Montenegro's water polo players defeated Australia 15:10 in the first round at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The beginning was difficult, but in the end the defense did the job, as the "Sharks" coach, Vladimir Gojković, said after the match.
"An important match. We knew - bearing in mind the schedule in the group - that it would not be good to make a mistake in the first match. That's why the start was a little worse. From the second quarter, we had more players in good spirits and stabilized the defense. Australia is good, they opened the game brilliantly, hit some fantastic shots. We were less aggressive than necessary at the beginning, but the most important thing is that defense in the second half was the key to victory," said Gojković.
At the Olympic tournament, each team has two goalkeepers. But there can only be one in the protocol during the match. Petar Tešanović was good in the second half, the match ended with seven saves...
"It's the least fair to them. They don't have a substitute. This is Tesanovic's first competition. It's certainly difficult, but it's extremely good for him that he returned to the match and wasn't late for the ball. He caught everything he needed," Gojković explained.
Montenegro took a step towards the quarterfinals.
"The group is extremely difficult, conditionally speaking, that match with Kazakhstan can be simpler, if we take it seriously. We will go game by game. There is still time to play. We have to prepare for Spain," said Gojković.
The match with the Spaniards is on Tuesday at 4:30 CET.
"They are playing collective water polo. All 11 players are doing a fantastic job. They beat Serbia and Croatia in both the last competitions. It will certainly be difficult, they are full of confidence," said Gojkovic.
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