It was Simone van de Craats who opened the scoring for the Netherlands from the penalty spot. Just before that, Laura Aarts had made a smart save from a powerful Hungarian shot. Then it was Sabrina van der Sloot who, with a Hungarian player on her back, made it 2-0 for the Netherlands.
After Bente Rog had also put the Netherlands 3-0 up, the Hungarian coach thought it was time for a time-out. It worked out well for him. In the ensuing Manmere attack, Hungary scored their first goal. A beautiful goal for the Netherlands followed. A ball bounced off Sevinic to Kete-Lin Joustra, who was completely free in front of the Hungarian goalkeeper and scored.
In the second half it took a while for the score to rise even more. After just over six minutes it was Camila Farago who equalised for Hungary behind good goalkeeper Aarts. A clumsy pass from Simone van de Craats to Iris Wolfs and a shot wide of the target in a difficult second quarter for the Netherlands. However, Evangelos Dodsis's women managed to take the lead at the end of the first half.
Good defensive work from Simone van de Craats prevented Hungary from scoring early in the third period. But after a perfect ball hit the crossbar for the Dutch, Hungary were able to equalise from a difficult angle (4-4).
Another hard shot on the crossbar from Bente Rog followed. Things were not going well for the Netherlands. However, the team kept fighting and saw Simon van de Craats score again in the next attack. Finding a centre forward had not been going so well until then. If that fails again and Bente Rog is ruled out, Hungary see their chance to join in again. It is the same Bente Rog who held her ground moments later after being released in front of the Hungarian goalkeeper and fired it home.
A beautifully played goal follows. The ball bounces back and forth several times in front of the Hungarian goal, freeing Marty Keuning. The Netherlands are back in front (7-6). Hungary hit the crossbar with the fingertips of Van der Sloot and Aarts. A beautiful backheel from Vivian Sevnic follows and the Netherlands are back in front. However, this does not last long as Vali is completely released on Hungary's behalf in front of goals from Laura Aarts.
The Netherlands took too long in the next attack and had to shoot from distance, after which the Hungarians quickly left and managed to score again. Lieke Rog and Laura Aarts together could not stop a powerful shot at the short corner. In a short time it would be level again.
With another woman in the bathroom, Holland calmly looks for a crack in the Hungarian defence on the next attack. But again things don't go well. A hard ball hits the bar again, followed by a shot on the post on the next attack.
In the ensuing attacks, neither team scored. With 56 seconds left to play, Dodisis called a second timeout. The plan he came up with worked. Lola Moolhuijzen made it 9-8 with 40 seconds to play.
The Hungarian goalkeeper moves forward. The Netherlands defends fiercely. It pays off in a key moment when the Hungarians' shot hits the crossbar with 13 seconds left. The Hungarians then apply full pressure but to no avail. Bente Rogge wins the ball and scores 10-8 from long range in the last second. The Netherlands are off to a dream start.
Coach Evangelos Doudidis expressed his satisfaction: “It was a match between two of the absolute 'powerhouses' of the tournament. We were consistent and played a 'decent' match. We were mentally stable in the last minutes of the match. There are many areas that need improvement, and now we move on to the next match against China.”
The women's water polo team will play their next match on July 29 at 6:30 p.m. against China.
Period positions: 4-2, 4-3, 6-6, 10-8
