WATER POLO: Despite another third quarter collapse, the Aussie Sharks, Australia’s men’s water polo team, have held on for a thrilling 10-9 victory over the USA in their second group stage game of the FINA World League Super Finals campaign in Bergamo, Italy.
The one goal win follows yesterday’s hard fought 7-5 loss to Italy when the Australians squandered a 3-1 halftime lead and gave up five unanswered goals in the third term.
Croatian-based Western Australian Aaron Younger was the star for Australia today with five goals but it was a second consecutive mid-game stutter that will have Sharks coach Elvis Fatovic working overtime with his troops ahead of their third game.
That match is their final group stage match and will be no easy task against two-time defending world league super final champions Serbia, at midnight AEST on Thursday night.
Australia began well, scoring first midway through the opening term with a well executed extra man strike from the right by Aidan Roach, before fellow London Olympian Younger scored on man-up 90 seconds later. Set to go into the first break up by two goals the Australians let the foot off the peddle for a moment and with a mere two seconds on the clock the USA scored on a bomb from downtown to make it 2-1 to the Sharks.
Jarrod Gilchrist nailed a long-range opportunity to get the scoring underway midway through the second quarter before a further goal to Johnno Cotterill and a clean sheet on the defensive end ensured the Australians led 4-1 at halftime.
Then came the déjà vu, the Americans converting an early penalty early in the third before scoring two more to tie the scores and begin another nightmare third quarter for the Aussie Sharks.
Younger stemmed the flow a little with his second extra man goal and Cotterill got his double, only to see the Americans drill home their second penalty of the quarter for the Sharks to go into the final period up by just one, 6-5.
Less than 90 seconds into the fourth quarter the USA had levelled things up before another extra man goal to Younger and a third penalty for the Americans put the pressure right back on the Australian side.
After some up and back play, centre forward Joel Swift earned Australia a penalty of their own, which Younger dually converted. Younger scored his fifth with a magic individual spin and shoot move on the two metre line with 90 seconds to go but the USA got one back to set up a grandstand finish.
With a second straight loss staring them in the face, Australia scored next via Nathan Power from the post in extra man and were able to hang on despite one more for the Americans at the end.
The world league super finals are 2015’s main prelude to the FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia that begin next month. The winner of this tournament will earn automatic qualification for next year’s Rio Olympic Games.
Australia: Joel Dennerley (GK) (NSW), Richard Campbell (NSW), George Ford (WA), Johnno Cotterill (NSW), Nathan Power (NSW), Jarrod Gilchrist (NSW), Aidan Roach (NSW), Aaron Younger (WA), Joel Swift (WA), Tyler Martin (NSW), Rhys Howden (QLD), Billy Miller (QLD), James Clark (GK) (NSW)
Result: Australia 10 bt USA 9
Quarters: 2-1, 2-0, 2-4, 4-4
AUS scorers: A Younger 5, J Cotterill 2, A Roach, J Gilchrist, N Power
WATER POLO AUSTRALIA