Oberhausen Day 4 - Intermediate Round and Semifinals

The day started off with the two remaining matches from the women Group C:
Germany v Colombia and Turkey v Sweden. The match between Germany and
Colombia was one of extreme high suspense, with no team being able to gain
an upper hand. The first half went by scoreless. At the middle of the second
half, the Germans were awarded a penalty. With the 45 seconds ticking down,
the Columbian goalie Number 15 Margarita Garcia looked to be the winner
staying down for the 45 seconds and defending her goal courageously.
However, the referees called her back for leaving the goal without having
possession of the ball. A questionable call. On the second try Germany´s
number 77 Leonie Schäfle, who scored on a penalty against Sweden on the first
day of the tournament, had difficulties with the Colombian goalie defending the
basket and needed to surface. The lungs filled with fresh air, gave her the
advantage she needed to overcome the goalkeeper and score. 1-0 Germany.
While the Germans looked to be in control of the game and only seconds away
from victory, it was the Colombians who were awarded a penalty. Colombia’s
Number 18 Valentina Rios shouldered the responsibility and equalized the
game with the clock ticking down. Germany 1 Colombia 1. The two teams were
bound to meet again in the semifinal.

The second game of the day saw Turkey and Sweden taking to the pool. Since
the Germans weren´t able to beat Colombia in the previous game, all Turkey
needed was a tie to secure the top spot of the group. In the end it was a 9-0
victory they got, while dominating Sweden over the entire length of the game.

The goals for Turkey:

Number 3 Neclanur Cagan: 1-0, 3-0,Number 10 Zelal Kaya: 2-0
Number 11 Nur Pelinsu Tekin: 4-0
Number 5 Eda Yetsigin: 5-0
Number 13 Bilgesu Tabakoglu: 6-0, 7-0, 8-0
Number 7 Fatma Yurday: 9-0

Game number 23 was the first game of the men´s knock-off stage and saw the
battel of the Skagerrak: Norway v Denmark. And the game lived up to historic
ancestor. For two halves’, the game went back and forth with no team being
able to score. Equal in strength and speed each teams attack was able to bend,
but not break the opponents defense. After scoreless thirty minutes, the game
was sent to sudden death overtime. The teams continued to match and with
2:30 Minute left in overtime, the audience was wondering whether or not, they
would witness the first penalty shoot-out. It was Norway´s Number 14 Lars
Gjermestad, who denied them that pleasure when he overcame the Danish
goalie for the golden goal. Norway advanced to the semifinals against
Columbia, while Denmark will play the Czech Republic in the consolidation
round.

The next match of the intermediary round was Turkey v Sweden. The winner of
the game would have to face the Germans in the semifinals, while the looser
was to meet Finland in the consolidation round. For 10 minutes the Swedes
were able to keep the game open, until it was Number 7 Kerem Demir putting
Turkey ahead 1-0. Two more goals from number 2 Samet Ayberk Sayin and
number 1 Mert Cege extended to Turkish lead to 3-0. While the spectators were
hoping for a Swedish come back in the second half, it was Turkey who booked
their spot in the semifinal. Seven more Turkish goals in Half 2 made it 10-0
Turkey.

The Turkish goals:

Number 7 Kerem Demir: 1-0
Number 2 2 Samet Ayberk Sayin: 2-0
Number 1 Mert Cege: 3-0, 9-0
Number 10 Emrecan Argan: 4-0, 5-0
Number 12 Berkan Mert Sürücüoglu: 6-0, 7-0, 10-0
Number 9 Berk Atasoy: 8-0

Now it was time for the women to enter the knock out stage of this tournament.
The first match was another northern clash between Norway and Sweden. The
winner would face Turkey in the semifinals, while the looser would have to exit
the World Cup. Due to the results on day one and two, Norway was favorite to
win this game and the lived up to expectations winning 7-0 and thus sending
Sweden packing.

The Norwegian goals:

Number 5 Elisabeth Ose: 1-0, 2-0
Number 3 Emilie Saebo: 3-0
Number 10 Susanne Edvardsen: 4-0
Number 11 Ylva Lyssand: 5-0, 7-0
Number 18 Kristine Strand: 6-0

The first game of the consolidation round pitted Denmark, which lost on sudden
Death overtime to Norway, against the Czech Republic. Considering both team
results throughout this tournament, the Danes were heavily favored to win
despite having played one extra game. The winner would play for the fifth place,
while the looser would go onto play for place number 7. Right after kick off the
Danes underlined their ambition to at least reach the 5th place in this
tournament. Scoring for Denmark began early in the first half, when Tobias
Schmidt, Denmark’s number 2, put his team ahead on the first goal scored with
2:45 minutes into the game. 45 seconds later the score was 2-0 on a goal from
Number 6 Karl Primdahl. In the end Denmark dominated the young Czech team
20-0.

