The men’s polo team easily defeated Serbia

men’s water polo, group B, 5th (last) round:
Hungary-Serbia 17-13 (2-4, 7-3, 6-2, 2-4)
scorers: Fekete, Zalánki 4-4, Vámos, Varga Dé. 2-2, Nagy, Manhercz, Jansik Sz., Vigvári Vi., Molnár 1-1, and Mandic 5, Cuk 3, Vico 2, S. Rasovic, Jaksic, Dedovic 1-1

Hungary: Vogel Soma – Gergő Zalánki, Dániel Angyal, Szilárd Jansik, Dénes Varga, Krisztián Manhercz, Erik Molnár – substitutions: Márton Vámos, Ádám Nagy, Vince Vigvári, Gergő Fekete, Balázs Hárai, Márk Báynai

The third place in the group was at stake in the “everlasting race”. For the final round of the men’s group fights, the teams have already moved to the Paris La Défense Arena, which can accommodate more than 15,000 spectators, and which was the home of the swimming competitions until Sunday. More than an hour and a half before kick-off, the streets surrounding the huge facility erected in the Paris business district – which is also the home of the Rugby team called Racing 92 – were flooded with Hungarian fans arriving with red, white and green flags, many of whom came to the French capital exclusively for this match.

The goalkeepers on both sides played the main role in the first few minutes, and after a counter-judgment, Fekete found himself one-on-one with the Serbian goalkeeper and didn’t even miss the jump shot. Vogel showed another feat against the Serbs, but Cuk scored a big goal in the upper left corner.

Cuk, who had previously played in Eger and Szolnok, regained his confidence and shot into the net again a minute later, but Vámos was also effective with a man advantage. Zalánki almost scored a goal in a double disadvantage, but in the end it ended up with Mandic, and the FTC Champions League winner did not make a mistake. The Hungarian goal was missed – they blew a counterattack against Angyal -, the Serbians scored theirs, and at the moment of the blow, Zalánki could still try to take the lead, but his shot was saved by Filipovic (2-4).

This is where the Hungarian roller coaster started

Thanks to Fekete’s nice individual move, the second act started with a Hungarian action goal, then after Angyal’s beautiful clean possession, the team was able to attack for the equalizer, and Zalánki scored from a distance, again with equal numbers. The Serbians couldn’t even fight for a few minutes, and Ádám Nagy scored the third action goal in a row, and when the rival got ahead after a long time, Vámos scored the ball, and Manhercz scored from the corner. Zsolt Varga’s students turned a two-goal deficit into a two-goal advantage in less than five minutes.

The Olympic champion Dénes Varga fired a spectacular wrist shot into the upper left corner – another action goal – but on the other side, Mandic also showed why he was chosen as the most valuable player of this year’s BL final four. The best men’s water polo player of 2023, Zalánki, also scored, this time he smashed the ball into the net from the middle, then Dénes Varga noticed that the Serbian net keeper had already sped away from his goal in preparation for halftime, and the 37-year-old classic shot it into the net with a careless movement. (9-7).

The third quarter also started with Fekete’s goal, this time he hit the net from the center and the Hungarian team went ahead with three for the first time. With a double advantage, Jansik got out of the wall and pulled into the net, and after the saved Serbian puck, Vámos’ second shot also found its way into the rival’s net. Even after a timeout, the Serbians were unable to convert the lead into a goal, Dénes Varga intercepted the pass, and finally they were able to score again after a turn.

Zsolt Varga asked for time before playing the advantage, and after the discussion, Zalánki restored the five-goal difference. Vigvári was also among the scorers, the young player who won the junior and adult world championship titles the previous year pulled the ball into the net after a nice swim. The Serbians made up for the difference, but Fekete immediately responded with an advantage.

In the final eight minutes, the Serbs scored first, but Zalánki responded immediately. Dedovic scored a goal from a free kick, at that time the Olympic rookie Márk Bányai was pacing in front of the Hungarian goal, Mandic also “introduced himself” to the young netminder. The Hungarians turned around, the Serbians fell behind, and Molnár scored a beautiful goal, then made it beautiful from the rival’s five, and the result did not change in the last two minutes.