Croatia defeated Hungary, will play Serbia for gold in the final

(Patria) - Croatia's water polo players have advanced to the Olympic Games final after defeating Hungary 9:8 in the semi-final. They will play Serbia for gold in Paris.

From the very start, it was evident how significant this match was. We saw well-organized attacks from both teams; it started tough, but Hungary managed to pull ahead by +2 – 3:1, through János Fekete and Márton Vámos.

That lead didn't last long. The Croatians improved their defense and also started to capitalize on man-up situations, and with a masterful Fatović, they managed to equalize – after four and a half minutes without a goal!

The "Barakude" (The Barracudas) only took the lead at the end of the second quarter. Fatović continued to "score heavily," netting five of the total seven goals Croatia scored in 16 minutes.

The Hungarians didn't give up; they managed to convert their attacks, but the numerical disadvantage kept them from potentially equalizing.

The third quarter saw many mistakes on both sides. The Hungarians even missed a penalty (Krisztián Manhercz), and no matter how hard they tried to overcome the two-goal deficit, the "Barakude" wouldn't allow it – specifically Luka Bukić.

It all smelled like drama after Ádám Nagy scored for 9:8 with four minutes left. However, the fantastic Croatians knew how to defend, while the Hungarians, in their nervousness and haste, made a series of attacking errors and thus "fell" in the finish.

The final between Serbia and Croatia is scheduled for Sunday at 2 PM.