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.