A phenomenal match, a real derby between the Olympic and European champions in the magnificent setting of the "Belgrade Arena" - and a very important victory for the hosts.
Serbian water polo players defeated Spain in the 2nd round of the European Championship, after having to play four minutes with a player less in the last quarter after a rough foul by Dušan Mandić - 12:11.
The home team's heroes were Strahinja and Viktor Rašović, who overturned Spain's 11:10 lead in the final minute.
A victory for the hosts should also suit Montenegro, since our national team will face teams from this group in the main round, and Serbia (one to the Netherlands) and now Spain (three) have already lost points there.
David Martin's team started the match well and took a 2-0 lead with two goals from Alberto Munaris. Serbia's reaction was swift, turning the score around to 3-2 through Miloš Ćuk, Strahinja Rašović and Vasilije Martinović.
At those moments, Milan Glušac was excellent in the home goal, so after another goal by Rašović, Serbia had a significant advantage for the first time (6:4).
Spain struggled, Uroš Stevanović's team continued to play well, and Nikola Dedović scored a plus three (9:6) with just under three minutes left in the third quarter.
It seemed that the European champion had no solution for the Olympic champion, but then with seven and a half minutes left in the match, Mandić inexplicably elbowed one of the Spanish players, the referees blew the whistle for "brutality", and the Tivat player left his team to fight with one less player for the next four minutes.
Despite having a big advantage, Spain struggled a lot with the extra player, but they managed to equalize just as Mandić's penalty was about to expire - Unaj Biel Lara scored at 10:10. That seemed to take the pressure off the Spaniards, and Biel Lara scored to give his team the lead with two and a half minutes left (11:10).
However, led by great support from the stands, Serbia found new strength, the Rašovićs entered the scene, and there was no escape for the European rulers.
Strahinja was the most efficient player on the winning team with four goals, Vasilije Martinović scored three times, and Glušac had nine saves. On the other side, Munaris scored four goals.
Bonus video:
