2018. november 06. 19:38

Hungary Women started their joint-World League and Europa Cup qualifying campaign in style on Tuesday evening by winning all four quarters against France and ultimately prevailing 13-4 in the Bitskey Aréna in Eger.

There were celebratory presentations before the match, new Hungarian Water Polo Association President Attila Vári handing over awards to Gréta Gurisatti, Anikó
Gyöngyössy and Dorottya Szilágyi on the occasions of their 50th international caps, while Dóra Csabai was recognised for her 15th appearance on the international stage
and Gabriella Szücs celebrated her 250th appearance for the Hungary national team.

Eger, hosting its first international fixture since 2013, was host to several hundred fans from Budapest while the Carpathian Brigade was also in noisy and supportive
attendance.

They nearly had cause to celebrate immediately too but Hungary's first attack ended with a superb save from France goalkeeper Derenty. France soon found themselves two
down but pulled one back, only for Hungary's world-class goalscoring ace Rita Keszthelyi to complete a first-quarter hat-trick and give her team a 3-1 lead at the
first break.

Again, France halved the deficit early in the next quarter but Vanda Vályi re-established the two-goal advantage and Gurisatti extended it to three, both those coming from player-advantage situations. Keszthelyi grabbed her fourth goal ten seconds before the half-time hooter as Hungary basked in a commanding 7-2 lead at the halfway stage.

Indeed, the pattern of the game remained the same in the third period, Hungary showing their undoubted superiority through Vályi's penalty earned by Gyöngyössy, Dóra Leimeter's superb finish and Szilágyi's successful strike. Daule scored for France but replacement goalkeeper Orsolya Kasó snuffed out any thoughts of an unlikely comeback by saving a five-metre penalty.  The final quarter came and went without any alarms, Anna Illés and Keszthelyi ensuring a 2-1 success which brought about the final result of 13-4.

Women's Joint World League and Europa Cup qualifier, 2nd matchday
Group B
Hungary 13-4 France (3-1, 4-1, 4-1, 2-1)
Eger, Bitskey swimming pool, vezette: Schwartz (ISR), Daskalopoulus (GRE)

Hungary: Gangl – Szilágyi 1, Szücs, Illés 1, Keszthelyi 6, Vályi V. 2, Gyöngyössy. Replacements: Máté, Gurisatti 2, Leimeter 1, Csabai, Garda, Kasó (GK). Head coach: Attila Bíró

France: Derenty – Millot 1, Bachelier, Guillet, Mahieu, Paillat 1, Daule 2. Replacements: Leroux, Grass, Deschampt, Clerc, Bacquet, Vo Nan (GK). Head coach: Florian Bruzzo

Other results

Group A:
Spain 13-5 Israel

Group B:
Netherlands 7-9 Italy

3rd matchday, December 1st 2018

Group A:
Romania-Spain
Greece-Russia

4th matchday, December 4th 2018

Group A:
Israel-Russia
Romania-Greece

Group B:
Italy-Hungary
France-Netherlands

5th matchday, December 15th 2018

Group A:
Spain-Greece
Israel-Romania

6th matchday, December 18th 2018

Group A:
Spain-Russia
Israel-Greece

Group B:
France-Italy
Netherlands-Hungary

7th matchday, January 12th 2019

Group A:
Romania-Russia
Israel-Spain

8th matchday, January 15th 2019

Group A:
Spain-Romania
Russia-Greece

Group B:
France-Hungary
Italy-Netherlands

9th matchday, February 12th 2019

Group A:
Russia-Israel
Greece-Romania

Group B:
Italy-France
Hungary-Netherlands

10th matchday, 5th March 2019

Group A:
Greece-Spain
Romania-Israel

Group B:
Hungary-Italy
Netherlands-France

The Europa Cup Final Six tournament will take place between 28th-31st March 2019 in a host city which is still to be confirmed.

Megosztás