The women’s water polo team continues to make steady progress in the group stage after its sweet and unbeatable debut at the Paris Olympic Games. After beating France (15-6), the host country, and the United States, its bête noire, for the first time in 11 years (11-13), won on the third day against Greece (10-8) in a tight and hard-fought match, with some errors and misalignments that it managed to solve to end with a hard-fought and satisfactory victory that keeps the team undefeated. A very close match, just like the last match they played at the World Cup in Doha last February, when the Spanish team beat Greece in the last second thanks to a goal by Elena Ruiz. The difficulty in the French pool was the same. And the ending, too.
The team led by Miki Oca came into the game with a boost after the historic victory against the United States. It was necessary to control the euphoria and transform it into concentration against the Greeks who, after their resounding defeat against the Americans in a match practically decided at half-time, needed to add points to the draw. The plans failed, and the Spanish team had to come back in the first quarter: despite Anni Espar’s triumph in the sprints, the attacks of the Spanish team ended up hitting the post or outside the goal, while Nikoleta Eleftheriadou took advantage of the third superiority to score the first goal of the match, which took a while to arrive, although the second Greek goal came shortly after. Judith Forca, with her left arm, tied the game before the end of the first minutes.
The Greeks imposed a strong defense, closing well the pass to the buoy against a Spanish team that was initially out of position and had to look for the five-time scorer against the United States and her confidence, Bea Ortiz, to tie the match with her long throws. The tension in the pool – even Maria Myriokefalitaki lost her cap – grew as both teams advanced in equal numbers, reaching the third set tied at five.
The match was a difficult one for the Spanish team, who, in a hurry, did not take advantage of their superiority. Alexia Anna Kammenou’s team continued to cause damage on the inside in attack, and efficiently raised their hands to help their goalkeeper in defence. But Judith Forca and Elena Ruiz’s smile after her goal gave hope to Oca’s team, who entered the last eight minutes with a two-point advantage (9 to 7).
Balance between veterans and youngsters
Elena Ruiz’s third shot on goal gave the Spanish team a breath of fresh air and increased their lead to three. Meanwhile, the Greeks breathed a sigh of relief with a second time-out before scoring the eighth goal. The Spanish swimmers did not give up on attack, trying to increase the lead. They did not give up on defence either, with Martina Terré angrily grabbing the last shot from her opponents.
The current runners-up at the Olympic Games, in Europe and third in the world championship, have not yet known defeat at the Paris Olympic Games. And they are strong candidates for medals. The Spanish team, with a balance between veterans and young hopefuls, remains first in Group B with nine points, followed by the United States with six, France with three and Greece and Italy with zero. Now, a four-day break: next Sunday they will close this phase against the Italians. The passage to the quarterfinals is just a breeze. And the race for the medals is on track.
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