Montenegro against Greece wants its first victory at the OI: The negative streak has to end once

Tonight (19.30:2) our water polo players play against Greece in the 2014nd round of the Olympic tournament in Paris. How much hard work awaits them is shown by the fact that they haven't defeated Helena in the biggest competitions since EP XNUMX.

23604 views 44 reactions 12 comment(s)
Photo: Reuters
Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

The second match, an equally complicated task, but also a new chance at the Olympic tournament to make a step forward and improve the position on the way to the quarterfinals.

Montenegrin water polo players, after losing to Croatia at the start (11:8), have the task of proving themselves against Greece and injecting a dose of self-confidence with a possible victory before the last three duels in the group, each of which can be decisive in its own way.

"Ajkule" with Heleni, Tuesday from 19.30:XNUMX p.m., a new derby for the chosen ones Vladimir Gojković who did not fail at the premiere, but after a good game had to accept that they were defeated by a better team.

- The match with Croatia was tied until the middle of the third quarter. We put up good resistance against the world champion and world vice-champion and I think the opening was good, despite the defeat - said the center Miroslav Perković.

A DAMN HARD TASK

Greece came to Paris to defend the silver from Tokyo and definitely have the quality to do so, although the competition for the honors is hellish. And it's not a national team against which Montenegro really enjoys playing in the pool - the Greeks have defeated Gojković's team the last five times at the biggest competitions, and eliminated them in the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games in Tokyo when they won convincingly - 10:4.

More precisely, the "sharks" of today's opponent have not defeated in the biggest tournaments since the 2014 European Championship in Budapest, when the group was 11:6.

- I don't think the Greeks are an easier rival than the Croats. They have players who swim a lot, several virtuosos in the water who see everything and can do everything. Greece is a very good opponent, but we will prepare and try to reduce the quality they have. We certainly have a chance - Perković pointed out.

The defeat against Croatia did not disturb our water polo players.

- We came to the Games as someone who is really not a favorite for a medal, although I look at it differently. I'm sorry that we didn't play better at the end of the match, there were little things in the game that we had to do better. A little bit of luck was needed to reach an equal ending where anything would have been possible. Nevertheless, we showed aggressiveness, but also how much we prepared for these Olympic Games. We have something to hope for, I would leave the role of favorite to Greece, but we expect uncertainty - the center of New Belgrade is clear.

THE DEFENSE WAS CORRECT, THE ATTACK WAS NOT

An attack with more players can and must be better - against Croatia, our team scored only two goals from nine attempts when it was outnumbered in the water.

- Water polo mostly boils down to that player, more or less. I think that with fewer players, given that we had 17-18 suspensions, we played correctly. On the other hand, our attack with the player was no longer satisfactory and we have to fix that. Because, in today's water polo - where the zone is played - it is very difficult to score goals from two meters, especially when there is a top goalkeeper in the goal - said Perković.

MONTENEGRO HAS LIMITS, MATKOVIĆ: WE ARE NOT A TEAM THAT CAN THREATEN

Dušan Matković believes that the Montenegrin team has room to improve as the tournament progresses.

- I think that the desire and energy were at the right level against Croatia and that we can improve in all segments of the game. If we manage to correct that, I think everything will be as it should be - said the returner in the Primorka cap.

Montenegro knows Greece well.

- Each team is special in its own way, has its own strengths and weaknesses. I think that calmness and the desire to win will decide, but we are not a team that can threaten, but someone who is ready to upset everyone's accounts. For example, we have defeated Croatia in the last few matches, and that tells us that we have the quality to deal with the strongest teams in the world - said Matković. And there are many big teams in Paris. At the start, Greece easily defeated Romania 14:7.

- The tournament is of high quality - this time both groups are evenly matched, all teams aim to go to the quarterfinals. Surely this is one of the strongest Olympic tournaments. Being at the Olympic Games for the fifth time does not satisfy us, I think we can do a lot more - Matković is optimistic.

One match of the 2nd round of Group A has already been played - Italy achieved its second triumph and outplayed Croatia (14:11).

"Setebelo", the next rival of our national team (Tuesday from 16.35:12 p.m.), convincingly defeated the United States of America (8:XNUMX) in the opening match.

Standings provided by Sofascore

Bonus video: