There was no way to stop Montenegro in the elite competition at the European Aquatics Men’s U18 Water Polo Championships in Oradea, Romania. They won all their six matches here, overcoming key rivals in the knockout phase as they beat Italy by four goals in the semis before doing the same thing against Serbia in the final. Greece edged out Italy in the bronze-medal match. Meanwhile the Division One title in Rio Maior went to Israel after they produced a strong finish against Belgium, while Bulgaria outclassed hosts Portugal for the bronze.

Montenegro fully deserved the title after winning all six of their matches in Oradea. Credit:Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics

Final: Montenegro v Serbia 13-9

As one expects when these two sides clash – anytime, anywhere, at any age-group – the gloves were off. After a ttumultuous opening Vuk Conkic found space to give Serbia the lead after two minutes, but Strahinja Gojkovic soon brought Montenegro level. After another quick exchange of goals, the Serbs missed two 6 on 5, while leftie Danilo Stupar also came up with his first rocket which resulted in a 3-2 lead for Montenegro after eight minutes.

Montenegro came back more composed for the second period, where Miljan Boskovic blasted one in from the perimeter and just 93 seconds later finished off a counter for 5-2. Milan Zelic pulled one back with a great action shot but Relja Vukanic’s finish in response was strong enough to bounce in from the goalie’s hand in a man-up.

The Serbs missed their extra and were unable to penetrate the Montenegrin defence for a couple of minutes, while Stupar, again with some luck, expanded the lead to 7-3 as the ball, rebounding from the bar, hit the goalie’s head and went in. Montenegro had another man-up to go up by five but missed that, while the Serbs got some hope when Luidi Canepa’s pinpoint shot ended up in the net with 0:02 on the clock for 7-4.

Strahinja Gojkovic, MVP of the Championship, was a true leader for Montenegro. Credit: Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics

Ending their 5:30 minute-long drought, Gojkovic’s enormous blast just 25 seconds into the third was a huge boost for the Montenegrins. Still, under pressure, their finish wasn’t precise from close in the next 6 on 5 and Canepa, this time from action, pulled one back once more for Serbia. And in a minute they halved the distance when Luka Urosevic somehow pushed the ball in from the air in a man-up for 8-6.

The Serbs then chose to go for some extremely tough defending but couldn’t prevent Boskovic from finishing off the extra. And soon it seemed to be over. Marko Pejovic put out the “Closed” sign to his goal, while the offence added three more in 1:46 minutes to make it 12-6. Stupar’s blast from 9m was spectacular, followed by a penalty and a counter – this 4-0 rush ultimately decided the outcome.

Marko Pejovic, best goalie of the tournament, was hugely instrumental to Montenegro’s success. Credit: Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics

The Montenegrins’ firm grip on the game loosened a bit in the fourth, mostly in offence, as in the back they handled the Serbians’ desperate attempts effectively. Canepa’s somewhat lucky lob broke another long silence from the Serbs, after 9:20 minutes, but they didn’t have any realistic chance for a comeback at 12-7, though Mateja Kosanovic managed to stop Stupar’s penalty a bit earlier. 

Montenegro’s lethal leftie Danilo Stupar also had a brilliant week. Credit:Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics

Still, the Serbs never gave in and launched a late surge, scoring two more in 56 seconds, But with 1:48 on the clock the three-goal gap seemed way too large. And their risky defending didn’t pay off as Gojkovic kept his calm to set up Ognjen Moracanin who had an easy put-away from the centre for 13-9. It was indeed over and the Montenegrins, arguably the best team in the tournament, got ready for the champions’ celebrations which they then delivered in style, with the entire coaching staff hitting the pool.

Bouncing back from three straight defeats in the group, the Serbs did very well to reach the final but ran out of miracles on the last day and had to settle for silver. Credit: Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics

Bronze medal: Italy v Greece 11-12

On the opening day, Italy effectively beat the Greeks in the first half when they built an 8-3 lead and won by five at the end. Six days later, the two teams clashed again, this time for the bronze medal.

But this was a totally different story, with fantastic twists and turns. The Greeks jumped to a 0-2 lead, but the Italians responded well, so it stood 3-3 after eight minutes. Italy rolled on to add two in 46 seconds for 5-3 and after that they seemed to keep controlling the match, though Greece’s big boy Ilias Angelopoulos managed to keep his team in the game. Still, after Alberto Chianese buried a man-up for 7-5, the Italians killed a Greek extra and they had a 6 on 5 to go up by three. Instead they were soon watching Angelopoulos’ back as he swam away to halve the lead shortly before half-time.

The bronze-medal match between Greece and Italy was a huge battle which could have gone either way. Credit:Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics

The Italians retained their balance and re-set the two-goal gap twice early in the third. But the other Greek ace, Dimitrios Chatzis, also joined the party, converting two penalties earned at the end of counters to make it 9-9. Italy lost composure up front, missing another man-up, and Chatzis’ added another goal from his favourite position in the perimeter 18 seconds from time to send Greece ahead for the first time since 0-2.

It didn’t last long, though. Italy, with no goal in the last five minutes in the third, opened the fourth with a great action shot by Giuseppe Alessandrini and he also sent the ball home from an extra three minutes into the quarter to regain the lead for Italy at 11-10. Just 12 seconds later, however, Angelopoulos equalised from the centre to raise Greek hopes once again. 