The Danish goals:

Number 2 Tobias Schmidt: 1-0
Number 6 Karl Primdahl: 2-0, 7-0
Number 9 Lauriits Niebuhr: 3-0, 20-0
Number 17 Oliver Skjoldborg: 4-0, 19-0
Number 12 Emil Christensen: 5-0
Number 14 Lucas Pedersen: 6-0
Number 10 Victor Hansen: 8-0
Number 3 Victor Lanng: 9-0
Number 7 Marius Gronlund: 10-0
Number 4 Emil Helholm: 11-0, 12-0
Number 8 Jonas Lerdangaard: 13-0, 18-0
Number 11 Soren Fogh: 14-0, 17-0
Number 13 Gustav Larsen: 15-0
Number 1 Palle Fogh: 16-0

The following game saw the first semifinal of the tournament. Turkey and
Norway decided which ladies’ team would advance to the final. From the
traditional Scandinavian Underwaterrugby nations, only Norway was left in the
competition. Could they thwart off the Turkish challenge? With a little bit over
4 minutes played, Turkey went ahead on a goal from number 7 Fatma Yurday.
That early goal added confidence to the Turkish game. Turkey controlled the
ball, while Norway somehow tried to gain possession. Necular Cagan, Turkish
number 3, made it 2-0 with 3:45 minutes left in the first half. After half, Norway
tried to get back into the game, but to no avail. When Zelal Kaya sunk the ball
for the third goal with roughly five minutes left in the game, it was certain that
the Turkish ladies were to advance to first ever final in a Underwaterrugby
World Cup for Juniors.

Germany and Colombia, the two teams which took their first match of today to
the limit, took to the pool for the second semifinal. And yes, they went beyond
the limit they had set in their earlier game. Germany took control of ball and
opponent early gaining a slight advantage over the “chicas” of Colombia. By
the middle of the first half, the Germans had a nice circle set up around the
Colombian basket, forcing Colombia to go up and down. However, the German
game lacked a compelling drive toward the Colombian basket. With about 2:30
minutes the German had the best chance of the game so far to take the lead:
The Germans conquered the ball at mid pool and taking Colombians by
surprise, who left their basket empty for a few seconds.

If the German attacker would have been a split second faster, she might have
been able to sink the ball for the go-ahead goal, which would have been
deserved at this point. Audience and experts agreed: It was a very close game,
with a slight advantage for the Germans. The Colombians caught the better
start into the second half of the game by controlling the ball and opponent
better then they had in the first half. Just like the Germans weren´t able to cash
in on their slight dominance in the first half, the Colombians couldn´t turn their
dominance into goals either. With roughly four minutes left to play in regular
time, the German enhanced the pressure on the Colombian goal and tried to
force a penalty. Yet only the horn maintained its silence. With the clock ticking
down, neither team was willing to go all-in. Rather they would take the gamble
of a sudden-death overtime. The first five minutes off overtime belonged to the
Colombians. However, they couldn´t crack the German defense.

With little under nine minutes left in the Game, the Germans had another great
chance on advancing to the final: Two players attacked the basket and the one
coming from the open side was actually able to lift the goalie and toss the ball,
however it was unwilling to sink below the rim. No goal. With five minutes left in
overtime, prior to the execution of a free throw deep in German territory,
Colombia stole the basket. But the ball instead of being send on its way to the
“thief” ended in the hands of the German defender. Within the last minute of the
game, it was the Germans trying to force a decision, despite the fact, that the
audience at the pool as well as on the live stream chat saw them at an
advantage for the looming penalty shoot-out. When the horn beeped three
times, this World Cup had its first penalty shootout. The Germans were to
defend first. With twenty seconds left on the penalty shootout Colombia’s
Captain Daniela Sanchez (Number 6) scored on the first penalty: 1-0 Colombia.
Next up was Germanys Number 21 Dana Bundesmann trying to equalize the
game. The Colombian goalie defended the goal vigorously and with 11 second
left on the clock, she was able to wrestle the ball out of the German attackers’
hands. The Colombian lead still stood. The right to attack went back to the
Colombians and Number 73 Nazhly Ramirez did not mess around: Ten seconds
into the penalty Colombia lead 2-0. The pressure was on Carina Bethke,
Germanys number 17, she needed to score or the game was lost. Carina did
not sub come to the pressure and plucked the goalie of the goal: The Colombian
lead was cut short 2-1. However, the Germans weren´t out of trouble yet: If
Margarita Garcia (Number 15) scored, Colombia would advance. Margarita
Garcia attacked the German goal from above and was able to get her knee
between the goalie and the goal thus pushing her up and sinking the ball for the
game winner: Colombia advanced to the finals and had managed to silence the
audience in the pool.

