered his thoughts about their opponent Spain who Italy will face in the final preliminary game on Monday: "It is going to be a tough game, but both teams are fighting for two positions within the group. We know them very well and how they play. They are very disciplined and they play good water polo. We stepped down within the game (today) so they punished our mistakes. Their goalkeeper is very experiences and very good. It is very annoying as we did let ourselves down within the game as we were hoping for more goals."

Referees: BERVOETS Anton (NED) WILLIAMS Cory (NZL)
Delegate: BADREDDINE Boukezouha (ALG) IBERN Lolo (ESP)

18:20 Game #20 HUN 17 vs GRB 6 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Hungary's quest for a 10th Olympic crown is still on track after qualifying for the quarterfinals with a 17-6 victory over Great Britain in a men's Group A match. Hungary's gain was Great Britain's loss and the British side will depart the competition after Monday's clash with Montenegro.

Hungary needed to produce a quality performance after a lacklustre London 2012 prior to today. They have won just two games from four outings but finished ahead of Romania and Great Britain on the group ladder. Hungary used their best team often, looking for quality everywhere in the pool with some success.

Britain used number 13 Matt Holland (GBR) in goal and he has just 32 minutes, equivalent to one match, in the previous three encounters. Hungarian captain and triple Olympic champion Peter Biros (HUN), in particular, had a nightmare time against Holland (GBR), who excelled with 12 saves. 

At the other end of the pool another triple Olympic champion, goalkeeper Zoltan Szecsi (HUN) was replaced after saving just three shots. Substitute Viktor Nagy (HUN) blocked nine. Hungary's Tamas Kasas (HUN) and Norbert Madras (HUN) scored three each with Madras taking his tournament tally to 10. Hungary converted six from 10 on man-up plays and Great Britain two from six.

Great Britain's head coach Cristian Iordache (ROU) explained: "We have delivered what we promised, that we will keep fighting and keep up with the top teams. I have enjoyed this tournament so much together with my players and it was a great experience. I'm very proud of my players. Our next goal for the team will be the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games." 

GB player Adam Scholefield (GBR) spoke about today's match: "We started well but they're a class outfit. In the last game we made mistakes but today we came out well. The end of today's game was frustrating. We made some basic errors. I think we were too eager to shoot every time. We knew we weren't progressing from the day we got here. Six years ago we'd have lost by 30 goals. They're top teams, it's really hard to keep fighting." His GB teammate Matt Holland complimented his opponent: "Hungary has some of the best players in the world. They're very clever and (GBR) very quick. When you're in the water looking up at six absolute legends, it makes you want to train so much harder." Craig Figes (GBR) was convinced that future GB players were in the stands or watching on television: "If they're (the children) watching, I hope they'll be inspired to succeed in anything they do."

Hungarian skipper Denes Kemeny (HUN) discussed the positives of the match: "Today we have taken one step forward, at least we had some good defending, apart from the second period. Our approach was a bit different, we had our focus in the game and it can't be seen on the scoreboard. You can beat a weaker side 20-11 or 10-1, but the latter is more valuable as it shows you were concentrated. We have several players who are fathers and have kids at home, but here they are just like kids. This is normal, an athlete is always a kid in a sense that he can have childish reactions if something wrong happens. Even three time Olympic champions can lose their self-confidence after some weaker performances. Today we have continued our rebuilding (of self-confidence) process."

Tamas Kasas (HUN) spoke about his and his team's preparations for the quarterfinals: "We still have one more match to concentrate on, which is going to be hard, but after that, hopefully we then have time to practice for the quarterfinals. I think we have what it takes to win the competition, but there are a lot of good teams. This is the most difficult Olympics yet, there are a lot of dangerous teams out there." His teammate Daniel Varga (HUN) said: "We knew we were not going to play a very strong team (in today's match against Great Britain) but we took it seriously. We tried to force the GB team to make mistakes. We have to take our final game (against the USA on Monday) very seriously. We want to win always, under any circumstances. I believe the Olympic water polo really kicks off when it comes to quarterfinals."

Referees: MOLLER German (ARG) DANELON Denis (BRA)
Delegate: FARID Mohie (EGY) FIROIU Niculae (GER)

19:40 Game #19 SRB 11 vs USA 6 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Serbia may be on track for Olympic Gold Medal after dismantling USA

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Captain Vanja Udovicic and his Serbian team signalled their gold medal intentions with a stunning 11-6 victory over the USA. The USA suffered their first loss at the 2012 Olympic Games, an 11-6. The encounter settled who was best in Group B. Serbia will likely go through undefeated as they play Romania, a team that has already been eliminated.  

Ryan Bailey (USA) scored two goals and Merrill Moses (USA) stopped 12 shots in the defeat. The defeat drops the USA to 3-1 in pool play as they ready for their next game against Hungary on Monday. Despite the loss, the USA has still clinched a spot in the quarterfinal round with seeding still to be determined.

Udovicic, a former world player of the year scored the opening two goals in his haul of three today. He showed his team and the rest of the world what they are capable of at London 2012. Perennial finalists and often the champions, Serbia has class stamped all over them. The USA, 2008 Beijing Olympic silver medallists struggled to keep up.

Serbia scored a counter attack goal just 33 seconds into the contest for a 1-0 lead. They followed with another counter attack score some three minutes later to claim a 2-0 lead. Serbia came calling again with a power play strike with 2:00 to go in the first for a 3-0 lead. The USA broke through on their next possession with an outside shot from Tony Azevedo (USA) for a 3-1 match. Serbia would have the final word in the opening period as Zivko Gocic (SRB) hit from distance for a 4-1 lead with just :16 to play in the quarter.

The United States started off strong in the second period as they went inside to Bailey (USA) for a backhand, making it 4-2 in favour of Serbia with 6:25 left. The two sides would neutralise each other over the next several minutes. That included a sequence of three consecutive blocks from Moses (USA) on the same Serbian offensive trip. With just :16 left in the half Serbia put another tally on the board on a counter attack to take a 5-2 lead. The United States had a response with a shot from outside courtesy of Jeff Powers (USA) to make it 5-3 in favour of Serbia at intermission.

That would be as close as the USA would get on this night as Serbia used the third period to extend their advantage. Serbia hit on three consecutive goals, two from Filip Filipovic (SRB) and another from Udovicic had the margin at 8-4 going into the final quarter. The USA ended the period with a measure of retaliation, as Peter Varellas (USA) drilled a power play score for an 8-4 game after three.

Early in the fourth the United States looked to be on the comeback trail when Tim Hutten (USA) was the recipient of excellent passing for a power play goal. Serbia halted the momentum with a goal on their next possession, rebuilding a four goal lead at 9-5 with 6:52 to play in the period. Over the next few minutes the United States faltered on a power play and missed a penalty shot before Bailey (USA) redirected a dish from Azevedo (USA) into the cage for a score and a 9-6 game with 2:54 left. Serbia would not relent and pumped in two more goals, the last coming with :34 to play in the match to seal the victory. That game would end with Serbia the winners at 11-6.

The USA went two for eight on power plays and zero for one on penalties while Serbia was four for nine on power plays and did not attempt any penalties. The USA has not defeated Serbia in a major championship since the semi-finals of the 2008 Olympic Games. Serbia is now assured the top seed in Group B. 

USA head coach Terry Schroeder (USA) commented on the parts of their game didn't go according to plan: "We didn't start too strong and we gave up a couple of goals. We tried to fight ourselves back into the game, but Serbia is a tough team and I think they are the best here. I hope we will have another shot to play with them. That's the mark of a good team - how it can get back from a defeat like this. We lost today, but we are in the quarterfinals, so we can go on."

USA team captain Tony Azevedo (USA) offered his perspective: "It didn't go well at all, but we're still in a good position. This is a good learning experience for us. We've definitely got to pick up our game, as we're not going to win a crossover (quarterfinal) like we played today. There are four other teams in the group that are great." USA teammate Peter Hudnut (USA) commented: "It wasn't what I expected, we are much better than the result. They're a good team, so we hope we get to play them again. Obviously every team's goal is to win. In this Olympic Games, the top seven or eight teams are all great, the past Olympics have had slower teams."  

Goalkeeper Merrill Moses (USA) provided his analysis: "The result was not what we wanted, we expected to win, but we are not panicking. It means that we need to focus on our mistakes and work on them for our next match against Hungary (on Monday). I think that whoever wins gold at these Olympics will lose one or two games. We can play better, for sure, but it's all about the quarterfinals and that's where the results really matter. We will play a good team, but we will be ready."

Serbian head coach Dejan Udovicic (SRB) shared his analysis of the match: "The result is not important but the style of how we play is. We played very aggressively and to concede just six goals against a team like the USA, that is something." Serbian player Andrija Prlainovic (SRB) was pleased with today's result: "Our hope from the beginning was to take first position in the group before the quarterfinals, but our match on Monday against Romania is still important." His teammate Filip Filipovic (SRB) commented: "Today was not the best example of our game. Now we have to concentrate on Romania. Honestly we didn't expect this. We expected to play even better, we sent too many shots away. It could have been much better for us. We hope we can correct these mistakes. We can't lose the rhythm. We have to go maximum against Romania. Our coaches prepared us very well for the tournament. I do not have any particular team in my mind whom I wish to play against. One thing is sure, there is no place for mistakes."

Referees: BORRELL SANCHEZ Sergi (ESP) CAPUTI Massimiliano (ITA)
Delegate:DR MARTIN Gyorgy (HUN) SHARONOV Evgeny (RUS)

London, England - August 4 - The U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team suffered their first loss at the 2012 Olympic Games, an 11-6 defeat at the hands of Serbia. Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) scored two goals and Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) stopped 12 shots in the defeat. The loss drops Team USA to 3-1 in pool play as they ready for Hungary on Monday at 3:30pm local time/10:30am est/7:30am pst. The match is scheduled to air live on NBC in the east at 10:30am est and on delay in the west at 9:30am pst. Despite the loss, Team USA has still clinched a spot in the quarterfinal round with seeding to be determined.

Serbia was in control of this match from the get go as they scored a counter attack goal just 33 seconds into the contest for a 1-0 lead. They followed with another counter attack score some three minutes later to claim a 2-0 lead. In the interim, Moses provided some key saves to keep the United States in the match. Serbia came calling again with a power play strike with 2:00 to go in the first for a 3-0 lead. Team USA broke through on their next possession with an outside shot from Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) for a 3-1 match. Serbia would have the final word in the opening period as Zivko Gocic hit from distance for a 4-1 lead with just :16 to play in the quarter.

The United States started off strong in the second period as they went inside to Bailey for a backhand, making it 4-2 in favor of Serbia with 6:25 left. The two sides would neutralize each other over the next several minutes. That included a sequence of three consecutive blocks from Moses on the same Serbian offensive trip. With just :16 left in the half Serbia put another tally on the board on a counter attack to take a 5-2 lead. The United States had a response with a shot from outside courtesy of Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) to make it 5-3 in favor of Serbia at intermission.

That would be as close as the United States would get on this night as Serbia used the third period to extend their advantage. They hit on three consecutive goals to open the period, two coming on power plays, to take an 8-3 lead with 3:29 left in the third. Team USA ended the period with the final blow, as Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) drilled a power play score for an 8-4 game after three.

Early in the fourth the United States looked to be on the comeback trail when Tim Hutten (Seal Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) was the recipient of excellent passing for a power play goal. Serbia halted the momentum with a goal on their next possession, rebuilding a four goal lead at 9-5 with 6:52 to play in the period. Over the next few minutes the United States faltered on a power play and missed a penalty shot before Bailey redirected a dish from Azevedo into the cage for a score and a 9-6 game with 2:54 left. Serbia would not relent and pumped in two more goals, the last coming with :34 to play in the match to seal the victory. That game would end with Serbia the winners at 11-6.

Notes: Team USA went 2/8 on power plays and 0/1 on penalties while Serbia was 4/9 on power plays and did not attempt any penalties. Team USA has not defeated Serbia in a major championship since the semifinals of the 2008 Olympic Games. Serbia is now assured the top seed in Group B.

Scoring
USA 6 (1, 2, 1, 2) R. Bailey 2, T. Azevedo 1, P. Varellas 1, T. Hutten 1, J. Powers 1
SRB 11 (4, 1, 3, 3) V. Udovicic 3, F. Filipovic 2, S. Mitrovic 1, A. Prlainovic 1, M. Aleksic 1, S. Nikic 1, D. Pijetlovic 1, Z. Gocic 1

Saves - USA - M. Moses 12 - SRB - S. Soro 12
6x5 - USA - 2/8 - SRB - 4/9
Penalties - USA 0/1 - SRB 0/0

FLASH QUOTES

Terry SCHROEDER (USA) - head coach

On which part of their game didn't go according to plan:

"We didn't start too strong and we gave up a couple of goals. We tried to fight ourselves back into the game, but Serbia is a tough team and I think they are the best here. I hope we will have another shot to play with them."

On whether this defeat will harm the team's spirit:

"We will see. That's the mark of a good team - how it can get back from a defeat like this. We lost today, but we are in the quarterfinals, so we can go on."

Tony AZEVEDO (USA)

On the match:

"It didn't go well at all, but we're still in a good position. This is a good learning experience for us. We've definitely got to pick up our game, as we're not going to win a crossover (quarterfinal) like we played today."

On the importance of topping the group:

"It's important, but it's not everything. There are four other teams in the group that are great."

Peter HUDNUT (USA)

On the result:

"It wasn't what I expected, we are much better than the result. They're a good team, so we hope we get to play them again."

On the tournament:

"Obviously every team's goal is to win. In this Olympic Games, the top seven or eight teams are all great, the past Olympics have had slower teams."

Merrill MOSES (USA)

On the loss:

"The result was not what we wanted, we expected to win, but we are not panicking. It means that we need to focus on our mistakes and work on them for our next match against Hungary (on Monday), but I think that whoever wins gold at these Olympics will lose one or two games. We can play better, for sure, but it's all about the quarterfinals and that's where the results really matter. We will play a good team, but we will be ready."

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo<

 

WATER POLO PLANET.COM: the Alternative Voice    www.waterpoloplanet.com

Monday, August 6

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Following the conclusion of the preliminary round in the men's tournament, Croatia and Serbia were the top ranked teams in Group A and B respectively. Croatia was the only team with five victories, while Serbia earned four wins and a draw with Montenegro. Croatia will meet the USA, the 4th ranked team from Group B in the first game of the quarterfinal round which begins on Wednesday. Serbia will match up against Australia, the 4th ranked team from Group A in the fourth match of the quarterfinal round

Spain, the second place team in Group A will square off against Montenegro, which finished third in Group B in the quarter final in the second match of the next round. In Wednesday's third match, Italy, the number 3 ranked team in Group A will face Hungary, the second ranked team from Group B and the 2008 Olympic champions. Hungary's campaign was off to a uncertain start having lost their first two matches to Serbia and Montenegro, but they won their final three matches in the preliminary round.

Four teams, the lowest two in each group will not advance beyond the preliminary round of five games. Finishing in 9th place was the team from Greece which beat Kazakhstan, tied Italy and lost three Group A matches. Romania placed 10th, beating Great Britain, but losing to the other 4 teams in Group B. In 11th place was Kazakhstan which lost all five of their Group A matches, but had a better goal differential than the 12th place team. Host team Great Britain made their first appearance in the Olympic tournament since the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, and played their final game of London 2012 today, losing five consecutive games in the preliminary rounds of Group B, and finishing 12th in the Olympic tournament.

10:00 Game #25 KAZ 4 vs CRO 12 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Croatia sinks Kazakhstan and is undefeated in Group A

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Croatia beat Kazakhstan 12-4 for a fifth consecutive win and Group A supremacy on the fifth and final day of preliminary men's action at the Water Polo Arena on Monday. Kazakhstan will bow out of the tournament. The Kazakhstan team was winless and will collect 11th or 12th placing depending on the goal difference with the sixth team in Group B.

Niksa Dobud (CRO) controlled the centre-forward position, scoring five goals to lift his tournament tally to 12. He tipped, swept, backhanded and swatted the goals with obvious ease, using his considerable turning power to frequently threaten the Kazakhstan goalkeeper. With a flawless sheet, Croatia can now think of gold medals and what they need to do to steer a path through the quarterfinals.

Croatia were 4-0 up at the quarter and a sedate 5-1 at halftime. It was 9-3 at the final break and 12-3 late in the fourth before Kazakhstan captain Yevgeniy Zhilyayev scored his second goal. Croatia were near perfect on extra-man attack, converting five from six. Kazakhstan netted two from five.

Head coach Sergey Drozdov (KAZ) offered his thoughts on whether the players thought Croatia were too strong: "Croatia are a very strong team and yes, the players probably thought it was impossible to play even a tight match with them. We made too many mistakes in the back, especially in our zonal defence - we had too many exclusions. We learnt a lot and I think in most of the matches we performed on the expected level. We didn't have high expectations - it was already a great achievement to qualify for the Olympics."

Player Sergey Gorovoy (KAZ) broke news on his 37th birthday celebrated today: "I am finished with water polo, now I will retire. We (our national team) will play against much stronger teams (in the future) to develop water polo in our country." Teammate Yevgeniy Zhilyayez (KAZ): "We tried our best, but our opponents (Croatia) were much stronger. Our goal was to finish in the top eight and we didn't manage this, so we are not feeling great. The Olympic experience is not like anything else and you can't always be prepared". Asked about the 2016 Rio Olympics he replied: "No, I won't. It feels bad, but it's enough for me now."

Head coach Ratko Rudic (CRO) on playing hard, even when the match wasn't of great importance (Croatia would top group A regardless of the result, Kazakhstan would finish bottom): "These are the Olympic Games. We have to respect that and to leave a mark - maybe not with the result, but with our play. That is the match which will lead us to the battle for the medals. The pressure is big and we have to protect our players from that. We have to think and play rationally."

Player Maro Jokovic (CRO) was focused on his team's next rival: "Serbia, definitely, we have been watching them and they have showed a lot. Every team now is fighting for the same thing; nobody is going to back down easily. These five wins mean nothing if we lose the next match. This was an easy game; we've been preparing more for the quarters." Teammate Niksa Dobud (CRO) discussed his team's five game preliminary round: "There are no easy games in the Olympics, especially when it's this early in the morning." Dobud (CRO) joked with one of his coaches at the end of the third quarter: "I said, 'why must I go out? I'm just starting to score', I was just joking, of course." 

Referees: MOLLER German (ARG) LITTLEJOHN Brian (GBR)
Delegate: AMINI Khosrow (IRI) WHITEHOUSE John (AUS)

11:20 Game #27 GRE 8 vs AUS 13 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Australia nabs 8th spot in quarterfinals by defeating Greece in Group A play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Australia grabbed the eighth men's quarterfinal berth with a spectacular 13-8 group A victory over Greece. The heavily penalised Australians gave a high-flying display and had a 3-2 quarter-time lead, which expanded to 8-5 at half-time and then to a match-winning 11-6 at the final break.

A critical centre-forward goal from Jamie Beadsworth (AUS) on extra-man attack for 7-4 seemed to give the Australian team the impetus to strike harder and more often. The ball appeared to stop on the line, but referee Mihajlo Ciric (SRB) over-ruled the goal judge who signalled no goal. Australia marched to 11-5 deep into the third period. Greece struck twice, either side of the final break, for 11-7, but when Billy Miller (AUS) let fly with a projectile on extra-man for 12-7 with less than five minutes remaining, Greece were virtually assigned to the spectator benches. 

The adrenalin rush of the Australians will be needed again in the quarterfinals as the bottom qualifiers will have to face the Group B winners. Rhys Howden was the key for Australia with three action goals from near the five-metre line to have his team at 9-5 up. Theodoros Chatzitheodorou (GRE), returning to the national team for a third Olympic Games, scored three of Greece's first four goals. Australia's tremendous defence when a man down meant Greece could only convert three from 15 chances. Australia scored six from nine.

Greek head coach Dragan Andric (SRB) expressed concerns about being labelled the Olympic favourites and revealed his future status: "The pressure might be the reason (we lost). Australia has shown how a team should fight. It seems every single shot from the Australians went in our goal. We didn't take our chances. It seems we are paying the price for being absent from big competitions for a long time. My contract is expiring after these Olympics. I have to talk to the Greek water polo people."

Player Christos Afroudakis (GRE) said: "We already know how the Australians play, but we didn't react and we conceded too many goals early in the match. After you are a long way down at this level, it is hard to come back. We did not play as well as we could today and we should have played differently, but it's in the past now and it is a good lesson. Now we will take a rest and I will help the team to prepare for the next big competition." His teammate Georgios Afroudakis (GRE) was concerned about his team's play today and his nation's support: "We had a bad game at the beginning, it was not good play and we lost the opportunity to reach the last eight. I believe we are a better team than Australia and we should have gone through. Yes, there are funding problems and we need the government to support water polo. The government might close some swimming pools next year. They must take care and keep the pools open for the next generation of water polo players."

Australian head coach John Fox (AUS) revealed his pre-game strategy that worked: "We had a long, long meeting yesterday. It was player driven. I said 'look, this is what we need to do to win this game. We went through situations and we were very critical of each other; even we, the coaches, were criticised. We accounted for every single goal we've let in this tournament. It was a painful process, but it's paid off today as the players said it should never happen again. It was a relief to put the game beyond Greece by the end of the third quarter. In the last quarter we changed some things, but all we had to do was to stick to our game plan, which we did and the boys did what we asked them."

Player Johnno Cotterill (AUS) wasn't sure if it was luck or skill: "I think in a tournament it does come down to luck, but today we clicked. We finally put all our systems in place and played for four quarters. Any Olympics is about momentum. Today was a final and we have three more if we want a medal. But now we have some momentum to do that. A lot of them (our Greek opponents) are good friends, but you forget about that in the water and it showed in the exchanges, and a few bad things were said in the Greek press."

Jamie Beadsworth (AUS) was upbeat about today's results: "Definitely, it was a lot better feeling than the last few days. Our man-ups, both in attack and defence were massive issues in previous games, but we sat down and clarified things."

Referees: CIRIC Mihajlo (SRB) BORRELL SANCHEZ Sergi (ESP)
Delegate: ELDER Ross (GBR) DETKO Tad (GBR)

14:10 Game #28 ROU 4 vs SRB 12 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Serbia demolishes Romania 12-4

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Serbia took out men's Group B honours with a 12-4 victory over Romania. Serbia finished with four wins and a draw with Montenegro, leaving Group A winners Croatia, as the only five-win team.  

Romania, back in the Olympic arena for the first time since 1996, leaves the tournament winless. Serbia were 5-0 ahead before Romania first scored through Kalman Kadar with a short drive. The margin then went 6-1 at the half and 10-1 after three quarters.

Andrija Prlainovic (SRB) scored twice on extra-man advantage to stretch his tournament-high total to 18. Fellow Serbians Filip Filipovic (SRB) and captain Vanja Udovicic (SRB) moved their totals to 10 with one apiece. It was all Serbia and Romania tried until the end, collecting three goals in the last period. Slobodan Nikic (SRB) enjoyed the extra-man plays, scoring off three, especially when sitting so close to goal. Two of Serbian Stefan Mitrovic's three goals also came on extra man attacks. Serbia went six from seven on man-up and Romania converted two from seven attempts.

Serbian head coach Dejan Udovicic offered his reaction to his team's play in the match: "We should be full of confidence, bearing in mind our style of play, especially in the last two matches. But it doesn't mean that we should relax too much. Australia (their quarterfinal opponent) are psychologically difficult opponents. They have nothing to lose, which is a more comfortable position to be in. Regarding the pressure, it's not the first time or last time for us to play such an important game."

Serbian player Andrija Prlainovic (SRB) was confident about today's result: "Yes, it's important. It was easy, but our attitude from the beginning was very good. We have to be serious in every game and we are getting in better shape. We are ready for the next game."

Teammate Filip Filipovic (SRB) explains why he puts his robe behind the goal they are defending: "It's just a superstition I have had since I started playing water polo. Everyone has their own little superstition in big matches, this is one of mine. We won the game in the first three quarters and, in the fourth, we mentally relaxed. If you fall down for one second, you concede goals. I'm very happy, now we play (Australia) the weakest team in the other group. It will be physically exhausting, as Australia are very physical, so we'll have to prepare tactically."

Romanian head coach Istvan Kovacs (HUN) spoke about their farewell match: "We tried to have a nice farewell, but it was a kind of mission impossible against the Serbs, they are extremely strong. I saw them sweeping aside the USA team, and I was afraid it would be like being hit by a truck for us today. It did not happen, but we were close to it. Thank God we scored some goals in the end. Qualifying for this Olympics was the most this team could achieve, since we had the four semi-finalists from Beijing in our group. We tried our best, we had a win and some close matches, and that's fine. My contract is finished, now it's time to go on holiday and cheer for Hungary."

Player Cosmin Radu (ROU) explained his team's predicament: "We were in a very difficult group, playing against the defending champions and also the favourites. It was very hard, but we tried our best. You don't have enough paper to write down all the things we need to do. We have to change as a team and get younger players into the team if we hope to be as good as Serbia. They are the favourites and the only team that can beat them are themselves. If they play to the best of their ability, they will win." 

His teammate Kalman Kadar (ROU) was asked whether the team are happy with their play: "We did play well, but we did not make eighth in the tournament and this is what we wanted to do. We played well against Hungary, against the USA and Montenegro, but we didn't manage to make the top eight and I feel sad about this. I don't know, I hope to play in the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Olympics is unique. We get well looked after and we can live like children, I have enjoyed it very much. We have played against some of the best teams in the world and we had a good chance to win some of these matches. Just to be here is the result of the team's motivation and resolve to never give up. Serbia has the best chance of taking gold."

