Greece, Serbia and Spain all did an efficient job in the crossovers to advance to the quarter-finals in the elite level of the Men’s U18 European Water Polo Championships being staged in the Romanian venue of Oradea. The battle for the eighth spot was as fierce as usual and victory went to France after an emotion-filled game with The Netherlands.
Crossovers – France oust the Dutch in emotion-charged clash
As expected, the first of the crossover matches, between France and The Netherlands, generated huge excitement. The Dutch might have been considered favourites as they had caused some headaches for the big teams elsewhere. But it was France who made it through in the lower division.
The French looked fresher and sharper while the Dutch barely showed the quality game which kept them in the game against the Hungarians, Italians and Greeks.
France’s captain and outfield player Killian Braise stopped a penalty with his leg after keeper Camile Dervieux had been excluded, although his initial effort could not prevent a score. Credit: Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics
Early in the second The Netherlands were still 3-2 up, but started fading. The French converted two penalties to go ahead, then the Dutch missed not two, not three, but four 6 on 5s in a row.
After an early exchange of goals at the beginning of the third, things went from bad to worse for the Netherlands. Luca Barnat buried a man-up for 4-6, then the Dutch lost their captain and one of their top scorers Fabio Jukic with his third major foul, and Swuanzo Shiron put that extra too. Another miss from the next Dutch man-up was especially crucial as an action goal from the French made it 4-8 with 2:35 remaining.
A time-out was called and Jamie de Zwart pulled one back 11 seconds later, however, when they had a chance to halve the gap, they wasted their 6th 6 on 5 in a row as well. They paid for that as the French buried a penalty from their next possession and even if Pim Hageman netted a nice one from action nine seconds from time, the Dutch outlook wasn’t that bright at 6-9 before the final quarter.
They went all in and managed to fight back till 9-10. Emotions were running high as French goalkeeper Camile Dervieux stopped Teun Blankhorst’s penalty only to be excluded for an early move. From among the the field players, captain Killian Braise swam to the goal and he stopped the ball with his leg. But during the awkward move he somehow swept it behind the virtual line, so it was called a goal.
The next one and a half minutes were crucial as both sides missed a 6 on 5, and it was Braise whose blast from the perimeter gave a tremendous boost for the French. They defended well, then earned a 6 on 4, called a time-out, and even though their head coach got a red card in that interval, Johan Scorletti sent the ball home for 9-12 with 2:04 on the clock, leaving no way back for the Dutch.
They tried a 7 on 6, could score only from the second attempt when 1:31 were remaining. The French burned their time then a bad pass ruined the Dutch last real chance, a man-up with 40 seconds to go – when they could finally score for 11-12, it was too late, at 0:02, and the French started their joyful celebrations, with some players shedding tears of joy.
Joy was unbounded among the French players after a victory that earned them a quarter-final place. Credit: Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics
The other three matches, predictably, produced lopsided contests. The top division teams won withou fuss, though the Greek head coach Ilian Machiaras never stopped educating his players – with his temper, deep voice and wide gestures he produced a stand-alone show around the bench hat was just as spectacular as the match itself.
The game produced 33 goals as Poland put up a good fight, though the Greeks’ win was never in danger. However, Maestro Machiaras wasn’t too happy with the number of goals they conceded and the chances they missed, so his lecturing went uninterrupted for four periods (obviously, for 17-18-year-old players, immediate explanations are important during the matches). The Greeks’ only concern might have been the injury their captain and best shooter Dimitrios Chatzis sustained in the second half as he had to leave the pool and received treatment; hopefully, he can play in the quarters.
An easy put-away for Greek captain Dimitrios Chatzis, who scored five but was injured later: Credit:Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics
Malta’s dream lived for four minutes. The brave Maltese boys who stunningly won their group ahead of Germany jumped to a 0-2 lead against Serbia. However, the heavy favourites then geared up, found their rhythm and with 9-0 run they decided the match by half-time. In the closing period, Malta scored seven goals to reduce the gap to five at the end, a fine achievement, despite the Serbs’ composure-meltdown.
The Maltese found it hard to cope with the tough Serbian defending. Credit:Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics
Spain took on Germany and they found it hard to fend off their opponents’ resistance. The start looked easy as the favourites stormed to a 3-0 lead, but the Germans pulled one back 33 seconds before the first break and they kicked off the second with a man-up goal for 3-2. They had more possession, including a 6 on 5 to go even, but missed their opportunities. The Spaniards, after almost four minutes of struggling up front, added two to resore the three-goal gap which they held till halftime when they were 6-3 up.
Then the Spanish put the game to bed quickly with smart man-up plays and fast counters. They hit three in three minutes and added one more shortly before the last break to make it 10-3. The Germans halted their scoreless run after 11 minutes, and then managed to find the back of the net a few more times but the Spaniards also added a couple of goals to keep the margin safe.
The Germans held on for two periods but then the Spaniards took full control – Photo: EA/Aniko Kovacs
Earlier, Turkish players bounced back from their utter disappointment after having lost to Poland and being dropped to the 13-16th place playoffs. They had to dig deep to fend off Georgia’s renewed surges but at 8-8 they staged a 3-0 run and shut out their rivals in the last six minutes to win the match.
They will meet Romania once more, as on the opening day. The hosts stormed to a 1-9 lead against Ukraine. Though their concentration level dropped significantly in the third, netting three in a row after 6-10 put the match back onto its desired track.
Division One, Rio Maior
In the lower division matches being played in the Portuguese venue of Rio Maior, the Swiss almost blew it, though they built a massive 9-4 lead against the Czechs late in the third period. No one thought they would not score more in the last 10:02 minutes. But as their game went lower and lower, their rivals smelled blood and with 2:35 to go, they trailed only 9-8. After killing a man-down, they forced a 6 on 5 at the other end with 1:02 remaining but couldn’t equalise and the Swiss burnt the remaining time.
The Slovakians left no doubt who was the better side in their match against Denmark. Credit: Nikola Krstic/European Aquatics
Slovakia didn’t have similar problems as they crushed Denmark, while Lithuania and Great Britain produced another exciting clash. The Brits took a flying start to lead 3-5 after eight minutes, but the Lithuanians hit back in the second where they netted eight goals and went 11-8 up by half-time. In the third they blew the Brits away with a 6-1 rush and never looked back.
Results, Day 4
Elite Championships, Oradea
Crossovers
Netherlands v France 11-12
Greece v Poland 21-12
Serbia v Malta 18-13
Spain v Germany 14-7
Fixtures, Quarter-finals, Day 5
16.00 Montenegro v France
17.30 Croatia v Greece
19.00 Hungary v Serbia
20.30 Italy v Spain
For places 13-16th
Georgia v Turkiye 8-11
Ukraine v Romania 12-16
Division One, Rio Maior
Crossovers
Slovakia v Denmark 21-4
Switzerland v Czechia 9-8
Lithuania v Great Britain 19-14
Play-off to play for the 9-12th place
Ireland v Austria 12-15
Fixtures, Quarter-finals, Day 5
12.30 Moldova v Belgium
15.30 Bulgaria v Lithuania
17.15 Israel v Slovakia
19.00 Portugal v Switzerland
Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics