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Shattering penalty shootout loss ends Stingers' medal hopes

 

Shattering penalty shootout loss ends Stingers' medal hopes

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AOC
Shattering penalty shootout loss ends Stingers' medal hopes

The Aussie Stingers women’s water polo team has suffered a heartbreaking 14-12 penalty shoot out loss to Italy in their World Championships quarter final in Shanghai.

The Aussie Stingers women’s water polo team has suffered a heartbreaking 14-12 penalty shoot out loss to Italy in their World Championships quarter final in Shanghai.

The Stingers trailed by as many as four goals early in the third quarter but staged a courageous comeback to force extra time, only to go down in penalties when the extra periods couldn’t split the teams.

Italy now earn a semi final showdown on Wednesday against Greece who upset Olympic champions the Netherlands 10-8 in their quarter final, while Australia will play the Dutch for their place from 5-8th.

Earlier in the day Russia came back from 4-0 and 6-4 to overrun defending champions and gold medal favourite the USA in their quarterfinal. The Russians will play either China or Canada in the second semi final.

Australia began the game well leading 1-0 at quarter time and dominating the play at both ends of the pool but whatever the Italian coach said to his troops at the first break worked and they piled on four unanswered second quarter goals to lead 4-1 at the main break.

The Stingers then clawed their way back with a stunning six goal to four third quarter and trailed by just one, 8-7, going into the last period. Then in a tense final eight minutes where both sides had a number of chances the Stingers scored the only goal to force the extra time.


Australia scored first in extra time but the Italians squared it up with 2;01 to go in the final extra time period to force a penalty shootout.

In the shootout both teams scored their first thee goals, Australia’s courtesy of Kate Gynther, Rowie Webster and Bronwen Knox, and when the Italian’s drilled their fourth the pressure was on Australia’s Glencora Ralph.

Earlier it was Ralph, the Western Australian 22-year-old who has had a wonderful tournament, that put the Australian’s up in extra time but she couldn’t convert her penalty and when the Italian’s got their fifth the game was over.

It was an unfortunate result for the Stingers who were the better team for much of the game but as has been the case in all the Australian games – men and women – shot selection and efficiency let them down.

Australia’s 20-year-old rising star Nicola Zagame, who scored a goal and was to take the fifth shot in the shoot out, said her team was devastated after the game but would

“It really hurts, gives you a big kick in the backside when you lose in a penalty shootout, especially after we got the first goal in extra time,” Zagame said.

“We had it in the palm of our hands and to get it taken away from you in a penalty shootout, it really hurts.”

Zagame said while her team was already looking towards the London Olympics, their job in Shanghai was not over.

“The tournament’s not over (for us) either, some of the biggest competitors in the competition, the Netherlands and USA are also not playing off for medals so we’ve still got to make sure we finish fifth and finish as best we can now.” A downtrodden Australian head coach Greg McFadden said.

“The disappointing part was we were by far the better team in the first quarter and we failed to put any pressure on them with our shooting options,” McFadden said.

“We should have been a comfortable tow or three goals up then in the second quarter we wasted opportunities and the Italians got confidence and got back into the game. From then on it was a hard struggle for us.

“I was proud of the way they cam back, the showed a lot of heart and character.”

 

Australian Water Polo Inc.

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