Referees: SPIEGEL Ulrich (GER) ROTSART Steven (USA)
Delegate: FARID Mohie (EGY) DR MARTIN Gyorgy (HUN)

15:30 Game #30 HUN 11 vs USA 6 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Hungary drowns USA, 11-6 in Group B finale

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Hungary are back and ready to retain their Olympic crown after a dominant 11-6 display over United States in a Group B men's match at the Water Polo Arena. After two losses, Hungary have strung together three wins to gain third position in the group, one place above fellow quarterfinalists USA after what was a rematch of the Beijing 2008 gold-medal final. It was the manner in which the Hungarians put together a near-perfect game plan and executed it precisely, that really impressed.

USA were made to look ordinary. Hungary built their programme around winning at Olympic Games, as they have done for the last three and six before that. It was a close match early on as Hungary scored the lone goal of the first period, a power play score at the 6:25 mark. From there neither side could find the net. USA's best chance came on a power play attempt with less than a minute to go in the period. 

The second period was strong for the Hungarians as they scored three straight goals in a little over two minutes to take a 4-0 lead with 5:52 left. The United States broke through with 4:41 to go in the half when Adam Wright (USA) drew a penalty and Tony Azevedo (USA) converted for a 4-1 match. 

Hungary responded with a power play score on their next possession to reclaim a four goal lead at 5-1. A few minutes later the United States had an answer with a power play goal from John Mann (USA) inside for a 5-2 game. Once again Hungary would score on their next possession, this time on a penalty shot, to take a 6-2 lead at halftime.

Ninety seconds into the third period the Hungarians drew another penalty, one of three on the day, and Tamas Kasas converted for a 7-2 lead. Jeff Powers (USA) got one back for the United States on an inside score to close to 7-3 with 4:37 left. Hungary answered immediately on their next possession with a power play goal, the third of the day for Norbert Hosnyanszky (HUN), to take an 8-3 lead. The Hungarians followed that up by halting a USA power play and then adding two more goals of their own to close out the period ahead 10-3.

USA fought hard to the end and won the final quarter 3-1 in what will be good preparation for the harder task ahead. Six different scorers found the cage for the USA. Goalkeeper Merrill Moses (USA) posted five saves in net. The loss leaves the USA at 3-2 and currently in fourth place at the conclusion of group play setting up a likely match with Croatia, the champion of Group A.

The man-up situations were fairly even with Hungary converting four from 10 and USA four from 11 and 14 players shared in the scoring.  USA and Croatia met most recently at the semi-finals of the 2012 FINA World League Super Final, an 11-10 win for Croatia. 

USA's head coach Terry Schroeder (USA) shared his thoughts after the drubbing by Hungary: "It could be better. Actually, we started good, the same way as we played against other teams, but offensively we didn't get it. We have to regroup, pick ourselves up and find our hearts. The tournament starts now, with the quarterfinals. I believe in these boys and they believe in themselves."

USA team captain Tony Azevedo (USA) discussed the USA's performance: "Hungary played well, pressing all over. We made a lot of mistakes in defence. We're all human, we don't make money out of this. We need to play like we did when we were kids - we play because we love it." Teammate Jesse Smith (USA) agreed: "We're just not playing well. We've played together for a very long time, so we're going to start playing for each other. We're going to adopt the GB supporters' mentality of 'you're never out of it. It's do or die now we are in the knockout stages, so we have to give it our best shot."

Hungarian head coach Denes Kemeny (HUN) broke down his team's game: "We've reached another level. This is the way the team is capable of playing if they all give 100% concentration. Our attack worked in the previous matches, now the defence was focused as well. It wasn't surprising as this team has shown during the last 15 years that they can do excellent things at the back. If they regard it a message, I leave them this way. We didn't want messaging or demonstrating, we just wanted to win, since winning is the best one can feel - apart from other nice things in life - and a win can give the athlete the strongest feedback. We got that feedback today and this is quite important before the knockout phase."

Player Peter Biros (HUN) was happy with his team's effort: "For us, it is a really good win. I think you can tell by the score that we wanted to win the match a lot more than the USA. We didn't want to start the tournament with two defeats, but we are playing well and now we want to go on and win the quarters, the semis and the final." Teammate Norbert Madras (HUN) downplayed the victory: "Today's game was not too important. We have three more games and everybody can win. If we play like we played today, we can win."

Referees: FLAHIVE Daniel (AUS) STAVRIDIS Georgios (GRE)
Delegate: SOSTAR Aleksandar (SRB) FIROIU Niculae (GER)

London, England - August 6 - The U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team lost to Hungary 11-6 to close out group play at the 2012 Olympic Games. Six different scorers found the cage for Team USA and Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) posted five saves in net. The loss leaves Team USA at 3-2 and currently in fourth place at the conclusion of group play setting up a likely match with Croatia, the champion of Group A. Game time and television coverage for the quarterfinals are still to be determined.

It was a close match early on as Hungary scored the lone goal of the first period, a power play score at the 6:25 mark. From there neither side could find the cage with Team USA's best chance coming on a power play attempt with less than a minute to go in the period. The second period was strong for the Hungarians as they scored three straight goals in a little over two minutes to take a 4-0 lead with 5:52 left. The United States broke through with 4:41 to go in the half when Adam Wright (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/NYAC) drew a penalty and Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) converted for a 4-1 match.

Hungary responded with a power play score on their next possession to reclaim a four goal lead at 5-1. A few minutes later the United States had an answer with a power play goal from John Mann (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC) inside for a 5-2 game. Once again Hungary would score on their next possession, this time on a penalty shot, to take a 6-2 lead at halftime.

Ninety seconds into the third period the Hungarians drew another penalty, one of three on the day, and Tamas Kasas converted for a 7-2 lead. Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) got one back for the United States on an inside score to close to 7-3 with 4:37 left. Hungary answered immediately on their next possession with a power play goal, the third of the day for Norbert Hosnyanszky, to take an 8-3 lead. The Hungarians followed that up by halting a USA power play and then adding two more goals of their own to close out the period ahead 10-3.

Down seven to open the final period the United States looked to rally. They got things started with a power play goal from Jesse Smith (Coronado, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) to close the gap to 10-4. Hungary scored on their next possession on a power play for an 11-4 game. Layne Beaubien (Coronado, CA/Stanford/NYAC) got one back for Team USA on a player advantage moments later, cutting the score to 11-5 with 3:27 left. Peter Hudnut (Encino, CA/Stanford/NYAC) got one last goal for the United States, on a power play, but there would not be enough time left to complete a rally as Hungary took the match 11-6.

Notes: Team USA went 4/11 on power plays and 1/1 on penalties while Hungary was 5/10 on power plays and 3/3 on penalties. Team USA and Croatia met most recently at the semifinals of the 2012 FINA World League Super Final, an 11-10 win for Croatia.

Scoring
USA 6 (0, 2, 1, 3) T. Azevedo 1, J. Smith 1, J. Powers 1, J. Mann 1, P. Hudnut 1, L. Beaubien 1
HUN 11 (1, 5, 4, 1) N. Hosnyanszky 3, P. Biros 2, T. Varga 1, N. Madras 1, G. Kiss 1, M. Szivos 1, A. Steinmetz 1, T. Kasas 1

Saves - USA - M. Moses 5 - HUN - Z. Scecsi 8
6x5 - USA - 4/11 - HUN - 5/10
Penalties - USA - 1/1 - HUN - 3/3

FLASH QUOTES

Terry SCHROEDER (USA) - head coach

On his feelings after the defeat by the Olympic champions:

"Could be better. Actually, we started good, the same way as we played against other teams, but offensively we didn't get it. We have to regroup, pick ourselves up and find our hearts."

On the importance of the result:

"The tournament starts now, with the quarterfinals. I believe in these boys and they believe in themselves."

Tony AZEVEDO (USA)

On their poor performance:

"Hungary played well, pressing all over. We made a lot of mistakes in defence."

On what they can do differently in the quarterfinals:

"We're all human, we don't make money out of this. We need to play like we did when we were kids - we play because we love it."

Jesse SMITH (USA)

On what went wrong:

"We're just not playing well. We've played together for a very long time, so we're going to start playing for each other. We're going to adopt the GB supporters' mentality of 'you're never out of it'. "

On the quarterfinals:

"It's do or die now we are in the knockout stages, so we have to give it our best shot."

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo

18:20 Game #29 GRB 4 vs MNE 13 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Montenegro defeats Great Britain to finish second behind Serbia in Group B 

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Montenegro beat Great Britain 13-4 to close group B preliminary play in second place behind Serbia. Great Britain depart in 12th place, having played their first Olympic Games since 1956.

Montenegro finished with a 3-1-1 record from the five matches and look keen for the quarterfinals after a smooth and untroubled outing. Aleksandar Ivovic (MNE) added two goals for 12 from the competition and powerhouse centre forward Boris Zlokovic was at his belligerent best with three goals and is fast becoming the star two-metre-position man at London 2012.

Aleksandar Radovic (MNE) moved his tally to eight, scoring two outside shots and a penalty goal. Montenegro led 4-1 at the quarter and 8-3 at the long break. Great Britain improved with every minute and kept the scoring low in the third period with captain Craig Figes backhanding the ball into goal from six metres for one of the best scores of the match. At 10-4, Montenegro controlled the final quarter with three varied goals. Great Britain will learn that the extra-man situations are paramount as Montenegro converted five goals from seven attempts. Great Britain managed one from seven in what was a low-fouling, but open, encounter.

Head coach Ranko Personvic (MNE) offered his comments on the match: "We have done what we wanted to do, we have practiced some of our defensive and attacking options. No, no rest at all (before the quarterfinal), we are working every single day. We have to prepare ourselves psychologically." Team player Drasko Brguljan (MNE) shared: "It was a good game, but GB do not play the best quality water polo. They have bravery and they are young, so with more training they will be a good team." His teammate Nikola Janovic (MNE) observed: "We're happy, we've played some great games and we're optimistic. First we must win the quarterfinal, then we'll think about the rest of the tournament. It's normal to play against Croatia, Serbia, USA, but we had to play the same against Great Britain, even though we know they aren't as good. But I want to congratulate them on how they've played."

Cristian Iordache (ROU) the Great Britain head coach was thrown in the pool at the end of the match, a tradition usually reserved for the match winners: "It was the best thing that's happened to me in the four years spent here. All the matches, all the defeats, all the hard work, they were worth it to live this moment. We tried to be on the same level of the vice European champion, I think we did the best we could, just as we did during the Olympics. This is a major experience for the players which they can bring with themselves to future competitions. We tried to do our best and we kept fighting with the big teams as we could. To be honest, we've been waiting for 56 years to have a team in the Olympics, and we'd better take care of this team in the future as I'm not sure that building another one later would be the best solution."

Player Ciaran James (GBR) theorised: "Hopefully it will mean more recognition across the country and a lot more people will stop asking me if it is all about horses in the water." Teammate Rob Parker (GBR) spoke of the lessons learned in the tournament: "It shows how far off we still are. We never dreamt of ever competing in any quarterfinals. But it shows we can match these teams and with more experience and training, slowly we can creep up on these dudes". Asked what the GB players will do the rest of the week he replied: "We'll chill out. Get water polo off our minds and enjoy watching GB compete." Sean Ryder (GBR) said: "We can take a lot of positives from these matches and they have done us a favour. We played without pressure and nobody had any expectations for us. It allowed us to play with the freedom to make mistakes and we have learned from them."

Referees: NI Shiwei (CHN) MAKITA Kazuhiko (JPN)
Delegate: BADREDDINE Boukezouha (ALG) IBERN Lolo (ESP)

19:40 Game #26 ESP 7 vs ITA 10 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Italy edges Spain 10-7 to claim second rank in Group A

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: World champions Italy claimed second in group A with a 10-7 victory over Spain, who finished with seven points, now play a resurgent Hungary, winner of the last three Olympic Games. Third-ranked Spain, with six points, will clash with Montenegro, who were second in the other group.

The Italians were four up before Spain entered the scoring via Marc Minguell (ITA) on extra-man attack. Minguell converted another man-up play for 5-3 behind as former Croatian Danijel Premus (ITA) began to make his mark on the match. He scored three centre-forward goals in the second quarter, one fading to his right, another turning and the third after gaining an exclusion. Italy went from 6-3 at half-time to 8-4 at the end of three periods. Centre forward Matteo Aicardi (ITA) struck either side of the final break, the first on extra-man attack and the first of the fourth period a superb turn at two metres.

Then the match became interesting as the Spanish fans erupted again and again as Albert Espanol (ESP) from outside, Javier Garcia (ESP) from the right and Espanol (ESP) again with a flick in of a rebound to bring the game to within two goals and plenty of time remaining at 3:26.

Both teams missed chances before Maurizio Felugo (ITA), returning from a major foul, caught everyone off guard with a nine-metre skip shot for 10-7 at 1:46 left to seal the game. Italy mastered centre forward as much as the man-up plays, scoring three from eight chances. Spain did no better than two from 12.

