Hungary maintains its position atop Group B, fending off a spirited Japan 17-13 after being tied 7-7 at halftime. Rebecca Parkes was outstanding at centre forward with six goals. In the Group A match, Spain virtually assured itself of top spot with a energy-sapping 15-9 margin over Australia. Spain seemed to have all the answers and penetrated the Aussie Sharks defence at will. Progress Points: Group A: ESP 6, AUS 4, NED 4, CAN 2, RSA 0. Group B: USA 6, HUN 5, ROC 3, CHN 2, JPN 0.
Hungary has gone through three matches undefeated and collected a second win, fending off Japan 17-13 in an exciting Group A extravaganza.
Hungary also has a draw and needs a win against China on Sunday if it hopes to best United States of America for the group victory and the better position for the quarterfinals.
It was not easy for Hungary as Japan held 4-2, 5-4, 9-8 and 10-9 leads before Hungary steadied the ship in the last 10 minutes.
“I think we were prepared for this type of game. They’ve made the best of their opportunities. Everyone worked on defence. Japan did a really good job attacking and scoring goals.” On her six goals: “My team knows how to read me as well. Most of the passes (to me) were perfect.”
Hungary held the 2-1 lead before Japan scored three unanswered goals — Yumi Arima with a bounce from the top; Maiko Hashida with a last-gasp slide from top left and Kyoko Kudo with her second Olympic goal with a fantastic lob from the right. Greta Gurisatti converted extra, leaving Japan with the quarter-time advantage.
Dorottya Szilagyi was mesmerising with three goals to give Hungary the 6-5 lead. Arima and Kudo netted their seconds for 7-6 and Rebecca Parkes backhanded from centre forward for the leveller more than two minutes from halftime. Kudo’s goal came on counter and she fumbled the pickup, drove forward and pushed the ball past the left ear of goalkeeper Alda Magyari. Parkes gained her second to level the half.
She opened the third period and levelled at 9-9 after two Japanese strikes, and levelled again as Arima gained Japan’s last advantage. Parkes then nailed her fifth for the go-ahead goal, an impetus that ignited the cannon with rapid fire for five goals, the last from Parkes.
There was still more than five minutes remaining and Japan won the next segment 3-1 with two Akari Inaba goals, for four in the match, and it was 16-13 with 2:40 left on the clock. There was no more joy for the agile Japanese and it was left to Szilagyi to go on counter and slip in her fourth goal and the 17-13 winner.
Match 15, 17:20, Group A, JAPAN 13 HUNGARY 17
Quarters: 4-3, 3-4, 3-5, 3-5
Referees: Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU), Voijin Putnikovic (SRB).
Shots: JPN: 13/32. HUN:
Extra Man: JPN: 2/6. HUN:
Pens: JPN: 2/2.
FLASH QUOTES
Makihiro Motomiya (JPN) — Head Coach
“We were able to score today and we could have scored more. We expected to create chances on counter-attack and also our players were aggressive on defence against Hungary.”
Akari Inaba (JPN) — Four Goals
“A lot of things happened that I never expected. . It was a very close match but our efforts were in vain. I scored four goals. Until now I have not scored any (in Tokyo). The atmosphere in the team is very good and that made me get the scores.”
GROUP A, SPAIN-AUSTRALIA — 15-9
Spain came through with flying colours against Australia, turning a 3-3 opening quarter into a parade of goals that had it four goals ahead going into the final quarter and riding the wave of confidence to a 15-9 victory.
Spain has finished Group A with three wins and the one-goal loss to Netherlands and will take a bye day on Sunday when the last four group matches will determine the final rankings and Spain is in the box seat.
Spain pressed hard on defence and forced the Aussie Stingers into many passing errors and outside blocks also played a huge part in Spain’s defensive screen as goalkeeper Laura Ester had only to make four saves.
At the other end of the pool, Lea Yanitsas was left to try and save a barrage of balls as loose defending made the scoring easier. Spain’s shooting in the top corners was also laser accurate.
Centre forwards Maica Garcia and Paula Leiton exposed the poor Aussie marking, scoring five goals between them with Garcia’s three consecutive Spanish goals in the second quarter moving the score from 4-4 to 7-6. Aussie skipper Rowie Webster sent in her team’s two, the second with a deft lob.
In the third period, Australia stayed in touched with a Zoe Arancini goal (8-7) and then Spain decided enough was enough and pushed the margin to 12-7 a minute into the final spell, a virtually impossible task for any team to bridge.
Not even the two Matilda Kearns goals from point blank by 5:39 could offer enough inspiration to shut down the Spanish juggernaut. Pila Pena, Judith Forca for their second goals and Bea Ortiz with her third, showed the desire of team yearning for group supremacy and thoughts of an easier route to the semifinals and possibly the match that really counts.
The decision by any team to go into the match with one goalkeeper — like most teams in Tokyo — exposes the difficulty of doing anything about a goalkeeper off form. This tactic has been exposed on several occasions and could have coaches revising their thoughts ahead of matches that could have protracted penalty shootouts.
Match 16, 18:50, Group A, SPAIN 15 AUSTRALIA 9
Quarters: 3-3, 4-3, 4-1, 4-2
Referees: Sebastien Dervieux (FRA), Arkadiy Voevodin (ROC).
Shots: ESP: 15/28. AUS: 9/24.
Extra Man: ESP: 6/10. AUS: 5/11.
Pens: Nil.
FLASH QUOTES
Miki Oca (ESP) — Head Coach
“"We knew we had to play a very, very good game today if we were to beat Australia. Our goal has always been to top the group and to score 15 goals shows how well we did in attack. In the third and fourth period our defence was excellent, and if we want to reach the semifinals we’ll have to keep this level of play up in the next round."
Roser Tarrago (ESP) — Player
"We were looking for a much better defence than what we did the other day (in the 14-13 loss to Netherlands). I think we played really strong and showed that we are actually capable of defending really, really well. Australia still scored nine goals, but it's still much better than 14, so we're happy.”
Bec Rippon (AUS) — Assistant Coach
“I think we need a look back at the game and see where we can improve for the next games. Obviously, we played not very well with some basic skills needing work (alluding to the numerous dropped passes). They (the team) believe they can win and turn things around. They never stop fighting. The Olympics has only just started, so it’s all about the next game (quarterfinals).”
Rowie Webster (AUS) — Captain and two goals
“You never take a loss lightly — there’s a lot to learn from that game. Like any game that we play, that we win, lose or draw, we’ll go back and review it. Those ones hurt though. I think at an elite level we need to make sure that our passes hit the target and tonight they didn’t. I think that was one of the most disappointing things, for us to showcase our game on the world stage, and not necessarily showcase the best of our ability and our skill. They’re (Spain) a phenomenal side, so let’s not take away anything from the Spanish team’s win. They deserved that, they played better on the night. But there’s a huge amount of improvement for Team Australia and there’s a real positive in that, I think. We won’t dwell on this loss, we’ll go back and review it, and then we’re going to come out and bring our best game for South Africa because that’s what they deserve.”