Spain:

C.N. BARCELONA 19 - 8 C.N. MARTIANEZ

Johnno Cotterill (CNB) 1 goal

Not much to report from this game other than the fact it secured us 2nd spot on the table. A first quarter of 7-2 put the game beyond doubt and after that some strong counter attack led to some pretty easy goals. They converted a couple of cherry-picking goals but overall we were pretty strong in both defence and attack. Now for Mataro next week.

C.N. SANT ANDREU 9 - 11 C.N. MATARO QUADIS

Nick O' Halloran (Mataro) 1 goal

This game is renowned for being very physical ever since 2006 when it was abandoned because of a brawl, and this time served as no exception. We got out to a 2-goal lead early on, and managed to hold it to the end. There were a few nervous moments in the final few minutes of the game when they had chances to score on extra-man, but we defended well to stifle off any hopes of a late comeback. Ultimately it was an important win for us and an enjoyable game given the electric crowd atmosphere, intensity of play and close result.

C.N. ALCORCON 9 - 9 C.D. WATERPOLO NAVARRA

C.N. ATLETIC-BARCELONETA 19 - 11 C.E. MEDITERRANI

Rob Maitland (Medi) 5 goals

Went pretty much as always. We actually started the game really well and went to the first break leading 4-2. From there it well down hill very fast, the middle two periods the score was 14-3 probably 12 of there goals coming from 1-0, 2-1, or 3-2 counter attacks. Some of the guys were not interested in playing and Barceloneta were too strong, smart and fast making us look very ordinary. In the last quarter we won 4-3 but they played their second goalie and all the kids.

Game highlights (and plenty of lowlights) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQaXl4ZIT-o

ADF HELIOS 9 - 17 C.N. SABADELL

A Martin (Sabadell)

The game on the weekend against Helios was a bit unusual. We won17-9 which was to be expected but the game started off fairly close. This was their last home game of the season and as they are being relegated next season there was quite a crowd. And it seems the refs we sympathetic to their position too. The kick out count was about 20 to 10 against us so this was a bit ridiculous by the end of the 3rd quarter when 3 of us were on 3 (myself included). My first two kickouts were laughable. One was when we were man down and I was swimming back to defend and another player ducked under me and the ref kicked me out. The second was worse. I was in centre back and the centre forward swung his arm around to pull around me, got me in a head lock. Then the ref called a double kickout. By this time I was fairly frustrated. However my team consistently stopping on counter attack made it even worse.

Ladder:

1 C.N. ATLETIC-BARCELONETA 57
2 C.N. BARCELONA 52
3 C.N. TERRASSA 49
4 C.N. MATARO QUADIS 45
5 C.N. SABADELL 43
6 C.N. ALCORCON 26
7 C.E. MEDITERRANI 25
8 C.N. SANT ANDREU 22
9 REAL CANOE 20
10 C.D. WATERPOLO NAVARRA 14
11 C.N. MARTIANEZ 12
12 ADF HELIOS 6

France:

Sete 10 :14 Noisey Le Sec

David Will (Sete)

Had a bad loss to Noisey on the weekend 14-10. We played a very selfish game and even though we were even with them for most of the game. In the end we left players free in dangerous positions due to lack of communication and laziness. Our attack was poor we had some good attacks early on where we moved the ball around well but as the game went on we tried to score individually and more often than not missed allowing counter attacks the other way.

Chris Dyson (Sete) 2 goals

Not a good game for Sete. Because the result of the match did not matter we had a poor week of training. We travelled 6hours and went into the match thinking we had already won the game and a majority of the team did not even care that we lost to a very bad team. The effort was there in the game. Once again there were a large amount of counter attacks being generated from Noisey' left hander's side that we were attempting to cover up all game. Our centre' we doing a good job but the guys up top were pushing in to close and not giving the cf enough room. We were also so close up tops that Noisey' defence didn't even have to work to block the ball. Noisey was also playing a 2nd centre using their left hander which was very effective because we were pressing them out to 10ms every defence.

Italy:

Quinto 8-9 Brescia 
Jarrod Gilchrist (Quinto)

Another one goal result with us on the wrong side. Brescia where well helped with 4 penalties including 3 in the last 4 minutes 2 for our keeper touching the goal which where really unbelievable. we started up really strong with a 3 goal lead in to the first quarter and maintained a two goal lead for the game until the last 4 minutes when the penalties started. i drew an x-man with 15 seconds to go and we had no timeout left and one of our players took a shot with 5 seconds to go and missed and Brescia called a timeout the keeper then passed the ball to a player on 7 meters and a foul was made then the player was pulled down from the foul and defender excluded ball went inside 5 and for some reason our keeper was out of the goals and they passed the ball outside 5 and shot off the hand a goal. at the time of the exclusion there was 0.6 seconds and the goal was paid and we lost by a goal on 000000. i played a good solid game in defence and created 3 counter attack goals and drew 3 exclusion.

Sydney (March 26)

Spain:

CN Mataró Quadis 5 - CN Atlètic-Barceloneta 6 (1-2, 2-0, 0-3 y 2-1)
Nick O' Halloran (Mataro) 1 goal

Another close game at home against Barceloneta after losing to them by 1 earlier in the season in the final of the Catalan Cup. The difference this time was that we weren't content with nearly beating the top team and a respectable loss, because we missed crucial chances to win. It was a very defensive game but the nail in the coffin for us was not finishing out xman attacks. We missed 3 or 4 great chances from the post which could have made the difference. The result does give us a lot of confidence heading into the last few games of the regular season and the finals.

CN Barcelona 15 - Real Canoe NC 7 (7-2, 1-2, 4-1 y 3-2)

Johnno Cotterill (BCN) 1 goal

Canoe has the ability to play some really good, physical games so we came into this game prepared for a hard match. But from the start we blew them away, winning the first quarter 7-2 through some really good Counter Attack as well as Extraman goals. After the 1st quarter we slowed down a little, but the damage had already been done. We continued a strong CA in the second half and ended up winning the 3rd and 4th quarters 7-3. Finally we converted on Xman and the importers played really well together, Baloo our CF, getting some really good service from both Aussies, scoring 3 and earning a 6 or 7 kickouts and penalties. We played well and we need to keep up the intensity of the first quarter next week against Terrassa in a game that really should decide 2nd and 3rd place.

Richie Campbell (BCN) 1 goal

We had worked really hard on counter attack the week before this game and it showed in the first quarter. Our 7-1 lead after the first was due to solid defense then into  quick counter. They were too slow to react. We also gained mid field exclusions from players picking. Our extra man attack was also well executed. Then came the second quarter. I think we all thought the game was over after the first and we were unable to execute anything unlike the first. We didn't really want to counter and we started to play at there level. We lost the quarter 2-1.  The 3rd and fourth we woke up again countering a tired team. Our extraman was really good over playing passes and scoring with the goalie underwater.

ADF Helios 11 - CW Navarra 9 (2-1, 4-4, 3-1 y 2-3)
CN Sabadell 10 - CE Mediterrani 11
 
Rob Maitland (Medi) 2 goals

An absolutely incredible game, one of the most crazy i have even seen/played in. The game started out at a frantic pace with us missing two early counter attack opportunities. Sabadell drew first blood with a CF goal which as the game progressed proved to be their most fruitful position. We hit back with a 5m foul before another CF play by them earning a penalty. I was in CB and the help came back and ended up giving the penalty, however the shot was saved. In the next attack i was unlucky with the woodwork from a 5m foul which they answered back with a successful one of their own. Another bad bit of luck of the bar in extraman and a rather easy CF goal meant we went to the first break at 3-1. We started the 2nd Q well with a CF goal from a dry pass and then some solid defence. We drew level with a 5m foul and then hit the lead with another goal in counter attack. they answered with an off the hand shot before we scored another counter goal leaving the score at 5-4 in our favour at half time.

Anthony Martin (Sabadell) 1 goal

This was our first upset loss this season and thus has had a big effect on the team. I remember distinctly speaking to my roommate last week telling him that the game would be tough against medi because they needed a win. Last week was the second of two terrible weeks of training. The team has been infected with a "small ticker" bug and seems that any little niggle they have is stopping them from training. Last thursday night (the night we usually have a good hit out) we were down to only 6 of our team, so we filled it in with some of the juniors. I think this shit attitude and belief that we would win comfortable transferred into the game. Although we started off well and got away to a 3-1 lead, medi then put the pressure on  by playing good tough polo. our team seemed to loose focus and determination.  

We had the chance to even it up with 2 seconds to go in extra but one of our players held the ball trying to baulk and dropped it into the hands of the defense. In all I thought Medi played very well and did exactly what they needed to do to beat us after our lazy preparation and unmotivated team. I hope now this will give the team the kick in the ass we need before finals.

Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3uSX2Phw3I&feature=player_embedded

ADF Helios 11 - 9 CW Navarra [2-1, 4-4, 3-1, 2-3]

Luke Quinlivan (Navarra)

Today's game was a huge disappointment for us. Whilst the result probably won't change our final placing on the ladder, we were expecting a win.

We went goal for goal with Helios for most of the game. It wasn't until the third quarter that Helios started to pull away from us. Helios extended their lead out to 9-5 in the third. We came back hard, scoring four successive goals to level it at 9-9. Later in the final quarter, one of our players stayed back to cover the centre forward and was blocking cross-cage; I took near corner. The shooter moved in to 5m and scored a lob far corner. There was only two seconds left on their shot clock, so that hurt immensely. The last goal of the game came from extra man. The A1 attacker received a cross pass from A4 and scored off the hand into the near corner.

Each team was awarded two penalties today. Helios scored one from two and we scored none; this certainly didn't help. One of Helios' penalties was awarded against me. At the end of an attack, I made a top corner save and the ball landed next to a Helios player. My defender had already swum off on counter attack. When he picked up the ball I hit his elbow with one hand and sunk him with the other. Because the player dropped the ball after me hitting his elbow, the referees called the penalty for the goalkeeper making a foul inside 5m. This was a very rare and unlucky occurrence.

Before playing this game, I felt that the first quarter was going to be the most important for us. I believed that shutting them out early would cause them to crumple. Unfortunately, Helios got off to a 2-1 lead by quarter time. I think this got their spirits up and as a consequence, made the game a real grind for us.

We lost today's game in our set six-on-six defence. They scored three perimeter goals, three goals from inside drives and a 5m lob. Most of these goals could have been easily avoided with a little communication.

France:

Sete 12 - St Jean 10. ( 5-4 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 3-3 )

Chris Dyson (Sete)

This game we were going into with confidence. Our previous encounter we had the match won by half time. Our strong performances over the last couple of weeks have also boosted our confidence significantly. We knew the match would not be a walk over either because St Jean at home can upset the strongest teams if allowed into the match. We started with a strong press dropping into a shifting zone throughout the match, but our centre backs did a terrific job forcing St Jean to work 2nd cf's. Our attack was strong with our centre forwards working hard and dominating their cb's. Our xman was solid and we defended theirs in the crucial periods of the match. Our counter defence is still our weak point, playing in the small pool our perimeter players cannot allow to be pulled past because teams can already work for the small breaks that they make off our centre forwards.

As soon as we started to pull away from St jean their whole team lost their cool. I literally think half of the team should have been rolled They were resulting to dirty play to attempt to gain advantages over us. St Jean' primary goal keeper  was ejected mid 3rd period. We were starting to pull away in the 3rd but St Jean' foul  play held them in the match half a quarter longer. It was a fantastic match for Sete and our morale, we put up with all of their foul play. We raised above that poor standard of waterpolo, kept our cool and played calm and composed and won the match.

David Will (Sete) 1 goal

Had a good win this weekend 12-10. They started the game hard as did week both teams letting in goals due to some slack defence. the 1/4 time score of 5-4 to them. We were able to calm things down in the second 1/4 stopping them from scoring but we missed some good opportunities to score and gain the advantage going to half time 6 all. Early in the third 1/4 their goal keeper got rolled for disrespect splashing the ref with the ball after we had scored a goal, a tough decision for them as he was a good keeper. They player a hard press for the rest of the game but we were able to move the ball around and gain several exclusions which we over played and scored. They came back to within one goal near the end but we were able to shut them out and score late to ensure the win.

Nathan Cargill (St Jean) 2 goals, 6 exc earned
The game started at a high scoring pace with alot of counter attack and each team trying to get the upper hand and NCA came out with the lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter had alot of missed opportunities by both teams and at half time the game was levelled at 6 all.

But the start of the 3rd quarter was the undoing of the team and the game. As our goal keeper was un happy with a goal being allowed by a foul and shot inside 5m and threw the ball in area of the referee which landed short and splashed the referee and he was rolled for disrespect, but our 2nd goal keeper was not there as he was away for skiing so we had to put a field player in goals and the team lost alot of confidence when this occured.

The last quarter was difficult but the team never stopped training and we got the game back to 9-10 but then we some exclusions against us they were able to put 2 quick goals on the team and we got the score back to 10-12 with 1 second to go.

