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All the latest news on the LEN Women's European Nations Trophy
BRITISH GAS TEAM VICTORIOUS IN WATER POLO FINAL
12th July 2009
The atmosphere inside the Manchester Aquatics Centre was electric as the Great Britain side, sponsored by British Gas, squared up to the Czech Republic in the final of the LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy.
It promised to be a close affair as both teams had already impressed in the tournament, finishing top of their preliminary groups and convincingly winning their respective semi-finals.
Britain’s Hannah Wild got the team on the score sheet inside the first minute with a well-taken penalty, and found the back of the net again soon after with a lovely goal tipped over the keeper’s head, opening up a two-goal lead for the British Gas team.
A strong Czech attack was held-off by Rosie Morris who was on top form again, but Veronika Bartunkova managed to sneak two past to equalise for a determined Czech team just before the end of the first period.
Pulling ahead for the first time, the Czech Republic took the score-line to 3-2 in their favour and Britain’s attacks seemed fruitless as captain Ros Griffiths hit the woodwork.
Wild secured her hat-trick to bring the British Gas team level, and after an excellent save by Morris the British team countered with Fiona McCann’s sprint down the left-hand side edging the team into a 4-3 lead.
Under pressure from Barbora Krasova, Angela Winstanley-Smith found the form that helped the British Gas team win their semi-final and gave them a two goal lead. But Bartunkova shot back with a low ball past a lacking British defence bringing them back to within one goal at half time.
Winstanley-Smith got the better of the Czech defence early on in the second half and got herself nicely placed to put away her second of the match.
An overwhelmed British Gas team watched on as Bartunkova found the back of the net for the fifth and sixth time to level at six-all going into the final period.
Francesca Clayton took Great Britain to 7-6 with five minutes remaining thanks to a well earned penalty, swiftly followed by Wild’s fourth shot past the keeper to go 8-6 ahead.
With three minutes left on the clock the British Gas team built up a good attack that was finished off by Fiona McCann to give a three goal lead. Swiftly followed by Aneta Hendrychova’s goal for Slovakia, which clawed them back to within two, but it was not enough to overcome the British Gas team who finished strongly to win the title 9-7 after a second place finish at the last Championships.
The British Gas team’s goal keeper, Rosie Morris said:
“We’ve done what we came here to do and we’re so happy about that.
“All of the girls played really well and everyone scored at some point during the tournament apart from me and Robyn [Nicholls, goal keeper], which just shows you the strength of the team.”
British Gas team captain Ros Griffiths summed up the match and the tournament as a whole:
“Fantastic! It was tougher than we thought at times, but we got what we wanted.
“We’ll go away now and calm down and reflect on what we have achieved here before getting back into training.
“The crowd have been absolutely amazing all week and it’s been really good for the team to have them here supporting us.”
British Gas team coach Szilveszter Kekete watched on as the team were awarded their medals. He said:
“I’m very happy to see the team win.
“They’ll have a week off now and then get back into training.
“They worked really hard in the match, they were a little nervous going in, but they performed well.”
World Class Performance Manager for British Water Polo Joanna Wray added:
“It’s brilliant! Lots of hard work has gone into this, but is all worth it when you see the smiles on their faces.”
British Swimming Chief Executive David Sparkes was pleased with the way the team performed:
“What a fantastic result! I have been so impressed by the way the Water Polo team have improved.
“They played with such discipline and skill, and their fitness levels are very impressive. This result shows they are on their way towards London and the Olympic Games in 2012.
“The whole team played at another level to the other teams in the Tournament. The challenge now is to work hard to take on the much more daunting task of qualifying for the European A Championships in 2011.
“The team have now shown what they can do and we will renew our efforts to find the missing funding for them following the 75% cut in UK Sport Funding announced earlier this year. I am sure however the team were also inspired by the visit and support they received earlier in the week from Prince William.”
With a place on the podium at stake, Slovakia and Ukraine lined up in the bronze medal match in what was sure to be a close contest.
Having both suffered tough defeats yesterday the teams were eager to redeem themselves and leave the tournament with a medal around their neck.
The ball travelled the length of the pool on numerous occasions never managing to find the back of the net despite some strong attacks from Slovakia’s Michaela Migrova, and for the first time this tournament the opening quarter remained goalless.
Ukraine’s Anastasiya Kutova got her fire power in order early at the start of the second period. Opening up proceedings, she fired a long-range shot into Slovakia’s goal adding to her 15 goal tally for the competition.
Kutova’s second came quickly after Slovakia’s keeper was excluded leaving the goal open.
Slovakia’s Miroslava Ziakova brought them back to within one goal just before the half time whistle blew.
Incomplete attacks were frequent as the defence on each side was too strong and dominating the offence, but Slovakia’s Paula Lacikova was able to level the score line four minutes into the third with some excellent one-on-one play.
Kutova secured her hat-trick with an outside range shot and despite Slovakia making many of the attacking plays they were unable to finish them off.
Shvedova opened the gap further drilling the ball past the keeper before a Slovakian gamble paid off and Lacikova netted Slovakia’s third goal of the match.
Three good chances for Slovakia came in the last three minutes, but none of them resulted in a goal.
Ukraine put the match beyond Slovakia’s reach with a well taken goal from Shvedova in the dying seconds of the match to make the final score 6-3 in Ukraine’s favour.
An overjoyed Shvedova said after the match: “I am very proud of my team, they all performed really well.
“We are so happy to have won the bronze medal, it was a difficult match and we all worked hard.
“Last time we finished in fourth, so this is one better!”
The tournament saw a number of spectacular individual performances, not least from Portugal’s Mariana Sarmento who finished as the competition’s top goal scorer with a personal tally of 27.
Talking after collecting her Top Goal Scorer award Sarmento said; “Winning this is like a consolation prize, it makes me very happy. It is something for the whole team but I would swap it for a medal if I could. We didn’t reach our major goal which was going on the podium.”
Chloe Wilcox finished as Great Britain’s highest scorer with 19 goals, making her joint third top scorer overall.
An award was also presented for the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. This was voted for by the players, and was awarded to Czech Republic’s Veronika Bartunkova. She finished as the competition’s second highest goal scorer, with a personal haul of 22, and was also instrumental in a very close final scoring six of her team’s seven goals.
Great Britain, along with Czech Republic and Ukraine will now go on to meet the bottom five teams from the European A Championships at a qualification tournament in January 2010 to determine the nations competing in the A Championships in 2011.
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BRITISH GAS TEAM THROUGH TO WATER POLO FINAL
11th July 2009
Expectations were high for the British Gas team as they took on Slovakia for a place in the final of the LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy Water Polo Championships in Manchester.
Boosted by a full spectator gallery and an expectant atmosphere for the semi-final, the British team, sponsored by British Gas, got off to a strong start closing down space well in the early stages
An infringement in front of the British goal resulted in a Slovakian penalty which was fired against the woodwork, with a narrow escape for Britain. A quick counter attack for Great Britain saw them take advantage of space left in the middle of the pitch and Angela Winstanley-Smith finished the move neatly to open the scoring.
Sustained pressure from the Britain Gas team saw Fran Leighton capitalise on a multi-pass build up to give GB a 2-0 lead. Chloe Wlicox showed great speed moving up the pitch, to extend the British lead to 3-0. Leighton then picked up another to make it 4-0.
Some excellent goalkeeping from Rosie Morris kept out the Slovakian team but the British goal was finally breached towards the end of the first quarter as Eva Hajkova scored a long range shot to make the score 4-1.
The British Gas team came out quickly at the start of the second quarter with Wilcox scoring her second and third goals of the match early on to take the score to 6-1.
A defensive mix up let Slovakia in, Michaela Migrova took full advantage making the score 6-2. Undaunted, The British Gas team moved to the other end with Fiona McCann scoring a quick reply.
An accurate lob from Martina Kunikova brought Slovakia back into the match with a 7-3 score line to bring the first half to a close.
Hazel Musgrove opened the scoring in the second half to score from an acute angle to give Britain an 8-3 lead. Winstanley-Smith added another two shortly after, both from close range and unselfish play from Wilcox gifted her her fourth of the match to take the score to 11-3.
With the British Gas team now looking very confident, Hannah Wild got her name on the score sheet making it 12-3. Wilcox scored another soon after to end the third quarter with a ten goal cushion.
McCann took the Slovakian defence by surprise for Britain’s 14th goal shortly after the restart.
Play moved swiftly to the other end where Migrova scored a well-taken goal to make the score 14-4 in Britain’s favour.
The British Gas team hit back straight away with a superb individual goal for Rachel Drabble, scoring her first of the match.
A fifth goal for Slovakia narrowly crept in giving Migrova her hat-trick and keeping the Slovaks in the game.
Great Britain hit back on the counter attack with Ros Griffiths scoring almost immediately; followed by another quick response as Vavroda scored for Slovakia. Winstanley-Smith then continued the tit-for-tat scoring with another goal to make the score 17-6.
Hajkova pulled another back for Slovakia to reduce Britain’s advantage.
Winstanley-Smith completed her double hat-trick with a neat finish and Wilcox completed the scoring in the final seconds of the match to end with a very convincing 19-7 victory for Great Britain.
A thrilled British captain, Ros Griffiths said after the match; “We were slow to start and they weren’t playing their defence as we thought they would so we changed it up soon after we started. They put so many counter attacks on us but both our goalies played exceptionally well.
“We are really looking forward to playing in the final. Hopefully we’ll go one better than last time and win it. The crowd were absolutely amazing tonight; they really stepped it up and helped us perform.”
The other semi final promised to be a hard-fought affair between the winners of Group A, Czech Republic, and a Ukraine side who were victorious against Portugal in yesterday’s quarter-final.
The match got off to a tentative start but the deadlock was broken by Czech Republic’s Lucie Votavova who scored a well-worked goal to open the scoring.
Ukraine got on the score sheet with three and a half minutes of the match gone, they put pressure of the Czech defence with Kseniya Kurvicheva scoring the goal.
Czech Republic came back straight away with a speedy reply from Veronika Bartunkova and were beginning to find their rhythm with Karolina Famerova adding another in quick succession.
The Ukraine team retaliated immediately with a well placed goal from Olga Shvedova to draw to a close a frantic first quarter.
A close-range clinical finish from Votavova increased the Czech lead to 4-2 early in the second quarter, closely followed by an attack on the break to complete her hat-trick.
A massive build up from Ukraine culminated in a goal for Anna Khomchik bringing the score back to 5-3.
Shortly after, a wonderful shot from Aneta Hendrychova extended the Czech Republic score, closely followed by another from Votavova to take the Czech lead to 7-3.
Hendrychova scored her second goal shortly after to extend the lead of a now rampant Czech team. A goal from an acute angle for Famerova took the score to 9-3 to bring the first half to a close.
The Czech team came out firing on all cylinders at the start of the second half with Votavova scoring an early goal.
A long range effort from Kurvicheva pulled one back for Ukraine bringing the score to 10-4.
Sustained pressure then followed from the Czech Republic culminated in a goal for Bartunkova.
Some neat passing from the Ukraine side followed, resulting in a goal for Kurvicheva which completed her hat-trick and keep them in the match. This brought the third quarter to a close with the Czech Republic leading 11-5.
A tiring Ukraine side fought well in the final quarter with Kurvicheva scoring her fourth of the match; however the Czech Republic fired straight back with another goal from Votovova taking the score to 12-6. Hendrychova and Bartunkova then added two more to take the Czech tally to 14.
Kotova and Shvedova pulled back two goals late on for Ukraine but it was merely a consolation as Czech Republic were victorious with a final score of 14-8.
The result means the Czech Republic will now face the Great Britain side in tomorrow’s final.
After the match Czech Republc’s Bartunkova said; “We are very excited and happy to be in the final.It was our goal coming into the tournament and we have accomplished it.
“Our coach gave us a plan coming into the match, I think we were quicker than them and they were tired from yesterday which helped us out.”
On a final against the British team Bartunkova said; “Great Britain are very good, there are some differences between us but it should be a good match. It will be interesting for the fans to watch and we are excited to play the home team.”
Earlier in the day the 5th/6th place play off saw Croatia and Portugal match up. Both teams were disappointed not to make the semi-final stages of the competition, as they finished as runners up in their preliminary groups, but were now playing for national pride.
Portugal got off to an excellent start, with their star player Mariana Sarmento opening the scoring with just 40 seconds of the game gone. They continued to pressurise, having a number of good chances and hitting the woodwork three times. However they failed to make the most of their early opportunities and were caught on the counter attack as Maja Kalauz equalised for Croatia.
The Croatian defence left Portugal too much space and Ines Braga capitalised to restore their lead.
A great long range effort from Sarmento increased the Portugal lead to 3-1, adding to her already impressive personal tally of 20, and ending the first quarter.
A powerful shot from the Portuguese number 9, Vania Vieira, further extended their lead early in the second quarter, followed by a well worked move from Portugal which saw Sarmento complete her hat-trick with some clinical finishing.
A well taken goal from Vieira capitalised on a Croatian exclusion to further extend Portugal’s lead to 6-1.
Before the half was finished Sarmento added two more goals with a well taken penalty and in the closing minute of the half created some space for herself in front of goal to add another and give Portugal an 8-1 lead at half time.
Croatia came out fighting in the second half with Lucija Topic making the most of an opportunity in front of goal to pull the score back to 8-2.
A second penalty for Sarmento was neatly finished to score her 6th goal of the match and restore Portugal’s seven goal advantage.
An extended spell of Croatian pressure on the Portuguese goal saw them unable to make the most of their opportunities as a fine display from the Portuguese keeper, Caroline Faria, kept them out as Portugal concluded a low-scoring third quarter with their 9-2 lead intact.
A defensive Portuguese team came out for the second half looking to protect their lead. Despite more Croat pressure, Portugal caught them on the counter attack causing a defensive blunder resulting a further goal for Sarmento. Croatia’s pressure finally paid off with a goal from Emmi Miljkovic to make the score 10-3 in Portugal’s favour.
Two long range goals from Sarmento proved she can score from anywhere, further increasing Portugal’s score.
An excellent long range goal from Katarina Majlat and a goalmouth effort from Karmela Tvrdic of Croatia pulled back a couple of goals in the dying seconds of the match, but it was a token effort as Portugal closed the game out for a 12-5 victory.
Portugal’s Naida Mariani said after the match; “It was a pretty good win for us. We defended well but also Mariana helped us out with the goals.
“We are a little bit disappointed not to be in the semi-finals but overall the tournament went according to plan.”
Mariana Sarmento finished her tournament with a haul of 27 goals leaving her as the tournament’s highest scorer currently although she will contest no further matches.
Tickets for tomorrow’s games are still available from the Manchester Aquatics Centre and cost £10 for adults and £5 for concessions.
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MINI POLO WIN FOR ‘GREAT BRITAIN’ TEAM
 10th July 2009
As part of the Kellogg’s legacy programme associated with the LEN Women’s European Nations trophy water polo Championship a mini polo tournament took place on 10th July.
The six-team mini-polo tournament mirrored the different nations that are competing in the actual tournament. The teams consisted of local primary school children, some of whom will have never played mini-polo before but others are coming back to play again after competing in a similar tournament arranged during the Men’s LEN European Nations Trophy held in 2007.
The legacy programme, made possible through the support of Kellogg’s, has been designed to enthuse young people who would not normally have become involved in water polo and raise the profile of the sport in the North West.
The tournament provided a number of exciting end to end matches with all teams enjoying the atmosphere and playing well. The competing children were also boosted by the Great Britain senior women’s team who watched the closing stages of the competition and were on hand to congratulate all the players afterwards.
The children were also excited to receive their medals from five-time swimming World Champion, James Hickman.
The final came down to a close affair between Moston Lane Primary School representing Great Britain and Holy Trinity Primary School representing Croatia.
A closely fought game saw the ball going from end to end but some excellent defending from both sides saw the score kept at 0-0 for most of the match. In the closing stages the deadlock was broken as Moston Lane scored a scrambled goal to clinch a one nil victory.
Emma Mansfield Year 6 teacher at Moston Lane Primary School said “The kids have had a fantastic day. The event has been really well organised and it has been a great end to the year for our Year 6s. We have had a mini polo team at the school for about four years now and they train every week.
“We came to the mini polo event which was with the men’s tournament in 2007. We finished third then but we have been developing since then and the kids are delighted to win today.”
Norma Malecki, Teaching Assistant at the school said: “The kids have loved being here and they have all got something out of it. The school has a mini polo team and at least three of our players have gone on to play water polo outside of school.
“We train locally with Holy Trinity Primary School who we played in the final today so there was obviously a big rivalry there. They beat us in the last match we played so it was really nice to win today.”
RESULTS
1st Moston Lane Primary School (Great Britain)
2nd Holy Trinity Primary School (Croatia)
3rd Manchester High School for Girls Prep (Slovakia)
4th Beech House School (Portugal)
5th St John’s RC Primary School (Ukraine)
6th East Dunbartonshire (Switzerland)
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SLOVAKIA AND UKRAINE CLAIM REMAINING SEMI-FINAL SLOTS
10th July 2009
With the British Gas team already confirmed as one of Saturday’s semi-finalists the battle was on for the two remaining spots in the semis, as well as 7th position, on the fourth day of the LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy Water Polo Championships.
Croatia and Slovakia lined up first for a chance to play the British Gas team in the semi-final.
The teams went goal-for-goal until the second period which saw Slovakia shoot ahead to a three goal difference thanks to a lightning hat-trick from captain Michaela Migrova.
The third period at one point found Croatia down to four players in the water and up against a full Slovakian attack. But the pressure was not enough to get to them as they countered to score their seventh and final goal of the match.
The technical perfection demanded by coach Josef Cifra meant that Slovakia’s accurate and fast pace was too much for the Croatian side to handle, and the Slovaks were able to push even further ahead to end the match 17-7. Migrova was the star performer for the team shooting the ball between the posts on nine occasions. Slovakia will now have a chance to get their revenge on a British Gas team that defeated them yesterday.
Slovakia’s Martina Kunikova said of the result: “It was a good game for us and we’re pleased with the win. We were confident going in but it’s always good to get the result.”
Of tomorrow’s match-up against Great Britain Zuzana Ratveiska said: ““We’re not too happy that we have to play Great Britain again, but this time we will do better.”
Teammate Lucia Valocka added: “Our coach has told us to be more accurate with our game and be stronger in defence, so hopefully we will come away with a different result.”
Playing for the last semi-final berth, Portugal and Ukraine took to the pool in match that had all the ingredients to be tough.
The first period took the play up and down the length of the pool on several occasions as both sides struggled to find the net through tight defensive line-ups.
At the end of the first half Ukraine were struggling to get around Portugal’s Mariana Sarmento whose good tactics were often getting the better of them.
Sarmento’s ability to be strong on the turn put the situation in favour of Portugal at the end of the third period as they led 6-4 going into the deciding period.
Ukraine had already contested a nail-biting match this week after losing to Croatia in the dying seconds. Determined not to see this happen again they pushed ahead with Anastasiya Kotova scoring twice to take a 7-6 lead.
The bullish attitude that Ukraine displayed led them to an 11-7 victory and a semi-final showdown with the Czech Republic.
Ukraine’s Olga Shvedova commented: “We are so, so happy to have won this match, it was really important to us.
“I cannot find the words to describe how good it is to be in the semi-finals. We will fight really hard against the Czech Republic and try our best to win.”
The teams that finished fourth in Groups A and B - Switzerland and Belarus respectively -faced each other to determine 7th and 8th positions in the classification play-off.
With both teams having lost all three of their preliminary round matches they were equally determined to get one win under their belt before leaving Manchester.
Belarus opened up proceedings with Maryna Fedarenka finding the back of the net early on.
Sviatlana Arlova’s penalty at the end of the first half took Belarus to a 10-3 lead and their success kept on coming. Switzerland were forced into inaccuracies by a strong Belarusian defence and keeper Ala Mazepa’s impressive ability to move quickly across the goal did nothing to help.
With some accurate shots from the top of the arc Belarus were able to gain a substantial lead over their Swiss opponents who never managed to recover. Having already failed to finish off a couple of close matches, the Belarusians fought hard throughout to secure their 25-5 win and end the tournament in 7th position.
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PRINCE WILLIAM SUPPORT INSPIRES BRITISH VICTORY
9th July 2009
Prince William was among the many supporters who cheered on the British Women’s Water Polo team to an emphatic victory over Slovakia at the LEN European Nations Trophy in Manchester.
The Prince watched the British team win the match 17-6 before meeting athletes and key figures within the sport and business communities as a show of support for British Water Polo athletes as they prepare for the London 2012 Olympics.
Prince William is passionate about the sport and while at St Andrew’s University was a keen member of the water polo team. In 2004 he was selected to represent Scotland Universities in an international tournament and while serving in the Army also played water polo.
“Water polo is very personal to me,” said Prince William. “I used to play regularly and it’s a fantastic game. It’s physical, competitive and really engaged me.
“Tonight we saw a fantastic performance from the British women’s team. It was a stunning match and I hope more people have the chance to see out water polo players in action, and get behind the teams.
“It would be great to see more children playing water polo and enjoying swimming as I found it great fun.”
Prince William’s support of British water polo has been warmly welcomed by British Swimming Chief Executive David Sparkes.
“The atmosphere in the Manchester Aquatic Centre tonight was electric as water polo’s number one fan Prince William inspired the British women’s team to their third win in succession.
“It was a convincing victory over a strong Slovakian team and the Prince clearly enjoyed the game. He is a strong supporter of the teams and asked if he could be kept informed in the future of the water polo programme in Britain.”
In 2005, many athletes decided to pursue their Olympic dreams and gave up education and employment to move to Manchester where British Swimming’s High Performance Water Polo Centre is based.
However, following a funding cut of 75%, many face real financial hardship as they continue to prepare for London.
As a result of the funding cut, the water polo programme itself has been split with the women continuing to prepare in Manchester while the men will eventually be based offshore with professional clubs to continue their development.
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BRITISH GAS TEAM WIN PRELIMINARY GROUP
9th July 2009
The third day of the LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy was memorable both for the attendance of Prince William and for some very exciting matches as teams battled for a place in the quarter finals.
The British Gas team, boosted by the support of the Prince, were looking to build on an unbeaten start to the tournament in their previous two matches against Belarus and Portugal.
A victory would guarantee the British team would finish top of Group B and see them progress straight to the semi-final stages of the competition.
The British Gas team started the match strongly to finish the first quarter with a 5-1 lead.
The team produced some excellent forward play to put pressure on the Slovakian defence with Chloe Wilcox adding a further five goals to her already impressive tally of 14.
Despite losing their captain Ros Griffiths following three exclusions the team continued to push on in the final quarter to close out the game with a final score of 17-6.
Captain Ros Griffiths said: “It was wonderful to have Prince William here. The whole experience was very different and we had fantastic support but once you’re in the water you don’t really notice as you have a job to do.
“We all worked really well as a team today and are really positive about the semi finals now. There are a number of areas which we can improve on but we’re feeling confident for the next game.”
The result sees them finish as winners of Group B and progress straight to the semi-final stages of the competition, earning them a well deserved rest day tomorrow.
Earlier in the day a close affair was expected the first and second placed teams in Group A, Czech Republic and Croatia, went head to head.
Both teams were unbeaten so far and looking to finish top of the group and progress straight to the semi-final stages.
The Czech Republic put pressure on early in the match and, with a Croatian defence allowing them too much space, raced to a 5-0 lead within the first quarter.
Croatia’s highest scorer Anamarija Reic-Kranjac finally got one on the score sheet for her team to begin a fight-back for Croatia.
The furious pace which the Czech Republic had begun with dropped slightly in the second half as a more confident Croatian team brought the match closer.
Goals from Lucie Votavova and Veronika Bartunkova took the Czech Republic clear to finish the match with a 16-13 victory. Both girls finished the game with impressive goal tallies to leave them amongst the tournament’s top scorers with 14 and 12 respectively.
Bartunkova said: “It was a tremendously physical match. We came out faster and better in the first half but fights were starting to break out as the match went on and it became more physical.”
Despite being among the tournament top scorers so far Bartunkova played down the importance of her personal goal tally: “I love games where everyone scores. It is not important to me to be the top scorer, it is more important for the team to do well. We really want to go all the way to the final now.”
The second match of the day saw Portugal take on a Belarus team without a victory in the competition so far.
Belarus made a very confident start to the match putting early pressure on the Portuguese defence to end the first half with a surprise 5-2 lead.
Portugal came out fast in the second half looking for an early goal to reduce the Belarus lead. Their tactics paid off quickly with three goals bringing Belarus back to 5-5. Goals for both sides left the match finely balanced at 6-6 at the end of the third quarter.
A frantic final quarter saw both teams attacking, determined to secure the victory. Lapses in the Belarus defence allowed Portugal to score three to pull out a 9-6 lead.
Belarus fought back hard, but in the end could not quite put back the deficit to end the game with a 10-8 defeat. This leaves them bottom of group B with no victories at the end of the preliminary group matches.
Portugal’s Nadia Mariani said: “We didn’t play as well as we should have, but we got the win which is the important thing.
“They were stronger than we expected so hopefully it is enough to get us a good draw”
Ukraine and Switzerland were both searching for their first win of the tournament today so the match was set-up to be a battle.
The Ukrainians led from the start looking for shots at every moment and finished the first half with an 11-5 lead.
Pulling away further during the third period, Ukraine proved that their offence was too strong for the Swiss team.
Switzerland’s star player, Erika Brunner, was given little opportunity to play her own game managing to score just once for her country.
The Swiss were unable to overcome superb attacking play from Ukraine, whose Anastasiya Kotova landed six goals in the back of the net during the match to help her team to a 22-9 victory.
Switzerland will now face Belarus in the 7th/8th position play-offs tomorrow and Ukraine will progress to the quarter-finals.
Tickets for the event are still available from the Manchester Aquatics Centre and cost as little as £5 for adults and £3 for concessions.
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 SECOND VICTORY FOR BRITISH GAS TEAM
Day two of the LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy promised to provide exciting matches and it did not disappoint with a number of closely fought battles.
The British Gas team were looking to build on a successful start to their campaign yesterday where they beat Belarus but today faced a tougher challenge as they took on a strong Portugal side.
Nineteen-year-old Fran Clayton opened up the scoring for the British Gas team and didn’t waste any time firing her first two goals in the back of the net.
The team showed great strength in getting forward but were at times held back by the Portuguese defence who weren’t giving much away.
After Portugal’s Mariana Saramento levelled the game at three all with a penalty, the British Gas team’s defence worked well and didn’t let the Portuguese side score again.
Both teams were very quick off the mark at the start of the second half and were able to get around the pool well, but the British Gas team had the edge in the tight match that saw them win 8-3. They now lead Group B with six points after winning both of their preliminary matches.
At the end of the match British Gas team captain Ros Griffiths said: “Two wins out of two is great. It was a very tight match, a lot different to yesterday [against Belarus] and definitely a more physical match.
“There’s a really great atmosphere amongst the girls and we’re looking forward to playing tomorrow.”
The Czech Republic were able to maintain their winning ways in today’s match by taking a win over Switzerland.
The team showed that they were in charge of the encounter from the start with a 6-2 lead before the first period was up. Switzerland’s Erika Brunner was able to peg a couple of goals back after finding the back of the net but it was not enough to hold off a superior Czech squad.
Czech team player Veronika Bartunkova secured a double hat-trick early in the third period before the team finished strongly with a 23-10 score line.
Czech high-scorer Bartunkova said after the match: “I think it was a really good game for us. We were able to use a lot of the younger girls and rest some others.
“We’re looking forward to tomorrow’s match; hopefully we’ll win and come top of our group so that we can rest on Friday.”
Group A’s Ukraine and Croatia contested the closest match of the day with the winning goal coming in the last seconds.
After a low-scoring first period the two teams battled hard for the points with neither side willing to give in.
In the final quarter Ukraine took the lead for the first time with a goal from the top of the arc by Kseniya Kurvicheva. Ultimately they were unable to hold the more determined Croatian side off as Maja Kalauz found the back of the net with one second remaining on the clock.
After the match an elated Mia Simunic of Croatia said: “We were so happy when the last goal went in. It was a very difficult match for us. Our coach said that we were very successful in both offence and defence but we were making mistakes, and that is why the match was so close.”
The final match of the day saw Slovakia take on Belarus. Both teams lost their matches yesterday so a win was vital if either team wanted to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Another close match ensued as the teams fought to find their first victory of the competition with Slovakia pushing forward on the counter-attack leaving players up front.
Despite a close score line most of the way through the match Slovakia pulled away for a 13-11 victory.
Slovakian player Martina Kunikova commented after match: “It was very important for us to win this match so we’re really happy with today.
“They were very good in defence and really physical so it was a tough match.”
The Slovakian team will be facing the British Gas squad tomorrow but Slovakian player Lucy Valocka was more excited about the impending royal visit:
“We’re looking forward to seeing Prince William tomorrow; everyone is hoping to meet him!”
The British Gas team will be given an added boost tomorrow when Prince William shows his support for British Water Polo by watching their final preliminary round match agains Slovakia.
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BRITISH GAS TEAM GET OFF TO A GOOD START AT LEN EUROPEAN NATIONS TROPHY
 7th July 2009
Spectators at the Manchester Aquatics Centre were treated to four exciting matches as the LEN Women’s European Water Polo Trophy got underway today.
Eight of Europe’s most promising water polo nations contested the first of their three preliminary group matches as they began their campaigns to win the prestigious trophy.
The first match saw Croatia take on Switzerland in what was to be a highly tactical game. Goals from Croatia’s Aida Sehic and Anamarija Reic-Kranjac opened up the scoring as their team took a 4-1 lead to end the first period.
Switzerland were closing down the space well towards the end of the match but Croatia were still finding ways through the Swiss defence.
