Serbia thrashes Montenegro 9-8 for Men’s gold medal: Day 14 – European Water Polo Championships
Serbian national squad thrashed Montenegro in the playoff and claimed Men’s gold medal at the 2012 European Water Polo Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands on Sunday, January 29 at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swim Stadium.
Serbia confronted strong resistance from the Montenegrin team in the four-quarter game, but they managed to triumph over their rival squad by a margin of just one goal. Montenegro suffered a 9-8 loss from Serbia and settled on the podium for silver medal.
The event was organised by European aquatic sports controlling body, Ligue Europeenne de Natation (LEN) and was of utmost importance, as it preceded the 2012 London Olympics.
The first goal of the game was scored by Serbia’s Stefan Mitrovic, who passed the ball in Montenegrin cage in the last three minutes. His effort could not last for long and was followed by Montenegro’s Nikola Janovic, who accomplished the same for his team
and score remained 1-1 after the first round.
Both teams improved their strategy in the second quarter, but Montenegrin team succeeded in proving their mettle. They scored three goals and overwhelmed Serbia’s accomplishment of two goals, making the score 3-4 after the first half.
Afterwards, Serbian team improved their plan of action and notched up three goals in the third quarter. With their relentless efforts, they prospered in blocking almost all attempts of their challenging team as Montenegro stroke just one goal and the score
went up to 6-5 after the third round.
The fourth quarter was very decisive as Montenegrin players needed to score just one additional goal to draw the match, but they failed to outsmart Serbia. Both teams stroke three goals in the final round and Serbia rejoiced victory as they managed to sustain
their lead of one after the fourth round.
Mitrovic and Vanja Udovicic of Serbia scored two goals each and played a firm role in their team’s victory. Furthermore, the crowd was delighted with the irresistible efforts of Serbian squad, which outran all teams on the overall points table.
In addition, with their promising effort in the tournament, Serbia has aroused the expectations of their fans for the upcoming Olympic Games.
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