Italy overpower Netherlands in the Women’s quarterfinal: Day nine – European Water Polo Championships
Italian team impressed their fans by overpowering Netherlands in the Women’s quarterfinal round on ninth day of the 2012 European Water Polo Championships in Eindhoven on Tuesday, January 24 at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swim Stadium.
The Italian team experienced strong resistance from their challenging squad in the four-quarter match, but managed to prevail by two goals. Italy ensured their victory over Netherlands with an astounding effort of 17-15 goals.
These European Championships are of considerable importance as they allow international teams to participate against each other and get rid of their weaknesses before the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Both teams demonstrated their gruelling efforts in the 32-minute game and the extra time while Italy managed to prevail over Netherlands in the Penalty Shoot Out (PSO).
The first quarter was dominated by Italian squad, which surpassed Netherlands’s three goals effort by accomplishing four goals and the round expired with a 4-3 effort from both sides.
The arena saw scintillating efforts of both teams in the second quarter, which accomplished two goals against each other and the score went up to 6-5 after the first half.
The same continued in the third round, where Italy notched up two goals while Netherlands also responded by accomplishing two goals, making the score 8-7 after the third quarter.
The Dutch squad improved their strategy in the fourth quarter to overcome the deficit and scored four goals. On the other hand, Italy succeeded in scoring three goals only, managing to force extra time, as the score remained 11-11 after the fourth quarter.
The arena was stunned with the exhausting efforts of both teams, which scored one goal each in both halves and the referees were compelled to go for the penalty shots.
Nonetheless, the Italian players proved their mettle in the PSO, where they marked four goals while Netherlands was able to achieve only two goals and lost the match.
Tania di Mario of Italy contributed five goals for her team and played a vital role in her team’s win.
Furthermore, Italy will compete with Russia in the semi-final round while Netherlands will play against Spain for fifth position on Thursday, January 26.
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