Italy:

Quinto 6-8 Moderna
 
Jarrod Gilchrist (Quinto)

The team had to play short with myself and our captain out as well as our second cf but fortunately we where playing against moderna who are on the bottom of the ladder and managed to controll the game and win comfortably. The result could have been a lot better with our boys missing at least 6 open one on one opurtunities.

Sydney (March 15) - Nick O'Halloran's first game in a few months wasn't a good one for his team. "While we created lots of scoring chances in attack we just couldn't finish them off" he said. Nick injured his cheek bone during the Tom Hoad Cup last December.

Italy:

Quinto vs. Bologna 8-6

Jarrod Gilchrist (Quinto) 6 ejections earned

We grinded this game out with 32 exclusion for the game including our captain being rolled in the first minute of the game and our coach red carded in the fourth quarter the match was more of a fight then a waterpolo game. In the last minute of the game I was involved in a double rolling which is what my coach then got red carded for complaining the player from the other team blatantly hit me above the water behind play and I splashed him away and I think this is why I was rolled. It was the most physical game I have played in for a long time. The result was excellent for us as quinto had not won in bologna for 8 years.

Spain:

Ondarreta 8 Barcelona 9

Johnno Cotterill (Barcelona)

An important 2 points that put us back into equal 2nd place with Terrassa. It was always going to be a difficult game away from home, in a pool that pretty much every team, including Barceloneta, have had problems, but we definitely made it difficult for ourselves. After starting well, up 3-0, we dropped in intensity and let in some pretty soft goals. That said, we were never losing, and the closest they got to us was with 2min to go, when they brought the scores to 8-9. A missed penalty by us in the last quarter definitely made the game interesting, and then some stupidity in the last min gave them an opportunity but some strong Xman defence got us over the line. Xman attack is still a big problem.

CN Mataro 10 - 18 CN Sabadell

Anthony Martin (Sabadell)

This game was much easier than expected. We started off playing good controlled attack supported by very good defense. I believe this game was won and lost in the goals. Our goalie played a very good game saving a lot of shots including extra man and counters. While theirs struggled to get a hand on anything. While the game started off close and tough, we went into half time 8-3. The third quarter we scored first and from then on the game was won. Even with help from the refs in the last quarter giving Mataro a ridiculous amount of kickouts to try to make it closer, we still held the lead at 8 or so goals. This is a great "one-up" on Mataro as we will more than likely meet them in the finals.

Nick O'Halloran (Mataro)- 1 goal

My first game in a few months wasn't a good one for us. While we created lots of scoring chances in attack we just couldn't finish them off. Defensively it was a really bad game too. Every shot they had seemed to go in. Next week we play Helios, currently last in the league, so it will give us a good chance to get some confidence back after a disappointing loss.

Mediterani vs Narvarra 12-10 [3-2, 3-3, 4-2, 2-3]

Rob Maitland: (Medi)

The good news is that we won, and I could play and finished the game without any problems. I was a bit nervous and held back a little in wrestling situations and not sprinting 100% but am happy that it is on the mend. We struck first with a quickly played extra goal which was something we talked about before the game, the second was also attempted fast but stopped by Quinny. My first time in CB I was hesitant, trying to avoid a big wrestle and as a result got in a bad position and gave away a penalty. Their second goal was another penalty in CF.  I played a little smarter and stronger in CB after my first attempt and in my next defence ended up scoring a 6-5 counter. For the remainder of the game most of their opportunities came from a strong CF, be it goals or extraman. luckily our man down defence was fairly good, stopping 60%. We played a more mobile game, mostly scoring from counters and driving, which we needed because our extraman was ordinary only scoring at 20%. We built a lead going into the last 1/4 at 10-6 but it was closed to 10-9 with a couple of mins remaining. It was 11-10 with a minute left when we gained a final exclusion, then it became a double after Quinny pulled down the goal, and we scored on the buzzer.
Highlights can be seen at:
 http://elcuervowaterpolo.blogspot.com/

Luke Quinlivan (Navarra)

Today's game was anyone's for the taking. Unfortunately, Mediterrani took the three points with a very narrow, 2-goal victory.

Mediterrani were leading by a goal with one minute remaining (11-10). In our final attack, Mikel Artola scored a five-meter shot. After the ball was in the back of the net, the referees then called a turn over, claiming that the shot had been taken in front of the foul (I put it to them that this was not the correct decision).

In Mediterrani's final attack, they drew an exclusion through Dani Ballart. With 15 seconds remaining there was no way for us to get the ball back. I pulled the goal underwater to force a penalty, hoping they might be silly enough to take it. Instead, they retained possession and scored with one second remaining on double-extra.

Our centre forward, Juraj Sakac, played incredibly well. He drew two penalties, five exclusions, scored two centre forward goals and also scored a counter attack goal. Great game Saki.

Nathan Cargill (St Jean) Earnt 5 exclusions

The team played well as a whole for the first 3 and a half quarters where we were in front but we had the opportunity late in the 3 to put our selves up by 3 but with missing the opportunity in extra man we were then punished by them putting away an extra man oppourtunity them selves and being up by only one going in to the last quarter.

It was a disappointing result and an opportunity to have a good win over a higher ranked team. This weekend we play Douai away from home so its going to be a tough game but the team really wants to the finish the season with some good results.

Sete 10 - Nice 14.

Dave Will (Sete) 2 exclusions, 1 penalty earned

We lost again this week to Nice, We started the game very well containing their counter attack and zoning effectively to steal the ball before the centres could get a shot away. Our attack also worked well with more movement than usual in the first half gaining us good attacking positions. Chris played well setting the final pass up in most occasions on our counters and in attack. We were leading 5-2 at half time. The second half was a complete disaster as they worked us over on counter and gained several exclusions in centre forward our extra man defence was quite good though and we were able to block most of their attacks, but we were in foul trouble early in the third with Chris excluded for the game and both our centre backs on two fouls. This forced us to play a junior and as with Aix en Provence, Nice took full advantage zoning off his side and counter attacking him or picking him onto their better players who drove him into centre or attempted for a 5m foul and shot. they ended up scoring 12 goals in 2 quarters to our 5.

Chris Dyson (Sete) 1 goal, 1 penalty

This game was shaping out to be our best match for the season I think. It was the first time we had played in a 30m pool for a while, which seemed to be an advantage for us. We were playing some very classy polo covering all counter attacks making some good blocks on the perimeter and our goal keeper pulling out 3 saves from post shots in xman defence and 1 penalty. Our attack was not too bad either, we worked well with the extra space but our centre forwards and wings were not always getting to the 2ms, but we were still scoring goals which is nothing to complain about. We scored 2 or 3 inside drives on the perimeter and 2 strong 6 on 5 counter attacks. It was one of those nights where you think nothing could go wrong. We won the first half 6-2 and were up 7-3 halfway through the 3rd, then I got rolled.  We had to put the a young 16yr old in after that then the match went completely down hill and Nice drew the match in about 2minutes. Still a lot of positives can be taken from the match, I think our team gained some well earned confidence from our performance from that 3 and a half quarters.