Flying in happiness – Greece’s Angelos Leonidakis is all set to celebrate the bronze. Credit?Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics

Aat 11-11, with 4:39 remaining, the match entered its most crucial phase where every move counted. Both sides had chances to win the game, but at the end leftie Konstantinos Bitsakos’ magnificent lob decided it – with 2:37 to go.

The Italians had two man-ups which they failed to exploit. And after killing a Greek one, they had another in the last 20 seconds. They took two fine shots but the post and goalie Dimitros Berdes’ fingertips denied them and soon the Greek bench players were diving into the pool to launch their emotion-filled celebrations.

Selfie with the bronze medals – the Greeks were overjoyed to reach the podium. Credit: Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics

Classification matches

Spain deserve all the credit as they managed to do something the other sides did not – namely containing the Hungarian offence. The Magyars’ forwards had produced at least 12 goals in each match – 15.4 as an average. But in this fifth-place match Spain, hugely well organised at the back, limited them to seven.

Spain led 4-2 at half-time and went 5-2 and 6-3 up deep into the third. Hungary had a better spell when they netted two from action and their goalie stopped a penalty in between, but Spain replied right away for 7-5. Early in the fourth, Mor Benedek brought his team back to 7-6 and here they had one possession to go even but they were unable to outplay the Spanish defence and Marc Comabella’s brilliant finish from the centre re-set the two-goal gap. Hungary missed a crucial 6 on 5 and soon a great reaction to collect a loose ball set up a 4 on 3 and Pedro Diaz closed down the contest.

The Spaniards played with more precision than Hungary to finish fifth. Credit: Aniko Kovacs/European Aquatics

The match for the 7^th place between France and Croatia was reminiscent of the Spain v France game a day earlier. Just like the Spaniards, the Croats also started laying back once they built a 7-3 lead – here the time-out by their head coach Hrvoje Koljanin came earlier, at 7-5, to stop the further drop in his boys’ concentration level. It helped, the Croats quickly added two before half-time and with a 0-5 blast in the third they secured a calm finish to the contest.

Division One, Rio Maior

Israel triumph with a strong second half

Israel earned the Division One title in Portugal with a superb second half performance against Belgium. Though the favourites started well and led 2-3 after eight minutes, the Belgians came up with a spirited performance in the second, shutting out their rivals for the entire eight minutes while netting three action goals to lead 5-3 at half-time. Another action shot from Lenny Sasim expanded the gap to three early on before Israel were able to break through again, after almost 11 minutes.

Once they did that, however, they got going. Just 36 seconds later Tom Hemsi netted a fine shot from action and a bit later Itay Goshed brought the score back to 6-6. The Belgians re-took the lead from their next possession by converting a 6 on 5, but Goshen also sent the ball home from a 6 on 5 and Shir Refaeli put Israel ahead just before the end of the third for 7-8.

Hemsi and Refaeli were on target then in the fourth too, but Boris Durez pulled two back, so with 3:08 to go it was still open at 9-10. However, the Israelis had more reserves, forced two 6 on 5s and converted both to make it 9-12 and the Belgians were unable to score again in the remaining time.

Best in Division One were the jubilant Israeli team. Credit: Nikola Krstic/European Aquatics

Bulgaria offered no chances to the hosts, Portugal, in the bronze-medal match. They needed just one and a half quarters to take a 7-1 lead. The home side missed seven man-ups before netting their first goal from an extra, then wasted two more to make it 1 for 10, while Bulgaria were 5 for 7 in the first half, just to highlight the contrast between the teams.

It stood 10-2 at half-time, leaving little at stake for the rest of the match. So it was time for some entertainment as no one really wanted to concentrate on defending any more. After the first half had produced 12 goals the third quarter alone saw 13 and there were 10 more in the fourth. Veselin Ganchev and Georgi Vanov were the driving force for Bulgaria, netting eight and seven goals respectively – in tota,l two more than the entire Portuguese team.

The second happiest team in Rio Maior finished third – the Bulgarians beat the hosts to bronze with a strong performance. Credit: Nikola Krstic/European Aquatics.

In the classification matches, the Swiss kept up with Moldova for eight minutes as they led 4-5. But then the favourite side hammered them with a 9-0 rush in the middle two periods to clinch the 5^th place.

Lithuania finished 7^th, in a similar match where the winning side built a massive four-goal gap in the middle two periods and cruised to victory in the fourth.

Results, Day 7

Elite Championships, Oradea

Final

Montenegro v Serbia 13-9

Bronze medal match

Italy v Greece 11-12

For the 5^th place

Spain v Hungary 10-7

For the 7^th place

France v Croatia 7-16

Tournament MVP: Strahinja Gojkovic (MNE) – Best goalkeeper: Marko Pejovic (MNE)

Final rankings:

1. Montenegro, 2. Serbia, 3. Greece, 4. Italy, 5. Spain, 6. Hungary, 7. Croatia, 8. France, 9. Malta, 10. Germany, 11. Netherlands, 12. Poland, 13. Turkiye, 14. Romania, 15. Georgia, 16. Ukraine

Division One, Rio Maior

Final

Belgium v Israel 9-12

Bronze medal match

Bulgaria v Portugal 22-13

For the 5^th place

Moldova v Switzerland 18-8

For the 7^th place

Slovakia v Lithuania 8-12

Final rankings

1. Israel, 2. Belgium, 3. Bulgaria, 4. Portugal, 5. Moldova, 6. Switzerland, 7. Lithuania, 8. Slovakia, 9. Great Britain, 10. Austria, 11. Czechia, 12. Denmark, 13. Ireland

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics