Croatia secure Water Polo gold

Croatia secured their first men's Water Polo Olympic Games gold medal with an 8-6 win over Italy in the final this afternoon

POLO AIR INDONESIA (12/8). The Balkan outfit have been the outstanding side of the London 2012 tournament, with eight wins from eight matches, and end it as worthy champions.

Their dominance in defence was too much for the Italians, who are reigning world champions.

Miho Boskovic, who scored twice in the victory, said: 'We played amazing the whole tournament. So I think we deserve 100 per cent this medal.

'We played the best Water Polo and did an outstanding performance in the last match.'

Earlier, Serbia won bronze by coming from behind to beat rivals Montenegro 12-11

Results

Water Polo - Medals

1. Croatia (1-0-0)

1. United States of America(1-0-0)

3. Spain (0-1-0)

3. Italy (0-1-0)

5.Australia (0-0-1)

5. Serbia (0-0-1)

Men's Water Polo

1.      Croatia

2.      Italia

3.      Serbia

Women’s Water Polo

1.      USA

2.      Spain

3.      Australia

Italy stun Serbia for final spot

Italy stunned pre-tournament favourites Serbia 9-7 tonight to book a place in the final of the men's Water Polo competition.

POLO AIR INDONESIA. Reigning world champions Italy outplayed the Balkan team to secure a place in the clash for the gold medal against Croatia on Sunday.

A strong start proved decisive for the Italians, as they forged a two-goal lead in the first quarter.

Serbia battled to reduce the deficit in the remaining three periods, but Italy went on to reclaim that two-goal margin by full-time.

The Italians opened the scoring in the first minute of the match but Serbia equalised soon after.

Serbia thwarted an Italy power-play before breaking to score one of their own through captain Vanja Udovicic.

The Italians did convert a man-up to draw level, then two long-range deflected shots found their way into the Serbia goal to give the world champions a two-goal lead at the end of the first period.

Serbia had chances to score early in the second period, but two long-distance shots were saved and another rattled the woodwork. Instead, Italy struck first to take the score to 5-2.

Serbia responded by firing home a man-up opportunity and prevented the Italians from converting a power-play of their own. Again, the Serbs were denied by the woodwork, and again their defence stood firm to hold off an Italian man-up.

The sides traded extra-player goals in the final 70 seconds of the half to go into the break at 6-4 to Italy.

Serbia then fired in the first goal of the third period with a power-play to come within one score of their opponents, but Italy scored a man-up to restore the two-goal cushion.

Serbia should have netted twice from extra-player situations, but one close-range effort hit the upright, while another was saved by the head of the Italy goalkeeperStefano Tempesti.

A back-shot from centre-forward Danijel Premus in the closing seconds of the period gave Italy a three-goal lead.

A crucial Serbia man-up in the opening minutes of the fourth period kept them in the game, and strong defensive displays against two Italian power-plays stopped their opponents from scoring.

But Italy went three up with 70 seconds remaining, and despite a Serbia goal in the last minute, Tempesti was kissing the ball in celebration before the final whistle.

Water Polo – Medals

1.      United States of America (1-0-0)

2.      Spain (0-1-0)

3.      Australia (0-0-1)

Women's Water Polo

1.      United States

2.      Spain

3.      Australia

Croatia vanquish Montenegro to make final

Croatia brushed aside rivals Montenegro 7-5 in a pulsating Water Polo semi-final clash this afternoon.

POLO AIR INDONESIA. A commanding performance will give Croatia the opportunity to win their first Water Polo gold medal as an independent country on Sunday.

The 7-5 win over their Balkan neighbours extends Croatia's 100 per cent record in the London 2012 tournament to seven wins from seven.

They were strong in defence and ruthless in attack and the scoreline flattered Montenegro, who were wasteful in possession.

Croatia - known as the Barracudas - powered to a four-goal lead at half-time.

Montenegro - who call themselves the Red Sharks - rallied in the second half to outscore their opponents by two, but they never looked capable of clawing back the deficit.

Montenegro had 31 shots to score their five goals (16.1 per cent), compared to Croatia's 24 for their seven scores (29.2 per cent).

USA make a splash for gold

Team USA

The USA took gold in the women's Water Polo with a convincing 8-5 victory over Spain at the Water Polo Arena.

POLO AIR INDONESIA (9/8). Maggie Steffens scored five goals for the USA as they cruised past the Europeans in the tournament final.

The win gives the USA their first Olympic Water Polo gold, after silver at Beijing 2008, bronze at Athens 2004 and silver in the first women's Water Polo competition at Sydney 2000.

A flurry of seven unanswered goals across the second, third and fourth periods propelled the USA from 2-1 down into a commanding position, 8-2 up, in the final quarter.

Superb shooting and resilient defensive work by the USA kept their scoreboard ticking over, while denying their opponents vital chances.

A stunning performance from the tournament's 'All-Star' goalkeeper, Betsey Armstrong, kept the Spaniards from scoring the goals that, until tonight, had given them an unbeaten record.

Spain did rally to outscore their opponents in the final quarter, but they left it too late to seriously bother the eventual winners.

After the game, Steffens deflected the praise for her performance and insisted the credit should be shared among the USA team.

'Definitely it was from my team-mates. When you're getting up there it's about the pass, it's about the steal and our defensive blocks were really creating the offensive end for us,' said Steffens.

'And you could tell towards the second half the attacking side slowed down, but the defence really started to pick up, so I think that was really important.'

Asked when the gold medallists felt they had won the game, she added: 'We didn't feel like we had it in the bag until the final buzzer rings. We've learned that.'

Earlier, Australia took bronze with a dramatic extra-time win over Hungary.

In a repeat of the Beijing 2008 third-place play-off, the Australians looked to have won their second successive bronze in normal time.

A last-second Hungarian leveller forced the tight game into added time, but Australia scored two unanswered goals to clinch the match 13-11

Day 10 Review (7/8): Champions make waves

Defending champions Hungary produced the performance of the day in the men’s Water Polo competition, as they announced their intention not to give up their title without a fight.

RENANG INDAH INDONESIA. The reigning Olympic gold medallists shrugged off the USA in a superb performance, winning 11-6.

After a shaky start to the London 2012 Games - with two defeats and two wins - the nine-time gold medallists looked back to their best with a ruthless win over the Beijing 2008 runners-up.

The victory puts the Hungarians ahead of the USA in Group B.

Their defensive display stopped their opponents finding the back of the net, while at the other end their accuracy and efficiency in front of goal was merciless.

Norbert Hosnyanszky blasted a hat-trick for the Hungarians, while captain Peter Biros netted two.

Adam Steinmetz, Norbert Madaras, Tamas Varga, Marton Szivos, Gergely Kiss and Tamas Kasas scored one apiece.

Elsewhere, Serbia cruised past Romania to win their group.

They hardly needed to get out of second gear as they brushed aside their opponents 12-4 to remain unbeaten in the competition.

The Beijing 2008 bronze medallists and European champions came into the Olympics as favourites, and their form will worry the other teams in the quarter-finals.

Serbia will play Australia in a quarter-final clash on Wednesday, and the Australians had the ideal preparation, as they beat Greece to book their last-eight spot.

Australia went behind in the opening minutes of the contest, but strong second and third periods gave them a well-earned win and a place in the knockouts.

In the first game of the day, centre forward Niksa Dobud scored six of the best for Croatia as they powered past Kazakhstan 12-4 to maintain their 100 per cent record.

The in-form side had already guaranteed top spot in Group A and a place in the quarter-finals, but their record of five wins from five matches sends a strong message to their rivals.

Later in the Water Polo Arena, Italy beat Spain 10-7 to clinch second place in Group A while Montenegro eased past Host Nation Great Britain, 13-4.

Aleksandar Radovic and Boris Zlokovic scored hat-tricks for Montenegro, while Mladan Janovic and Aleksandar Ivovic netted a brace each

Serbia too strong for Romania

Serbia cruised past Romania 12-4 to win their group in the men's Water Polo tournament.

POLO AIR INDONESIA (6/8). The Beijing bronze medallists and European champions came into the Olympic Games as favourites, and their form will worry the other teams in the quarter-finals.

Slobodan Nikic and Stefan Mitrovic bagged hat-tricks for Serbia, while Andrija Prlainovic netted a brace.

Zivko Gocic, Dusko Pijetlovic, Filip Filipovic and captain Vanja Udovicic scored one each.

Romania's Kalman Kadar, Andrei Iosep, captain Cosmin Radu and Alexandru Mateifired home one apiece.

Serbia will play Australia in a quarter-finals clash on Wednesday.

Day 9 Review: Women's semi-finals in sight

Team England

A dramatic day at the Water Polo Arena saw the semi-final line-ups in the women's competition confirmed

POLO AIR INDONESIA (5/8). Hungary booked their place in the semi-finals by beating Russia 11-10 in a thrilling encounter.

With the scores tied after three quarters, the Hungarians - going in search of their first Olympic Games medal in the women's event - clinched the final period by a single goal.

There were emotional scenes at the Water Polo Arena as the fourth-placed team from Beijing 2008 celebrated victory, and Russia came to terms with defeat.

Gabriella Szucs, Hanna Kisteleki, Dora Czigany and Dora Antal each scored a brace for Hungary. Rita Keszthelyi, Barbara Bujka and Ildiko Toth netted one apiece.

Evgeniya Ivanova fired in four for Russia, as Ekaterina Lisunova and Olga Beliaeva scored two each.

There was an even more dramatic conclusion later on in the day, as Australia beat China 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out after the scores had been locked at 16-16.

The team from Down Under clinched the contest with their fifth penalty throw after four quarters of normal time and two extra-time periods could not separate the teams.

Glencora Ralph and Nicola Zagame scored hat-tricks for Australia, while Gemma Beadsworth, Holly Lincoln-Smith, Kate Gynther and Ash Southern each netted twice.

Ma Huanhuan found the back of the net four times for China, while Fei Teng and Sun Huizi scored hat-tricks.

Australia progress to play the United States, who powered to a 9-6 victory over Italy.

A final-four spot keeps the USA in the hunt for their first Olympic Games gold, after reaching the podium in every Games since the sport was introduced at Sydney 2000.

Italy started strongly, scoring a penalty with just 17 seconds gone, then doubling their lead with a long-range effort.

But the USA hit back, with Melissa Seidemann scoring a hat-trick for the winners.

In the final game of the night, Spain edged out Great Britain 9-7, but they were pushed all the way.

Team GB came back from a four-goal deficit to get within one score of their opponents in the closing minutes, but it was the Spaniards who booked a place in the semis.

Day 8 Review (5/8): Italy and Croatia impress

Italy booked their place in the quarter-finals of the men's Water Polo competition with a 9-6 win over Kazakhstan, while Croatia continued their 100 per cent record.

POLO AIR INDONESIA-The reigning world champions currently lie third in Group A with one match to play, but they now know they will qualify in either second or third.

Pietro Figlioli, Valentino Gallo, Christian Presciutti and Danijel Premus each scored a brace for the Italians in their win.

Croatia were too strong for Australia, easing to an 11-6 win - Maro Jokovic scoring a hat-trick for the winners.

Montenegro overcame Romania 12-8 in a hard-fought battle, Aleksandar Ivovic weighing in with a superb hat-trick.

Spain edged past Greece 11-9 to hold on to second place in their preliminary group with one match to play.

The 1996 Atlanta champions are guaranteed to qualify for the quarter-finals, but a higher group ranking could set up a more comfortable game for them.

Blai Mallarach, Felipe Perrone and Albert Espanol were all on target with a brace for Spain.

Serbia beat the USA 11-6 - although both teams are guaranteed a place in the quarter finals - while Hungary ran out 17-6 winners against Great Britain.

Italians book last-eight spot

Italy booked their place in the quarter-finals of the men's Water Polo competition with a 9-6 win over Kazakhstan.

POLO AIR INDONESIA-The reigning world champions currently lie third in Group A with one match to play, but they now know they will qualify.

Kazakhstan - with four defeats in four - have no chance of getting through to the next round. Despite going behind in the opening quarter, Italy went on to win the period 4-2.

They extended their lead by winning the second quarter by the same scoreline, taking the teams into the half-time break at 8-4.

The Kazakh team fought back well in the second half, holding Italy to a 1-1 draw in the third period, and scoring the only goal of the fourth, leaving the final score 9-6 toItaly.

Pietro Figlioli, Valentino Gallo, Christian Presciutti and Danijel Premus each scored a brace for the Italians, while Amaurys Perez netted one.

