Overseas players reports 18 Nov

Spain

Barceloneta 15  10 Barcelona (Campbell 2, Cotterill 1)

Cotterill (Barcelona)

After a really positive start we let our guard down and let them score a number of times off their most dangerous play, counter attack. Before the game we aimed to play long attacks and stop their Counter Attack, plus obviously no goals from CF. Although we were tougher in defence, not playing the whistle really hurt us on a number of occasions and what were very, very probable exclusions for us led to counter goals for them. Some positive aspects, and on a number of occasions we played good controlled water polo however our leftie being fouled out and Richie having an injury cloud over him made things difficult.

Campbell (Barecelona)

The shoulder still was no good so I didn't play a whole lot. I played 2 min in the first half and then didn't get in until the last quarter where I played almost the whole time. The shoulder felt ok so I kept playing. Our team didn't have the best of game. We allowed there better shooters (Xavi Garcia) to just fake in extra man 100 times then shoot over the top of the defender. Johnno couldn't play at CB the whole time but was strong when he was there. If it was another player they would give away a penalty.  I ended up scoring 2 goals in the last but the game was already over.

Whalan (Barceloneta)

We started off even with Barcelona team but they ran out of steam. From 2-2 we scored 4 times to give ourselves a comfortable 6-2 lead. Unfortunately Barcelona lacked the bench to keep the rhythm going.  We lost some concentration towards the end of the game which wasn't a good sign - something to work on.

Sabadell 11 14 Terassa 

Anthony Martin (Sabadell)

We played Terrassa on thursday night. We had a perfect start to the game, earning a few kickouts and converting the extra man. A big improvement on the previous week's game in LEN. Our defense was good mostly zoning because of Perez. We ended the first quarter 3-0. The second quarter started well with our CF scoring in our first attack taking us to 4-0. However, our coach had put in a few of the other young guys and Terrassa scored two penalties, and 2  x 5m foul shots in about 4minutes, taking it to 4-4. We then finished the quarter 5-5.

The third was a tough slog and we traded goals, but ended up down by 1 going into the last quarter. The last quarter was difficult, we were even and then they scored 3 goals in a row to close out the game. It was a disappointing loss 14-11.

Sabadell 15 7 Martianez

Anthony Martin (Sabadell)

The game on Saturday against Martianez started off pretty bad. With two stuff ups from my team, one goal on another CB and someone leaving someone free on 2m. So they were up 2-0. But we kept at them and scored a few goals to be down 3-2. The second quarter we scored a couple quickly to swing the game around to us and we went on to win comfortably 15-7.

CN Mataro 16 - 7 CN Navarra

Nick O'Halloran (Mataro) 5 goals:

This was a great game for us. We started really well both in attack and defence and continued through to the end. Lots of goals came from well worked counter attacks, something we have been focussing on a lot lately in training, so that was good to see. The only downside was that one of our GK's got injured and looks like he'll be out for about a month. There is a Venezuelan playing in the 2nd division team near us that will be coming for training's, so hopefully it won't affect our season too much.

Luke Quinlivan (Navarra) GK

Today's much anticipated game against my cousin, Nick O'Halloran, turned out to be an   absolute disaster; we lost to Mataro 7-16. Unlike our game against Terassa where we were able to stay goal-for-goal with them through to half time, today's game was different. The score at half time was 4-10 to Mataro; we were scoreless in the second quarter.

The factors chiefly responsible for our nine-goal scourge was:

-          Unnecessary losing of the ball, from either sinking under water or from not covering unexpected "hail-Mary" perimeter shots.

-          Poor and ill timed passes to centre forward. And;

-          A general lack of confidence. In our own attack allowing Mataro to take initiative, in defence, ready to go into counter-attack.

Of the sixteen goals scored by Mataro, ten were from counter-attack. Another two were conceded from rebound tap-ins after a successful save, one in extra man and one in counter-attack. We can't realistically expect to win if we're going to concede twelve goals per game like this. The rest of Mataro's goals came from extra man and six-on-six.       

Nick O'Halloran and Fran Fernandez were today's preeminent attackers, scoring five goals each for Mataro; many of the goals were self-created.

CN Mataro 11 - 8 CE Mediterrani

Nick O'Halloran (Mataro) 2 goals:

We were prepared for a tough game because we lost there last year. Defensively we started brilliantly and slowly put away enough goals in attack to be leading 7-1 at half time. Unfortunately in the second half we dropped our concentration a little bit and lost our rhythm. They also started playing a lot better, implementing a strong full-pool press, coupled with lots of drives in attack that caught us by surprise. On the whole it was a good away.

Maitland (Medi) 2 goals

Was always going to be a hard game, Matero are playing well at the moment and we are playing bad with low confidence. Our No1, goalie is currently having some personal problems so he thought it would be better not to start the game. We got of to our worst start of the season maybe due to the pressure of needing to win, and again individual errors were to blame (can't put any blame on the young goalie) and by half-time we were down 7-1.

Our CF was rolled about 5min into the game for hitting which didn't help our problems. We had a number of extraman which we worked well but the final shot just didn't go in, 2 from the 3 post and 2 hit wood but didn't go in from outside.

Second half we went full hard press, and with the score line as it was the refs let us get away with a fair bit. We narrowed the score line but it was always going to be to much of a difference.

CN Navarra 11 - 8 Real Canoe

Luke Quinlivan (Navarra) GK

Today's game was one we needed to win. Unfortunately, we were only able to secure one competition point, drawing Real Canoe thirteen - thirteen.

The first three minutes of play were promising. We scored off our first attack and stopped their first two attacks, taking a one - nil lead. We then conceded a penalty goal and an extra man goal, giving them the lead, one goal to two.

Real Canoe then decided to put their foot down, playing a very tight "one player drop" zone in defence. In attack they played quite an effective rotating centre forward game.

Contrary to a standard game, where each team receives approximately seven or eight exclusions, Real Canoe drew fifteen exclusions and two penalties from rotating their centre forwards and making inside drives. Thankfully, our extra man defence was good. We defended twelve from fifteen with a man down. One particular highlight of the game was on one occasion, Real Canoe played two regular and two extra man attacks in a row; resulting in five separate shots on goal. We managed to stop all five and go on counter attack.

Where we came undone was in counter-defence and regular (six-on-six) defence. On many occasions we were silly enough to follow players out to seven metres, leaving players free on two metres for easy goals inside, or, the capacity to draw a penalty. It didn't leave me with many options in goals.

Real Canoe extended to a five-goal lead (10-5) in the third quarter and started to become a little audacious. In their defence, generally speaking, they were a lot less attentive.  They stopped cross driving at our shooters; they didn't play as effectively in passing lanes among other things. This allowed us to make fast, flat passes without pressure in our attack, which we never would have been allowed to make in the first two and a half quarters. Their presumptuous attitude allowed us to score four easy goals successively in three minutes of play. Three of the goals were from standard perimeter shots, taken in regular six-on-six attack.

The rest of the game, until the final siren, was a real grind. We had an opportunity to win the game in the final minute; we had an extra man attack with forty seconds left. We were able to get two respectable shots off. Unfortunately their goalkeeper saved both.

Real Canoe then blitzed down into attack in the final fifteen seconds. With five seconds left they played Justin Johnson (U.S National import) at centre forward. Julien Garcia and I managed a joint steal, intercepting the pass. With two seconds left, I threw a "hail-Mary" from full field length. The shot found its way to goal but their goalkeeper made an easy two-handed save, game over.

Mikel Artola (Navarra) was the game's leading scorer, scoring five goals; One penalty, one six-on-six and three extra man goals.

Italy

Quinto 11-6 Lavagna

Jarrod Gilchrist (Quinto)

Another B division team however much stronger then Nervi. They where good competition against Chiavari and also against us they work hard and have some decent players. We played fairly fatigued due to heavy training load but I think a little was mental from bad performances during scrimmages earlier in the week. We had the game in control but they gave it a go in the third with a few goals in a row final score 11-6.

France

Sete 11-9 Douai

Chris Dyson (Sete) 1 goal

The game was a good hit out, but I felt as If Sete was dominating in all aspects of the game for the full 4 quarters. The score was even throughout the game with Douai taking the lead early in the 3rd quarter. But with a solid press and numerous perimeter steals we managed to score some good counter attack goals taking us into the lead. Our extra was terrible, I think we were probably down around 20percent, and Douai were not much better than us. With a couple of older players called out of retirement and our captain back from injury, we were all able to stick to our individual positions more so.

Billy Miller (Sete) 4 goals, 3 exc & 1 penalty gained

We started off well this week scoring two quick goals early in the first quarter. Then with poor extra defense they put three goals in just as quick. Our extra man was poor again as we converted less than 30%. We had good counter attack from our front line getting up the pool early and creating dangerous opportunities. In the end it was close game going goal for goal till the third quarter where we got a good role and went up by 2 and were able to hold out the rest of the game by good defense.

Spain:

BARCELONA 16- 7 ADF HELIOS

Johnno Cotterill (Barc)

A very difficult week of training, including weights on the morning of the game, but the team played well against Helios who got promoted this year. Playing down a player, with the other Aussie import on the bench but making quick ventures to the toilet frequently, the team killed Helios on Counter and just in general play. Not sure why they gave Richie time, after 4 goals last week, but after a few baulks Richie punished them 4 times again. Some of the younger players stepped up and our second goalie played his first minutes of the season. In the end 3 points although some refining to be done before the "Derbi" next week vs Barceloneta.

Richie Campbell (Barc) 4 goals

We countered attacked really well especially after doing weights before the game. This team doesn't have a lot of experience and it was more of a training game for us. I scored 4 goals from almost the same position at point every time, they really just allowed me to have all the time in the world.

St Andreu 5 v 12 CN Atletic Barceloneta

Thomas Whalan (B'neta) 1 goal

We started off slowly taking some time to get into our rhythm of the game. Once we did there was no looking back. Some good counter attacking conversions and a number of penalties in our favour increased the gap for a comfortable victory. Barceloneta now boasts 4 years undefeated, the pressure is now on to keep it that way with games against Barcelona and Terrassa coming up.

Martianez 12-11Mediteranni

Rob Maitland (Medi) 5 goals, 2 exclusions, 1 penalty earned.

After a bad performance last week and a lot of talk this week about changing the attitude of our play and soul searching, we have put in one of the worst games of polo in my 2 years at the club. It is always difficult playing in the Canary islands, the travel, the table working the clock, referees however with all these things it is a game that in our position we should have won.
 
After the fastest exclusion in the history of waterpolo (our player in the first second!!!) we started the game with solid defense and attack. At the halftime break we were up 5-4 but were by far the stronger team. This continued into the second half as we pushed to an 8-4 lead with about 3min to go in the 3rd. From there it was a very steep slope downhill. Individual errors in defense, particularly with blocking allowed them to catch up to 8-6 at the last break and eventually even up at 8-8 a few min into the last period. We went goal for goal but they broke out to 12-10 and held on until the finish at 12-11.

LEN Trophy:

Galatasaray 9-15 Cattero [4-3]  [2-3]  [1-5]  [2-4]

Italy:

S.C Quinto 12- 8 Nervi B

Jarrod Gilchrist (Quinto) 9 goals:

very similar to last weeks game as these are just a pre season tournament we come up against weaker opposition than we will during the season. The practice matches during the week with Camogli and Torino (div1)have provided better competition.

 Although it was only a 3 goal win 5 goals were scored for Nervi B in the last quarter when we played our second keeper who is young and inexperienced. In defence in the first three periods generated numerous counter attacks which I seemed to keep getting on the end of scoring 9 goals including 3 penalties. Our x-man attack and defence is still letting us down and some holes where exposed in normal defence during the last quarter. While it wasn't an extremely physical game it was quite tiring due to the constant counter attacks.

USA:

Bucknell (9) - Princeton (10) in overtime.

(Hyden 4 goals, 4 exclusions earned)

This weekend we played the first round of qualifications for eastern championships. 

First game we beat Mercyhurst college easily to qualify for second round. (Hyden 2 goals)

We lead the whole game and were up 2 with 3 minutes left but due to two bad turnovers they came back to take it to OT. In overtime again one poor choice fed a counter attack for them and lost us the game.

