Australia finish eighth at FINA Youth World Championships

GAME 8: Australia vs Montenegro

The Australian Men’s team have placed eighth at the 2018 FINA Youth World Championships after narrowly going down against Montenegro 11-12.

Australian captain Christian Kyriakou has played consistently well throughout the tournament and got his team on the board first with a great goal.

In an even first quarter, Matt Humby’s goal in the last minute of the quarter leveled scores at 2-2.

Australia was kept goalless in the second quarter and when at halftime were on the receiving end of a 2-7 score line.

The Aussies dug deep in the third quarter to fight their way back into the match, led by Matt Humby who added two more goals to his personal tally.

MVP of the match Matt Humby got his fourth goal in the last quarter followed shortly by a Josh Collins goal giving Australia momentum in the match and setting up an exciting finish.

Christian Kyriakou and Nick Taylor both scored late in the match bringing the difference back to one goal each time, but the clock beat the Australian’s giving Montenegro a one goal victory 11-12.

Australian field player Matt Oberman said the team put everything they had into the match.

“Today was the last day of the tournament, we had nothing to lose so we just gave it our all and came back to one goal in the end, but unfortunately we couldn’t win.

“Defence is what we always pride ourselves on as a team, but it wasn’t at the level we would’ve liked and that is the reason for the loss,” he said.

Australia finish the tournament with three wins and a draw to their name.

Playoff for 7th: Australia v Montenegro 11-12

Quarters: 2-2, 0-5, 5-3, 4-2

Extramen:
AUS: 13 for 5
MNE: 3 for 6

AUSTRALIA

Max Fodor (9/21 shots), Ethan Zirth – Joshua Collins (2), Matthew Oberman (1), Scott Dyson, Matthew Humby (4), James Gillfeather, Harry Molnar, Nicholas Taylor (2), Christian Kyriakou (2), Mitch Robinson, Kal Glanznig, Reilly Townsend

GAME 7: Australia vs Italy

Australia have gone down 6-12 to a tough Italian side in their semi-final for 5th-8th place at the FINA Youth World Championships in Hungary.

The Aussies were on the back foot early unable to net any goals while Italy scored six in the opening term, proving to be the difference in the match.

A goal to James Gilfeather in the second quarter put Australia on the board, however Italy’s defensive pressure minimised the Aussies opportunities.

After half time , Australia worked their way back into the match courtesy of two goals early in the third quarter from Harry Molnar and Nick Taylor.

The team continued to fight until the end, claiming the final quarter 3-2, but in the end Italy secured a comfortable victory over Australia.

Australia’s goalkeeper Max Fodor said the first quarter put the team on the back foot.

“They capitalised on our mistakes in the first quarter which pretty much decided the match.

“We were better in the second quarter and rallied to 3-6 in the beginning of the third, however the Italians came back firing and got back to 3-10 in that period,” he said.

Australia will now face Montenegro again in the playoff for 7th position. Both teams met in their first group match of the tournament with Montenegro winning 10-6.

Watch Australia take on Montenegro from 8:15pm (AEST) tonight. Tune in via FINAtv, FINA YouTube live stream or follow updates on the @WaterpoloAus Twitter account.

Quarter Finals: Australia v Italy 6-12

Quarters: 0-6, 1-0, 2-4, 3-2
Extramen:
AUS: 1 for 4
ITA: 1 for 4

AUSTRALIA

Max Fodor (5/17 shots), Ethan Zirth – Joshua Collins, Matthew Oberman, Scott Dyson, Matthew Humby, James Gillfeather (1), Harry Molnar (1), Nicholas Taylor (2), Christian Kyriakou (1), Mitch Robinson, Kal Glanznig, Reilly Townsend (1)

GAME 6: Australia vs Greece

The Australian’s have suffered an 8-11 quarter finals loss to Greece at the FINA Youth World Championships.

It was a nervous start by both teams but it became evident early on that this match would be played at a ferocious pace.

The first quarter was a tough tussle, however Australia equalised with Greece three seconds before the break courtesy of a James Gilfeather rocket, 3-3.

Australia fought back from a three-goal deficit early in the second quarter to trail by one at half time.