Day 7 Review (4/8): Women's line-up decided

POLO AIR INDONESIA-The placings in the women's preliminary competition were decided after another action-packed day at the Water Polo Arena.

Australia won Group B by overcoming Russia 11-8.

Both teams came into the match with two wins from their first two matches, but it was the team from Down Under who kept their 100 per cent record.

Australia went ahead in the first quarter, and went on to lead for large parts of the game.

The Russians fought back in the final quarter to come within one goal of their opponents, but Australia managed to see out the match to win by three goals.

The USA edged a narrow 7-6 victory against China later on to finish second in Group A.

China were winning at half-time, but the USA powered to a lead in the third quarter and hung on to a one-goal advantage.

China took the first period 1-0, and the teams went into the half-time break at 3-2 to the Asian side.

The USA stormed in front with three unanswered goals in the third to set up a tense final quarter in which China clawed their way back, but could not stop the USA from claiming victory.

Maggie Steffens scored a hat-trick for the USA, while captain Brenda Villa, Elsie Windes, Kelly Rulon and Annika Dries netted one each.

At the top of Group A, Spain edged out Hungary 13-11 in their last preliminary game.

They looked in control as they took a three-goal lead into the fourth quarter, and survived a fightback by the Hungarians to win the game by two goals.

Anni Espar scored a hat-trick for the winners, while Matilde Ortiz, captain Jennifer Pareja and Pilar Pena netted a brace each.

Four of Hungary's goals came from Dora Antal, while Barbara Bujka scored three.

In the other Group B game, Italy sent Great Britain to a third successive defeat as they ran out convincing 10-5 winners.

Greece breeze to Khazakhstan win

Greece made light work of Kazakhstan today in the men's Water Polo tournament.

POLO AIR INDONESIA-The Kazakhs sunk to their third successive defeat of the Games, while the 11-4 victory was the Greek side's second win out of three Group A matches.

Greece took a 2-1 lead in the first quarter after going ahead in the third minute.

Indiscipline from Kazakhstan allowed their opponents to score twice from man-up situations as the Greeks netted four unanswered goals in the second quarter to take a 6-1 lead into the half-time break.

The margin was extended in the third quarter, with Greece scoring three more to Kazakhstan's one.

A stronger finish from the Kazakhs allowed them to share the spoils in the fourth, but Greece cruised home to seal a comfortable victory.

Five goals from Ioannis Fountoulis and three from captain Georgios Afroudakis put Greece in a dominant position, while single strikes from Konstantinos Kokkinakis, Evagelos Delakas and Konstantinos Mourikis beefed up the tally.

The Kazakh goals came from Vladimir Ushakov, Sergey Gorovoy and Rustam Ukumanov, who fired in two.

Montenegro claw back Serbia draw

Montenegro clawed back an 11-11 draw against rivals Serbia in an enthralling clash in the men's Olympic water polo tournament this afternoon.

POLO AIR INDONESIA-Both teams are considered favourites for the gold medal, and the 11-11 result in Group B sets up an intriguing second week in the competition.

Serbia looked to be in control as they led for the majority of the match, but Montenegro kept pegging them back and crucially clinched an equaliser in the last minute of the game.

The Serbs drew first blood, going on to win the opening quarter 3-1. Montenegro narrowly won the second period 2-1, so Serbia went into the half-time break with a lead of a single goal.

A high-scoring third quarter saw Montenegro edge out Serbia by one (5-4) so the game was on a knife-edge going into the last quarter with the scores tied at 8-8.

The Serbs went ahead by two goals, heaping pressure on their opponents, but Montenegro responded to take the score to 10-9 with less than four minutes left.

They set up a thrilling climax by trading one goal each, before Montenegro driverMladan Janovic made himself a hero with a leveller with 51 seconds to play

Day 5 Review: Russia on a march, USA and Spain share spoils

POLO AIR INDONESIA - The battle for supremacy continued in the Women;s Water Polo competition as Russia threw down the gauntlet, while the USA and Spain could not be separated.

Russia overcame Italy to announce their intentions for a medal.

After a cagey first half, the World Championships bronze medallists pulled ahead in the third quarter and a late Italian fightback was not enough to bother them.

They now have a 100 per cent record in Group B, after beating Great Britain narrowly in their last game.

Russia scored first to lead at the end of the first quarter 1-0. They doubled their tally in the second period, but Italy pegged one back before half time.

