Without player performance, gold is no longer possible, referees blamed for unnecessary tension, "Sharks" defeated in the World Cup final

From the special reporter "Vijesti"

No gold for Montenegro in water polo at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto. Dejan Savić's team was defeated by hosts Italy in the final 18:14 (5:4, 6:4, 3:3, 4:3).

In the final moments of the match, Danilo Stupar was brutally tackled, after which our bench reacted violently, especially coach Dejan Savić. It didn't take long for the Hungarian referee to immediately send our coach off.

From start to finish, the biggest problem in our game was playing with an extra player. Our water polo players had no idea in attacks where they had an advantage in the pool, and often there was no luck.

This silver medal is the sixth at these, and the 28th overall, for our country at the Mediterranean Games. Previously, medals were won by Marija Vuković (gold), Jovana Damjanović (silver), Gracija Stjepčević (bronze), Bojana Gojković (bronze) and Balša Vojinović (bronze).

Just like yesterday against Spain in the semi-final, the "Sharks" entered the game nervously. We waited until the fourth minute for the first goal, and the home team already had a 3:0 lead.

However, once the first goal barrier was removed, our series of four consecutive goals and the first lead (4:3) followed. In the last minute of the first period, the Italians quickly regained the lead with two goals.

The realization of the extra player troubled our water polo players. During the second half, we missed several chances to keep the lead or regain the advantage with an extra player, and sometimes even two. On the other hand, the "azure" found a solution for our defense. Several times during that period of the match, the home team was plus four, and at halftime Italy had three goals in excess, 11:8.

The picture did not change in the third period, although there were several opportunities to catch up. The first four minutes of this period were goalless, goalkeeper Darko Đurović made a save. But in vain, considering that on the other side of the pool our team was unable to find a solution in attacks with an extra player.

There was no turning back in the last quarter - the gold went to the Italians, and the "sharks" took silver.

And the referees, especially Hungarian Kovac, made sure that everything didn't go in a fair atmosphere, brutally punishing Danilo Stupar, after which our bench and team protested fiercely, especially coach Savic. The Hungarian referee seemed to be waiting for just that, so he automatically excluded our coach.

The most efficient players in the Montenegrin team were captain Vasilije Radović and Strahinja Gojković with four goals each. Matija Sladović and Danilo Stupar scored twice each. Balša Vučković and Dušan Matković scored once each for Italy.

Darko Đurović was excellent again - 10 saves.