Hungary held off host nation Japan 16-11 in an unusual Group A encounter that saw players at both ends of the pool on many occasions.

Hungary struggled with the Japanese fast-breaking style with plenty of side marking ready for the explosive counter-attacks.

Hungary stood up to the split-second decisions of the Japanese and was probably wondering at halftime what it had to do to shrug off a persistent opponent.

It was 8-8 at the long break after the match was tied at one, two, three, four, five, seven and eight.

A three-goal haul at the top of the third seemed to settle Hungary and, in turn, upset Japan. Japan dragged back two before Hungary rattled in four unanswered for 14-10. Japan pulled in one and Hungary finished with the last two.

What really had the people on their feet was the way in which Japan would jump at every opportunity and swim away. Hungary responded by keeping a player back to negate the counter and this left an unusual pattern of segregated players. Talk about social distancing! This was the water polo equivalent.

With the score at 11-10, Hungary started to impose its size and presence in front of goal and several shots were taken from just centimetres off the goal-line.

Yusuke Inaba was a worrying player as was captain Keigo Okawa, both scoring three goals, Inaba lifting his tally to six at the Games.

Gergo Zalanki had a fine match with four goals, lobbing in the first quarter, netting twice in the third and scoring the 14-10 leader in the last. Balazs Erdelyi chimed in with three, including a pair in the second quarter.

"Well, it was definitely different. Against Greece it was more like a traditional water polo game. This was very special. As you can see, playing against this Japanese team in Japan is very, very tough. Not just for us but for anyone. You could see against the US (United States), they had a very tough game as well against Japan. It was the same for us,” Erdelyi said.
Japan’s new style of play for the Olympics has yet to see rewards and it only has three more matches to show what it can do to win at least one match in the hope of progressing further.
Hungary took away the two points and will be thankful the match has passed and readying itself for the matches that will hopefully see it advance to the quarters.

Match 11, 18:20, Group B, JAPAN 11 HUNGARY 16
Quarters: 3-4, 5-4, 2-5, 1-3
Referees: Michiel Zwart (NED), Nenad Peris (CRO).
Shots: JPN: 11/35. HUN: 16/33.
Extra Man: JPN: 3/7. HUN: 6/7.
Pens: HUN: 1/2.

Full match statistics:

Flash Quotes:

Balasz Erdelyi (HUN) — Three Goals
“The first half was very, very hard because even though we could score many goals, I mean eight goals is a lot in the first half on the offensive side, (but) on defence we give up so many goals. Luckily for the second half of the game we could switch up a gear, and on defence especially. We kept on scoring, but we made some stops on defence so that was the key."

 Yoji Omoto (JPN) — Head Coach
“We have never beaten Hungary yet. In the World League semifinal in 2019 we lost by two goals. We can never be a close loser if we wish to play the quarterfinals; we have to beat them. They were an average height of 187cm while we were 179cm. We swam and made them swim. We had quite a few good chances late in the game and we had (Katsuyuki) Tanamura in goal. We’re pretty confident with our play and looking forward to playing Italy and Greece.”

 Mitsuaki Shiga (JPN) — Driver
“I think we did well. We still can’t keep up with the European teams. Yes, we upset them, but we couldn’t win and we want to win a match.”

GROUP B: AUSTRALIA V CROATIA: 11-8

Australia’s Aussie Sharks proved that their bite really does hurt as Croatia found out to its peril with an 11-8 loss in the Group B encounter.

The group has been regarded as the Group of Death with so many top European teams along with Australia and Kazakhstan. Few thought Australia could upset anyone and Croatia, a 23-7 victor over Kazakhstan on the first day, now knows what lies ahead — a troubled and very rocky road.

It was redemption for the Sharks who had Montenegro on the ropes in their opening match before losing way in the final quarter and falling 15-10.

There were no such jitters as skipper Aaron Younger alluded to in the post-match media scramble. The refocusing he spoke of had the Sharks on song, playing from the same hymn sheet despite Maro Jokovic opening from the penalty line. The Sharks then went 3-1 ahead with Croatia levelling by the first break.

