Croatia finished in 1st place at the Rotterdam Cup, defeating Hungary 13:7 (0:2, 4:3, 5:1, 4:1) in the 3rd round of the tournament.
The Croatian water polo players bounced back after their loss to the Netherlands the previous day. At the same time, they recorded their second victory over Hungary during the preparations for the European Championships in Belgrade. Less than two weeks ago, Croatia narrowly defeated Hungary 14:13 in Szeged.
The first quarter of the derby of the Rotterdam tournament belonged to the Hungarians. The Croats got on the scoreboard only in the 10th minute. Deep into the second period, Hungary led 5:3. Then, Croatia found its rhythm, producing a 4:0 run to earn a 7:5 advantage midway through the third quarter. Hungary halved its deficit to 6:7, but Croatia scored six goals, conceding only one in the remaining time, for a comfortable 13:7 victory.
Loren Fatovic scored four goals for Croatia. Besides him, Buric (2), Kharkov (2), Bukic (2), Krzic, Vrlic, and Butic got on the scoreboard. The scorers for Hungary: Manhercz 2, Tatrai, Burian, Kovacs, Angyal, Vi. Varga.
After a New Year break and until the start of the European Championships in Belgrade (January 10 – 25), Croatia will have several joint training sessions with Montenegro. Hungary will play at the tournament in Trebinje (January 3 – 6). The Hungarians will play against Greece and France in Group A in Trebinje. On the last day, they will face one of the teams from Group B (Serbia, Spain, Italy).
In the last match of the Rotterdam tournament, the Netherlands beat Turkey 15:9 and finished in 2nd place, ahead of Hungary, which had the worst score in a three-way tie.
Standings: 1. Croatia 6, 2. Netherlands 6, 3. Hungary 6, 4. Turkey 0.
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