Sydney (March 10) Euro League:

Jadran Herceg Novi 8 - Club Atletic Barceloneta 9 [3-1]  [0-3]  [3-3]  [2-2]

Thomas Whalan (Barceloneta)

We overcame a first quarter deficit of 3-1, a very vocal Montenegrin crowd and some interesting refereeing decisions to turn the game around with solid counter attacking and some nice extra-man goals to finish top of our group. The exclusion count was clearly in Jadran's favour  (17-11) but strong defence and great goalkeeping kept their scoring to a minimum.  

The draw for the quarter finals are due out soon and this will determine who we will play on a home and away basis in April to qualify for the 'Final 4' to be held in late May. Due to finishing top of the group we will cross over against either Jug Dubrovnik (Croatia), Eger (Hungary) or Budva (Montenegro).

Spain:

C.N. BARCELONA 8 - 12 C.N. ATLETIC-BARCELONETA

Johnno Cotterill (Barcelona)

The "derbi" of the second round attracted a good crowd to CNB pool. After a quick start to the game, 3min of swimming, we started to play a bit smarter. Barceloneta having performed inconsistently very well this season, (playing really well in Euro league but a couple lapses in the league), came out firing, and we initially started with some flare. But soft goals from re-counters and drives put us on the back foot. They ended up having a 7-2 lead by the 3rd quarter but we stepped up our press defence and managed to get the score back to 9-7 with just under 3min to go in the match. But some silly mistakes in attack, and mid-field kickouts put the game out of reach. A poor conversion on Xman didn't help our cause but there were some positives, including a sometimes lucky but very good defence in Xman.

Finalizado C.N. MARTIANEZ 4 - 9 C.N. SABADELL

Anthony Martin (Sabadell) 2 goals

We played martianez in the canaries. I slept pretty well the two flights to canaries ad had a light session when I got there. We won 9-4 which was a decent result considering everyone says its fairly shit to play there. I was amazed at the kickouts they were giving and we were excluded 17 times and 3 penalties against us.

1 C.N. ATLETIC-BARCELONETA 42
2 C.N. TERRASSA 40
3 C.N. BARCELONA 37
4 C.N. MATARO QUADIS 36
5 C.N. SABADELL 33
6 C.N. ALCORCON 22
7 REAL CANOE 19
8 C.N. SANT ANDREU 19
9 C.E. MEDITERRANI 13
10 C.D. WATERPOLO NAVARRA 13
11 C.N. MARTIANEZ 6
12 ADF HELIOS 3

Sydney (February 26) - 

Spain:

C.N. ATLETIC-BARCELONETA 21-5 C.N. SANT ANDREU

Thomas Whalan (Barceloneta) 4 goals

After a suprise loss to Alcorcon last week we had to put together a good team effort to make amends. From the start is was a lot of good counter attacking and ex-man goals. In the end it wasn't the most exciting game!

Big games coming up are against Barcelona away to hold onto first position followed by the final group stage game against Jadran in the Euroleague in Montenegro and Terrassa the following week - a busy couple of weeks ahead!

C.E. MEDITERRANI 10-8 C.N. MARTIANEZ

Rob Maitland (Medi)

After struggling for much of the season and not winning since back in early December it was very important to keep our finals hopes alive by winning on Saturday. The corresponding game in the first round (in the canary islands) was one of our most disappointing losses after being in front by 3 goals going into the last 1/4, so we had a point to prove in our house.

The game didn't start fantastically, conceding a 2-0 lead through an extraman and CF goal and some good blocks in defence for them and our missed opportunities in attack (I missed a 1 on none). We got back to 2-2 then they scored another CF goal (I was defending, got too involved and in a bad position, he got away which i believe could have been a push off). I somewhat redeemed myself on the next play scoring off a drive cross pass. Not much more action up to half time, both teams defending well, possibly a missed 5m (two hands) on the last shot of the half, you decide.......
It was goal for goal in the 3rd, An early extraman goal put us up, then a ridiculous spin lob from 13m evened it. penalties at both ends, a counter goal for us (my assist) and an extraman for them made the score 8-6 at the last break.
Martianez struck first in the 4th Q from a rebound goal to the CF (i was in CB again) but we hit back in the next play with a CF goal of our own (my 2nd and when i hurt my shoulder in the wrestle leading up). We got a comfortable 3 goal buffer with a counter goal, one on none where the goalie was excluded leaving an empty net, with about 2 1/2 min left on the clock. controlling attack and defence we held them out until the final seconds when they scored to finish at 10-8.

Watch the highlights at
http://elcuervowaterpolo.blogspot.com/

ADF HELIOS 7-18 C.N. BARCELONA

Johnno Cotterill (Barcelona) 4 ejections, 1 penalty earned.

A long trip to Zaragoza (300km in 6hrs) left us all pretty fatigued but after a slow first quarter that we only won 3-1 we kicked away on KOs. It was a pretty physical game with our main CF out on 2 in the first quarter and a bit of push and shove after a couple goals, but we swam all over them and scored some pretty good extraman goals. In the last quarter a bit of fatigue, drop in intensity plus change of goalie let them score some late goals. But after a very, hard week of training we had a decent performance.

C.N. SABADELL 10-14 C.N. TERRASSA C.D.

Anthony Martin (Sabadell)

The game against terrassa was pretty tough. They had a very good first quarter and much of our team felt like they didn't want to be there.

Defence was ordinary not assisted by a few questionable calls. There was a penalty but I am so certain that it wasn't a penalty. When the ball came in I put the ball under water and Perez slowly turned with the ball under the water, then when it came up in his hand, our goalie jumped on it with two hands and sunk it again. Then the ref called a penalty which resulted in the crowd going nuts along with our bench and coach. We lost 14-10, which was a lot closer than I think it should have been considering how poorly we played.