In the third, Greece continued to shut down any space available to Australia in attack, however the Aussies still matched it with their European counterparts in attack and defence.

With the score locked at 7-8 ahead of the final quarter, Australia’s captain Christina Kyriakou was leading from the front netting his third goal of the match early in the fourth quarter giving his team a chance.

A three-goal margin opened up late in the quarter, not reflective of the overall closeness in the match.

Australian Head Coach Andrew Yanitsas was proud of his team for their performance.

“We tried our best to give them a challenge but we made too many mistakes.

"Greece is a strong team and we respected them, they can definitely win the rest of the tournament," he said.

Australia now plays Italy from 1:00am, August 19 (AEST). Tune in via FINAtv, FINA YouTube live stream or follow updates on the @WaterpoloAus Twitter account.

Quarter Finals: Australia v Greece 8-11

Quarters: 3-3, 3-4, 1-1, 1-3

Extramen:
AUS: 2 for 5
GRC: 3 for 4

AUSTRALIA

Max Fodor (6/17 shots), Ethan Zirth – Joshua Collins (1), Matthew Oberman, Scott Dyson (1), Matthew Humby, James Gillfeather (1), Harry Molnar, Nicholas Taylor (1), Christian Kyriakou (3), Mitch Robinson, Kal Glanznig, Reilly Townsend (1)

GAME 5: Australia vs Colombia

Australia have secured their place in the FINA Youth World Championships quarter finals with a big 16-5 win over Colombia.

The Aussies started well scoring rapidly and jumping to a 5-0 lead after one quarter.

Aussie captain Christian Kyriakou and MVP of the match Reilly Townsend both had hattricks before halftime.

Australia continued to play an upbeat style of water polo, penalising Colombia for any defensive mistakes and taking an 11-0 lead into half time.

Strong counter attack and a suffocating defensive structure enabled the Aussie men to close the match out and secure their spot within the top eight in the tournament.

Australia will now take on Greece who will come into the match well rested after automatically qualifying for the quarter finals when they topped their group undefeated.

Tune in from 11:30pm (AEST) for Australia’s most important clash so far. Watch via FINAtv, FINA YouTube live stream or follow updates on the @WaterpoloAus Twitter account.

Preliminary Finals: Australia v Colombia 16-5

Quarters: 5-0, 6-2, 1-1, 4-2

Extramen:
AUS: 5 for 9
COL: 1 for 3

AUSTRALIA

Max Fodor (9/12 shots), Ethan Zirth (0/2) – Joshua Collins (2), Matthew Oberman, Scott Dyson, Matthew Humby, James Gillfeather (2), Harry Molnar (1), Nicholas Taylor (1), Christian Kyriakou (3), Mitch Robinson (2), Kal Glanznig (1), Reilly Townsend (4)

GAME 4: Australia vs Brazil

In an evenly matched game at the FINA Youth World Championships, Australia has done enough to secure second place in Group A with an 8-all draw against South American opponents, Brazil.

The Aussies once again created plenty of opportunities for themselves but could not execute as well as they would of liked in the first quarter.

Australia clawed their way back during the second quarter with a three goals to one effort lead by top goal scorer Reilly Townsend.

Australia faced a strong finishing Brazilian side who scored the last two goals of the match ending in a draw, 8-8.

Born 2000 athlete Matthew Oberman said the team was happy to maintain second place in their group.

“It was really hard, but we were solid defensively and kept them at eight goals.

“Although we had a little breakdown in defence, we still held out in attack and maintained our position in the group and now we need to concentrate on the next encounter,” he said.

Australia will now wait to face the winner from the Canada and Columbia match.

Group A: Australia v Brazil 8-8

Quarters: 1-2, 3-1, 2-2, 2-3

Extramen:
AUS: 4 for 8
BRA: 3 for 7

AUSTRALIA

Max Fodor (7/15 shots), Ethan Zirth – Joshua Collins (1), Matthew Oberman, Scott Dyson, Matthew Humby, James Gillfeather (1), Harry Molnar (1), Nicholas Taylor, Christian Kyriakou (1), Mitch Robinson (1), Kal Glanznig, Reilly Townsend (3)

GAME 3 : Australia vs South Africa

The Aussie Born 2000 Men have comprehensively defeated South Africa 14-3 in their third group match at the FINA Youth World Championships.