We have a weekend off this weekend and the following week we play for the eastern championship.

USA:

Joel Dennerley (USC)

We played Santa Barbara last Thursday. We won in a close game 6-4. I didn't play that well in the beginning of the game, but that was a focus issue. Finished the game off well. We have a tough game against UCLA this weekend. We are tapering this week for that.

France:

Sete 13-

Billy Miller (Sete) 3 goals

We played a very bad first half, as they scored three quick goals to our zero. Our main CB was on two kick outs earlier.  Our extra man defence was poor as we allow three or four post goals due to laziness. Extra man defence we try to play a top press and rush along the back line. It does not work because the team is not quick enough at getting back which leaves one of the post free every time. Making it hard for centre defender trying to mark two people at the same time.

Extra attack was poor 2/9 or something. We had good ball movement but we did not engage the defence at all and poor shooting options.

Attack. Our attack was ok we had a very good third quarter with heaps of counter attack goals and set play goals coming from out top. Our deep wings need to stay on 2m so we can feed Dave. Also drives from our top three players were very static, when we did drive we had a good shot or a goal.

St Jean d'Angely's 14-5 Marseille

Report: Nathan Cargill (St Jean d'Angely's) 1 goal

Marseille past Champions of the French First division and St Jean d'Angely's 2nd Season in First Division. Started off at a fast pace with Marseille attempting to counter attack us out of the game in the first quarter, however the team was well composed in the opening minutes to be 1-1 with 3 minutes left in the period but with a few simple errors by players Marseille capitalised on the errors to go in the first quarter break 4-1. 

The second quarter started much like the first ended with a few defensive mistakes in extra-man defense which they capitalised to jump out to 7-1, however the middle of the quarter was a swim fest with neither team able to take advantage of the opportunities and in the end of the 2nd quarter finished how it started with another quick 4 goals taking advantage of defensive mistakes to go into half time down 11-1. 

The third quarter was a much better quarter for St Jean d'Angely we started of with a good extra man goal. Then it was a bit of a swimathon however we were able to capitalise on a counter attack and make it 11-3. The defense of the team this quarter was a marked improvement as we kept them scoreless so the end of the third quarter was 11-4. 

The 4th quarter started off well with a good 6 on 6 goal from our CF who worked off the CB and had plenty of time to baulk twice and scored in the top corner. With hard 6 on 6 defense to try and steal and counter attack the team got excluded a few times which Marseille capitalised on, with 3 from 5 in the last quarter converted which included a 5m penalty. So the final score ended up 14-5. Which was a good result and an improvement from our first game against Nice.

Sete 11- Aix Les Bains 14.

Chris Dyson (Sete) 3 goals

After a 4hr bus ride we arrived at Aix Les Bains. We had time for a 20minute walk and a good warm up so we were ready for the game. Aix Les Bains had 3 players 9,10,11 who were given press at all times and knockdown in extra D status. Our Zones if needed were to come off any other players. Heavy press was what our coach wanted us to do do. Aix Les Bains worked constant picks and screens in set play and relying heavily on their counter attack. The first quarter was a very poor effort by dauphins. We got given 4 offensives in a row giving them 2 easy counter attack goals. And they were playing a strong heavy press in attack. The first quarter score was 4-0 loss. The second quarter was not very different with the score 8-3 and half times. 3rd quarter the most important, aix les bains relaxed and we punished them. I think we scored 5 goals before they responded, end of the 3rd 10-9. Last quarter with 2 or 3 minutes left was 12-11. A very poor kickout was given from centre back, then they shot and scored. Fatigue and reality hit us and they scored 1 more goal in the dying seconds finishing the game at 14-11. After we did not score in our last attack, they managed to score a final counter goal.

Spain:

Club Atletic Barceloneta 24 (WHALAN 4) - CN ALCORCON ARENA 9

A counter attacking game from the start. We played a press game and countered against them to score most of our goals. They didn't put up much of a fight until towards the end where our team lacked some concentration and intensity. 66% in man-up and 50% defence.  We are using these easier games to concentrate on upholding intensity throughout the entire game and not losing focus.

Navarra 13 - 8 Martianez ( 4-2, 3-0, 3-2, 3-4)

Luke Quinlivan GK (Navarra)

We had a very comfortable 13 - 8 victory over CN Martianez today. We started strongly taking the first two goals (Perimetre Goal, Penalty) and continued to dictate play until late in the final quarter. From the start of the game through to the final four minutes, Martianez only managed to score four goals. A few silly lapses and some unnecessary exclusions in the final minutes allowed Martianez to convert an additional four goals. Prior to this the score was 12 - 4 to us.

Despite this being the case, there were a few crucial moments in the second quarter, which allowed for us to extend our lead and have the game ‘snowball' in our favour. We were able to score two counter attack goals and an extraman goal (drawn from a counter attack) where Martianez probably should have converted at our end. Had this been the case, the game could have either been level, or, one goal in their favour at half time.

Mediteranni 9-17 Terrassa

Rob Maitland (Medi) 1 goal

Really bad game from us this weekend. Started the game well enough with a 4-3 scoreline down at quatertime. However it was down hill from there. We tried a different zone (wing drop) because of their strong centre (Perez) and lack of a left hander, and also with him playing on the 2 post and having a good shooter in 1 in extraman tried to give more attention to that right hand side. These 2 new tactics work a couple of times, but for the most part our team couldn't adapt mentally to the changes and repeated the same errors time and time again, allowing Perez to score 3 CF goals and draw exclusions, and the 1 post to score a couple. By half way through the 3rd period our coach had more or less conceded changing to our second goalie and playing the young kids.

C.N. SABADELL (Martin 2) 8 - 9 C.N. BARCELONA (Campbell 4, Cotterill 1)

Comments:

Martin: Rather frustrating game losing by one goal. The zone pressing up on the LHS did not work well and too often left Richie (Campbell) to sit free at point and have 5-6 baulks and place the ball in the goals.

Campbell: This was always going to be a tough game in Sabadell. I believe their team this year is a lot stronger. We started the game pretty badly missing early opportunities in Xman. We then broke away late in the 1st to a 3-1 lead. Our Xman defense was the best it has been out of the games we have played. Our relaxed attitude in the second and start of the third quarters made it for a hard game. We manage to pick up in the end only winning in the last 30 sec.

Cotterill: Very hard fought game against a team that has been performing very well both in the League and LEN trophy. After a pretty good start, we were leading 4-1 just after quarter time, they hit back to make it 4-3 at half-time. We traded goals before they equalised in the final period. A couple of crucial extraman goals, including one from Richie with 24 seconds left got us over the line. However, in the last 24seconds they had an extraman and a couple of shots, both our goalie and the crossbar saving us, to earn Barcelona 3 points and remain undefeated with Barceloneta and Terrassa.

CN Mataro 18 - 4 CN Martianez (O'Halloran 3)

A very good game by us. We played well in both attack and defence and by the second half they seemed to give up a little bit. Traditionally it has been hard for us playing in their pool but this year we started well and didn't give them any chance to make a game of it.

CN Mataro 4 - 7 Real Canoe 7 (O'Halloran 3)

This was a complete disaster in that we just didn't seem to create any chances in attack. Our defence was not too bad and they scored mostly 'unlucky' goals. I think all the players were a bit flat and tired after the busy start to the season we've had. Fortunately they are not a direct rival so hopefully it won't affect our season too badly.

Italy:

Jarrod Gilchrist:

Thought I would take this opportunity on a miserable day here in Bogliasco, GE Italy to send a little update to everybody back home. I'm sure there is some sore heads in Melbourne this week with the cup and exams, it's a little disappointing that they are not into the cup here ha ha.

The weather has been great most of the time but it is starting to deteriorate as it comes into winter. The nights are cold because I'm living on the coast but the weather has been what we would consider shirt, shorts and thongs weather however when I go out wearing this I get plenty of strange looks and have already been labelled   the crazy Australian more than once.

Anyway I really like where I'm living in Bogliasco which is a small town just outside Genoa. This area is the heart of Italian waterpolo with the likes of Recco, Sori, Nervi ect. all so close I think there is something like 13 professional teams in Impera the region of Genoa it is just crazy.

My team Quinto is showing good sings of having a great season starting on the 5th of December with our first game at home against Bologna. The guys in the team are all great blokes I'm the youngest in the team and the average age is between 22 and 30 the coach is also very passionate. They are all showing me a good time and taking me to all the local places to eat and drink, the food is really good although it is taking me some time to get used to eating rare steak. But the pizza is awesome especially from Luigi's who used to play waterpolo for Italy and now owns a pizzeria where all the waterpolo people go. The restaurant the club has organized for my lunch everyday is good I never leave un-satisfied plenty of food- although I'm still guessing from the menu. A few of the guys took me into Milan for Halloween which is only 2 hours away from Genoa and it was a crazy place heaps of fun.

In summary all is going really well and I'm enjoying myself plenty while staying busy with 2 sessions a day I'm learning a lot and the team is excited for the season to begin. Missing home plenty as well so if anyone wants to add me on skype I'm on most days or just shoot through email. I don't have everyone's email who I would like so if you want to forward it on to anyone who would be interested.

My skype name is jarrodgilchrist very simple

Hey, here's game three against Martianez. At last, a win!!!

GAME THREE: CWN Navarra vs. CN – Martianez
Pamplona, Saturday 31st October 2009.

We had a very comfortable 13 – 8 victory over CN Martianez today. We started strongly taking the first two goals (Perimeter Goal, Penalty) and continued to dictate play until late in the final quarter. From the start of the game through to the final four minutes, Martianez only managed to score four goals. A few silly lapses and some unnecessary exclusions in the final minutes allowed Martianez to convert an additional four goals. Prior to this the score was 12 – 4 to us.

Despite this being the case, there were a few crucial moments in the second quarter, which allowed for us to extend our lead and have the game ‘snowball’ in our favour. We were able to score two counter-attack goals and an extraman goal (drawn from a counter-attack) where Martianez probably should have converted at our end. Had this been the case, the game could have either been level, or, one goal in their favour at half time. Anyone who’s played knows this can change the result of a game. Furthermore, Martianez’s first goalkeeper (Cuban goalkeeper) did not play.

Nevertheless, showing a capacity to scrutinise the opposition’s mistakes is very important. I was very happy to see my teammates score off Martianez’s misfortune.

Next time we play on their turf. We must remember these moments in the second quarter and, more importantly, the final four minutes if we’re to succeed again. There’s no team in this league who we can afford to underestimate. 
  
4-2, 3-0, 3-2, 3-4. [Navarra 13 – 8 Martianez]

LEN Trophy

Group D

Report: Chris Dyson (Sete- France)

The 1st round of Len Trophy was played in Amersfoort, Netherlands. In our group we had, Primorje (Croatia), Patras (Greece), Sabadell (Spain), Wolf hounds (Ireland), the home team AZ&PC (Netherlands). I think the top 3 teams go on to the next round.

Sete were struggling from the word go. We only had a team of 8 players to start the tournament. Billy Miller did not arrive until the Monday after the tournament.  One player was injured and could not play. Our second centre back had his nose broken in the first defence of the first game, so we played the tournament with only 7 players, 1 of which was a 15 yr old. 1 other player who plays right wing injured his shooting hand in the game v Patras which affected his shot throughout the rest of the tournament. We have a very good team, and we should have very easily qualified for the 2nd  and Billy, we would have beaten both Patras and AZ&PC very comfortably. round of Len, but with no subs, it is impossible to beat a team of 13 fit players. With those uninjured players

Primorje "Erste Banka" Rijeka (CRO) vs. Dauphins FC Sete (FRA) 17-5

Dyson: This was a very rough game. The first 4 minutes was very fast, primorje was playing a hard press and counter. They then hit us hard going 6 in 6 out at the 4 minute mark. There bench played exactly the same strong press and counter hard. I do not think that the score outlines the game very well, I believe that they did have to work for the majority of their goals, in the first 3 quarters anyway

Will: A tough game for us. We started out ok keeping up with them until in the 4th minute our centre back had his nose broken after the ball was passed into the centre and then passed back out for a shot and goal. This left us in a rather difficult position as we now has no subs. the game quickly turned the Croatians way as they played very physical and by half time had a healthy lead of about 6 goals . This gap was increased as the game continued and our players tired, Primorje easilly running away with the win.

