Croatia water polo met Montenegro in the third round match of the Olympic Games in Tokyo on Thursday.
Ivica Tucak’s side started the competition with a huge victory against Kazakhstan but surprisingly lost to Australia in game two. Croatia must now look for points against tougher opponents – Montenegro is followed by tough matches against Serbia and Spain.
1st Quarter
Miloš scored Croatia’s first goal to equalize with 5:39 left on the clock. The next 3 minutes saw neither team score, with counter fouls committed on both sides. Lončar finally hit the post with just over 2 minutes to go, but the game remained 1:1. Garcia missed a good chance with less than a minute left. The 1st quarter ended at 1:1.
2nd Quarter
Croatia and Montenegro both missed goals in their opening attacks but Bukić finally put Croatia in the lead for 2:1 with 6:42 to go. A Fatović rocket made it +2 for Croatia with 6 minutes left! Another incredible reaction followed as Bušlje tapped in his first goal for the 4:1 lead.
Fatović was on fire and scored his second goal for 2:5 with 3:44 to go. Fatović scored again for 6:3 with less than 2 minutes on the clock.
Obradović made it 7:4 with an extra-man goal with less than a minute in the 2nd. The 2nd quarter finished 7:5 for Croatia.
3rd Quarter
Garcia opened the 3rd quarter with a goal for 8:5 and scored another rocket for 9:6 with less than three minutes to go! Luka Lončar scored his first goal of the match for 10:7 with less than 2 minutes on the clock. Luka Bukić made it 11:8 to end the 3rd quarter.
4th Quarter
Vukičević scored for 12:8 Croatia to open the final quarter, and scored again for 13:8 with just over 2 minutes to go in the game! Bijač was brilliant in goal to keep Croatia in the lead with less than a minute on the clock. The game ended 13:8 for Croatia!
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