There were no upsets in the quarter-finals of the European Aquatics U18 Women Water Polo Championships as the four favourites booked their respective semi-final spots in lop-sided contests. Spain did a flawless job against Serbia, Greece beat The Netherlands with unexpected ease and Italy were also superior against Israel in a hard-fought match. Hungary were the last to join the Saturday Night Fever after ousting Croatia.
Quarter-finals
Spain thrash Serbia
The only question was how long the Serbs could withstand the pressure against the overwhelming favourites. The answer came perhaps a bit sooner than expected. For eight minutes, the Serbian defence did well enough to limit the Spanish to two goals.
There was no way to stop the fierce Spanish shots, Credit: Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics
The Spaniards shifted gears for the second and hit three in two minutes to put the game on its desired path. Though the Serbians tried everything to somehow counterbalance the enormous gap in skills, speed and stamina, these efforts burnt all their reserves in three periods.
Spain led 12-4 before the last eight minutes, then they blew the worn-out rival away with a 7-0 thrashing.
Greece down The Netherlands with surprising ease
Despite an early penalty miss, the Greeks started rolling as soon as they could get on the scoreboard. In the middle of the opening period, they scored from three connecting possessions as the bewildered Dutch couldn’t do much against their devastating offensive power. The Netherlands also missed three 6 on 5s in front, though the Greek defence also did an outstanding job. There were still 47 seconds to play in the first quarter when Greece led 6-0 and it was hard to imagine any scenario where the Dutch would make a comeback.
It never happened, though they finally hit their first from a penalty 26 seconds from time and had a better spell when they could score for 7-3, three minutes into the second. However, the Greeks hit back with a double in 41 seconds to kill Holland’s brief momentum and they were 10-4 up at halftime.
The duels between Greece and The Netherlands were painful and so was the difference between the two sides. Credit:Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics
This did not extinguish the Greeks’ fire completely but definitely toned down their game, especially after they added two more goals in the third. The Dutch replied with two spectacular shots from the perimeter, causing some joy on the bench. The overall picture, however, favoured the Greeks, and it did heavily as they led 13-6 before the last quarter. It didn’t change much in the fourth, offenses were a bit more effective again, producing eight more goals, five of those came from the Greeks who stopped at 18 at the end and marched to the semi-finals.
Italy advance in dominant fashion
The first two minutes saw two goals apiece, somewhat surprisingly, but the Israelis could find the holes on the Italian defence. At least at the beginning. Till half-time, in the following 14 minutes the Italians limited them a single goal as they tightened their defence and kept their focus in front. Emma Bacelle and Maika Bovo delivered a series of goals as they staged a 4-0 run in 2:45 minutes to lead 6-2 at the end of the first.
The second offered the same scenes, apart from a lonely woman-up hit from the Israelis, the Italians dominated and netted five more, to lead 11-3 at halftime, transforming the second half into a preparation for their semi-final against Greece.
Since the Israelis didn’t offer any free move, it was still a fight, marked by 12 more exclusions or penalty calls by the referees alone in the third period. Eight went against Italy, which was one of the reasons that this quarter was tighter than the previous two, the favourites winning that eight minutes by a tiny 3-2 margin. Letizia Scibona produced a series of big saves – the Israelis could beat her only from the penalty line.
No, it is not artistic swimming, just another scene from the fighters’ club, Credit:Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics
Things didn’t change much in the last period, the Israelis kept on fighting, the Italians’ concentration level dropped a bit, but they still found the way to score. What only the buzzer stopped was the constant physical fighting which resulted in 36 major fouls called in total (20-16), mirroring the playing style of the two sides even at such a lopsided contest.
Hungary overcame some scares while beating the Croats
The Hungarians began the match as expected, they stormed to a 4-0 start and dominated the game and even though the Croats pulled one back after a lucky rebound, nothing really forecasted what was coming in the second period. The Magyars still did well in counters and maintained their four-goal lead, but the Croats managed to create a couple of chances and Jelena Butic and Neli Jankovic made not most but all of it.
By halftime, they came back to 8-6, and they kicked off the third with another action goal. When Ema Hanza stopped Kincso Kenez’s penalty, the Croats smelled blood, and even though they missed a 6 on 5, later, after killing a woman-down, they forced a penalty, and Nina Jazvin levelled it up at 8-8.