Dauphins FC Sete (FRA) vs. NE Patras (GRE) 10-12 (3-4, 3-1, 1-4, 3-3)

Dyson: This was a completely different style of game played by the Greeks which suited Sete extremely well. Patras played a non-existent counter attack game, focusing heavily on a strong and very well structured set attack, and either a press or regular zone in defence. We were able to keep up to the speed of this game even with our small team. We were pushing Patras on many counter attacks. Dave Will was very dominant in centre forward pulling a deep zone in the first quarter. We scored a majority of our goals through precise perimeter shots and extra man.

Will: (3 goals, 4 exclusions earned)     This game was a possible win for us and we started out strongly scoring first and defending well. Patras came back well and took the lead back early in the second 1/4 but by half time we had regained a one goal advantage. However early in the third 1/4 we missed opportunities to score only to have Patras score a couple of quick goals, We lost thes 1/4 4-1 giving the game to them as the final 1/4 was a tie.

AZ&PC Amersfoort (NED) vs. Dauphins FC Sete (FRA) 8-5 (1-1, 2-1, 4-3, 1-0)

Dyson: The Netherlands were not a very strong team. A very poor centre forward and weak outside shooters. They were fast, and they had a big home crowd supporting them. We were going goal for goal with the home team throughout the game. The Netherlands were quite lucky with 2 very poor deflection goals. Sete could not keep up with them in the last quarter. It was our second game that day after playing an intense match with Patras.

Will: (3 exclusions earned)

After a tough fight in our second game earlier in the morning we all felt tired, Again the game started off slowly with neither team taking advantage of the others mistakes, half time seeing Amersfoort up 3-2, again the third 1/4 was our let down Amersfoort scoring 3 quick goals soon after half time, we fought back to within two goals by the final 1/4 but with a lack of fresh legs off the bench we were unable to score any more goals.

Dauphins FC Sete (FRA) vs. CN Sabadell 5-22 (0-4, 1-5, 2-6, 2-7)

Dyson (Sete): I think this was the biggest embarrassment in my waterpolo career. Sabadell are a very good team. Most certainly they are not unbeatable. They played the first quarter very similar to Primorje. Hard press counter hard. 6 in 6 out and push hard again. We were unable to stop there counter attack, they were gaining breaks all around the pool. In their defence they were pushing most of our team out to half way allowing them to double mark the remaining players left in good attacking positions.

Will (Sete) 3 goals: Sabadell started off quickly counter attacking us and defending heavy on the perimeter, they were rewarded with opportunities in almost every attack for a counter goal scoring most.

Martin (Sabadell): They didn't have any subs and from the start we worked out counters hard. The game was won in the first quarter and was pretty much just counter attack after counter attack.

Sete vs Wolf hounds. Win 16-6.

Dyson: They were a very enthusiastic team. There structure and poor ability to out manoeuvre a press allowed us to counter hard against them and give us a solid 20 secs in attack.   

Will: (5 goals, 5 exc)    Our final game saw us play the wolf hound, a much easier opponent than our previous games and we were able to start off well and keep them to zero up until half time. We keep the attacking pressure up in the second half although in defence we lapsed on occasions letting them score some easy goals.

AZ&PC Amersfoort (NED) vs. CN Sabadell (ESP) 3-8 (0-4, 1-0, 2-2, 0-2)

Martin: The first game against the Dutch team we started well and were up 4-0. The center-forward wasn't too difficult to handle and was able to press almost the whole time. We ended up only winning 8-3 but it was never a close game.

CN Sabadell (ESP) vs. Primorje "Erste Banka" Rijeka (CRO) 7-15 (1-4, 2-4, 3-4, 1-1)

Martin: The Croatian team were by far the best team there. Our team found it difficult to handle them as they were much bigger than our team and were able to cover our counter attack.

CN Sabadell (ESP) vs. Belfast Wolfhounds (IRL) 21-2 (7-0, 8-2, 4-0, 2-0)

Martin: The game against the Irish team was just counter attack.

CN Sabadell (ESP) vs. NE Patras (GRE) 14-8 (2-1, 4-2, 5-3,3-2)

Martin: The last game against the Greek team was the playoff for second place in the group. The Greeks were all decent players but our counter attack killed them and we ended up winning easily 14-8.

Group B

Reports: Nick O'Halloran (Mataro)

CN Mataró "Quadis" (ESP) vs. Schuurman BRC (NED) 18-7 (4-1, 4-1, 5-5, 5-0) (O'Halloran 3)

A good game to start off with allowing us to give everyone even pool time and settle into the tournament.

CN Mataró "Quadis" (ESP) vs. Palram Zvulun (ISR) 17-9 (3-0, 4-4, 4-3, 6-2) (O'Halloran 4)

The Israeli team ended up being a lot stronger than we anticipated having a few Serbian players in their team. We didn't play very well at the start which made it tougher for us than it should have been and meant players that needed to rest for the tough evening game had to play more than should have been required

CN Mataró "Quadis" (ESP) vs. RN Sori (ITA) 9-9 (2-2, 1-1, 3-4, 3-2)

Our first really test. It was a bit of a crazy game and the referees didn't do much to control it. We came from being 2 goals down with 2 minutes to go to draw, but were still disappointed not to win given the number of easy chances we missed earlier.

CN Mataró "Quadis" (ESP) vs. CSK VMF Moscow (RUS) 10-3 (2-1, 4-0, 1-2, 3-0) (O'Halloran 4)

This has been our best game of the season so far. We completely shut them down in defence (there would have been 20 blocked shots) and our goalie played awesome. A very important win which puts us in a good position to qualify for the next round with a good ranking.

CN Mataró "Quadis" (ESP) vs. Panathinaikos AC Athens (GRE) 9-9 (3-0, 2-3, 1-3, 3-3) (O'Halloran 1)

We played pretty badly today and allowed them to come from 2 goals down with 38 seconds left to draw the game which was a real shame. Hopefully it will be a good learning experience for us.

