Defense Issues Persist: Montenegro Suffers Convincing Defeat in Dejan Savić’s Debut
Balša Vučković netted two goals in his first game, Photo: Aniko Kovacs
The newly appointed head coach of Montenegro’s water polo national team emphasized the need for improvement in their defensive play, revealing evident issues during their first game under his management.
In their opening qualifying match for the World Cup, the “Sharks” faced a defeat against Greece with a score of 18:10 (3:2, 3:7, 3:2, 1:7). The crucial turning point was likely the second quarter, where Montenegro conceded five goals within a minute, drastically shifting from a one-goal lead to a significant deficit…
Although Savić’s team started strong, going up 2:0 and 3:1, they were trailing 9:6 after 16 minutes, which then escalated to 10:7 and 11:8. A time-out called by the former Serbian coach seemed to disrupt the team’s rhythm.
During that brief respite, Savić addressed his players, expressing dissatisfaction with various aspects of their performance while stressing the importance of remaining composed.
This prompted a change in dynamics — at the start of the final quarter, with Miroslav Perković’s skillful play, Montenegro closed the gap to 11:10. However, just fifty seconds later, the score inflated to 13:10.
A subsequent five-goal sequence led to a 14:10 score, making it clear that the Montenegrin players would struggle to regain control in the latter half of the final period. They ended the match without further goals, allowing a staggering 7:0 run by their opponents.
Dušan Matković, Perković, and debutant Balša Vučković scored two goals each, while Aljoša Mačić, Strahinja Gojković, Savo Ćetković, and Vasilije Radović contributed one apiece. Stylianos Argiropoulos stood out for Greece, netting four goals…
Montenegro will have the chance to make a stronger showing on Wednesday at 17:30 when they face Serbia in Otopeni, Romania.
The Serbian team has two matches scheduled for tomorrow, including an early game against Greece at 8:30 AM.
MONTENEGRO – GREECE 10:18 (3:2, 3:7, 3:2, 1:7)
Montenegro: Tešanović (eight saves), Mršić, Đ. Radović, Vujović, Mačić 1, Ćetković 1, Vučković 2 (1), Đurđić, Perković 2, Gardašević, Matković 2, V. Radović 1, Đurović (one save), Gojković 1.
Greece: Zerdevas (four saves), Genidunia 1, Skubakis 3, Juvecis 2, Argiropoulos 4 (1), Papanastasiju 2, Gilas 1, Kalogeropoulos, Alafragis, Kakaris 1, Nikolaidis, Halivopoulos 3, Corcatos (1).
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