The Hungarian coach believes they will beat their next opponents, the French.Continue reading
The Hungarian water polo teams closed the weekend with mixed results. While the Hungarian women’s water polo team finished fifth at the European Championships in Eindhoven, the Hungarian men’s water polo team lost to the hosts and defending champions Croatia in the semi-finals of the European Championships in Zagreb.
The Hungarian women’s water polo team finished fifth at the European Championships in Eindhoven, beating France 14-3.
The first quarter was the most composed eight minutes for the Hungarians at the continental tournament in the Netherlands, as apart from repeatedly turning the opponent and scoring easy goals, the back line was aided by excellent blocks from Neszmély, who saved five of six shots (5-1).
In the second quarter, the French scored several goals. However, the Hungarian team defended superbly, led by Keszthelyi, who had four goals by then, and in front, French Géraldine Mahieu scored two beautiful center goals against her native country (9-1).
After the turnaround, the Hungarians, who had a comfortable lead, mainly played defensively, and still did not let their opponents score (11-1). Keszthelyi’s sixth goal of the match opened the final quarter, during which the French broke their more than 20-minute scoring silence from a lead halfway through the period before a time-out. The rivals still had no chance, ending 14-3.
The most successful player of the match was Rita Keszthelyi with six goals. Overall, she was named co-leading scorer with a total of 21 goals in the entire tournament.
It was already decided with the quarter-final defeat to Italy that the Hungarian women’s team will not qualify for the Olympic Games, and will have their last chance to do so at the World Championships in Doha in February.
For the Hungarian men’s water polo team, bronze might become a reality after losing 11-8 to hosts and defending champions Croatia in the semi-finals of the European Championships in Zagreb on Sunday.
The world champions and Olympic qualifiers are a team full of young players, so it already came as a surprise that the Hungarian men’s team reached the last eight as group leaders, where they beat Olympic champions Serbia by five-meter shots.
The Hungarians, runners-up at the last European Championships, will face Italy in the bronze medal match on Tuesday’s final day at 16:30, after beating them in the group stage. The Croatian-Spanish final will decide not only the European title but also the right to qualify for the Olympics.
“We played a good game in front of a big crowd and in a great atmosphere. It was important not to get run over in the first quarter. When they got behind in the end game, there was a little bit of routine and experience missing,” said Zsolt Varga, the Hungarian team’s coach.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Illyés Tibor