CN Mataro 13 - 8 Mariupol (O'Halloran 3)

This was quite a good game from us. We started very well and led comfortably throughout. With this win we have secured first place of the group which was our objective for the week.

Spanish League:

Barcelona 11 (Campbell 4, Cotterill 1) Mediterrani 8 (Maitland 3)

Reports:

Johnno Cotterill:          Another hard-fought win and our first win at home. Probably made it a little bit harder for ourselves by missing some good counter attack opportunities, plus a penalty, but to Medi's credit they punished and scored a number of goals on re-counter. Our extra-man attack was fairly good, scoring over 50% and was one of the reasons we were leading the whole game. The reffing was very heavy and tough and it led to a pretty bruising encounter.

Richie Campbell:         Johnno and I rotated almost one for one in defense tiring their Cfs a lot. There centre forward did score 3 goals but off others defenders that got stuck there. He earned exclusions on both Johnno and I but from lazy defense on the wings allowing easy passes in. we counter attacked really strong in the game. Tony has trained this week quick transitions from defense so we have been getting a lot more counters.

Rob Maitland:  The game was always going to be a difficult one, they have a solid line up of 6 or 7 players which we struggle to match, especially in the swimming department. After the first period it was 2 all then 3 all but they put a couple on us towards the end of the 2nd and we never really got back in touch. Most of their goals came from counters, and a couple from good shooting in 6on6 and extra, Richie got a few. They played press for most of the game, and we found it difficult to get much happening with few favours from the refs.

Luke Quinlivan

GAME TWO: CN Terassa vs. CWN - Navarra

Terassa, Saturday 24th October 2009.

We lost 9 - 16 to CN Terassa today.

Today's game started quite well, we were goal for goal until midway through the second quarter. After Terassa scored their sixth goal in the second, the persistence of Terassa's heavy full-pool press started paying off. Our players stopped moving and we conceded many possessions through one-on-one steals and counter attacks.

It's quite obvious that Terassa's strength comes from their player depth. Whilst they only have a couple of ‘name players', I didn't notice anyone in their team who I'd consider to be a liability.

Our shooting against Terassa was better compared to our previous game against Barcelona. However, we relied heavily on Andrej Janicek (4 goals) and Julen Artola (3 goals) to do most of the shooting. It was positive that we were able to convert two from two on our designated time-out extraman attacks, hopefully this will carry on to closer, more important games.

Defence was an absolute disaster, I felt a little useless on many occasions. Of the sixteen goals scored, twelve were scored from three meters or closer. They also had a penalty goal. By the last quarter I had ‘the art of ball fetching' down to grand master level. On a more serious note, Terassa are very good at driving to either, receive and shoot or, play their centre forwards; namely Ivan Perez and Ivan Gallego, both are very strong.

26 October 2009 Spain

CWN - Navarra vs. CNB - Barcelona

Report Johnno Cotterill (Barcelona) (1 goal, 1 penalty earned)

A difficult trip up to Pamplona resulted in a pretty ugly but hard-fought win. Navarra turned up to play and really gave it to us, crowd was into the game and Quinny played well in goals, stopping a number of CA and outside shots. We were cruising mid-way through the quarter, winning 6-2, however 3 quick goals by them made it interesting. With a few minutes left it was 7-7, but a penalty with a minute to go and then 2 strong Extra Defences got us over the line.

Barcelona: Ritchie Campbell - 2 goals, Johnno Cotterill - 1 goal

Luke Quinlivan (Navarra)

We were defeated 7 - 8 by CNB Barcelona today.

Despite losing, our team showed a lot of character to claw back from being 2 - 6 down early in the third, to being 7 - 7 with less than three minutes remaining in the game.

The winning goal of the game was a five-metre penalty shot, taken by Ricardo (aka "Kiko") Perrone, with one and half minutes left in the game. In the final minute of the game Barcelona had possession. Ritchie Campbell shot the ball above my head from out top, with intent to either regain possession or score. I managed to clip the ball onto the crossbar, which then rebounded to Jaime Arriazu (Navarra).

We then swam on counter attack with twenty seconds left in the game. Jaime swam the ball all the way up the pool and turned his player to gain inside water, deep inside the left-handers side on about three meters. Unfortunately, he was fouled and his cap was ripped from his head.

The referees stopped play and pulled the ball with three seconds left (to tie his cap up). When the ball was put back into play, we attempted a cross pass inside two meters for a tap on. We managed to get a shot off, but it was weak and lobbed up easily for Inaki Aguilar, the Barcelona goalkeeper. Game over.

Our attack had two separate facets today, passing and shooting. Our capacity to move the ball effectively was exceptional. I don't think we ever dropped a ball in extraman. Furthermore, in six-on-six, whenever our players were cross-driven at, we managed to lure the defence as far out of position as possible and then deliver a crisp pass. This was the sole contributing factor to four of our seven goals. From this perspective, our game was outstanding. However, shooting in general was not so good. In the first half, in situations where one of our players had to shoot and deliver a result, we shot without confidence. On four occasions we attempted to score perimeter spin lobs. In training these particular players don't often practice this shot, obviously the likelihood of scoring it under pressure in a game is very small. We missed the frame on all four occasions. Those were just the worst examples.

Overall, our defence was quite strong. Barcelona had eight extraman opportunities as well as three penalties. We managed to stop five from eight on extraman, and, one from three penalties. Ritchie Campbell scored two on extraman. Johnno Cotterill scored a driving centre forward goal (a backhand lob to be precise...I so thought I had it too. Next time Johnno!).  The Barcelona centre forward, Balasz Sziranyi, frequently commanded two meters. We started zoning off him quite early on. He's very strong and has good feeling with the ball. He drew all of their penalties and exclusions with the exception of one. 

It was heart breaking to have lost a game that was so close within our grasp. However, I am still very proud of my teammates for not giving up against Barcelona, they do have a strong team. It's very easy to roll over and die when you're four goals down against a team generally perceived to be stronger. I think we showed a lot of character to come from behind and play to win, not just for respect.

C.N. SABADELL 15 - 10 C.N. ALCORCON ARENA

Report Anthony Martin (Sabadell) 2 goals

We played Onderetta on Saturday in the first game of the season. We won 15-10 but the game was very close until half way through the third quarter. Our coach play the young guys at he start of the fourth then we went back in to make sure they didn't catch up too much.