Reic-Kranjac secured her hat trick with a nice shot around the defender from the top of the arc to extend Croatia’s lead, and went on to score one further goal during the match ending with a tally of four which was matched by her teammate Lucija Topic.
Switzerland stayed in the game with some accurate long shots but ultimately weren’t able to hold off a superior Croatian team who won the match with 22 goals to Switzerland’s 11.
Croatian captain Sehic said of the performance: “We didn’t expect anything coming into this match as it is our first time in this type of competition.
“We wanted to start with a win so we put everything we had into it.
“In the first period I think that both teams were nervous, but as the match progressed, especially in the third and fourth periods, we got better and had a strong finish.”
Portugal faced Slovakia in the second, and what was to be the closest match of the day. After going two goals down during the first half, a strong Portuguese team managed to take 6-5 lead to end the second period.
Slovakia’s ability to make use of the chances they had kept the match level right until the end as Portugal took the tie 14 goals to 11 with Mariana Sarmento their top scorer with nine goals.
Portugal’s Naida Mariani said: “I think it was a good match, but very difficult and very close. But I think that makes it more interesting for the crowd and definitely more exciting to win.
“We’ve been training for this for a long time so to win our first match is a good feeling.”
The stands were nearly full as the British team entered the water to face Belarus in what turned out to be a good start for the squad.
The British Gas sponsored team put in a solid performance to open their European Nation’s campaign in front of a home crowd and opened the first half up with a 9-2 lead against their Belarusian opponents.
The match went well for the British Gas squad who played confidently throughout. Chloe Wilcox was the British Gas team’s highest scorer, netting seven goals during the team’s 20-4 win.
British Gas team captain Ros Griffiths was happy with the team’s performance: “It was a really, really good start for us. We haven’t played them for four years so we didn’t know what to expect.
“We’ve been training hard for the past six months building up to this and we were just feeling our way in this match.
“There are some things we have to work on but we managed to stay calm today and take our chances.
“The crowd were absolutely brilliant. We don’t normally get this much support so it was a great atmosphere to play in and gave us a good lift.”
The final match saw Czech Republic take on Ukraine in the second Group A preliminary match.
In a hard-fought match Czech Republic showed consistent form to overcome tough opposition with a 13-4 scoreline, with Veronika Bartunkova and Lenka Vopalkova both scoring hat-tricks.
Czech Republic’s Aneta Hendrychova said: “We are excited with our performance today. We did well as it wasn’t an easy game.
“It shows that we are ready and that we have prepared well and hopefully it will be good enough to take us to the finals.”
Tickets for the event are still available from the Manchester Aquatics Centre and cost as little as £5 for adults and £3 for concessions.
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PRINCE WILLIAM LENDS SUPPORT TO WATER POLO’S OLYMPIC PLIGHT
 2nd July 2009
Prince William is to lend his support to British Water Polo athletes as they prepare for the London 2012 Olympics.
The Prince will be among the many avid supporters and spectators at next week’s LEN European Nations Trophy in Manchester when the British Women’s team go head-to-head with Slovakia.
The Royal guest will also meet with individual players and key figures within the sport and business communities.
Prince William is passionate about the sport and while at St Andrew’s University was a keen member of the water polo team. In 2004 he was selected to represent Scotland Universities in an international tournament and while serving in the Army also played water polo.
In 2005, many athletes decided to pursue their Olympic dreams and gave up education and employment to move to Manchester where British Swimming’s High Performance Water Polo Centre is based.
However, following a funding cut of 75%, many face real financial hardship as they continue to prepare for London.
As a result of the funding cut, the water polo programme itself has been split with the women continuing to prepare in Manchester while the men will eventually be based offshore with professional clubs to continue their development.
Prince William’s support of British water polo has been greeted by British Swimming Chief Executive David Sparkes.
“The support of Prince William, as someone who has regularly played water polo, is welcomed by everybody at this critical time for British Water Polo – particularly the athletes,” said Sparkes.
“The athletes were obviously disappointed to learn their budget was cut by 75% by UK Sport but despite this set back both the women’s and men’s teams have shown dogged determination to continue.
“Recent successful results for the men at tournaments in Turkey and Poland have demonstrated this resolve and a hard fought triumph over one of our arch rivals France after a 30-year wait is testament to that.
“The Prince’s support will further lift the spirits of our water polo players and coaches, and will renew their commitment and determination to be there in 2012 competing with distinction against the best in the world.”
Prince William’s show of support will be welcomed by the British Gas Women’s Team who will have home advantage during the LEN European Nations Trophy at the Manchester Aquatic Centre.
Britain will open their tournament on Tuesday 7th July against Belarus before facing Portugal the next day and rounding off their group matches against Slovakia.
Switzerland, Croatia, Czech Republic and Ukraine will contest the other group with the final match being played on Sunday 12th July.
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BRITISH REFEREES SELECTED FOR WATER POLO EVENTS
17th June 2009
Three British referees have been selected to work at a number of prestigious Water Polo events including the LEN European Nations Trophies and the Women’s European Under 20s Championships.
