Since Friday, it has been clear that the European Championships in Belgrade are yet another competition in a series where Montenegrin water polo players have not come close to competing for medals.
Now, as the competition system has changed and there is no quarter-final match, it seems that this gap in quality is even more pronounced - this was demonstrated by the first match of the main round in which the "sharks" had 32 minutes of absolute powerlessness against Spain.
The final score of 14:6 is a true picture because Montenegro was at least a little more serious in defense than in attack for most of the match, although it also weakened in that segment as time went on. The impression is bad, and the fact that Dejan Savić's team mathematically lost any chance of reaching the semifinals.
- This time too, we were too far from a chance against Spain. Almost no segment of the game worked - we failed to do anything we had planned - said Dušan Matković.
Montenegro is far from the teams that have been at the top and close to the top for years.
- We still have to work and try to reach that level. It's obvious that we're lagging behind the best teams - the water polo player from Split's Jadran is realistic.
What the "sharks" have to do is show that they have pride and in the next two main round games - against the Netherlands and Serbia - do more than they have done so far in the Belgrade Arena pool.
The Dutch are the next rival, today at 18 pm, a rival who is improving and who, from everything that can be seen, is close to the level of our water polo players.
And the match is not unimportant, far from it, a victory guarantees a visa for next year's World Cup.
- In my opinion, the Netherlands is one of the teams that has improved the most. They have made all their rivals suffer in this tournament, but I think it all depends on us. Although they have improved, we need to hold the strings of the match - I believe that the final result is only a question of how good we will be and how we will enter that match - Matković is clear.
The former Primorac talent reflected on the problems Montenegro has in attack, which were seen in matches against Hungary and Spain.
- Two unused penalty boxes can always happen, bringing some nervousness and uncertainty into the team, but the fact remains that we conceded a huge number of goals and that we were almost sterile in attack. These are things we need to work on, and penalty boxes will be given and missed - that's inevitable - added Matković.
Everyone knows that the Dutch can be awkward.
- We need to win, get three points in order to qualify for the World Championship - says young Strahinja Gojković.
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