The Croats pushed the Hungarians hard but the favourites’ experience prevailed at the end. Credit: Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics
The Magyars responded well, though, used all their experience to stage a 3-0 run where their defence was the key as they killed two woman-downs. In front, after netting a 6 on 5, they added one from a counter, then Adrienn Hetzl hit a third from the centre.
She kicked off the third with an easy put-away in an extra to rebuild the four-goal gap for 12-8. Soon Emma Gulyas-Oldal made a tough steal and went for a one-on-one which kind of sealed the Magyars’ QF spot. Hungary went on expanding the gap, though Jankovic and Butic also had a couple of pinpoint shots and lobs which helped their team to become the only losing side in the quarters to hit double digits.
Classification matches
For 9-12th places: Turkiye and Germans win hard-fought battles
Turkiye bounced back from their disappointing defeat against the Serbians, which dropped them out of the top eight. They managed to keep their composure and in the second half they outpowered Slovakia by staying tight and disciplined in defence.
Till 4-4, it was a balanced match – then the Slovaks found it harder and harder to overplay the Turkish defence. The zone-defence worked really well, the blocks were effective, and two late action goals before the middle break for a 6-4 lead let the Turks play a patient game in the second half. They didn’t have to rush anything, just waited for their chances, and it was enough to net only one in the third (and afford missing a penalty) as the Slovaks struggled to find the right choices to finish their attacks.
The Slovaks couldn’t really halt the Turkish offensive, Credit:Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics
After scoring for 4-4 in the middle of the second, the Slovaks were unable to add another goal for 18:03 minutes. That also praised the efforts of the Turkish defence as they killed four woman-downs during this phase – and more importantly, they staged a 5-0 rush which decided the game. The Slovaks’ two late goals didn’t have much impact on the outcome.
The other match, featuring Germany and Great Britain, was the only really thrilling clash of the day where the dying seconds still held excitements. The Germans took the lead five times in the first half, the British equalised on four occasions but not after Lotte Lightner put their rivals ahead once more, 57 seconds before the middle break.
A huge battle kicked off the third with no goals for four minutes, then Bianca Mitterbauer netted an extra for 6-4. The Briitsh response was fierce, a three-goal haul in a span of 47 seconds, all from action, to take the lead for the first time in the match. Still, Lucy Schussler’s fine shot from the perimeter brought the Germans back to even 29 seconds before the last interval.
GErmany edged a result over Great Britain. Credit:Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics
Elsie Graves put GB ahead just 21 seconds into the fourth, and they even missed a 6 on 5 to go up by two and that cost them a lot as it turned out. Lightner and Mitterbauer netted back-to-back goals in 53 seconds to retake the lead when the game turned into its last four minutes. The Brits equalised twice in the remaining time, but not after Mitterbauer netted a penalty with 1:32 remaining. They had two possessions, but neither ended even with an attempt as poor passing killed these last chances.
For lower placements: decision time in the third periods
Playing six – or seven – matches in as many days is not something most of the players are used to at this age, especially among the teams playing in the lower division.
A couple of classification matches witnessed slower-than-usual games, especially those played in the late morning, early afternoon heat.
A better spell usually decided the outcome, when one of the teams caught a wave and rode it to build a 4-5 goal lead. Worn out, teams falling behind didn’t have the strength to attempt a comeback.
Czech happiness, after they won their classification game against Malta to finish 13th – Credit: Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics
In the first three games it was the third period when the decisive blows were delivered and the rivals could never recover from that.
This is how Switzerland brought down Bulgaria, flooring them with a 5-0 run after the middle break. After a tough first half, with five goals in total, Ukraine came up with a 4-1 rally to lead 7-3 before the final period and the Romanians were unable to come any closer in the fourth.
Hosts Malta, already happy with their best ever ranking in the women’s age-group tournaments, kept up till halftime with the Czechs. Still, after 6-6, they ran out of steam, conceding four in a row in less than two minutes and the Czechs sailed away with the win.
Women’s U18 Europeans, Malta
Results, Day 6
Quarter-finals
Spain v Serbia 19-4
Greece v Netherlands 18-9
Italy v Israel 18-7
Hungary v Croatia 15-11
Semi-final fixtures, Day 7
19.00 Spain v Hungary
20.30 Greece v Italy
For places 9-12th
Turkiye v Slovakia 9-6
Germany v Great Britain 11-10
For the 13th place
Czechia v Malta 16-11
For the 15th place
Ukraine v Romania 9-5
For the 17-19th places
Switzerland v Bulgaria 14-7
