Courtesy: FINA
FLORENCE (ITALY) — When you have a point to prove there is no better place at home and no better opposition — almost — than the Olympic silver medallist. Italy did just that to Spain, winning all over the statistics and the scoreboard in front of a huge crowd. The 11-10 margin was a testament to the abilities of two Spanish stars who scored nine of the goals while Italy controlled, worked the extra-man advantage and gave space to a large number of players, who took their chances to get on the scoresheet.
Settarosa topple Olympic silver medallist Spain
Spain led 2-1 and allowed Italy to level three times for 4-4 at the first break. Spain went to 6-4 and 8-5 as Anna Espar threw three goals. Italy ripped apart the Spanish defence for the 9-8 lead before Elena Ruiz levelled heading into the final quarter. Giulia Emmolo nailed her second for the 10-9 advantage; Ruiz levelled and then Claudia Marletta won the match for Italy.
Match heroes
Claudia Marletta (pictured), tasting what it is like on the FINA stage for the first time, scored four goals, the first two on extra-man attack and from the penalty line in the four-goal spurt in the third period and then buried the final goal, also on extra, nearly four minutes from time in what was the final goal of the match. Spain’s Anna Espar basted in five goals with the first three coming from seven-eight metres, the fourth a bouncer from the left-hand-catch position and the fifth from the same spot, but with a lob. Elena Ruiz, such a sensation in Tokyo, netted four goals — two from seven metres — and her fourth came with a cross-shot that hit the right post and then rebounded into goal off the back of the goalkeeper. Spain’s only other scorer was Paula Leiton for the 4-3 go-ahead goal.
Turning point
The four unanswered Italian goals in the third period that shifted the momentum from Spain to Italy — from 5-8 to 9-8. Elena Ruiz levelled at nine and then again at 10 early in the fourth period before Claudia Marletta converted extra-man attack at 3:45.
Stats don’t lie
The statistics normally favour the victor and here there was no doubt as to who would win, especially with an incredible seven-goal difference in the extra-man plays. Italy fired in eight from 11 while Spain struggled, netting just one from seven attempts. This match was all about consistency from the field with Spain missing just five attempts from 16 and Spain missing just four from 14. Italy’s blocking was exceptional when a man down and made nine blocks compared to Spain’s five.
Bottom line
Italy had more to prove, had the home-town advantage and wanted to show that it should have been at last year’s Olympics Games. With the FINA World Championships and European Championships, let alone these World League matches, Italy has plenty of opportunities to come through this year in the short swim to Paris 2024. Spanish head coach Miki Oca will be wanting to see what went wrong if he is to reshape the team for upcoming matches and restore the almost unbeatable aura of his team.
Olympic bronze medallist Hungary shuts out the Netherlands
BUDAPEST (Hungary) — Hungary bounced back from its upset 15-14 shootout loss to Greece last month by downing Netherlands 11-9 here tonight, keeping its FINA World League hopes buoyant.
With a large crowd of black-shirted men dancing and spurring on Hungary, the home team was on fire. At 5-1 midway through the second quarter, Hungary appeared totally in control, but Netherlands was not demoralised and won the remainder of the match 8-6. However, it was not enough for victory. Even though Iris Wolves opened the match scoring for the Dutch, it was the five-goal Hungarian surge that did the damage. Netherlands struck back with three unanswered goals at one minute into the second half, but that 5-4 scoreline went to 7-4 and 8-5 by the final break. Netherlands had the better of the final quarter, two Simone van der Kraats goals bringing the Dutch to within two before consecutive Hungarian goals from the left side of the pool had the match at 11-7 by 2:36. Brigitte Sleeking and Wolves closed the scoring with the latter’s goal from some smart thinking, pouncing on a fumbled ball by the goalkeeper and firing in while heavily defended.
Match heroes
Greta Gurisatti scored Hungary’s first two goals from the left and triggered the victory with the 10-7 goal at 4:13 in the last period when she again stood up and fired from outside for her third. Newcomer Dalma Domsodi, playing at centre forward, managed her first while the goalkeeper came out and her second to open the final-quarter scoring at 9-5. Kamilla Farago scored both her goals from the left, the second on extra. She now has five goals from seven attempts from the two matches this year. For the Netherlands, Simone van der Kraats was at her usually tremendous best with four goals, blasting from six metres, scoring her second from deep right, lobbing from the left-hand-catch position and pushing in a cross pass on counter. That fourth goal brought the match to a tantalising 9-7. Iris Wolves scored the first Dutch goal on an extra-man attack and closed the scoring with 50 seconds remaining on the clock.
Turning point
You can’t allow a team to race to a 5-1 lead early in the match. Not only it is demoralising, but it means a lot of hard work is needed to pull back five goals to get in front. Not many teams achieve this. The three-goal move by the Dutch late in the second quarter offered some hope, but Hungarian head coach Attila Biro is too smart a leader to allow his team to gift too many goals to the opposition.
Stats don’t lie
With just a two-goal margin on the main scoreboard, the difference in the extra-man-attack count becomes crucial in the outcome of any match. Hungary converted four from eight of its chances and only allowed the Netherlands to score four from its 12 chances. Hungary had a 46 percent shooting advantage compared to Netherlands’ 31 percent.
Bottom line
Hungary is the Olympic bronze medallist while the Netherlands had to settle for sixth place in Tokyo last year. Hungary was using four new players while the Dutch gave six athletes the chance to play this level for the first time. This is all about rebuilding, finding combinations and seeing who can step up in a short period when the teams assemble for the FINA World Championships in Hungary this June. Hungary has the likes of Dorottya Szilagyi and Rebecca Parkes — to name just two — in the wings, giving it plenty in store for the more demanding matches ahead. The Netherlands is trying new combinations from coach to players and this first outing will prove a critical first step in what will be a truncated first half to the season and then the long march to August-September’s European Championships.