The Russians stepped up a gear to win the penultimate quarter 4-1 to put daylight between them and their opponents.

An Italian late charge saw them win the fourth quarter 2-1, but the match finished 7-4 to Russia.

In Group A, Spain and USA held each other to a 9-9 draw.

Both sides were looking to build on winning starts, but they shared the spoils after a tense encounter at the Water Polo Arena.

Spain dominated the first half, while their opponents fought back in the second. The Spanish powered to a 3-1 lead after the first quarter, and held the two-goal cushion going into the half-time break at 5-3.

The USA flew out of the blocks in the third quarter to claw back the deficit, before a Spain goal restored their lead to 6-5.

They had a fantastic chance to pull away, but captain Jennifer Pareja fired a penalty into the arms of the USA goalkeeper, and the USA capitalised by scoring again at the other end to level the scores at 6-6.

Another USA goal gave them the lead for the first time with a minute on the clock in the third period, and the quarter finished 7-6 to the USA.

Spain edged the fourth quarter by one goal, bringing the score to 9-9 at the final whistle.

Hungary snatched victory from China in a thrilling clash, edging ahead for the first time with less than two minutes to go before clinging on to win 11-10.

China were ahead for most of the Group A encounter, but Hungary were never too far behind, and pounced on their opponents in the closing minutes.

In the final game of the day, Australia recorded a big win, 16-3 against Great Britain.

The Australians led from start to finish, dominating in every area of the game to see out a comfortable victory.

Spain and USA finish all square

POLO AIR INDONESIA-The Spain and USA women's Water Polo teams held each other to a 9-9 draw today in a game of two halves.

Both sides were looking to build on winning starts in Group A, but they shared the spoils after a tense encounter at the Water Polo Arena.

Captain Jennifer Pareja scored four goals for Spain, while Maica Garcia netted twice. Anni Espar, Roser Tarrago and Laura Lopez each got one goal.

Kami Craig found the back of the net four times for the USA, with Melissa Seidemann, captain Brenda Villa, Maggie Steffens, Courtney Mathewson and Annika Dries scoring one apiece.

Hungary taste victory over China

POLOAIR INDONESIA-The Hungary women's Water Polo team snatched victory from China today in a thrilling clash, edging ahead for the first time with less than two minutes to go before clinging on to their single-goal lead

China were ahead for most of the Group A encounter, but Hungary were never too far behind, and pounced on their opponents in the dying minutes to win 11-10.

World Championships silver medallists China took the lead and forged a 3-1 advantage after the first quarter.

They scored again early in the second period, but Hungary rallied to draw the quarter 4-4 and to go into the half-time break two down.

Hungary made ground on their opponents in the third quarter, edging the period 2-1 to set up a nailbiting finale.

An early goal levelled the scores at 10-10, before Hungary stole victory in the penultimate minute.

Gabriella Szucs and Rita Keszthelyi scored four and three goals for the Hungarians respectively.

Dora Czigany netted twice, while Barbara Bujka and Dora Csabai scored one each.

Sun Yujin, Sun Yating, Sun Hiuzi and Ma Huanhuan each scored a brace for China, with Gao Ao and Wang Yi also contributing single goals.

Hungary out to maintain dominance

POLO AIR INDONESIA-The Hungary men's Water Polo team are hoping to win their fourth consecutive Olympic title at London 2012.

They picked up gold at Beijing, Athens and Sydney, and have been the dominating force in the sport for almost 80 years, winning nine Olympic golds.

Standing in their way in the group stages are 2008 silver medallists USA, bronze medallists Serbia and fourth-placed Montenegro.

The reigning champions also face Host Nation Great Britain and Romania.

In the other group of six are Croatia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Spain, Italy and Australia.

Croatia have recently won the world league competition and Italy are the reigning world champions.

Four teams from each group will go through to the quarter-final stages.

With so many strong teams in the competition, there will be some crucial battles played out in the pool.

The women's competition is made up of two groups of four teams.

Hosts Great Britain line up against Italy, Australia and Russia, while 2008 silver medallists USA will take on Spain, China and Hungary in the group stages.

Reigning Olympic champions Holland failed to qualify for London 2012.

All four teams from each group will qualify to the quarter-finals, so the competition is bound to throw up some surprises.