Double win for Aussies on day one FINA World League Inter-Continental Cup

Australia’s men’s and women’s Water Polo teams have opened their FINA World League Inter-Continental Cup campaigns with solid wins against Canada.

Day one of the FINA World League Inter-Continental Cup saw some tough competition as nine nations from around the battle it out in a bid to secure spots in the FINA World League Final later this year.

The six-day tournament kicked off yesterday at HBF Stadium in Perth and will run through until Sunday, with teams from USA, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Japan and China competing.

Australia’s men’s team, the Aussie Sharks, delivered a narrow 9-8 win over Canada in a come from behind win.

Canada got off to a flying start to open up a 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. While the Aussie Sharks fought back in the second quarter courtesy of goals from Drummoyne Devils team mates Aidan Roach and Blake Edwards, narrowing the gap to 5-3 to Canada at half time.

Some strong words from coach Elvis Fatovic at half time was what the side needed, scoring three unanswered goals in the third quarter to take the lead for the first time in the game at the end of the period, 6-5.

Canada weren’t about to go down without a fight, coming back to match the Aussies goal for goal. But the Aussie Sharks held on to claim their first win with 9-8 victory.

Dual Olympian and player of the match, Aidan Roach, said while the team were disappointed with their slow start in the game it was good to come away with the win.

“It was a little bit disappointing, we started off slow but then we showed a bit of character coming back.

“When it was tight at the end of the game the boys really stood up it was an excellent effort from the boys, a really good last quarter,” said Roach.

It was a different affair for the women’s match, with the Aussie Stingers dominating throughout their game to lead from the outset.

At half time the Aussie Stingers held a nice 8-3 lead and look well placed to round out the game. But Canada did fight back defending well in the third quarter with the Aussie Stingers only notching up one goal to the Canadian’s three.

The local side weren’t about to let their healthy lead go to waste, powering home in the final quarter to secure a strong 13-9 win over the visitors.

Local Perth girl Zoe Arancini was pleased with the Stingers strong start to their campaign.

"We started off pretty well, then probably in the third quarter we were rushing things a bit getting a bit over excited, but during the last quarter we settled down a bit and finished strong.

"This is a very important tournament for us to help iron out any wrinkles, learn new tactics and try different combinations for the World League Super Finals and then the World Championships," she said.

Day two of the FINA World League Inter-Continental Cup will get underway from 9am (local) today at Perth’s HBF stadium. Australia’s women’s team will take on South Africa with the Aussie men to face off with Japan.

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RESULTS

WOMEN

Kazakhstan 12 defeated South Africa 9
USA 11 defeated China 5
Japan 12 defeated New Zealand 7
Australia 13 defeated Canada 9

MEN

Argentina 14 defeated China 13
Japan 19 defeated South Africa 14
Kazakhstan 12 defeated New Zealand 11
Australia 9 defeated Canada 8

PROGRESSIVE POINTS

Women:

Group A: USA 3, Japan 3, New Zealand 0, China 0.
Group B: Australia 3, Kazakhstan 3, South Africa 0, Canada 0.

Men:

Group A: Japan 3, Argentina 2, China 1, South Africa 0.
Group B: Kazakhstan 3, Australia 3, Canada 0, New Zealand 0