WATERPOLO NAVARRA 2-8 C.N. MATARO QUADIS

CLASIFICACIÓN:

1.- CN Atlètic-Barceloneta 39 puntos
2.- CN Barcelona 37 puntos
3.- CN Terrassa 37 puntos
4.- CN Sabadell 30 puntos
5.- CN Mataró Quadis 30 puntos
6.- CN Alcorcón 21 puntos
7.- CN Sant Andreu 18 puntos
8.- Real Canoe NC 16 puntos
9.- CE Mediterrani 13 puntos
10.- CW Navarra 13 puntos
11.- CN Martiánez 6 puntos
12.- ADF Helios 3 puntos

France:

Noisy 7 NCA 6
Nathan Cargill (NCA) 2 goals earned, 3 exclusions and a penalty

This being a big game for our team and the expectations were high with a solid week of training and the confidence with in the team that it was a chance for a good away win. With the teams waiting to start Noisy broke out in to a cheer kind of similar to that of New Zealand but in water. First time I had any experience for something like that. However the team did not let it affect us with scoring a good early goal from CF. But noisy returned fire with a quick conversion of a 6 on 5.

Then we fought back with a counter attack goal to myself and then again shortly after with a conversion of a 6 on 5 which got us out to a 3-1 lead. But with some ill disciplined defense and attack let them get back in the game to 3-2 at half time.

But then the crowd started to get more vocal and the decisions started to go the way of Noisy which made it difficult how ever we were going goal for goal until the last quarter where they equalled then lead by one goal which we quickly earnt back with a penalty.

But in the last minute with some poor blocking they were able to capitalise an extra man opportunity and our CF was denied the equalling goal with a interesting ball under call.

But with the week of training this week will be physical and hard and with no game on Saturday and three very important games at home it is vital that we are able to win our games at home.

Sydney (February 20) - Thomas Whalan calls in to say that Barceloneta had a good win in the Euro League, but then they got rolled in Spanish league this week!

EUROLEAGUE GROUP STAGE 2010

Barceloneta  8  - Mladost 7

Partial Results:   [5-2]  [2-2]  [1-1]  [0-2]

(Thomas Whalan) Barceloneta

Very happy to report that after this extremely important win against Mladost Zagreb we have assured ourselves a position in the quarter finals. A win or draw was good and we came out firing after an intense training and ‘video-study' couple of weeks. Our surprise loss away from home in Serbia against the lower ranked Vojvodina a couple of weeks ago meant this was a must win game (or a draw under 9 goals each) as we were on the same amount of points with Mladost for the second position in the group.  The win now means that we play Jadran on March 3 and need the win to finish top of the group meaning an easier cross-over in the quarter finals.

The game against Mladost started extremely well. We went to a 5-2 lead in the first quarter and continued applying pressure throughout the entire game. Solid counter attacking and pulling apart their zone allowed us to good extra man opportunities. Towards the end of the game we allowed them back into the game (or a couple of penalties did!) but sealed the victory in the last 30 seconds by retaining the ball.

This is the club's second time it has qualified for the quarter-finals of the Euroleague; the last time being when I played with the team back in 2004!

Spanish League:

CN Barcelona 7 - CN Sabadell 6

Richie Campbell (Barcelona) 3 goals

This game was a very much needed win. This game was I think the toughest all season. Sabadell play very physically and we were able to match them. Our defense I think was our best aspect of our game everyone was solid in press and when the zone was needed our team was very alert and quick to come back on the ball at centre forward. There were 2 goals for Sabadell where I think it easily could have been prevented just mix ups in defense allowing players to be free. Both teams attacks where at some stages slow because defense played a big part in the game. Marto did well marking our centre forward which is shut out our main option. Our first few extra attacks were a little hesitant but we finally found good form. Johnno scored a nice goal from our attack playing it right down till the last second and he just put it into an empty net from a pass from the post.
But the game was goal for goal the whole way through and we lucky to score with 14sec to go in the end and then make a steal stopping their final attack.

Johnno Cotterill (Barcelona)

A goal form Richie with 14 secs left on the clock, in similar circumstances to our first round victory, got us over the line. It was a very hard / tough, defense-orientated game that included broken caps, cut eyes the works. We played well but on 3 or 4 occasions hard fought goals by us were answered in the next attack with soft mistakes in defence. At no stage was there a buffer of more than one goal, so it was grinding game that literally came down to the last attack. A very important 3 points that puts us 4 points clear of 4th place and considering 1st, 2nd and 3rd qualify for Euroleague next year it has obviously put us in a good position to fulfil our initial aim for the season.

Anthony Martin (Sabadell)

It was a really tough game and was goal for goal the whole time. The first quarter was really quick, with a lot of counters and swimming. Barcelona played much better than when we played them in Copa del rey. They used their bench a lot more which gave them more stability in the last quarter and a half.

We play terrassa this sat at home so should be another good tough game.

CN Terrassa 14 - CE Mediterrani 9 (2-3, 6-3, 2-0 y 4-3)

Rob Maitland (Medi) 1 goal

It was a slight improvement from the previous couple of weeks, we were more physical and were playing with a lot more fight, even though Terrassa is a strong team and we have never played that well against them. We started well and were matching it with them until just before half time with the score locked at 6-6. Perez scored 2 goals from CF just before the break and this slowed our momentum and a few of the guys lost concentration. They started to get some easy counters, similar to last week there were a few one on none's and 2 on 1's, resulting from individuals getting beaten on a change of possession or in counter (from last week maybe 2 of the 1 on none's were a result of pushing a 6-5 counter, perhaps taking more of a risk when down by a few goals). It was fairly even in the last 1/4 however we were working a lot harder than the opposition to score our goals, which has become a bit of a pattern. They scored 2 tap-ins on 2m and a backhand from a 5m foul.

Video highlights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1m0WYm6ePw&feature=player_embedded

CN Martiánez 4 - CW Navarra 5 (1-2, 0-0, 2-2 y 1-1)

Luke Quinlivan (Navarra)

Many teams in the Spanish League find it difficult playing Martíanez away in the Canary Islands; our game was no exception. We battled hard for our narrow 4-5 victory.

Martíanez were awarded the first exclusion of the game and converted it, taking a 1-0 lead. We were able to respond with two six-on-six goals in successive attacks; one off a drive and one from a perimeter shot, giving us the lead, 1-2. This was mid-way through the opening quarter. 

Despite Martíanez' further opportunities, we were able to shut them out, keeping them scoreless until midway through the third quarter. Unfortunately, they did the same. For a good thirty minutes of water polo both teams were kept scoreless. 

In the third, we went goal for goal with Martíanez. We scored two goals; one from a five-meter foul shot, one from a perimeter shot. Martíanez scored one from the post in extra man and one from a perimeter shot.

Our one-goal lead going into the final quarter was short lived. Martíanez scored the first goal of the period off a six-meter perimeter shot. For the majority of the quarter we were tied at 4-4.