Then the unthinkable happened as Australia kept Croatia scoreless in the second quarter and slipped out to a 7-3 margin midway through the third quarter. These two last played an Olympic match when Aussie head coasch Elvis Fatovic was playing for Croatia in the 2004 Olympics, which Australia won 8-7 in the play-off for ninth. Tonight, they watched in awe and wondered how to counter the physical approach and scoring power of the Aussies.

Once Tim Putt scored from the top for 7-3, Croatia was desperate for revenge and fired in three straight goals with Loren Fatovic grabbing a second and Jokovic netting twice, one from another penalty. His third was a superb slider under the arm of Anthony Hrysanthos, who had a spectacular game on his Olympic debut.

A late Aussie goal appeared to have been scored on three-quarter time and it needed a VAR decision that the ball was still on the hand when the 30-second buzzer sounded. Croatian head coach Ivica Tucak gained a yellow card at this moment. After a long break, the referees decided to play two seconds on the main clock for no change of score.

The final quarter arrived and Australia smashed home three goals for an unbelievable 10-6 advantage at  5:46.

Luka Bukic scored at 3:13 and 1:18, either side of a Blake Edwards extra-man goal and the historic 11-8 scoreline was reached and not bettered.

Richard Campbell, competing in fourth Olympic Games, was the inspiration with his three goals from five attempts, elevating his Olympic tally to an amazing 29.

Aussie Sharks head coach Elvis Fatovic, a former Croatian star, was working hard for victory, as was his son, Loren, at the other end of the pool. An unusual situation indeed, especially at the Olympic Games. They had not seen for 18 months because of the pandemic and we trust it was an amicable reunion. Fatovic leaves the Sharks after a long tenure after the Olympics for a coaching role in Barcelona.

The only think missing besides the crowd tonight was the customary  Aussie chant — “Oi, Oi, Oi!”

Match 9, 19:50, Group B, AUSTRALIA 11 CROATIA 8
Quarters: 3-3, 2-0, 2-3, 4-2
Referees: Frank Ohme (GER), Michael Goldenberg (USA).
Shots: AUS: 11/29. CRO: 8/26.
Extra Man: AUS: 5/13. CRO: 4/10.
Pens: CRO: 2/2.

Full match statistics:

Flash Quotes:

Elvis Fatovic (AUS) — Head Coach
"I think that we played really well and the difference between this game and first game is that we were consistent. In the first game with Montenegro we played really good (for) the first two quarters, and then we couldn't respond or match the aggressiveness that Montenegro had and then we lost. Today, the boys really stepped up and they were excellent from the beginning until the end. It was really a pleasure to be on the bench and watch them. This was a big win, but it doesn't mean anything. This is still a long tournament, so many games, and everything can happen.”

Aaron Younger (AUS) — Captain
“We were definitely very disappointed after the first game. We refocused and regrouped. We did great today to regroup. The boys really pushed for four quarters. Anthony (Hrysanthos) had his debut today and what a game! Now we play the current Olympic champion (Serbia) in the next game.”

Anthony Hrysanthos (AUS) — Olympic Debut Goalkeeper

“It’s very special for me to play in my first Olympic Games. It’s a lifelong effort. I’m very happy that I was able to play well today and get the win; it’s a special occasion for me. Playing against a tough team like Croatia, they’ve been one of the teams that have medalled in almost every competition in the last four-five years, so to get that win today is very good for our confidence. To be able to show, especially from two days ago that we can come back and play a consistent four quarters and not let us slip in defence, is really good. For me, it’s all about getting that first save and that gives me a little confidence boost to go forward. And then just drawing on the energy from the rest of the boys, everyone was really vocal and getting around me. This Australian team is something really special and the teamwork that we’ve put in over these last four-five years is amazing.”

 

Ivica Tucak (CRO) — Head Coach
“We didn’t play good water polo. It was a physical game and we  had problems in attack. We must forget this game for the new occasion against Montenegro. Everything is open.”

Loren Fatovic (CRO) — Goal Scorer
"This was an important game and we didn't play so good in the defence. We made some very bad mistakes and we need to fix that for the next game and make it out of the group."