A brace to WAIS athlete George Ford has helped the Australian men’s water polo team to a controlled 13-7 win over Kazakhstan at the World League Intercontinental Cup in California.
The result consolidates the Sharks’ impressive start to the competition after the Australians earlier recorded a 13-10 win over Brazil that featured two goals to fellow WAIS scholarship holder Joel Swift.
Whilst the Aussies had to over turn a mid-game deficit against the South Americans, they were always in control against Kazakhstan, thanks largely to a 5-2 opening quarter that enabled the Sharks to play on their terms.
Despite the comfortable win, head coach Elvis Fatovic was left frustrated that his charges hadn’t capitalised further on their control.
“Whilst it was good to get the win, we didn’t execute well enough in attack to create a bigger margin,” Fatovic said.
“We had periods of play with good execution, but we need to be more consistent and continually show improvement.”
The Australians face China on Thursday with a third win ensuring a more favourable cross-over opponent when the quarterfinals commence on Friday. The medal round will be hosted on Sunday, Australian time.
