Following a win in their opening game, the Aussie Sharks have come up short against European powerhouse Croatia in a 6-3 defeat at the FINA World Cup in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
A solid defensive game kept the scores tight throughout the first half, however the Aussies struggled to convert scoring opportunities in offence, denying themselves an early lead.
London Olympians Aidan Roach and Richie Campbell both scored for Australia, however poor execution in extra man left the Sharks chasing down the Croatians over the second half of the game.
Sharks coach Elvis Fatovic said he thought the Aussies had an improved performance on their opening game against Kazakhstan.
“In my opinion we played better than we did yesterday in all things except for extra man,” Fatovic said.
“We missed too many good chances in the first quarter and became insecure in the last quarter with our shots not looking dangerous.
The quarter finals are the most important game, however we now need to turn our attention to Hungary tomorrow.”
Croatia started on the front foot to be leading 1-0 at the end of the first quarter, holding out the Australian attack to keep the Sharks scoreless.
Australia returned serve in the second term courtesy of a penalty shot to Campbell in the first minute of the second term, however the Aussies could not break away as the score remained 1-1 at the half time break.
The third stanza was the watershed for Croatia, as they outscored the Sharks 3-1. Roach landed his first, and Australia’s only goal, early in the quarter as the Aussies trailed 4-2 at the final exchange.
Roach scored his second for the game half way through the final quarter to bring the Sharks within one goal of the lead. However Croatia had other ideas, replying twofold to run out three goal victors.
Sharks captain Richie Campbell said he was pleased to slow Croatia’s scoring rate, although noted that the Aussies offence would need to improve.
“I was pleased we were able to limit there scoring in the first half through strong communicated defence,” Campbell said.
“However our set and especially extra man attack was our weakness. We created numerous opportunities but were unable to execute.”
WAIS had two representatives in the Sharks line-up, with Aaron younger and George Ford both in action. WAIS men’s water polo coach Paul Oberman is also in Kazakhstan as an assistant to Fatovic.
Earlier:
Standout performances from captain Richie Campbell and WAIS athlete Aaron Younger have helped the Australian men’s water polo team, the Aussie Sharks, begin their FINA World Cup campaign with an 11-8 win over host nation Kazakhstan in Almaty.
Campbell was the first man to strike for the Aussies as he put away three goals for the game, while Younger put in a strong second half to score four goals, the final two of those the game breakers for the Sharks.
The opening quarter was a strong period of play for the Aussies who led 3-1 at the first break with Campbell, George Ford and Olympian Aidan Roach all sending rockets to the back of the cage.
With momentum on their side, the Sharks began the second term on the front foot with a goal from Campbell, before giving away a crucial penalty that opened the door for Kazakhstan to be within striking distance.
With a slender 4-3 advantage at the beginning of the third period, the Aussies put away two quick goals, courtesy of Lachlan Edwards and Younger in the first minute.
Kazakhstan responded with four goals, while Younger scored his second, and Jarrod Gilchrist his first, to see the one goal gap restored 8-7 in the Sharks favour.
Kazakhstan equalised early in the fourth quarter, before Younger stepped up to score a double and regain the lead, while a further goal from Campbell combined with solid defence handed the Sharks victory.
Australian head coach Elvis Fatovic said it was an important win after a long break from competition for the Sharks.
“We expected to have a tough game after atwo month breaksince our last game,” Fatovic said.
“We need to improve areas of our defence, however to win the first game of the competition is important, and it was a difficult win today against the home nation who had a supportive crowd behind them.”
-WaterPoloAus