C.E. MEDITERRANI 7 - 7 C.N. SANT ANDREU

Report: Rob  Maitland (Mediterrani)

A reasonable result for the first game of the season. The same game last year we lost so can take something from the 1 point. We started the game well pushing to a 3-1 lead at the first break. 

Second period was not as good letting them back into the contest finishing 3-3 at halftime. Disappointing that a few of their goals in this period and later in the game came from shots from the top in extra man after the defence failed to follow instructions spoken and practiced the night before. 

Second half was a physical affair with the teams going goal for goal. Both teams had 6on6 opportunities in the last minute after timeouts but resulting in a saved shot off a drive in our defence and a claim, but very big call to make penalty on a drive and pass in our attack. 

Encouraging start for the first game with the intensity high and willingness to defend strongly.

C.N. MATARO QUADIS 10 - 8 C.N. TERRASSA

Report: Nic O'Halloran (Mataro)

A very good start for us against one of the top teams of the last few seasons. We started really well but then lapsed momentarily allowing them to get back in the game before half time. In the second half we came out firing and buried the game playing clinically in both attack and defence. Over the last few years we've had some close games with Terrassa but this is the first time we've actually come out on top. So it was a very satisfying victory from that point of view as well. This win gives us a lot of confidence going into the LEN Cup starting next Wednesday.

France:

Sete  19-13 cn Noisy-le-sec

Report: Dave Will (Sete) 3 goals, 1 penalty & 2 ejections earned

The first game for Sete in the French league was against C.N.Noisy. Due to a strike by the referees we only had one ref in charge of the match, many thanks to him for coming as some other matches did not have any referees. Sete started the match well scoring 2 quick goals in the first 4 attacks but as was a trend throughout the match we let Noisy come back and score easy  goals to give a 1/4 time score of 4-2. Sete played a mixed match with some excellent ball movement to set up scoring opportunities, and showed some good strong defence but at times would laps and make mistakes at other times missing scoring opportunities or allowing the opposition to score easy goals. Noisy played hard all through the game but never looked to confident in their attack. Sete won in the end 19-13 showing that both teams should probably work on their defences for next time.

Chris Dyson (Sete) 3 goals

This was our first game of the French national league and our first home game. Our pool is hot, 25m and slightly narrow and for some reason 1 ref, so it was a new experience. The game was very physical and was a very centre forward dominated game with both teams being spread very far apart in attack.  Our opponents focussed on a 2nd centre in attack flooding the left side and creating a zone, but they didn't score many shots from the perimeter, mainly counter and lucky cf goals. We were dominant in attack but have some defensive mistakes that must be fixed before len this week.

USA:

USC 9- 4 Long Beach State

Report: Joel Dennerley (USC) - 12  saves, and MPSF player of the week this week

It was a solid game, especially after a tough week of training. Our shooting was poor, and their goalie played well. We defended well, and again counter attack was strong. We play LMU (Loyola Marymount University) this Saturday. We have a tough week right now so it will be interesting to see how we play.

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell men's water polo junior Richie Hyden (Melbourne, Australia/Greenwich (Conn.)) was named the Collegiate Water Polo Association Southern Division Player of the Week on Tuesday. It is the second time Hyden has been honored this year, while it is the fourth Player of the Week citation for a Bison this season.

An Honorable Mention All-America selection last year, Hyden totalled five goals, three assists, four steals and 13 ejections drawn in two games this past weekend. The Bison defeated Johns Hopkins 13-8 Friday night behind a season-high seven points and six ejections drawn from Hyden. The next day Bucknell lost to No. 13 Navy by a 10-7 score despite a career-high seven ejections drawn by Hyden, the most by a Bison since at least 2004.

Hyden's seven points in the win over the Blue Jays marked the most by a Bucknell player this year. He leads the team with 70 points and 29 assists this season. Additionally, Hyden paces the squad with 48 ejections drawn, placing him fourth on the Bucknell single-season list, two shy of his career high.

A left-hander, Hyden has scored at least one goal in each of the last 13 games he has played. He now has 168 goals, 111 assists and 279 points in his three-year career.

Hyden and the 18th-ranked Bison are idle this coming weekend, but own a 13-10 overall record this year. Bucknell is 6-2 in CWPA Southern Division play, but will likely finish third in the final standings once all tiebreakers with Princeton and Navy are settled.

Sydney (October 21).— Reports from Ausssie players based in the European leagues: 

USA: Joel Dennerley (USC) - Winners SoCal Tournament

The SoCal tournament was held at UC Irvine this year.

In the first round we played Bucknell, with an easy win of 21-4.

In the second round we played UC Santa Barbara (Fraser Bunn's team), and our intensity carried on from the first game with a 17-3 win. We didn't allow them to get into the game and converted all of our opportunities. Our counter attack was our main weapon and we defended their offense easily.

In the semi final we matched up against UCLA in a tough game. Due to the early loss in the season to them, we needed to win this game to improve our chances of making the finals. We ended up winning 9-8, but we were more in control than the score-line indicated. I played a full game, but only had 5 saves, with many shots getting field blocked. There were also a lot of turnovers in this game, with most of the goals coming from 6 on 5.

We progressed to the Final game against Cal Berkely, and won 7-6. This was our toughest game, and also our most physical. Three players were rolled from the game for disrespect. Again it was a good defensive effort from my team to get field blocks and steals. (Dennerley 7 saves).

With this win we moved up the rankings back to number 1, putting us in a good position to stay there for the rest of the season.

EuroLeague- 1st round (Slovakia) - Aiden Roach, Tim Cleland (Galatasaray)

Game 1: ČH Hornets Košice (SVK) vs. Galatasaray SK Istanbul (TUR) 14-8 (3-1, 4-3, 4-2, 3-2)

This year´s EuroLeague season was opened with four Qualification Round I matches in Berlin, Germany and Košice, Slovakia.

In the matches of Group B to be held at Slovakia´s new powerhouse, ČH Hornets Košice gained a precious 14-8 victory against the Turkish representative Galatasaray SK Istanbul

Game 2:  VK Niš (SRB) vs. Galatasaray SK Istanbul (TUR) 7-8 (3-0, 1-1, 2-4, 1-3)
 
Roach (2 goals): we won this game 8-7 and did really well to come back after at one stage being down 6-1.