The first men’s semifinal saw the match between Norway and Colombia. The
success of the “chicas” quickened the “chicos”. Especially Juan Lavered
(Number 99) did not want to fall behind the ladies. He scored goals number 1
thru 4 for Columbia, which had a comfortable lead established by the middle of
the second half. With two minutes left in the game, Colombia’s Captain Tomas
Galena (Number 2) made certain that both Colombian teams reached the finals.
However, the last goal of the game belonged to Norway. Anders Nodland
(Number 10) adjusted the final score to be 5-1. They travelled half around the
globe and they did not do it for nothing. What a great success for this friendly
country from South America, which had celebrated such a wonderful Senior
Underwaterrugby World Cup in 2015 with Rugby nations from around the
globe.

The last decision of the day was still missing: Would it be Turkey or the host
country Germany taking on Colombia in the final. Experts and audience alike
were certain, this semifinal match between Turkey and Germany was
overwritten: When Giants dance! And what a dance it was! From the beginning
on the Germans were trying to attack the Turkish basket in superior numbers.
One player secured the ball, while the team was getting ready to start its attack
run on the Turkish goal. Five minutes were played, when the referees called a
team penalty against Turkey for having seven in the water: A Turkish player
was sent to the box and for two minutes the Germans had the advantage in
numbers: Power play! The Germans were pushing and pushing on the Turkish
goal.

When the Turkish goalie grabbed the basket in order to thwart the German
attacker, a penalty was called against the team of Turkey. Germanys Captain
Philip Kreißig (Number 20) went on to face Turkey´s Berkan Mert Sürücüoglu
(Number 12) in the one-on-one show down. 15 second had past, when it looked
like Sürücüoglu would be able to gain control of the ball and force Philip Kreißig
to the surface. But Kreißig was not in the mood to give in, wrestled himself out
of Sürücüoglu´s grip and pushed the ball below the rim: 1-0 Germany.
A little bit over a minute had passed, when the Germans were awarded a free
throw in the Turkish half. After executing it, the ball ended up in the hands of a
Turkish player, who was able take the entire German defense by surprise.
Three attackers appeared above, below and in front of the lonely German
goalkeeper. It was Turkeys Number 7 Kerem Demir who scored the equalizer:
1-1.

Turkey started to gain control of the game, the Germans, whose supporters
were still celebrating the goal, when the tying ball was sunk, needed to shake
that one off quickly. They were able to find back into their game close to half
time. A physical first half saw at the beginning a dominant German team, that
took the lead, but lost it, when Turkey was able to capitalize on a grave mistake
by the German midfield.

During the second half of the game, the Germans continued to follow their
original game plans: Create superior numbers in front of the Turkish goal. They
were able to keep the game in front of the Turkish basket for most of the time.
The closer the game got to its end, the more willing the Germans were to take
risks: Single players started to attack the Turkish basket. With 3:48 minutes
left, the Germans again forced a penalty, when the Turkish goal keeper was
called for holding the basket. Again, it was Captain Philip Kreißig, who took
responsibility. But this time, he did not mess around. Within six seconds he had
ripped the goalie of the basket and sunk the go-ahead goal: 2-1 Germany.
With the game clock now being on the German side, everybody expected the
Turks to go all in. However, the Germans were able to build a nice circle around
the Turkish goal and take control of the ball and the clock. Was the extra game
Turkey had to play to advance to the semis finally taking its toll? Of the last
three minutes played in this game, the Germans controlled the ball for all but
20 seconds. They played cleverly protecting the ball and thus making sure that
the clock wouldn´t stop. The audience in the pool counted down the last
seconds for the team: Germany 2 Turkey 1. It will be the Germans asking
Colombia to dance in the finals.

Fotos: D. Rockenbach / VDST