Gone are the days when Montenegrin water polo players routinely defeated teams like the Netherlands, now they are one-ball duels.
Exactly such a match, dramatic until the last second, was played by the "Sharks" against the Dutch in the duel for fifth place in the World Cup - and they won it 15:14 at the end of the Superfinal in Podgorica.
The hero was Nikola Moskov, who found his way to the net eight seconds before the end after a foul and settled a game that was anything but easy for Dejan Savić's team.
It was as if Montenegro's last match in the tournament was a return to the painful defeat against Croatia in the quarterfinals (they lost to Loren Fatović's goal three seconds before the end), because the Dutch had a rhythm that suited them for a long time, but also an advantage for almost 28 minutes of the game.
Branko Mitrović's team, coach from Herceg Novi, took control from the first minute and generally had a two-goal lead - in the second quarter they were particularly problematic on counterattacks, so the "sharks" were lucky that the opponent did not go up by three, perhaps even taking a more convincing lead...
After a bearable minus one at half-time (6:5), Montenegro played a different, more aggressive game, slowing down the Netherlands, but it didn't pay off because it simply couldn't find solutions for Kas te Rila and Mart van der Wejden, who each scored five goals for Lazar Andrić.
The last period brought great excitement, and Montenegro took the lead for the first time with 4.44 left when Đuro Radović, attacking with two players more, scored for 12:11.
Danilo Radović then scored for 13:12, then Aljoša Mačić for 14:13 before he missed a shot with just over a minute left and missed a chance to probably decide the match.
Bilal Gbadamasi then equalized (22 seconds left), and it looked like the fifth-place finisher would be decided by penalty kicks, but Moskov didn't think so.
He deliberately went to force a foul, and then had enough strength to send a shot behind goalkeeper Miki Bautenhaus's back.
Moskov scored two goals, as did Danilo Radović, Mačić and Dušan Matković. Đuro Radović was a three-time scorer, and Vladan Spaić, Balša Vučković, Filip Gardašević and Strahinja Gojković also scored.
Montenegro thus finished the Superfinal with two wins (they were also better than the Germans on Saturday), and a defeat to Croatia.
The cup was won by Spain, who beat Greece 16:14 in the final, while the bronze went to Hungary after a triumph over Croatia in a penalty shootout (18:15).
Final standings: Spain, Greece, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Germany, Japan.
MONTENEGRO - NETHERLANDS 15:14 (1:3, 4:3, 5:4, 5:4)
Podgorica - Swimming pool of SC "Morača". Spectators: 200. Referees: Kurosaki (Japan), Vasiliu (Greece). Player more: Montenegro 15 (6), Netherlands 8 (6. Peterci: Montenegro 1 (1), Netherlands 3 (3).
Montenegro: Andrić (12 saves), Moskov 2, Đ. Radović 3, Mačić 2, D. Radović 2, Vučković 1, Perković, Sladović, Matković 2, Gardašević 1, Gojković 1, Spaić 1.
Netherlands: Batenhaus (11 eliminations), Gbadamasi 1, B. Hesels, Van der Vejden 5, De Mej, Te Rile 5, S. Hesels 2, De Vird 1, Snel, Ten Brek, Spajker, Van der Verv.
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