The trio are among six referees qualified within the LEN Water Polo referee list and they now feature alongside the 190 registered referees from throughout Europe.
The referees; Andrew Allen, Tad Detko, Chris Freebury, Michael Jukes, Brian Littlejohn and Damien Taylor, now have the opportunity to work at all levels of LEN Water Polo competitions. CLICK HERE to see confirmed appointments for 2009.
The 190 referees have the opportunity, if selected, to travel throughout Europe with competitions taking place in Russia, Bulgaria, Greece and France throughout the summer.
Out of the six LEN referees, three are also qualified on the FINA list of referees and last year, Brian Littlejohn was selected to work as an official at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Chris Freebury, who was the first British referee to pass the LEN officials exam, will not only referee at the LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy in Manchester this summer but also at the FINA Junior men’s Championships later this year.
“I have been a qualified LEN referee for about 16 years now,” Freebury said. “I really enjoy it, I get a buzz from the events and I think it is great to make the most of opportunities that are offered to you.
“It is really good that Britain is hosting the LEN European Nations Trophy this summer and I am excited to be part of the event.”
Howard Cartwright Chair of the British Swimming Water Polo Committee said: 'I am particularly pleased to see the number and significance of these LEN/FINA appointments.
'Following on from Brian Littlejohn's attendance at the Beijing Olympics, it is further evidence of the quality of British officials and their growing stature within the world game.
'In spite of the inevitable disappointment following the substantial cut in UK Sport funding, this can only further raise the profile of water polo at a time when a number of other positive steps are being undertaken to develop the sport.'
Anyone interested in working as a Water Polo Official/Referee should contact Brian Littlejohn on blpolo@talk21.com
To see a full list of LEN referees CLICK HERE.
The LEN European Nations Trophy will take place next month in Manchester when the British Gas women’s Water Polo team take on some of Europe’s leading teams from 7th to 11th July.
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BRITISH GAS WOMENS WATER POLO TEAM PREPARE FOR EUROPEAN CHALLENGE
10th June
There is less than a month to go until the LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy gets underway at the Manchester Aquatics Centre, and the British Gas Women’s water polo team are training hard at their Manchester base.
The official 13-strong British Gas team may not be announced until later this month, but that hasn’t stopped all 16 women working on their ball skills to ensure their place on the team.
“Everyone is really looking forward to competing in front of a home crowd so we are all fighting for our place on the team,” said British Gas player Chloe Wilcox.
“The training has definitely been stepped up and it’s a lot more intense now, we’re absolutely knackered!
“We’re working on some things now and waiting to peak at the right time, so hopefully we’ll be performing at our best for the European Nations Trophy,” she continued.
The British Gas team have another competition to contest before the final line-up is confirmed, meaning that it is all up for grabs for the players who are hoping to compete on home soil for the European title.
The schedule for the Championships has been released and the exciting line-up of matches is due to kick off at 4pm for the first three days of competition (Tuesday 7th – Thursday 9th), 5pm on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th, with Sunday seeing the final matches get underway at 12 noon.
The LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy is set to take place in Manchester from 7th to 12th July 2009 at the Manchester Aquatics Centre and will see eight of Europe’s strongest water polo nations battle it out for European honours.
To buy your tickets to be at the heart of the action please CLICK HERE and for the full schedule please CLICK HERE
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BRITISH GAS WATER POLO TEAM FACE STIFF COMPETITION
 4th June 2009
The official draw for the LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy has taken place in Lugano, Switzerland, where the British Gas Water Polo team were handed a tough draw against Slovakia, Belarus and Portugal.
The LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy will be staged at the state-of-the-art Manchester Aquatics Centre from 7th – 12th July 2009 with eight of Europe’s top water polo nations going head-to-head for the prized trophy. Expectations for the British Gas Water Polo team will be high at the biennial event having reached the final at the 2007 LEN Championships in Prague and with recent victories against both Slovakia and Portugal.
Having completed the first stages of the 2009 FINA Water Polo World League in Athens, the British Gas Women’s team will now look to capitalise on the home soil advantage at the LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy to ensure this event is a positive precursor to the 2012 Olympics in London.
Women’s water polo made its Olympic debut at the Sydney Games in 2000 and has since enjoyed a renewed interest in Great Britain. With rules preventing players from touching any pool sides throughout the four seven-minute quarters, water polo requires extreme stamina and is considered among the most demanding of the Olympic sports.
Joanna Wray, World Class Programme Manager for Water Polo, said: ‘The high level of competition coupled with the first-class facilities provided by the Manchester Aquatics Centre will ensure the forthcoming LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy continues to feature in the British sporting calendar. This year’s teams are strong with Ukraine and the Czech Republic all finishing close to the British Gas team in the last LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy and with London 2012 on the horizon, there will be an added impetus to take the honours’.
The Official Draw for the 2009 LEN Women’s European Nations Trophy:
Group A
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Croatia
Ukraine
Group B
Slovakia
Belarus
Portugal
Great Britain
Tickets for the 2009 LEN European Nations Trophy are now available and start at just £6 per day for adults and £3 for under 16s and OAPs. For further information and ticketing, please visit www.manchester2009.com
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