A fourth consecutive win on the bounce in Funchal for Great Britain Women’s water polo team saw them finish inside the top ten at the European Aquatics Championships.
[Photos courtesy of European Aquatics]
Having closed out the group stage with a positive result over Switzerland, the Great Britain Women’s water polo team really began to find their stride through the classification rounds with respective 20-2 and 15-8 victories over Romania and Portugal - setting up an enticing concluding fixture against Serbia to play for ninth place in the tournament.
Ahead of the final match, Head Coach Theo Nousios was pleased with the improvements his side were making in as the tournament progressed.
“We are only getting better as the tournament goes on and with more matches behind us, we’re gaining momentum,” he said.
“We’ve had lots of intensity and focus on defence, more composure in attack and better shot selection. Still we need to work on our choices in passing in attack, but these have been a great couple of performances.”
Against Serbia the GB side had to dig deep – and survive a four-minute exclusion – to get the better of their opponents in an end-to-end classic that went right down to the wire.
Having firmly put the disappointment of missing out on reaching the quarter finals stage in Funchal behind them, this team effort was a flourishing end to Great Britain’s campaign.
Captain Kathy Rogers popped up with a neat tap-in at the near post to level the score in the first quarter before Lily Turner put the Brits ahead from a penalty after the break. The lead then looked to be extended through Katy Cutler but a VAR challenge showed Izzy Howe had committed a foul in the build-up and was excluded for four minutes – and Cutler’s goal was chalked off.
With scoring sitting a 4-4 come half time after another penalty conversion and a sensational helicopter shot from 6m from Turner, at the start of the third, Cutler finally got her goal, arrowing in a fierce shot on extra just after the Brits had returned to full strength.
Goals from Lucy Blenkinship and Harriet Dickens – both on extra – gave Britain a one-goal lead going into the final break.
In the fourth, Serbia finished off a well-worked six-on-five for 7-7, but Dickens responded by rifling in a penalty, then Turner found space on the left in their next extra to power the ball in for 7-9.
Serbia fought back with two quick goals to set up a nervy last few minutes with the score tied on 9-9 with just over 90 seconds remaining.
Regrouping with a time-out, Cutler then smashed in a stunning six-on-five shot from the left that skipped off the water and into the roof of the net with just 23 seconds left to play, sparking wild celebrations in the pool and stands as they celebrated what proved to be the winner.
“After the game we lost in the group phase [to Israel], they were so determined to get ninth place,” said Head Coach Nousios.
“The work ethic they’ve shown all tournament has been fantastic, they work for each other and followed the plan - I think we all enjoyed this very challenging game. We’ll see what the future brings but we want to stick together and keep pushing on to the next Euro’s and we’ll see what’s after.”
Supporters can go back and rewatch every game from the championships through the Eurovision Sport website and app.
Detailed results can be found on the European Aquatics website, with more information on the British team that competed in Funchal here.