In a match where the Australian’s started quickly and never looked back, Australia netted five unanswered goals in the first quarter.

Australia continued their great defensive pressure on South Africa forcing them to have low percentage shots from long range during most of the first half.

Heading into the major break, Australia had a clean sheet and six goals of their own and were looking very fit in the pool.

In the second half Matthew Oberman and MVP of the game James Gillfeather both bagged themselves a hat trick.

The team will now turn their attention to a big match against Brazil tomorrow. The Brazilians are one place below Australia in the Group A only due to goal difference.

Watch FINAtv from 5:30pm on August 15 (AEST) to see the big clash between Australia and Brazil or follow @WaterPoloAus on Twitter for match updates.

Group A: Australia v South Africa 14-3

Quarters: 5-0, 1-0, 4-1, 4-2

Extramen:
AUS: 2 for 5
RSA: 0 for 2

AUSTRALIA

Max Fodor (10/11 shots), Ethan Zirth (4/6 shots) – Joshua Collins (1), Matthew Oberman (3), Scott Dyson, Matthew Humby (2), James Gillfeather (3), Harry Molnar (1), Nicholas Taylor (1), Christian Kyriakou, Mitch Robinson (1), Kal Glanznig (1), Reilly Townsend (1)

GAME 2: Australia vs Egypt

Australian Youth Men’s side have claimed their first win of the FINA World Youth Championships taking a solid 11-7 win over Egypt.

After a loss on the opening day against a strong Montenegro side, the young Aussie side bounced back well to lead throughout the entire game and take home the win.

The first half delivered an evenly matched contest with Egypt never more than one point behind.

But it was the second half that Australia really kicked into another gear and delivered a strong performance in both attack and defence.

Reilly Townsend lead the way for the side with three impressive goals, followed by Nicholas Taylor with two goals.

The team now has a rest day before their next match against South Africa on Tuesday 14 August at 1:30pm (local) and 9:30pm (AEST).

Watch FINAtv at 9:30pm (AEST) and see Australia play South Africa or follow @WaterPoloAus on Twitter for match updates.

Group A: Australia v Egypt 11-7

Quarters: 2-1, 3-3, 3-2, 3-1

Extramen:
EGY: 4 for 11
AUS: 3 for 9

AUSTRALIA

Max Fodor (6/13 shots), Ethan Zirth (1/1 shots) – Joshua Collins, Matthew Oberman (1), Scott Dyson, Matthew Humby (1), James Gillfeather (1), Harry Molnar (1), Nicholas Taylor (2), Christian Kyriakou (1), Mitch Robinson (1), Kal Glanznig, Reilly Townsend (3).

GAME 1: Australia vs Montenegro

The Australian Born 2000 Men’s team have encountered a powerful Montenegro side for their opening match at the FINA Youth World Championships in Hungary.

The Aussie men created plenty of opportunities early in the match, however they couldn’t quite execute with ball in hand.

A Mitch Robinson goal in the second was good reward for early pressure from the Aussies, but the Montenegrins continued with a fast tempo to lead at halftime 6-2.

Goals to Matthew Oberman, James Gillfeather and Reilly Townsend led an Australian fightback in the second half, but in the end Australia fell short against one of the strongest nations in the 20 team tournament, 6-10.

Now the Australian men turn their attention to Egypt in their second group match.

In the same game at the 2016 FINA Men’s Youth World Championships, Australia were victorious over their African counterparts, 15-6.

Australian Born 2000 Men’s Head Coach Andrew Yanitsas says the team will focus on their own game against an unknown Egyptian side.

“We will be focusing on our own strengths, but also asking questions to other teams who have already played Egypt at the tournament.

“We’re expecting a difficult game because as a team they are a very physically developed.

“We’ll try to play a fast tempo game and make sure they’re playing to our speed,” he said.

Tune in via FINAtv and watch Australia take on Egypt or follow match updates via the @WaterPoloAus Twitter page from 2:10am, August 13 (AEST).

Australia vs Montenegro: 6-10

Quarters: 1-3, 1-3, 2-2, 2-2