It wasn't until the final minute of the game, that we were able to score in extra man. One of our imports, Andrej Janicek, scored a beautiful doughnut from the ‘one position' as the goalkeeper faded into the short corner.

Martíanez had the final attack of the game but were unable to get a shot away; with 14 seconds left to spare, we stole the ball from the perimeter and bled the clock dry.      

Video Highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W8L6mvi1JI&feature=player_embedded# 

CN Sant Andreu 17 - ADF Helios 6 (1-1, 6-2, 5-2, 5-1)

CLASIFICACIÓN:
1.- CN Atlètic-Barceloneta (-1) 36 puntos
2.- CN Barcelona 34 puntos
3.- CN Terrassa 34 puntos
4.- CN Sabadell 30 puntos
5.- CN Mataró Quadis 30 puntos
6.- CN Alcorcón (-1) 18 puntos
7.- CN Sant Andreu 18 puntos
8.- Real Canoe NC 13 puntos
9.- CW Navarra 13 puntos
10.- CE Mediterrani 10 puntos
11.- CN Martiánez 6 puntos
12.- ADF Helios 3 puntos

Italian League:

Quinto 5- 6 Padova

Jarrod Gilchrist (Quinto)

Our second loss for the season in a tight game with a heavy press played by both teams. We took the lead early on 2-0 then conceded 2 easy goals before the end of the 1st quarter before again taking the lead 4-2 into half time.  We again let them tie up the game before taking a one goal lead at the final break,  but what seems to continually be our problem is finishing off games and scoring in the last quarter. With a penalty and a cf goal Padova took the three points.

French League:

Strasbourg 10-4 St Jean

Nathan Cargill (St Jean) 1 goal, earnt 9 exclusions and 2 assists

We had a reasonable first quarter with putting away an early extra man opportunity but with that said it was one of only two extra man goals from 13 exclusions earnt. We were put under alot of pressure with a different type of defense than what the team was expecting so it caught us off guard and with some un disciplined attack in extra man with certain players assuming that they had to score otherwise no one else would.

The second quarter was a low scoring one with only 2 goals scored by Strasbourg and none by us so there was alot of swimming and counter attacking with our team earning 4 exclusions but un able to capitalise on any of them.

With a poor first half and an in ablility to be able to listen to the coach it became alot more difficult in the second half. But the team still had plenty of opportunities to in extra man but still un able to capitalise and with myself scoring the only goal of the quarter by a driving CF goal put the score to 6-2 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

The 4th quarter we were able to capitalise 1 early extra man and with another counter attack goal put us back to 6-4 but with some lazy outside defense and poor blocking let us down and them finish and win the game 10-4.

This weekend we play Noisy away which is a danger game because we only beat the by 1 earlier in the season and they have been hitting some good form but our team is ready and will hopefully be able to capitalise and put 4 good quality quarters together.

Aix En Provence 13- 9 Sete

Chris Dyson (Sete)

It was a poor 1st half by Dauphins 6-2 loss, we all missed a lot of shots, whether the ball wasn't put inside the frame, or thrown directly at the goalie or he would have 1 jump in him and manage to get to the right corner. Provence were gaining breaks scoring a majority of their goals through counter attacks. I think our counter defence was very poor, players were allowing their opponents to pull past far too easily. Both our set and xman defence was strong. Sete had a very strong 3rdth quarter allowing easy cross pass goals. quarter pulling the game to within 1 goal of Provence going into the last quarter. Once again fatigue got the better of us and Provence were gaining counter left right and centre in the 4

David Will (Sete) 1 goal 3 exc earned

Sydney (February 12) - Rob Maitland and Johnno Cotterill faced up to each other last week when Barcelona took on Mediterrani in the Spanish league.

SPAIN

DIVISION DE HONOR MASCULINA
Jornada 13 - 06/02/2010
Liga

C.E. MEDITERRANI 8 - 16 C.N. BARCELONA (1-4, 1-4, 2-4, 4-4)

Rob Maitland (Medi) 2 goals, 1 penalty
From the start of the game we won the swim up had 3 controlled attacks in a row after consecutive 2m then i scored from a cross pass after driving from point. Unfortunately the game wasn't stopped then as those first 1m20sec of the game were probably our best. From there it became counter attack and shooting practice for Barcelona who made us look pretty stupid. Our two older and more experienced and intelligent players were only in the water for limited time due to injuries which meant that the younger guys had more of a job to do. I don't know if it was the 2 weeks without a game or just a lack of concentration but we were unstructured in attack and extremely lost in counter defence. If we managed to prevent the counter attack we ended up letting Richie throw half  pace, mid cage shots from 6m in the middle of the goals. The confidence of the team and coach is at an all time low, and with Terrassa this weekend things aren't looking to great for the remainder of the season.

Johnno Cotterill (BCN)
A very strong start helped us to put Medi away early. It was important to get up and going early, since playing at home Medi can cause problems for pretty much any team in the comp. Robbie worked really hard for them, scoring the first goal plus playing everywhere from CF to CB but our CA and improved Xman helped to us to play by far our best game in 2010. A lax fourth quarter allowed Medi to put some goals on the scoreboard but all in all a pretty good performance.

C.N. SABADELL 12 - 7 C.N. SANT ANDREU

Anthony Martin (Sabadell)
The game against St Andreu started off pretty bad. The start of the game was bad with our team shooting so much but not converting and we found ourselves down 5-3 at half time. We were getting a lot of counters but we either werent getting a shot away or an effective one. In the third quarter one of their guys got red carded for hitting one of our guys after he scored which gave us the last 4 minutes of the 3rd quarter with an extra man. Again poor shooting choices mean we only converted 2 of the 4 or 5 extra man attacks we had. They scored a 5m foul shot in this period on one of our center forwards. But by this point we were gaining momentum and wrapped the game up in the last quarter running away with it 12-7.

We play barcelona this weekend in what will be a very interesting game after our win in the first round of copa del rey.

FRANCE:

Sete 6-11 Douai

Chris Dyson (Sete) 3 goals
This game was one our last chances to make finals. Douai' pool was 23m long and 5 lanes across, with a full stadium, cheer-leaders , a band and TV cameras because this game was going to be on sports plus pay tv channel on Tuesday night. So the settings minus the pool were an ideal atmosphere for a big game.

Douai played a big press against us during the first half, which paid off with Douai gaining around 10 perimeter steals and another 5 or 6 offensive turnovers on top of that. When they did drop from us they played a very mobile defence which we were breaking affectively with a point drive. But instead of good ball movement up top after the drive we were shooting from exactly where they wanted our shots to come from and they pulled the ball down very easily. Both teams missed a high number of counter attacks and both teams centre forwards were quite dominant.

A very poor 3rd quarter brought us out of the game. Our primary centre back broke his nose again at training so we were down to 7 players, and a large majority of whom cannot play a full game at this level. Our Goal keeper played a fantastic game making some remarkable saves.

Aix-en-Provience 11- 10 St Jean d'Angely

Nathan Cargill (St Jean) 1 goal, Earnt 3 Penalties, Earnt 9 exclusions and 5 assists
We were going in to the game with some high expectations with our last game against each other was an 11-11 draw at home but this time away with our previous form again Montpellier we thought this was a winable game but with a terrible defensive first quarter put us behind the 8 ball straight away with a bad first quarter 4-1.
However to the team's credit we were able to slowly grind our way back into the match with some hard earned exclusions and good defense and putting away the limited opportunities we got it to 6-3 at half time, 9-6 at the end of the 3rd quarter and the final result was 11-10.
The game was away so when our team started to get on top the crowd began to kick in to over drive and I had never heard anything like this but when I earned our 2nd 5m and our player went to take it. The crowd was amazing. But the team didn't let it affect us and kept grinding away and got it to 9-9 and then they got an extra man goal and then with some dumb defense but a player allowing the ball to come over his head and go inside water and the player getting the shot away which put us down by two.
With a time out 2 CF were put in to get a shot away quickly or earn exclusion which we earnt the exclusions and then quickly converted the extra man but the time had beaten us. But it was all too late.
This week we play Strasbourg at home its a must win for a team and with a poor performance last time against this team we are out to make amends on the poor performance especially in front of our home crowd.

ITALY:

Quinto vs. Como 13-6
 
Jarrod Gilchrist (Quinto) 4 goals, 1 exc gained
Good win away from home after our first loss and a few of our team injured. Started off with a 5-1 first period which set us up for the rest of the game. Second quarter was a bad quarter defence wise and we conceded some easy goals but picked it up in the third before grinding out a long goalless period in the 4th before breaking through and scoring the last 2 goals.

(FEBRUARY 2) FRANCE

Game Sete vs Aix les Bains. Draw, Sete 6- Aix les Bains 6.

Report: Chris Dyson (Sete)

A complete change in our defence tactics this week. A full field press unless 2 of our smaller players were in CB. Whoever else was in CB no matter their positioning we were told to press. We actually played 4quarters of defence.

Xman was still terrible even though our coach introduced a 3-3 setup, people still took pot shots. Moves were just called for the sake of calling them rather than considering the centre defenders position and where the exclusion was gained from. Aix les Bains played a big press against us because we scored a lot of perimeter shots last game against this team. Our team didn't take enough advantage of this because some players were being manhandled and pushed to halfway by the Aix les Bains press.

David Will (Sete) 1 goal, 7 exclusions drawn

The game started slowly with both teams content to play a set attack although a few times in the first ¼ there were counter attacks but in a 25m pool these were shut down quickly. Sete played a hard press especially on numbers 9 10 and 11 their 3 most dangerous players who had scored 80% of their goals this season and in our last encounter had scored at crucial times. Our defence was very good and our centre backs controlled their centre forward most of the game occasionally calling a zone back form non dangerous players and this worked well for us. Our attack was good in set attack we set up well and were patient with our attack which was better than previously, we gained several exclusions but our extra man attack let us down badly again. We started playing a 3 3 and it did not work well so we moved back into 4 2 but poor passing and shot choice cost us. The game remained at a constant pass with each team missing opportunities and not being able to break free from the other in the end we scored with a minute and a half to go and then both teams pushed hard without luck to score the winning goal.

Marsielle 22-3 St Jean.

Nathan Cargill (St Jean) 1 goal, earnt 3 penalties, earnt another 4 exclusions and 2 assists.

This weekend coming off our best game of the season the teams mentality was good thinking we had a good chance to beat marsielle all be it away from home. However the previous champions had other ideas and took the game by the scruff of the neck early.
With only some players performing for the whole match despite the result. And it does not get any easier for the team as we play Aix-en-Prov away from aswell. This week will be a hard week of training working on the weakness shown to us by Marseille.

Italy:

Quinto vs. Camogli 10-11

Report: Jarrod Gilchrist (Quinto) 2 goals, 2 exc  gained.

First loss for the season in yet another one goal result. Both teams new each other well as we have a lot of practices with them. Game was close the whole way through with Camogli leading for the most part by 1 or max 2 goals also breaking even. They have a strong centre who drew a lot of exclusions but the game had a high exclusion count we played a good team game much better than the week before. Coach and everyone was happy with the game obviously just not the result but the game was very close the whole way and we played well, just disappointed with the result as it puts them 1^st on the ladder and us in second by a point.

Italy:

Quinto 10-9 Trieste

Jarrod Gilchrist (Quinto) 2 goals

After an 8 hour bus ride in the snow the day before and just returning from Australia I was finally starting to feel good. The pool in Trieste was really nice and quite amazing however the pool was extremely hot. We started off fairly well and maintained the lead for most of the first half by 1 or 2 goal before breaking away to a 10-6 lead early on in the 4th quarter before we packed up ad let them back in it as we often have been doing. They got to 9-10 with a counter attack and 2 penalties before we gained and x-man with 45 seconds left but lost the ball. Coach had a moment and thought we had used both time-outs. With 4 seconds left Trieste recieved another penalty, but fortunately hit the bar to give us the one goal win.
 
After the game there was an argument and push and shove between both teams on pool deck and our centre forward was reported it was crazy scenes.

s.c Quinto 11-10 Brescia 11-10

Gilchrist 2 goals, 2 exc gained
 
Another 1 goal win which is starting to test the heart and becoming increasingly annoying as we gain decent leads and instead of putting the team away we let them stay in the game. However we have come away with the best result possible in these situation with another win maintaining our spot at the top of ladder and putting us in a good position for the rest of the season. The game was relatively tight while we got to a 3 goal lead in the third we had been trailing in the second by a goal. We played a good team game with a spread of goals however our x-man defence was poor and the majority of their goals where scored in these situations.

Sc Quinto 6-5 Vigevano 
Yet another one goal win making it three in a row. The travel to Vigevano was terrible in a terrible pool under shocking conditions with a loud crowd and some interesting refereeing as we were warned about pre match. We started off slow and conceded the first two goals but fought back with some hard swimming. We didn't play our systems nearly at all and were fortunate to get away with another one goal win maintaining our spot at the top of the ladder. Next week we face Camogli who are extremely strong coached by Azevado and we will have to be at our best to win.

Spain:

COPA S.M EL REY- top 8 teams at ½ way point of season play in knock out competition

C.N. ALCORCON 11 - 8 REAL CANOE

C.N. SABADELL 13 - 8 C.N. BARCELONA
Report: Johnno Cotterill (BCN)

Our below average 2010 continued with our most humiliating defeat. Things were worrying from the start when our mid-season signing wasn't allowed to play because of bureaucratic paperwork. This limited us to 2 reserves that would actually play. We started well and it was even up until half-time and even at the end of the 3rd we were still in the match but our captain got fouled out early in the 3rd period and silly mistakes by us, and Sabadell taking advantage of this let the scoreline blow out in the last few minutes. Lack of a recognised 2nd CF made going tough.

C.N. ATLETIC-BARCELONETA 14 - 4 C.N. SANT ANDREU
Report Thomas Whalan (CNAB)

The game was even throughout the first 2 quarters until we started pulling away in the third and final quarters. Sabadell put up a good fight and made it difficult for us in attack. Some early nerves saw us rushing out attacks somewhat but in the end it was continued counter attack and a solid zone defence that shut out Sabadell.

Spanish league 15 Jan

Finalizado C.N. ATLETIC-BARCELONETA 10 - 7 C.N. SABADELL

Report: Anthony Martin (Sab) 2 goals

The first game back against Barcelonetta went rather well. Although they got 2 up on us at the start of the game, we stuck close to them and were within 1 going into the last quarter. But they pulled away in last quarter for a 3 goal victory.

C.N. BARCELONA 8 - 9 C.N. MATARO QUADIS
 Report: Johnno Cotterill ( Barcelona)

The worst possible way to start the new year against a team that seemed better prepared and performed very well on the day. For us the injury of our second CF during the week (detached retina, could be out for anywhere between 1 - 3 months) caused changes, meaning I become our second CF and we definitely lost some of our fluency. A conversion of 1/7 on extraman didn't help. We were leading by a goal with 4min to go in the last period but 2 late goals got them over the line.

C.N. BARCELONA 15-8 C.D. WATERPOLO NAVARRA
 Report: Johnno Cotterill (Barcelona)

3 points at home but we didn't make it easy for ourselves, nor did Navarra who capitalised on a lot of our mistakes. A final quarter of 6-1 showed our superior fitness and really what we could of done earlier on if we had of played a more team orientated game. The team is still getting used to playing without a specialised 2nd CF, and foul troubles meant I had to change back to CB from CF, meaning our first Cf didn't get much of a rest in the second half. But a win's a win, now all focus on the draw for Copa Del Rey on Tuesday, and the first game on Friday.

Report: Richie Campbell (Barcelona) 2 goals

We didn't start this game to well. We allowed easy passes into their centre forwards gaining exclusions and a one on one goal. They were able to execute their man up in the first quarter well. Another problem we had throughout the start of the game was counter attack. Even feeling a little tired from the weeks swim sets showed in counter attack because we were unable to find the 2m line. Especially coming from CB we hit a lot of traffic around the five metre mark.. The second half we were on the ball countering hard and finishing well. Our defense was strong especially in man down in the last quarter to shut down there scoring.

C.N. SANT ANDREU 13 - 7 C.D. WATERPOLO NAVARRA
 
C.N. ALCORCON 13 - 12 C.E. MEDITERRANI

Report: Rob Maitland (Medi) 3 goals, 1 penalty gained

A very disappointing loss in what was very much a must win game for us. We were confident going into the game, however I think that most of the guys were still on holidays. We have only ourselves to blame for the loss due to missed opportunities in attack and weak defense. The game went goal for goal however we didn't utilize one of our strongest areas, counter attack, and after working hard to score a goal more often than not let them come down the pool and score an easy one the very next attack. A lot of the guys were playing with 'blinkers' on concentrating only on their man and not willing to assist another player in trouble. After working back to 12-12 with 10sec remaining the final blow came with a 'bar in' lob from 7m.

Losing this game means that we are 9th and miss out on playing copa del rey (top 8 half way through season). We need to turn around a few results in the second half if we want to make the finals at seasons end

C.N. SANT ANDREU 14 - 11 C.E. MEDITERRANI

Maitland 2 goals:

Once again another disappointing loss. Our season is getting away from us every week and we don't seam to be able to do anything about it. We were leaking goals this week, mainly due to poor blocking in zone and man down. After looking at the video of last weeks game we spoke about helping the guy next to you and maybe attacking (cross-driving or with a block) his player when they are in a dangerous position, however this week i think that we were to hesitant with both players going half way towards the attacker leaving 2 people in no-mans land. We had very few blocks for the game which didn't help our goalie. In attack things weren't too bad, to score 11 goals against this team normally would be enough to win the game.

Clasificación Copa del Rey

1 C.N. ATLETIC-BARCELONETA 30
2 C.N. BARCELONA 25
3 C.N. TERRASSA 25
4 C.N. SABADELL 24
5 C.N. MATARO QUADIS 24
6 C.N. ALCORCON 15
7 REAL CANOE 13
8 C.N. SANT ANDREU 12
9 C.E. MEDITERRANI 10
10 C.D. WATERPOLO NAVARRA 10
11 ADF HELIOS 3
12 C.N. MARTIANEZ 3

France:

Sete 9 - Strasbourg 11

Chris Dyson (Sete) 1 goal

I think this game was a big improvement for Sete on our over all game performance in the 1st half. We played a composed 1st half with strong defence winning 6-3. Half way through the 3rd fatigue and extremely poor defence brought us to 8-7 in the lead going into the 4th period. We were going goal for goal with Strasbourg but again very poor defence with people not covering there lines and others too proud to call a zone handed Strasbourg the lead. We destroyed and missed 2 xmen after timeouts that could have changed the game in the dying minutes. Both xman we had good opportunity and both the shots came from posts but missed. We work so hard to score a goal and we concede very soft goals, a tradition that has been consistent throughout the whole season.

Dave Will (Sete)

We are one position below Strausbourg on the table and needed to win to leapfrog them and improve our chances for finals. The start of the game was quick with both teams attacking hard and covering hard both missing opportunities. Sete got the first goal and went into the second ¼ 1-0. We then traded goals eventually ending up 4-3 at half time. The start of the 3rd ¼ was our best and we stepped up to a 6 - 3 lead only to let it slip in the last 2 minutes to 7-6. The last ¼ was hard and we missed several opportunities to take the lead and control the game or in the end to get back to even with Strausbourg who scored their XA and an easy field goal to win.

Previous news from earlier in the season