Rafael Aguilar (ESP) head coach explained his team's play and praised good fortune of Italy: "It was a good match. We were really sure what we were doing, but the Italian centre forwards had a perfect day. They did a lot of harm to us, also their players assisted each other quite well, while we committed mistakes worthy of scoring goals into our own net. Since we have eight very good teams in the quarterfinals, who all have a chance to win a medal. Perhaps Serbia are a step ahead of the field, but playing with any other team it's just all the same."

Spanish player Daniel Lopez summed up: "A fair result. We got what we deserved. What is the difference between second and third? We wanted to avoid Serbia, so our position is not really a big issue." Teammate Albert Espanol (ESP) expressed his disappointment: "I think we started very badly, we were three goals down from the beginning and the rest of the match we could not get the deficit back. Every game is important, we were both already qualified for the quarterfinals, but I think the next game will be different, we will approach it differently."

Italian head coach Alessandro Campagna accepting the challenge ahead: "I think we needed these games to believe more in our style and to be more confident later in the tournament, when we'll play against the top teams. We have nothing to lose against Hungary (in the quarterfinal). I know very well how great a team Hungary are. Anyway, it'll be a great quarterfinal with two great teams."

Italian player Maurizio Felugo insists that he and his teammates are focused on winning Olympic medals: "We're very pleased, it has not been an easy competition so far. Of course we are, it's very hard not to (think about medals). There's a lot of emotion in the camp. We're looking forward to the end of the week."

Italian teammate Pietro Figlioli spoke about the benefits of finishing second: "Yes it's important psychologically, there were a few lapses of concentration at the end of the game. We believe in performing well and then the results will follow, we have confidence in our systems. Absolutely we're ready, we have been training for three years, so you have to be ready now. It's not going to be a walk in the park, we know that, whoever we play."

Referee: ALEXANDRESCU Adrian (ROU) STAMPALIJA Dragan (CRO)
Delegate: SHARONOV Evgeny (RUS) SHAW Bill (CAN)

WATER POLO PLANET.COM: the Alternative Voice    www.waterpoloplanet.com

Wednesday, August 8

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Four nations each bordering the Adriatic Sea will play for Olympic medals in the semi-final round of the men's 2012 London Olympic water polo tournament. In today's biggest upset, Italy defeated Hungary, the 2008 Olympic champions to earn their spot in the next round. Italy's opponent is Serbia which had a closer than expected victory over Australia today.

Croatia easily dismantled the USA, the 2008 Olympic silver medallists, to secure their spot in Friday's semi-final round. Serbia's opponent is Montenegro, which faced down a challenge by Spain earlier today, winning 11-9.

The losers of today's games will meet in the classification round to play for places 5th through 8th. The USA will face Spain on Friday and the other match up will include Hungary and Australia.

14:30 Game #31 CRO 8 vs USA 2 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Croatia drowns USA to advance to men's semi-final 

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Croatia had the easiest of the quarterfinal clashes in the men's competition, beating United States 8-2. The match was not without tension and drama. Two-goal star Paulo Obradovic (CRO) was suspended for chatting to the referee early in the third quarter.

In the dying seconds of the same period, Andro Buslje (CRO) gained his third major foul when he tried to punch the USA shot away, which is not allowed by a field player. One mistake was compounded by another from the opposing team when USA captain Tony Azevedo swam up to take the penalty shot. Azevedo threw his body too far over the five-metre line and the goal was disallowed.

It was a shocking result for the USA, held scoreless in the first half after 2-0 and 3-0 quarters for 5-0. The USA dragged the game back to 5-2 in the third quarter but Croatia led 7-2 at the final break. Worse still for Beijing 2008 silver medallists USA was a third consecutive loss by five or more goals. The USA scored just one from 15 chances on extra-man play with Croatia slightly better at three from 12.

Croatia now plays neighbours Montenegro in the semi-finals with USA heading to the round of 5-8.

USA head coach Terry Schroeder on losing three straight and one-sided matches to Serbia, Hungary and Croatia: "There are a lot of good teams here and we played three of them in a row. Today we did few things well, but in the six on fives we didn't do well. The five-men defence was very strong, but we scored one from 15 in six on fives, and it's tough to win that way. We could have done a better job in the last three games." On their demise after a strong start in the tournament: "The Olympics is a pretty amazing thing, happening once every four years and you have to be at your peak for those two weeks. For whatever reason, we started out well and we were strong against Montenegro, but after that we seemed to be a little bit up and down. We never found our rhythm and probably the belief in ourselves either."

USA player Ryan Bailey on what went wrong: "Wasn't our day, very disappointed. Sometimes that's just what happens. We weren't connecting the dots and didn't take advantage of the man-ups." On what is next for him: "Take some time off, regroup, keep training and stay physically fit, but this is probably my last Olympics." On whether USA were prepared enough: "We prepared well, trained hard, physically we were fantastic. I have no excuses."  

USA goalkeeper Merrill Moses on the team's play today: "There's a lot of team chemistry, we're like brothers. There's not one of those guys I wouldn't go to war with, and every game is like a war, but we didn't execute our game plan and it's a sad moment in our career. This is the best team the US has had in a long time and unfortunately we couldn't keep the legacy." On the game: "They executed their game plan and we didn't execute ours. The bottom line is that they played better. The game comes down to six on fives, that is what our coach always tells us. Their goalie played very well and it was their day, not ours." On the tournament: "We've played the powerhouses of water polo, Hungary, Serbia and Croatia, but we've been able to play in that pool for a while now and today is a sad day for all of us as we've put a lot of time in." 

Croatian head coach Ratko Rudic on his team's defence today: "Our goalkeeper Josip Pavic has been brilliant. The whole defence has been strong. We were good in attack as well and we had chances to score more goals, but you shouldn't exaggerate. We have just bought a ticket for the big show. We have to keep our feet on the ground but we'll have a small celebration and start studying (Montenegro) our next opponent. We know what their strong and weak points are, but if we repeat today's game we should be alright." 

Croatian player Niksa Dobud on his team's performance: "We played very well, especially our defence. I think that was our best ever in defence. On having training camps with the USA before the tournament: "We know each other. Teams will always get together as preparation, so we know their game and it helped." Teammate Igor Hinic on whether training with the USA was an advantage: "Well, it obviously helped Croatia a lot, but not so much USA." On whether Croatia played well or the USA played badly: "Both of these are true, but the USA were not as good as we expected them to be."

Referees: CAPUTI Massimiliano (ITA) JUHASZ Gyorgy (HUN)
Delegate: KRYUKOV Andrey (KAZ) SOSTAR Aleksandar (SRB)

London, England - August 8 - The U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team and their quest for a second consecutive Olympic Medal was halted by Croatia in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Olympic Games with an 8-2 loss. Winners of the Silver Medal in the 2008 Olympic Games, Team USA never got on track offensively as they fell behind 5-0 at halftime and struggled on power plays going 1/15. Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) and Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) scored for the United States while Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) recorded 10 saves in net. Team USA will now play for fifth place starting with a semifinal match against Spain on Friday, August 10. Game time and television coverage are to be announced.

It was close early on with each team's defense containing the other until Croatia broke through with a power play strike at the 5:07 mark for a 1-0 lead. They followed that up with another extra man score with 2:41 to go, taking a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period. Croatia opened the second period on a six on four advantage as a result of exclusions concluding the previous period and took advantage finding the net for a 3-0 lead. Croatia kept building less than three minutes later with another power play score for a 4-0 lead. They closed out the first half scoring with a fifth power play goal, the second of the day for Paulo Obradovic, and Croatia led 5-0. The United States had chances following that fifth goal but failed on three consecutive power plays to close the half, leaving Croatia with the five goal lead.

In the third things started to click for the Americans as they put together back to back goals from Bailey and then Varellas, on a power play, to draw within 5-2 with 3:30 remaining. Croatia responded with a power play goal at the 1:39 mark to go ahead 6-2. They would add another score with just four seconds remaining in the period for a 7-2 lead. An odd sequence then followed. Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) took a final shot to close out the period, only to have it blocked by a Croatian defender with two hands. This resulted in a penalty against Croatia. Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) took the shot for Team USA but was ruled over the five meter line and his goal was disallowed. All of that commotion left Croatia with a 7-2 lead after three periods.

Both offenses were quiet in the final period until Croatia added one last score, a power play with 4:23 left, to go up 8-2. Team USA looked to put together a run, but subsequent opportunities were to no avail and Croatia advanced to the semifinal with an 8-2 victory.

Notes: Team USA went 1/15 on power plays and 0/1 on penalties while Croatia was 6/12 on power plays and did not attempt a penalty shot. Along with two goals from Obradovic, Damir Buric and Miho Boskovic also scored twice to lead Croatia in scoring. Obradovic was rolled from the game in the second half for talking back to the officials. The semifinals have been set for the tournament with Croatia taking on Montenegro and Italy meeting Serbia. Three-time defending champion Hungary was defeated by Italy 11-9. They take on Australia in the other fifth place semifinal match.

Scoring
USA 2 (0, 0, 2, 0) P. Varellas 1, R. Bailey 1
CRO 8 (2, 3, 2, 1) P. Obradovic 2, D. Buric 2, M. Boskovic 2, S. Sukno 1, S. Barac 1

Saves - USA - M. Moses 10 - CRO - J. Pavic 12
6x5 - USA - 1/15 - CRO 6/12
Penalties - USA - 0/1 - CRO 0/0

Flash Quotes

Terry SCHROEDER (USA) - head coach

On losing three straight and one-sided matches to Serbia, Hungary and Croatia:

"There are a lot of good teams here and we played three of them in a row. Today we did few things well, but in the six on fives we didn't do well. The five-men defence was very strong, but we scored one from 15 in six on fives, and it's tough to win that way. We could have done a better job in the last three games."

On their demise after a strong start in the tournament:

"The Olympics is a pretty amazing thing, happening once every four years and you have to be at your peak for those two weeks. For whatever reason, we started out well and we were strong against Montenegro, but after that we seemed to be a little bit up and down. We never found our rhythm and probably the belief in ourselves either."

Ryan BAILEY (USA)

On what went wrong:

"Wasn't our day, very disappointed. Sometimes that's just what happens. We weren't connecting the dots and didn't take advantage of the man-ups."

On what is next for him:

"Take some time off, regroup, keep training and stay physically fit, but this is probably my last Olympics."

On whether USA were prepared enough:

"We prepared well, trained hard, physically we were fanastic. I have no excuses."

Merrill MOSES (USA)

On the team:

"There's a lot of team chemistry, we're like brothers. There's not one of those guys I wouldn't go to war with, and every game is like a war, but we didn't execute our game plan and it's a sad moment in our career. This is the best team the US has had in a long time and unfortunately we couldn't keep the legacy."

On the game:

"They executed their game plan and we didn't execute ours. The bottom line is that they played better. The game comes down to six on fives, that is what our coach always tells us. Their goalie played very well and it was their day, not ours."

On the tournament:

"We've played the powerhouses of water polo, Hungary, Serbia and Croatia, but we've been able to play in that pool for a while now and today is a sad day for all of us as we've put a lot of time in."

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo

15:50 Game #32 ESP 9 vs MNE 11 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Montenegro dashes Spanish hopes in 11-9 triumph 

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Montenegro moved into the semi-finals with a 11-9 victory over Spain in the first men's quarterfinal at the Water Polo Arena on Wednesday. Atlanta 1996 champions Spain produced exciting water polo in the first quarter, matching Montenegro 4-4, and then winning the final quarter 3-1, but Montenegro were ahead 7-5 at half-time and a comfortable 10-6 at the final break.

It was Montenegro captain Nikola Janovic who halted the Spanish charge with a goal from the deep left 1:37 from time for the two-goal margin. Boris Zlokovic (MNE) is one of the form centre forwards at London 2012 and three of his four goals - 11 for the tournament - came on extra-man attack.

Xavier Valles (ESP) scored two excellent goals with the first a high lob pass into centre forward from Felipe Perrone (ESP) in the second quarter for 5-5 and then after finding himself free on two metres in the third period for 10-7 behind.

It was always going to be a tough task for the Spaniards, but to their credit they performed equal to the occasion. Spanish veteran Ivan Perez's last chances of an Olympic medal have slipped by as the competition's oldest competitor at 41 will probably find Rio de Janeiro in 2016 a quest too far. Spain assistant coach Antonio Aparicio was red-carded in the final quarter and is in line for a one-match suspension.

Nineteen players collected major fouls with only Predrag Jokic (MNE) gaining three to leave the match. Montenegro converted five from 13 and Spain only four from 18 on the man-up situations. Montenegro was the FINA World League champion in 2009. The team placed 9th place in the 2009 FINA World Championships and improved to 7th place at last year's Shanghai World Championships. The team lost to Serbia 4-6 missing out on the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Spanish head coach Rafael Aguilar on what they lacked to match Montenegro: "I wouldn't say we lacked anything. It's a quarterfinal match, it's not about playing well or playing bad. It's about winning. This time they did probably more." On what happened in the third period, when Spain started to miss their man-up chances: "We definitely had a bad period then, as we started to convert again in the fourth quarter. The same happened in the match against Italy, we tried to improve that, but again we committed the same mistakes and those cost us a lot."

