Italy came back from four goals down to better United States of America 12-11, not gaining the lead of the Group A clash until well inside the last two minutes. It was destroying for USA who deserved to win, even holding a two-goal advantage early in the fourth period. Croatia inflicted a second defeat on Montenegro, winning 13-8 in a splendid display of speed, strength and aggressive defence.
World champion Italy, for the second time in Tokyo, had to come back from four goals down to win points, this time pipping United States of America 12-11 in their critical Group A match-up.
Italy took the lead for the only time at 1:40 in the final quarter through Nicholas Presciutti when he slapped in a rebound. USA led 4-0 and then 4-2 at the quarter, 7-5 at halftime and 9-8 at three-quarter time. As in the 8-8 draw with Greece on Tuesday, Italy pegged back the deficit when captain Pietro Figlioli levelled at 9-9 at the top of the fourth.
Max Irving took USA ahead when, with no options, chanced a shot from deep right. On the next attack, Figlioli drew a penalty foul and took the shot, hitting the crossbar. On the USA counter, Alex Obert finished the movement off a cross pass to the left post for 11-9. It was Stefano Luongo who converted extra-man for 11-10 at 4:35.
USA went to a timeout, but could not find a shooting solution. Then Italy drew a penalty; Francesco Di Fulvio, the star of the match, swam up and scored his fifth goal for 11-11. Italy was back. It was now Italy’s time for a timeout and the shot played back in the field and Presciutti had what was to be the winner. USA had another timeout, but the arsenal was empty and all that effort came to nought.
USA held three-goal leads at 6-3, 7-4, 8-5 and 9-6 after the initial 4-0 spurt. Alex Bowen, playing brilliantly in Tokyo, had his penalty attempt blocked by Marco Del Lungo a minute from the final break, which would have maintained the three-goal margin if it had converted.
On how his heart is after another close match (after drawing 6-6 with Greece on Tuesday): (Laughing) "I just said to my president to get me some health insurance.”
USA now has a 2-1 record and Italy 1-1-1. USA has two tough matches coming up, against Hungary and Greece. Italy has Japan and Hungary on the near horizon in the battle for quarterfinal berths.
Match 14, 14:00, Group A, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 11 ITALY 12
Quarters: 4-2, 3-3, 2-3, 2-4
Referees: Sebastien Dervieux (FRA), Xevi Buch (ESP).
Shots: USA: 11/31. ITA: 12/35.
Extra Man: USA: 6/12. ITA: 7/12.
Pens: USA: 0/1. ITA: 2/3.
FLASH QUOTES
Alessandro Campagna (ITA) — Head Coach
"This was an amazing match, (with) intensity, quality. I want to congratulate (USA head coach) Dejan (Udovicic) and the United States because they played (an) excellent game. They were in front for three quarters of the match. At the end we had the power, we had the concentration and we had the passion to wait for the right moment to go in front. I want to congratulate also my players because it's not easy for two matches to go four goals down and you don't lose. It's a great proof that we are in a good condition.” On why he called a timeout after the team went 4-0 down in the first quarter: "That team I couldn't recognise, and (I was thinking) this isn't the team that I wanted to show the Olympic Games. Every match, you must fight.”
Francesco Di Fulvio (ITA) — Five Goals
On if being behind by four goals in the first quarter was a surprise: "Maybe we did expect this because the coach said to us they are very strong. They play strong and very good. We need to keep working as the road in this competition is so long. I'm happy for my performance, but I'm happier for the team performance, because we were losing for all the match, but in the fourth period we changed this and we won."
Dejan Udovicic (USA) — Head Coach
“We played against the world champion and I think we should have won the game. We got two times to try and conclude the game and we didn’t. We have two great goalkeepers and I think in good shape, both of them, and I expect both to perform. There is a bitter taste in my mouth ad we played hard and we tried very hard.”
GROUP B: CROATIA MONTENEGRO — 13-8
Croatia bounced back from its loss to Australia on Tuesday night to defeat close rival Montenegro 13-8. The margin was justified, thanks to Croatia’s disciplined play, counters, defence and better options.
“It was a very difficult game with us because we were in a loose position (one win, one loss to Australia). Now we are in the tournament and have a chance. Congratulations to my players. Now we prepare for Serbia, another tough team. We will play game by game.”
It was one of the “Group of Death” matches where everyone is hell-bent on avoiding one of the bottom two places and thus being able to stay for the remainder of the competition. Quarterfinal berths are going to be hard to come by, so every goal counts and one of the world’s best teams is not going to be around for the finals.
Croatia now has a 2-1 record with clashes against Serbia and Spain remaining. Montenegro is 1-2, desperately needing wins over Kazakhstan and Serbia.
The first period was tied at a goal apiece and Croatia rushed to a 4-1. Goals were then traded until halftime with Croatia 7-5 ahead. The trades went on in the third period with Croatia starting and finishing for a comfortable 11-8. A shut-out in the last and two goals from Ante Vukicevic boosted the margin to 13-8.
It was a team effort from a team that looked like a different squad from that beaten by Australia. Everything was sharper and more powerful.
Loren Fatovic blasted in three goals before halftime, including a short drive to the hole position to score.
Montenegro, on the other hand, had to work hard for every opportunity such was the brutal defence. Five of its goals came on extra-man attack and the others come under extreme pressure. Aleksandar Ivovic scored Montenegro’s first two goals while Dusan Matkovic and Marko Petkovic fired in two each.
Montenegro is on shaky ground, but that can be said of many of the teams in the group, with the exception of Spain, which already has three wins. Croatia will probably brush aside Kazakhstan on Saturday and then its biggest hurdle to continuation in the competition will come against Serbia in the last round.
Match 17, 15:30, Group B, CROATIA 13 MONTENEGRO 8
Quarters: 1-1, 6-4, 4-3, 2-0
Referees: Arkadiy Voevodin (RUS), Gyorgy Kun (HUN).
Shots: CRO: 13/33. MNE: 8/28.
Extra Man: CRO: 6/13. MNE: 5/11.
Pens: Nil
FLASH QUOTES
Marko Bijac (CRO) — Player
"It’s always a tough game against Montenegro. In the last few matches against them they caused us lots of problems. Today we found solutions in our attack and we were able to punish the mistakes they made. That was the key to our victory. After our last game, against Australia, we analysed our mistakes and we played a lot better today. We need to continue like this and try to be even better in our next match (against Serbia on Saturday)."
Vladimir Gojkovic (MNE) — Head Coach
"We had a good game in the first quarter, then we missed some chances and after that we made mistakes and gave away easy goals. It’s not easy to play Croatia. We made mistakes, especially in defence. We gave them some open shots from five to seven metres and they scored. They are a fantastic team and you can’t allow that. We need to watch this game back and then make things better for the rest of the matches."