Cleland: a fantastic result for us as we were down 6-1 mid way thru the 3rd
 
Game 3:  Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) vs. Galatasaray SK Istanbul (TUR) 10-9 (4-2, 2-3, 3-2, 1-2)
  
Game4: Galatasaray SK  Portugal (POR) vs. De Portinado (POR) 20-3 (5-0, 5-1, 8-0, 2-2)
 
Roach (2 goals): this was a poor team with this team and they didn't attack very often in the game.

Final standings: ČH Hornets Košice (SVK) 12*, Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) 9*, Galatasaray SK Istanbul (TUR) 6, VK Niš (SRB) 3, De Portinado (POR) 0.
 
* Qualified teams for Qualification Round II 

Euro Players Reports
France:
Reports: David Will, Chris Dyson (Sete)
Coupe De France.
12 teams compete in the coupe de France.
The top 4 ranked teams from last year’s French league automatically get a ¼ final berth.
Those teams being Marseille, Montpellier, Nice and Sete.

Saturday 3rd of October 2009 AM
Sete 12- AIX Les Bains 5
Sete played its first game against AIX Les Bains who had beaten SN Taverny 95 in the round games.
Dyson: Our team is very well balanced but are lacking in subs due to only 8 players on the team being professional (1 is injured and organizing another import) and the remainder playing and training when work/uni/school does not interfere. We won the first quarter 2-0, both counter attack goals. At the half the score was 3-1. Half way through the 3rd quarter the other team died then the goals started coming. At the 3 quarter break we were up 8-2, and full time we won 12-5. Dave Will was very dominant, drawing zones, earned 5/6 exclusion, 1 penalty.
Will: The game started off slow with each team missing opportunities Sete wasting more and the better of the chances creating good opportunities to score but lacking the finesse to finish them. The first half remained tight with Sete holding a narrow margin at the break. Early in the third quarter Sete finally started to show signs of life after a penalty and 2 quick goals, the margin was extended regularly after that as a lack of fitness and possibly the effort spent in the previous round game started to show in the AIX Les Bains team. In the end Sete came out comfortable winners 12-5.
The game was played well by Sete but I think that the team just needed some time in the water together playing in a hard game situation. It was always going to be a difficult first half as this was the team’s first proper hit out together. 

Saturday 3rd October 2009 PM
Sete 14- FNC Douai 9.
The second game was against FNC Douai a better opponent than the one we had encountered in the morning.
Dyson: This team has been a major rival of Sete’s over the past year. Ranking 1 position behind (5th) us in the national league, and beating us in their home games. We were 5-4 down in the first quarter. 6-5 up at half time. 9-7 up at 3rd quarter, and pulled away in the last quarter winning 14-9.
Will: The game started off in a one for one manner and again remained tight with both teams taking the lead from each other through the first half. Tactics were the same a press and front from both teams calling back into zone if necessary. At the start of the second half it looked as if Sete was struggling to keep its narrow lead but after two missed opportunities by FNC Douai which were countered with goals at the other end by Sete the momentum of the game swung and we were able to run over them in the last quarter to come out 15-9 winners.
Overall this game was a much better performance from everyone. Chris  Dyson scored 4 and was dangerous on the right side of attack, allowing free space both of the centre forward and the players next to him.

Sunday 4th October 2009-10-05
Sete 8 – Marseille 16
Sete competed in their first grand final for the Coupe De France against CN Marseille.
Dyson: It was a very intense game, Marseille have been the dominating team in France for a number of years and performing well in Euro league. They have a full team of professional players compared to our only 8 players, which brought them home the gold in the end. We were up in the first quarter 3-2, at the half marseille was up 6-5 and at the end of the 3rd Marseille were up 10-6 and won the game 16-8. Marseille punished us for all our mistakes and continually pushed the counter attacks gradually pulling away from us in the second half of the game. Sete came out firing going to a quick 3-1 lead but Marseille were able to reel them back in early in the second quarter. The game slowly turned over as Marseille ran out eventual winners comfortably by 16-8.
Will: A good performance by Sete it the first half was let down by a lack of fitness and players (Marseille having a team of 13 European league experienced players where Sete relies on our starting 7 with the bench being made up of juniors or amateur players) in the second as Sete faded to counter attack after counter attack by the Marseille team.  Again some of our players stepped up and performed well the stand out being our goal keeper who saved some good outside and centre forward shots throughout the game.

Over all the weekend was an excellent opportunity for us to play together as a team and work out any issues we have before we go the first round of LEN cup in a month. The result from this weekend is the best that Sete has ever had in the Coupe De France. Hopefully with some more work we can continue this on into the season and improve our position from last year. Marseille are definitely the team that everyone will be chasing again this year having breezed through this tournament with very little resistance.

Spain: Pre Season competition
Catalan Cup
Mediteranni lost 9-8 vs Sabadell
Report: Rob Maitland (Medi)
Although it was a loss not a bad result for the teams first hit out of the season. We played well in set defense and set attack, the main difference in the game being a few easy goals from counters that we gave them after a poor shot or pass in our counter. Extra-man attack was also not fantastic but going into the game we didn't focus on any moves, just trying to rely on passing and a good shot. Some promising signs for the season ahead.

Game 1 - Semi-final
CN Mataro 12 - 11 CN Barcelona (O’Halloran 2 goals)
Report: Nic O’Halloran
This was a very good start for our new season. We have a few new players so we're still getting to know each other and as such tactically we were a bit rusty. A lot of the goals were individual skill goals. I was particularly happy with the last quarter where under pressure (there was probably 500 people there watching!) we finished really well.

Game 2 - Final
CN Atletic Barceloneta 7 - 6 Mataro
Report: Nic O’Halloran
A very tight final and even though we lost it was still a great result for us against a very strong team. We faced some tough refereeing but had our chances to win it. I think the biggest problem was the lack of developed tactics which showed at crucial stages in the game. That is not a big worry though because we are only just starting and still have plenty of time to improve. So otherwise a very promising sign for the season to come.