Spanish player Albert Espanol spoke about the match: "We didn't play very well, they (Montenegro) are very strong. In the beginning we were both winning, then they got a two or three-goal advantage and we missed some shots. Once we were behind, we couldn't get back." On not making the semi-finals: "It's a really hard hit for us, we have been training so hard for so many years for this, it's very frustrating. Losing is never a good score."

Spain's veteran player and the oldest player in the Olympic tournament Ivan Perez on not winning an Olympic medal in his career: "(Basketball player) Charles Barkley (USA) never won an NBA ring, but that doesn't mean he's not a good player. Not winning a medal doesn't mean I haven't achieved anything." On whether the last Montenegro goal should have been disallowed for being shot within the 2m line: "It was definitely inside 2m. But they were always in front on the scoreboard, we could maybe have drawn."

Montenegro's Ranko Perovic head coach on the match: "We knew that it was not going to be easy, but we were good in defence, especially in the man-up situations. It was very difficult psychologically and I have to congratulate my players." On whether he can see his team in the final: "Well, we want to be there, but other teams want to be there as well. I think that we have shown in the match against Spain that physically, we are a very strong team."

Player Mladan Janovic (MNE) on the match and Spain's performance: "It's the quarterfinals, so we knew today's game was going to be very difficult as we are all fighting for the medals. We know we are better than Spain, but the first quarter was very difficult. We played much better for the final three quarters." On the amount of exclusions in the match: "There were a lot of exclusions in the game (33). I don't know why there were that many today, but we do usually get a lot as we are a tough team." His teammate Boris Zlokovic on his feelings about going through to the semi-finals: "Very good, in two games we could win our country's first gold." On whether the team feels under pressure as one of only a few medal hopes for Montenegro: "For the last six years we have always been under pressure. When we don't have pressure, it's something strange for us." Another teammate Nikola Janovic discussed the match: "We are happy because we are the best team. This is a very important day for us."

Referees: ALEXANDRESCU Adrian (ROU) SPIEGEL Ulrich (GER)
Delegate: SHARONOV Evgeny (RUS) SHAW Bill (CAN)

18:40 Game #33 ITA 10 vs HUN 9 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Italy upsets 2008 Olympic champion Hungary

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: A new men's champion will be crowned at London 2012 as the dream run of triple Olympic champions Hungary was ended by world champions Italy with an 11-9 score in the third men's quarterfinal at the Water Polo Arena on Wednesday. The shattered Hungarians exited from the pool in disbelief that they would not even play for a medal, let alone one with a golden glow. Italy can lay claim to the Olympic crown - if they can first pass Serbia in the semi-finals - after a glorious effort, leading 5-4 at half-time and 8-5 heading into the final quarter.

As Hungary clawed their way back into the match for 9-8 and then 10-9 with 39 seconds remaining, it looked like the Hungary of old were back in with a chance. That opportunity was blown, however, when Hungary's three-goal hero Norbert Madaras was excluded and Pietro Figlioli (ITA), scorer of three goals, back-flipped the ball to teammate Christian Presciutti to score his third on the final siren for 11-9.

Maurizio Felugo was the third Italian to score three in the match, netting the critical 7-5 and 10-8 goals. It was not the extra-man shooting percentage that decided the match, but Italy's defence, effective outside shooting and Hungary's indifferent shooting. Italy scored five goals from 11 chances and Hungary five from 10

Six of the Hungarian champions have stood atop the dais three times, but will leave London with the feeling of defeat and finishing no better than fifth, depending entirely on their play in the classification round of 5-8.

Watching the match from the stands was the oldest living Olympic champion, 98-year-old Alex Tarics, who now lives in the United States but won gold with Hungary at Berlin 1936. Tarics was a member of the second gold medal won by Hungary, their first of nine was won in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Tarics turns 99 on September 23.

Hungarian head coach Denes Kemeny on the differences between this team and the ones crowned in the previous three Olympics: "In the past we were strong enough to withstand the pressure coming either from the opponent or from the poolside (the referees). This team are not as rock-solid as the others were. Today we played bad enough to give Italy and the others the chance to smell blood." On what went wrong: "Based on the previous match (against USA), we thought we had corrected our defensive mistakes, but we started to concede goals from eight or nine metres and that caused turmoil at the back again. This made our players more and more unbalanced, and in that state of mind, one cannot be on fire."

Hungarian player Norbert Madaras on the game and his team's failure to reach the semi-final: "The Italians were really confident and they had it easy in the beginning. I believe when the score went to 8-5 (to Italy), that was the critical point in the match because we couldn't bring it back. It's a very bad feeling not to be in the semi-finals. I don't believe the Italian team are any better than us. We didn't play well, unfortunately." His teammate Tamas Kasas on how he feels: "I feel empty. This game we played, maybe they were stronger in the head." On where the match was lost: "We didn't believe it was over until the last minute. Everybody is inside themselves right now, there is not too much talking."

Italian head coach Alessandro Campagna on his team's victory in the quarterfinal round: "Hungary has many Olympic titles, but we have a star team and we put them under difficulty with our tactics. We deserved to win and I liked the way we were passing the ball in the right way at the right time. We showed great patience and put Hungary in crisis. This is a great feat, to have beaten the Olympic champions. We made Hungary suffer. They are very strong and aggressive, but we prepared very well." On what he told the players after Italy lost its lead in the fourth quarter: "After Hungary caught up I told them (the players) to stay calm." On whether this is a historic win: "I've always said that we need to make history, but history is made by winners. We have a lot of motivation. We have grown during this tournament."

Italian player Pietro Figlioli on beating the 2008 Olympic champions: "I've never been to an Olympic semi-final, so it's a very pleasurable experience. The emotions are high at the moment and we need to try and keep them low." On having a goalkeeper playing well: "When you have a great goalkeeper (Stefano Tempesti), he can save the extra two or three that a regular keeper can't, but when the whole defence is playing well, you see what happens." His teammate Maurizio Felugo on how Italy played: "We played at the highest level. We played against one of the strongest teams ever. We know that we work very hard and this is the way we like it. The way we play water polo is the way others try to play. It is us who dictate how our opponents' play, such as with their tactics. It's a bit like in football." On going forward to the semi-finals: "We are very happy about beating the three-time Olympic champions. It is good for the upward movement of water polo in Italy."

Referees: STAVRIDIS Georgios (GRE) BALFANBAYEV Alan (KAZ)
Delegate: FOSTER Richard (USA) IBERN Lolo (ESP)

20:00 Game #34 AUS 8 vs SRB 11 Scoresheet and Play by Play

Serbia overcomes challenge from Australia

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Australia nearly pulled off one of the greatest Olympic water polo upsets, but could not convert a three-goal lead into victory against gold-medal favourites Serbia in the second men's quarterfinal at the Water Polo Arena on Wednesday. The normally dominant Serbians won by a flattering 11-8 but found themselves in the unusual position of trailing for three quarters and only took the lead for the first time at 4:19 remaining. Four times Australia led by three goals: 5-2, 6-3 and 8-5.

It was Australia all over the pool after being two down, scoring five unanswered goals as a huge contingent of spectators in green and gold roared on their team. Goals were swapped through to 8-5 two minutes into the third period and then Serbia let go of the brake and shut out the Aussie Sharks for the rest of the match. Filip Filipovic (SRB) scored three goals to lift his tally to 13 and Andrija Prlainovic (SRB) became the first man to 20 goals with a pair either side of the final break.

For Australia, Jamie Beadsworth dug two goals out of the centre-forward position and Richie Campbell blasted two from outside. Australia matched Serbia for shots taken at 29 but once again were caned by the referees on the major-foul count to remain the highest-fouling team at London 2012. Serbia scored three from 11 on man up and Australia two from six.

Australia is in a position to match their country's best Olympic finishes - fifth place at Los Angeles 1984 and Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. Australia's highest finish at the FINA World Championships was 4th place in 1998 held in Perth.

Australian head coach John Fox spoke about his team's fourth quarter play, which they lost 5-0: "I don't think we fell apart, they just changed their defensive structure. We tried to stick to our game plan based on driving, which got us where we were in the first three quarters. Still, we had 11 exclusions to their six and I'm a little bit miffed about that." On whether it was a dream to be ahead of Serbia by two goals before the last period: "We are capable of playing good water polo. But look, in the end, they scored five goals in the last quarter, that's where the game was lost. We played well for three quarters, but we just couldn't hold them in the last one. I won't blame the referees, they didn't cost us the game, we lost it ourselves."  

Australian player Sam McGregor on how the game unfolded in the fourth quarter: "We let in a couple of field goals that let us down. In the first half we were strong in defence, but that changed in the second half." On coming so close to an upset win: "We don't consider it an upset, but we were so close to a win, yet we just couldn't do it in the end." His teammate Rhys Howden on what went wrong: "They got a goal, off me actually, and I'm pretty annoyed about that. They were lucky they got it in the last quarter when it mattered. We were doing everything right, but that's sport." On losing to the favourites: "It's my whole career, you don't train to come to the Olympics and not get a medal, it's heart-breaking. We knew we could have beaten them. We're pretty disappointed, pretty heartbroken."

On the change in Serbia's defence: "I don't think they changed much, it was always going to be a tough last quarter. We probably stopped driving as much as we did in the first two, but credit to them. They stepped up."

Serbian head coach Dejan Udovicic on the match: "It was hairy. I don't know how we have won. I have said that the fourth-placed team has nothing to lose and because of that, they (Australia) were relaxed. We had big problems. They were doing what they don't usually do. We have to forget this match."

Andrija Prlainovic (SRB) who was the leading scored with 18 goals in the 5 match preliminary round on the match: "It was a very tough game. We knew they are strong and never give up. There was a lot of pressure as it was a quarterfinal game. Now we are in the semi-finals we must move forward and forget about it." On Australia making it difficult for them: "They played brilliant; it was probably their (Australia's) best game in the last four years. We were shocked in the first two quarters. Australia shocked." His teammate Gojko Pijetlovic on getting through to the semi-finals: "We are glad we are in the semis. It was a bit of a scare as we didn't want a repeat of the Beijing semi-final (when they lost to USA 10-5)." On the decision to change goalkeepers from Slobodan Soro to himself: "When you change goalkeeper, you can often scare the other team (laughing). No one is afraid of me. I was put in because I was feeling very good and I was in a good mood for it."

Referees: BORRELL SANCHEZ Sergi (ESP) ROSTART Steven (USA)
Delegate: FARID Mohie (EGY) FIROIU Niculae (GER)

WATER POLO PLANET.COM: the Alternative Voice    www.waterpoloplanet.com

Friday, August 10

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Croatia will face Italy on Sunday at 15:50 at the London 2012 Olympic Water Polo Arena to determine the winner of the gold medal in this tournament. In today's semi final match Croatia, the only undefeated team, defeated Montenegro by a score of 7-5. Italy bested Serbia to earn their opportunity to play for the Olympic gold medal.

In the classification round, Spain will meet Hungary for the decision on which team will finish in 5th place at this tournament. The USA and Australia will battle for the 7th and 8th positions in the tournament. The placement of the following teams was determined after the five match preliminary round:

9th Place: Greece

10th Place: Romania

11th Place: Kazakhstan

12th Place: Great Britain

14:20 Game #35 USA 7 vs ESP 8 (5th-8th place) Play by Play

Spain edges USA and will play for fifth place

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Three-goal hero Felipe Perrone steered Spain into Sunday's fifth-place men's play-off with an 8-7 victory over the United States at the Water Polo Arena on Friday. Perrone is one of the class players of London 2012, lifting his tally to 15. He scored one of his customary counter-attack goals, for which he is the tournament's leader, and netted his third for 8-6 inside the final minute with a shot that rebounded off the crossbar and the back of USA goalkeeper Merrill Moses' head. Spain shot to a 3-0 lead, led 3-1 at the quarter, 5-2 at halftime and 6-4 after three quarters.

The euphoria of watching the USA women win gold on Thursday night did not seem to flow over to the Beijing 2008 silver medallists. Big man Jeff Powers scored twice and fellow centre forward Ryan Bailey turned a flying pass into a goal 20 seconds from time to put pressure on Spain, to no avail. Moses saved 10 shots and Inaki Aguilar (ESP) nine, while both teams netted two from six on the man-up plays.

The first quarter belonged to Spain as they got out to a 3-0 lead early before the United States broke through with a tally from Beaubien at the 1:08 mark of the period. Spain still led after the first period by a count of 3-1. In the second the USA started to battle back with a power play score from Powers for a 3-2 game. Spain answered with consecutive goals and took a 5-2 lead into halftime.

In the third, the United States began to chip away once more. Tony Azevedo (USA) hit on a power play goal for a 5-3 game with 5:20 left. Two minutes later, it was Adam Wright (USA) finding the back of the cage to make it 5-4. Spain answered with a power play goal of their own with 1:28 remaining and took a 6-4 lead into the fourth.

Early in the fourth, it was Powers again hitting from outside to close back to within a goal at 6-5. Spain responded with a score only to see Beaubien add his second of the day at the 5:12 mark of the game to make it 7-6. Team USA could not complete the comeback as Spain added a match clinching power play goal with :43 to play for an 8-6 lead. Ryan Bailey (USA) got inside to put home a goal with :20 left closing to within 8-7, but Team USA ran out of time and Spain came away with the win 8-7.

The USA fell to Spain 8-7 in the semifinal of the 5th-8th place bracket at the 2012 Olympic Games. Jeff Powers (USA) and Layne Beaubien (USA) each scored twice to pace the offense for the USA. The US will play in the 7th place game on Sunday where they will meet the loser of Hungary and Australia.

The USA went three for seven on power plays and did not attempt a penalty while Spain was also three for seven on power plays and also did not attempt a penalty.

USA head coach Terry Schroeder (USA) On USA's performance in the tournament:  "The expectations were high, but it didn't happen. The boys are very disappointed as they have made big sacrifices. We have to keep fighting. Some of the players are leaving, we are going to lose experienced players, but new ones are coming. There is also a need for a new coach as I'm probably leaving as well." On the domination of the tournament by European teams: "It is amazing. Three former Yugoslavian nations are fighting for the medals. They are physically very strong and that made it dangerous for us, for Australia and for the others. We have to figure out how to deal with that."  

USA player Tony Azevedo (USA) on the importance of the classification matches after losing in the quarterfinals: "We know we've screwed up. These two games aren't anything really to learn from. The only thing it does is create more chance of injury. It might be a chance for some of the younger guys to play." On his hand injury: "I just hurt it following through on one of the Spanish guys' heads." Jeff Powers (USA) on getting motivated for the game: "It is a little bit hard playing after our quarterfinal loss. When you've had your Olympic medal dreams crushed, it's hard. We did want to be out there and we didn't want to go out like that. If we had played the whole game like we did towards the end, maybe we could have won." 

Spanish head coach Rafael Aguilar (ESP) on how the Spanish players bounced back from their quarterfinal defeat by Montenegro: "Athletes are usually stronger after they have managed to stand up from a fall. Our players did just that. We asked them to forget that defeat and rise for the occasion. They are great personalities so they were ready and you could see that during this match. Everyone arrives a bit tired to this stage of the tournament and it's even harder for those teams who lost their chances of a medal in the quarterfinals."

Spanish player Albert Espanol (ESP) on his team's performance: "It was a good game for us.  We were always leading and we are happy with the result. Every game is important. It is an Olympic Games so we have to try to do our best." Spanish player Daniel Lopez (ESP) on their performance so far: "we're not happy about the quarterfinal loss. We are playing well and we wanted medals, but now we have to play for the highest possible position." Spanish teammate Felipe Perrone (ESP) on how much they want to win on Sunday for a fifth place finish:  "We can't fight for the medals, but we will fight until the end. It is the Olympic spirit."

Referees: BRGULJAN Marijo (MNE) JUHASZ Gyorgy (HUN)
Delegate: BADREDDINE Boukezouha (ALG) KRYUKOV Andrey (KAZ)

London, England - August 10 - The U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team fell to Spain 8-7 in the semifinal of the 5th-8th place bracket at the 2012 Olympic Games. Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) and Layne Beaubien (Coronado, CA/Stanford/NYAC) each scored twice to pace the offense while Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) posted 10 saves in net. Team USA moves on to the 7th place game on Sunday at 10:20am bst/5:20am est/2:20am pst where they will meet the loser of Hungary and Australia.

The first quarter belonged to Spain as they got out to a 3-0 lead early before the United States broke through with a tally from Beaubien at the 1:08 mark of the period. Spain still led after the first period by a count of 3-1. In the second Team USA started to battle back with a power play score from Powers for a 3-2 game. Spain answered with consecutive goals and took a 5-2 lead into halftime.

In the third the United States began to chip away once more. Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) hit on a power play goal for a 5-3 game with 5:20 left. Two minutes later it was Adam Wright (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/NYAC) finding the back of the cage to make it 5-4. Spain answered with a power play goal of their own with 1:28 remaining and took a 6-4 lead into the fourth.

Early in the fourth it was Powers again hitting from outside to close back to within a goal at 6-5. Spain responded with a score only to see Beaubien add his second of the day at the 5:12 mark of the game to make it 7-6. Team USA could not complete the comeback as Spain added a match clinching power play goal with :43 to play for an 8-6 lead. Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) got inside to put home a goal with :20 left closing to within 8-7, but Team USA ran out of time and Spain came away with the win 8-7.

Notes: Team USA went 3/7 on power plays and did not attempt a penalty while Spain was 3/7 on power plays and also did not attempt a penalty.

Scoring
USA 7 (1, 1, 2, 3) L. Beaubien 2, J. Powers 2, R. Bailey 1, T. Azevedo 1, A. Wright 1
ESP 8 (3, 2, 1, 2) F. Perrone Rocha 3, M. Minguell Alferez 2, I. Perez Vargas 1, B. Mallarach Guell 1, G. Molina Rios 1

Saves - USA - M. Moses 10 - ESP - I. Aguilar Vicente 9
6x5 - USA - 3/7 - ESP - 3/7
Penalties - USA - 0/0 - ESP 0/0

FLASH QUOTES

Terry SCHROEDER (USA) - coach

On USA's performance in the tournament:

"The expectations were high, but it didn't happen. The boys are very disappointed as they have made big sacrifices. We have to keep fighting. Some of the players are leaving, we are going to lose experienced players, but new ones are coming. There is also a need for a new coach as I'm probably leaving as well."

On the domination of the tournament by European teams:

"It is amazing. Three former Yugoslavian nations are fighting for the medals. They are physically very strong and that made it dangerous for us, for Australia and for the others. We have to figure out how to deal with that."

Tony AZEVEDO (USA)

On the importance of the classification matches after losing in the quarterfinals:

"We know we've screwed up. These two games aren't anything really to learn from. The only thing it does is create more chance of injury. It might be a chance for some of the younger guys to play."

On his hand injury:

"I just hurt it following through on one of the Spanish guys' heads."

Jeff POWER (USA)

On getting motivated for the game:

"It is a little bit hard playing after our quarterfinal loss. When you've had your Olympic medal dreams crushed, it's hard. We did want to be out there and we didn't want to go out like that. If we had played the whole game like we did towards the end, maybe we could have won."

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo

15:40 Game #37 CRO 7 vs MNE 5 Semi #1 Play by Play

Croatia defeats Montenegro to advance to gold medal game 

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: A five-goal, first-half burst pushed Croatia into the men's gold-medal final, defeating Montenegro 7-5 in the first semifinal at the Water Polo Arena on Friday. From ninth at January's European championships, the Ratko Rudic-coached team had the game wrapped up at 5-1 by half-time. It means Croatia will be in the Olympic final for the first time since Atlanta 1996. Unlike Atlanta when Croatia debuted and seemed happy to take home silver while Spain claimed gold, Croatia looks the team to go all the way in London.

The second half lacked lustre as Croatia did what they needed and European silver medallists Montenegro had trouble getting through the defence, let alone brilliant goalkeeper Josip Pavic - probably the best cage man at London 2012. In fact, both teams made a huge number of errors.

Man mountain Boris Zlokovic (MNE) was fouled out late in the third period; Montenegro head coach Ranko Perovicwas yellow carded; and scoring machine Aleksandar Ivovic (MNE) was restricted to two goals, taking his tally to 16. It was Croatia's match with Sandro Sukno edging closer to emulating father Goran Sukno as an Olympic champion. Sukno senior earned his gold with Yugoslavia in 1984.      

Sukno scored the 4-1 goal with a bouncer and converted a penalty goal for 7-3 two minutes from three-quarter time. On extra-man advantage, both teams were miserly with what they let through, Croatia scoring one from nine attempts and Montenegro none from 11.

Montenegro's head coach Ranko Perovic (MNE) on his team's struggle to score: "We played as we had agreed to play, but we could just not get the ball into Croatia's net. Our man-up let us down today, while Croatia played a great game and they deserved this win, for sure. We have to play for the bronze medal and we have to be ready for that match. There is no time to cry."

Player Drasko Brguljan (MNE) on where the match was lost: "Their goalkeeper (Josip Pavic) was very good today, that is that. We couldn't score the goals to win us the game. We have to play for the bronze medal. The people in Montenegro expect a medal, so this is what we have to try and do." His teammate Aleksandar Ivovic (MNE) on what went wrong: "The match didn't go how we expected. We were planning to take control at the beginning, but they got the advantage on us. We have to go and win a medal. We need to relax and go back into the next game more focused. We will be so upset if we come fourth. It will be like we didn't do anything."

Croatian head coach Ratko Rudic on Croatia's return to an Olympic final, the first time since 1996: "We have had a terrific series, we are destroying our opponents. We are not winning by a goal or two, but with a convincing difference. That is the result of our strong defence." On their opponents in the final (Italy or Serbia): "Doesn't matter. If we play well in defence, the chances to win the gold are very good. I think that our opponents are going to accommodate their game to our style of play, not the other way round." On his longevity as a coach, as he won his first gold medal as a coach in Los Angeles 1984: "I enjoy my job, I enjoy water polo and sport in general."

Croatian player Sandro Sukno on this being the best moment of his career: "For sure it is and I hope Sunday (the final) will be even better." On whether losing to Montenegro in Beijing 2008 was any motivation: "It was a long time ago, so really it was redundant to think about it. A semi-final is enough motivation." Teammate Miho Boskovic on making the final: "I said from day one that we would be in the final. Our form is going up. It was very tough today and the referees allowed a lot of contact from both teams, but we are delighted to be in the final." On what a gold medal would mean for the country: "It would mean so much to us as we have two chances of gold this weekend, with the handball team as well. We will all go together for the handball match tonight (semifinal France vs Croatia) and then prepare for a tough final."

Referees: FLAHIVE Daniel (AUS) STAVRIDIS Georgios (GRE)
Delegate: SHAW Bill (CAN) SOSTAR Aleksandar (SRB)

18:30 Game #36 HUN 10 vs AUS 9 (5th-8th place) Play by Play

Hungary drops Australia to advance to match for 5th place

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Hungary beat Australia 10-9 in a brutal round of 5-8 men's semifinal at the Water Polo Arena on Friday. It was the second time in two Olympic Games that Hungary had beaten Australia by a single goal. At Beijing 2008, Hungary went on to win gold but at London 2012, Hungary go to the play-off for fifth against Spain on Sunday.

Five players failed to see out the game with three on suspension and the other two collecting three major fouls. The match turned nasty after halftime as fists flew and Australia were heavily fouled. Then the refereeing swung Australia's way and Hungary started to gain fouls. Australian captain Sam McGregor, who scored twice in the first half, had an altercation with Hungarian centre forward Balazs Harai behind the play midway through the third period and were both suspended for misconduct. Australia gained a yellow card for noise on the bench, which is not tolerated, as the teams entered the final quarter with Hungary 7-6 ahead.

Earlier, Hungary led 4-1, but Australia enjoyed a 5-1 spell to go 6-5 up before the Hungary levelled for 6-6 by half-time. Thomas Whalan on extra-man advantage and Tim Cleland from close to halfway had the game at 8-7 favouring Australia. Australia went ahead again at 9-8 but the experience and skills of Hungary came to the fore as captain Peter Biros and Norbert Madaras both scored their third goals to take Hungary to victory at 1:10 left on the clock.

After a timeout, Whalan went for a big shot off a five-metre free throw and was called up for pushing off the defender. In frustration, he shot the ball and was suspended for misconduct, effectively finishing the match. To Australia's credit, they came close with just three from 10 chances on man-up compared to Hungary's seven from a disproportionate 17 fouls.

Australian head coach John Fox on being so close to defeating Hungary: "We just fell short. It seems we lack experience in the last crucial minutes of matches. Maybe that is a process we have to work through." On whether Australia is improving: "Oh yes, the team has improved since Beijing 2008. We were close to the Olympic gold winners (Hungary) tonight, we're up there, but we're still missing something in the last quarter."

Australian player Sam McGregor on the match: "A loss is a loss. We played well, but it didn't go our way. We can't blame the refs. We missed shots that we probably wouldn't normally," and on whether they had the same energy as they had in the quarterfinal: "The energy was there, whether we're playing for fifth or the gold. It definitely wasn't as physical as in the quarterfinal."  Australian teammate Thomas Whalan on the match: "We did everything we could and gave everything we had. When you are up against the three-time Olympic champions, you know it's going to be hard, but we stood up to the challenge." 

Hungarian head coach Denes Kemeny on their struggle after taking a 4-1 lead in the beginning:  "Being three goals up, the players just eased up a bit too much and after Australia started to take the lead, they had to find a way to bounce back. I was sure they would do it as I know the playing style of the Australians, it's tough, it's about brawling and this kind of approach fires you up anyway." On recovering from the loss to Italy in the quarters: "If someone expects you to play as if nothing happened, one doesn't understand sport at all. Still, they are fine athletes and have known it's an Olympics match so they must be up to the task. I think we could have won by a much larger margin, had we finished them off in the early stages after 4-1."

Hungarian player Norbert Hosnyanszky on thinking about the next Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro: "I am only 28, so I believe I have time for the next Games as well. I would like to be there," and on thinking why this Olympic Games was a bit more difficult than the previous ones: "I think there are many other good teams here and they finally brought their levels up to ours."  Teammate Peter Biros on the game against Australia: "The start was really good and we kept pushing and didn't give up." On playing for fifth place on Sunday: "I am really sad as we didn't come here to play for fifth place. We played for ourselves and we played for the Hungarian fans as they are such good supporters. I really hope that we can win the next match and finish fifth."

Referees: CIRIC Mihajlo (SRB) MOLLER German (ARG)
Delegate: FARID Mohie (EGY) IBERN Lolo (ESP)

19:50 Game #38 ITA 9 vs SRB 7 Semi #2Play by Play

Italy dismisses Serbian challenge to play for Olympic gold

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: World champions Italy will play Croatia for the men's gold medal on Sunday after defeating world cup champions Serbia 9-7 in the second semifinal at the Water Polo Arena on Friday. It was a replay of the 2011 FINA World Championships in which Italy emerged the victors and the journey would be complete should a Sunday victory follow the last crown 20 years before in Barcelona.

For head coach Sandro Campagna it would be a triumph. For the moment, the 1992 Olympic champion as a player can contemplate being an Olympic champion coach as he already has the world championship double. Serbia's constant run of playing for championships has been halted and a rematch of the Beijing 2008 bronze-medal match with Montenegro is a reality.

Valentino Gallo (ITA) enjoyed the after-match celebrations as he did each time he scored one of his three goals. Serbia led 2-1 early; trailed 4-2 at the first quarter with two defensive deflections; 6-4 at halftime and 8-5 at the final break. Filip Filipovic breathed life into the Serbian game with a swift extra-man goal. However, Amaurys Perez (ITA) scored his third and most important goal of the tournament, sweeping in an air ball on man up for 9-6, just before the final minute.

Serbian captain Vanya Udovicic responded with his third, but all too late. It came on extra, something Serbia do well, netting six from 10 chances. Italy could only convert three from 13, but then, the Italian flourish on action proved fatal to Serbian hopes.

Serbian head coach Dejan Udovicic on the match: "If I'm honest, we haven't been lucky. They scored two goals from deflected shots at the start of the match, which is very difficult to defend against and we missed some clear chances that usually we would score from." On his players being visibly shaken: "This final was very important to us, but of course we'll be happy with the bronze medal, if we win it." 

Serbian player Filip Filipovic also commented the game: "Italy were better and stronger. All credit to them. Now we have to fight for third place, for the bronze medal and it is going to be difficult. At the moment, we are emotionally and physically flat, but we have to try one more time." Serbian teammate Andrija Prlainovic shared his feelings: "It's difficult. At the end we must concede defeat. We didn't play as good as expected. It's sport, sometimes you must lose." His teammate Slobodan Nikic on how he is feeling: "Very bad, we didn't play very good in defence. Congratulations to Italy." On their preparation for the next game for the bronze: "We will play Montenegro and try to play for bronze. But now it's very difficult as we have just lost one game and now we have 48 hours to try and play better."

Italian head coach Alessandro Campagna on whether he can be regarded as a magician after ousting powerhouses Hungary and Serbia: "No, it's nothing about magic, it's about physical condition. We deserved to win this match as we are very strong physically, but also played a very clever, tactical game." On whether the team's performance reminds him of 2011, when they won the world title: "Everybody is on the same level as they were in Shanghai (at the world championships)."

Italian player Maurizio Felugo on the result: "We're happy, we worked hard in this game. Congratulations to Serbia, but today we were very well organised. We're a young team, first Olympics, we are very crazy." On expecting this result against Serbia: "Serbia is an unbelievable team, they played well, but today we won, because we are like a family." On praying in the pool just before the last quarter: "I think it is important to think that we are not alone." Italian teammate Matteo Aicardi on beating Hungary (in the quarterfinals) and Serbia (in the semis): "They both are different teams. Hungary is fast and strong, Serbia became more and more together than Hungary." His teammate Pietro Figlioli on winning the match: "I feel fantastic, speechless, I hate to be repetitive, but it's amazing." On their performance: "We made things a lot easier for ourselves and we didn't waste our energy on falling into their traps of playing physically. We walked away with the game, it's a matter of playing as a team." Italian player Valentino Gallo (ITA) on winning the match: "I feel very good, very happy, but the Olympic Games doesn't finish here. Croatia is the most important game (in the final on Sunday), we must be ready. They play very physically, it's going to be very hard." On expecting to win against Serbia: "It's impossible to say if we would win for sure. We played hard, and we stayed concentrated from the first minute to the last." On being surprised to get this far: "Over the last three years we have always made the finals, or the semifinals so this was not a big surprise. The surprise is that we started off well at this Olympic Games."

Referees: BORRELL SANCHEZ Sergi (ESP) ALEXANDRESCU Adrian (ROU)
Delegate: DR MARTIN Gyorgy (HUN) SHARONOV Evgeny (RUS)

WATER POLO PLANET.COM: the Alternative Voice    www.waterpoloplanet.com

Sunday, August 12

The London 2012 Olympic All Star men's water polo team of the tournament, as selected by members of the media:
 
Goalkeeper: Josit Pavic (CRO)
Centre forward: Niksa Dobud (CRO)
Centre back: Aleksandar Ivovic (MNE)
Field: Maurizio Felugo (ITA)
Filip Flipovic (SRB)
Felipe Perrone (ESP)
Andrija Prlainovic (SRB)

10:20 Game #39 USA 9 vs AUS 10 (7th Place) Play by Play

Australia tops USA for their best finish in 20 years, earning 7th place

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Australia closed their Olympic campaign with seventh place, defeating the United States 10-9 at the Water Polo Arena on Sunday. It was Australia's best finish since fifth place at Barcelona 1992 and the Beijing 2008 silver medallists USA's worst since Tokyo 1964.

Australia got out early on the offensive end scoring the first goal of the match less than thirty seconds into the game for a 1-0 lead. The USA responded to tie the game at 1. After that the Australian team took control, leading 3-1 at quarter time, 5-3 at half-time and 8-4 at the final break. 
 
In the second Australia went up three goals, when they fired home a counter attack score ninety seconds in, for a 4-1 lead. The USA converted on a power play moments later to draw within 4-2. The teams continued trading goals as the Aussies scored on their next possession, on a power play, for a 5-2 lead. The United States would have the last word in the period with a power play goal from Tim Hutten (USA) off a rebound for a 5-3 game at halftime.
 
Australia extended their lead midway through the third quarter with back to back goals to grab a 7-3 lead, their largest advantage of the game. Tony Azevedo (USA) retaliated with a power play score at the 1:47 mark to reduce the deficit to 7-4. The green and gold had an answer with a power play score with just :16 left in the period to take an 8-4 lead going into the fourth. The final period saw the United States looking to rally and it started with an Azevedo power play goal just a minute in for an 8-5 score. Australia scored on their next possession to return to a four goal cushion at 9-5. Ryan Bailey (USA) fired home a score out of two metres for a 9-6 match with 4:09 to play but Australia came back with an outside score with 2:33 to play for a 10-6 lead.
 
Australia took the foot off the accelerator and gave up three goals in the last 71 seconds to flatter the USA. Azevedo was sent from the match seconds later on a game misconduct. The USA offense went on a run in his absence scoring three straight. Bailey (USA) and Peter Varellas (USA) hit on power plays and Jesse Smith (USA) connected from deep to draw within 10-9 with :17 left in the match. The USA was unable to get any closer as Australia ran the clock out and finished with a 10-9 victory.
 
Australia's power shooting from outside was needed as once again Australia were heavily penalised by the referees. USA converted six from 11 chances while Australia shot two from five. Billy Miller scored three goals from close to the goal and Richie Campbell struck with an extra-man goal just before half-time and two eight-meter monsters for 9-5 and 10-6.
 
USA captain Tony Azevedo scored twice - either side of the final break - but failed to see out the game for the second time at London 2012, being suspended for misconduct, the only player to gain two red cards. Bailey (USA) scored once to finish the leading USA shooter with 11 and Miller's (AUS) hat-trick gave him Australian honours with 13. The younger Australian team with an average age of 26 compared to USA's 32 - had more zest and desire and deserved a third victory.
 
USA head coach Terry Schroeder on what went wrong in the tournament (USA won their first three matches and lost the following five): "We had two rough weeks. We've never recovered from the losses to Serbia, Hungary and Croatia. We played a pretty good first game (against Montenegro), but there were signs against Romania and Great Britain which didn't look good. It's hard to figure out right now." On comparing this team with the silver medallist side of Beijing 2008: "We had a lot more confidence in Beijing, we had a lot more guys scoring and we had a balance in attack, but here we didn't have that confidence. We were hesitating with our shots and the six-on-fives weren't strong. Perhaps one piece is the pressure. We had more expectations and a lot of the guys saw this as their last chance. In 2008 the goal was to get back on the podium, this time it was winning the gold medal, so there was not a lot of margin for errors."
 
USA player Tony Azevedo on how it feels to finish eighth after winning silver at Beijing 2008: "It's hard for sure and keeps getting harder every day, but the future is bright and we need to stay positive. Eighth is definitely a failure, but we'll learn from this and hope the younger generation will build from the success in 2008." His teammate Jesse Smith on losing momentum in the tournament: "We lost momentum and then we never regained it. We focused too much on winning gold, rather than just performing at our best and letting the results follow."
 
Australian head coach John Fox, who was asked why he and his assistants were wearing formal clothing (shirt, trousers and tie) on the poolside: "We just want to show that we're enjoying the tournament. This is maybe the last international game for some of the guys and we want to make sure that they will enjoy it." On the tournament as a whole: "We were so close and we know that we can match the best teams in the world. Although the overall result (seventh) is disappointing, the improvements which we have achieved are satisfying. We should use this Olympics as a launch pad for the following years." On the European teams dominating the tournament: "Europe is where the water polo is played. We probably need more exposure in Europe."
 
Australian player Billy Miller on ending the tournament with a win: "It is always a relief to win the last game and end on a high, but we wanted to do that for the older boys in the team like Tom Whalan and Gavin Woods." On being Australia's top scorer in the tournament: "I had a bit of a shaky start and suffered from a little bit of nerves, but I cleared my head and focused and I am pleased with how I played." Australian teammate Sam McGregor on playing for Australia: "It's an honour to play in every game that I play for Australia and I always give it my best. Being able to play with these guys, it's a pleasure.”

Referees: STAMPALIJA Dragan (CRO) SPIEGEL Ulrich (GER)
Delegate: IBERN Lolo (ESP) FARID Mohie (EGY)

London, England - August 12 - The U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team took eighth place at the 2012 Olympic Games following a 10-9 loss to Australia. Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC), Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF), Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) and Jesse Smith (Coronado, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) all scored twice in the loss while Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) added nine saves in net.

Australia got out early on the offensive end scoring the first goal of the match less than thirty seconds into the game for a 1-0 lead. Smith answered for Team USA the next time down the pool with a power play goal for a 1-1 match. Two minutes later the Aussies countered with a goal, then followed with a counter attack score, and led 3-1 after the first period.

In the second Australia went up three goals, when they fired home a counter attack score ninety seconds in, for a 4-1 lead. Varellas came back with a goal for the United States on a power play moments later to draw within 4-2. The teams continued trading goals as the Aussies scored on their next possession, on a power play, for a 5-2 lead. The United States would have the last word in the period with a power play goal from Tim Hutten (Seal Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) off a rebound for a 5-3 game at halftime.

Australia extended their lead midway through the third quarter with back to back goals to grab a 7-3 lead, their largest advantage of the game. Azevedo retaliated with a power play score at the 1:47 mark to reduce the deficit to 7-4. The green and gold had an answer with a power play score with just :16 left in the period to take an 8-4 lead going into the fourth.

The final period saw the United States looking to rally and it started with an Azevedo power play goal just a minute in for an 8-5 score. Australia scored on their next possession to return to a four goal cushion at 9-5. Bailey fired home a score out of two meters for a 9-6 match with 4:09 to play but Australia came back with an outside score with 2:33 to play for a 10-6 lead. Azevedo was sent from the match seconds later on a game misconduct. The USA offense went on a run in his absence scoring three straight. Bailey and Varellas hit on power plays and Smith connected from deep to draw within 10-9 with :17 left in the match. Team USA was unable to get any closer as Australia ran the clock out and finished with a 10-9 victory.

Notes: Team USA went 6/11 on power plays and did not attempt a penalty while Australia was 2/5 on power plays and did not attempt a penalty.

Scoring
USA 9 (1, 2, 1,5) T. Azevedo 2, R. Bailey 2, J. Smith 2, P. Varellas 2, T. Hutten 1
AUS 10 (3, 2, 3, 2) B. Miller 3, R. Campbell 3, J. Beadsworth 1, T. Whalan 1, G. Woods 1, R. Howden 1

Saves - USA - M. Moses 9 - AUS - J. Dennerly - 4
6x5 - USA - 6/11 - AUS 2/5
Penalties - USA - 0/0 - AUS 0/0

FLASH QUOTES

Terry SCHROEDER (USA) - head coach

On what went wrong in the tournament (USA won their first three matches and lost the following five):

"We had two rough weeks. We've never recovered from the losses to Serbia, Hungary and Croatia. We played a pretty good first game (against Montenegro), but there were signs against Romania and Great Britain which didn't look good. It's hard to figure out right now."

On comparing this team with the silver medallist side of Beijing 2008:

"We had a lot more confidence in Beijing, we had a lot more guys scoring and we had a balance in attack, but here we didn't have that confidence. We were hesitating with our shots and the six-on-fives weren't strong. Perhaps one piece is the pressure. We had more expectations and a lot of the guys saw this as their last chance. In 2008 the goal was to get back on the podium, this time it was winning the gold medal, so there was not a lot of margin for errors."

Tony AZEVEDO (USA)

On how it feels to finish eighth after winning silver at Beijing 2008:

"It's hard for sure and keeps getting harder every day, but the future is bright and we need to stay positive. Eighth is definitely a failure, but we'll learn from this and hope the younger generation will build from the success in 2008."

Jesse SMITH (USA)

On losing momentum in the tournament:

"We lost momentum and then we never regained it. We focused too much on winning gold, rather than just performing at our best and letting the results follow."

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo

11:40 Game #40 ESP 8 vs HUN 14 (5th Place) Play by Play

Hungary destroys Spain to capture fifth place

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Hungary tore apart Spain 14-6 to finish what for them would be a disappointing fifth place in the men's competition at the Water Polo Arena on Sunday. The match probably saw the last on the Olympic stage of Hungarian triple gold medallists Tamas Kasas, Gergely Kiss, captain Peter Biros and goalkeeper Zoltan Szecsi.

It definitely saw the last of 41-year-old Ivan Perez (ESP), who was circled by his teammates in the water as they cheered his career, which started with Cuba at Barcelona 1992 and continued with Spain at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Cuba failed to qualify for 1996 and he was not allowed to play for Spain at Sydney 2000.

It was more about the farewell than the match, but Hungary's stars wanted to go out with a win, even though it was only one position better than Hungary's worst effort - sixth at Barcelona 1992. Hungary struggled all tournament, losing to Serbia and Montenegro in the rounds and then the 11-9 quarterfinal loss to Italy before a scrappy 10-9 win over Australia. In the final match, all the stars performed and Hungary led 4-1, 7-3 and 12-4 at the breaks.

The final minute was savoured by both teams as they declined to play and just held the ball to kill time. Hungary scored 98 goals at the tournament and Norbert Madaras top-scored with 18 for Hungary. Felipe Perrone was Spain's best, also with 18 goals. Hungary were efficient on extra-man plays, scoring five from six. Spain had to settle for four from 13.

Spanish head coach Rafael Aguilar on whether he is happy with the outcome of the tournament: "I'm happy with the way we were playing, but I would be happier if we had won our quarterfinal match." On what the future holds for Spanish water polo: "The average age of our team will go down since one of our players (Ivan Perez, 41 years old) is retiring. Anyway, there is new talent coming up."

Spanish player Albert Espanol was asked to evaluate motivation levels in classification matches: "When there isn't a medal to be won, it is harder to get motivated to perform at your best." On what went wrong today: "We have to play at 100% to be a good team. If we don't put 100% into our performance then we are weak. That's what happened today. Hungary is stronger and they wanted the result more than us." On how it feels to have played his final international match: "It feels very sad after 32 years playing. I have to say goodbye. It's very emotional." On being made captain for his final match: "Yes, it was an honour. I used to be captain, then I gave it up for the youngsters coming through. I didn't expect it, but they gave it back to me as a gift."

Hungarian head coach Denes Kemeny on finishing on a high note: "It was a match between two disappointed teams. I can recall the 2001 world championships, when we went through the same painful process, playing only for fifth. That was a struggle, but that time we had players in the middle of their careers. What made the difference today was that we had several great champions here who played their very last match for the national team and they wanted to bid farewell in style." On his and the team's future: "At this stage, let me have more time to think about that. This is the first time in my coaching career that I have to deal with an Olympic placement lower than the top. As for the team, a new chapter will start, it is for sure."

Hungarian player Tamas Kasas on ending his Olympic career in such a manner: "This is sport, we win three Olympics, but this time we were not the best team. It was important to win today as for many players it was their last match." On how the Hungarian team can recover: "It will be a long road, it will be difficult with a new team." His teammate Norbert Madaras on winning fifth place: "It is always important to win and we tried our best for the older players and for the fans." On a disappointing tournament for Hungary: "I am really sorry that we didn't manage to make it to the medal matches, this is not what we had planned at the beginning."

Referees: BRGULJAN Marijo (MNE) BALFANBAYEV Alan (KAZ)
Delegate: SHARONOV Evgeny (RUS) SOSTAR Aleksandar (SRB)

14:30 Game #41 MNE 11 vs SRB 12 (Bronze Medal) Play by Play

Serbia roars back to defeat Montenegro for Olympic bronze medal

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: Serbia survived a last-quarter, three-goal deficit and a rash of major fouls and red cards to beat Montenegro 12-11 to win the men's bronze medal. Both Serbia's lead coaches were ejected from the pool deck inside the final minute, something that could have been critical if the match had gone to extra-time as it seemed it would.

The final few minutes were more like a basketball match with the breaks - referees trying to take control of bench players who were jumping and screaming and keeping players apart in the water. Head coach Dejan Udovicic (SRB) gained the third red card of the match when he did not return to his line after a restart when Serbia took the lead through captain Vanja Udovicic with 55 seconds remaining. It had been only back in the second quarter that Serbia briefly had the lead twice. Serbia's assistant coach Dejan Stanojevic gained his second red card of London 2012 when he illegally advanced down the pool deck with 16 seconds left.

In the water, emotions rose to boiling point and captain Vanja Udovicic (SRB) and Milan Aleccic (MNE) each received a red card. Montenegro twice hit the frame of the goal in the dying seconds, then the ball fell to Vladimir Gojkovic (MNE), who snapped the ball into the net amid a crescendo of noise that muffled the final siren, but the ball was still in his hand so the goal was disallowed.

Serbia had won the bronze medal in one of the most chaotic Olympic matches in recent history, and they did it with five players not finishing the match and rudderless on the pool side. Serbia led the first quarter 3-2 and Montenegro were 5-4 up at half-time. The margin went 10-8 up for Montenegro and 11-8 early in the fourth before Serbia, still smarting at not taking home gold, shot back into the game.

Aleksandar Ivovic top-scored for Montenegro with three goals, finishing the match prematurely on three major fouls but not before finishing the tournament with 19 goals. Andrija Prlainovic (SRB) was held to one goal for a tournament high 22. In the massive foul count, Serbia scored six from 13 on man-ups. Montenegro netted six from 17.

At Athens 2004, Serbia & Montenegro, competing as one NOC, won the silver medal. Montenegro head coach Ranko Perovic on the match: "I can't find the words to describe my feelings. We have done everything that we had to do, but we lost a three-goal advantage. I don't know how to describe that. I'm very distraught, I'm sorry I can't say anything more."

Player Vladimir Gojkovic (MNE) on the loss: "It was all of our own fault. We are better than this, but we choked. Our belief that we could win got lost, however, I'm proud of the team and we will be back." Milos Scepanovic (MNE) on the result: "We came here for a medal, so it is disappointing. Matches against Serbia are always hard. This game was a question of concentration, Serbia played better in this atmosphere. Differences are very small between the teams, they had probably more luck, that's it."

Serbian head coach Dejan Udovicic on coming back from being three goals down: "These guys are good people. Strong-minded, true athletes." Asked whether he is relieved after earning a medal: "I will only be relieved if we win the gold in Rio (2016)."

Serbian player Nikola Raden on winning the bronze medal: "First of all, it's unbelievable. These games are too much for one athlete, but great for a whole team to play. I'm just proud to take a medal back home to my people." Andrija Prlainovic (SRB) on winning the bronze medal: "Incredible. It's been a very long trip to the bronze medal. At some moments it looked like we couldn't manage, but in the last few minutes we didn't suffer any goals. This bronze medal is shining like a gold for us."


Referees: CAPUTI Massimiliano (ITA) STAVRIDIS Georgios (GRE)
Delegate: FOSTER Richard (USA) FIROIU Niculae (GER)

15:50 Game #42 CRO 8 vs ITA 6 (Gold Medal) Play by Play

Greg Eggert, FINA Press Commission Member: The legend continues as Ratko Rudic guided Croatia to their first Olympic gold medal with a comprehensive 8-6 victory over Italy at the Water Polo Arena on Sunday. For Rudic, it was a record fourth gold medal as a coach, let alone silver as a player in 1980. Rudic guided Yugoslavia to gold in 1984 and 1988 and Italy in 1992 and now his native Croatia at London 2012.

Croatia enjoyed a silver medal at Atlanta 1996 soon after independence but now rise into the hall of champions with a dominant performance built on three Maro Jokovic goals, a 3-2 half-time advantage and 5-3 at the final break.

The victory and the lack of goals against Croatia during the fortnight can also be attributed to the tournament's finest goalkeeper, Josip Pavic (CRO), who was named London 2012's most valuable player. Joining Pavic in the all-star team was Niksa Dobud, the tournament's pre-eminent centre forward.

Jokovic scored twice in the fourth for a handsome 7-3 lead. It became 8-4 with just over three minutes remaining, a chasm Italy could not bridge. Christian Presciutti (ITA) accepted a cross pass on counter attack to narrow the margin to 8-5 but the game crawled to an end with only Maurizio Felugo (ITA), selected to the all-star team, failing to accept defeat, sending in a shot from near halfway on full time for 8-6.

By then the Croatians were celebrating and the traditional enforced swim by the staff sent the pockets of Croatian fans into hysteria. Rudic's opposite, Sandro Campagna (ITA), looked unhappy with the result and the chance to beat his coach when he won Olympic gold with Italy at Barcelona 1992.

Both teams scored four goals on man-up situations with Croatia having seven attempts and Italy 10.

Croatia beat Italy 11-6 in round play and it was no surprise that the result was repeated in front of a crammed arena.

Not only had Rudic made history, but Sandro Sukno (CRO) can now look his father, Goran, in the eye as Olympic champion equals. Goran Sukno won his gold with Yugoslavia in 1984.

Italian head coach Alessandro Campagna on winning silver: "Today we played an amazing match. We played at about 99 per cent. Croatia is not an easy team. We didn't finish our opportunities in attack and some small details didn't work out. This made the difference. It's a pity."

Italian player Stefano Tempesti on his team’s play in the final match: "We played a great final after so many years. All credit to our opponents. Many congratulations to my teammates. No one would have bet on this group a couple of years ago. We made a lot of sacrifices and it has paid off." On what went wrong: "We needed to be more focused on the most important moments of the match. We were not able to face their comeback. We lost focus in attack and in defence, and we were not able to react. Croatia is a fantastic team." 

His teammate Maurizio Felugo on earning the silver medal: "We are very pleased with silver, however there is a slight element of disappointment as we dreamed of gold, but we are a young team and we have only been together for three years. We will be back in Rio (2016 Olympic Games)." On the overall experience of the Games: "Hungary and Croatia were the hardest games (Italy played) and there seemed to be an element of tiredness within this last game. Congratulations to Croatia." Another teammate Valentino Gallo on playing against Croatia: "We are really happy, though slightly disappointed as well, because we were dreaming of gold. We have played our best." On playing against Croatia in the final and against 2008 gold medallists Hungary in the quarterfinal: "Hungary was a very difficult game, however, Croatia is physically very strong.”

Croatian head coach Ratko Rudic on his team’s victory: "The gold medal is the reward for our high level of play. We had eight wins out of eight matches. I can't remember any Olympic tournament where the winner was so dominant. This is a result of hard work by a team who spend days and nights analysing the opponents with great enthusiasm." On whether he is going to continue coaching Croatia: "I will try to stay with the Croatian team, as I'm at my home in Croatia, but we will talk with the officials."

Croatian player Miho Boskovic on his team’s win: "Amazing. It's the best feeling ever. I still don't know what we did. The first period was not so good, but later we played well." On how they will celebrate: "Very hard.” His teammate Niksa Dobud on where the match was won: "It was a huge match like every final, but our defence was incredible again today.”

Sandro Sukno (CRO) on following in his father's (Goran Sukno (YUG), Olympic gold medallist at Los Angeles 1984) footsteps: "It's a great feeling and a great achievement to come to the Olympics, let alone win the gold medal. He has called me to congratulate me and he is even happier than me, since I can't realise what we have achieved. A nation of only four million people has won six Olympic medals (at London 2012). Not many countries can say that."

Referees: BORRELL SANCHEZ Sergi (ESP) JUHASZ Gyorgy (HUN)
Delegate: AMINI Khosrow (IRI) TOYGARLI Haluk (TUR)