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Stingers qualify for World League Super Finals

Tianjin, China (June 2).— Australia qualified for the World Water Polo League Super Finals with a fourth consecutive victory in the Asia-Oceania women’s division here last night. By downing New Zealand 16-8, the world No 2 Aussie Stingers have earned a shot at the Super Finals in Montreal, Canada on July 4-8 where the top six teams in the world will gather. After a poor defensive opening quarter, the Stingers lifted a notch in the second quarter and swatted off the Kiwis in the third period before drawing the last eight minutes. Head coach Greg McFadden said the first quarter was the worst: “Our defence was poor and we let in some silly goals on extra. New Zealand got uncontested goals. “In the third quarter we really picked at 5-0 with the girls turning the game around.” The Stingers scored just one from five on extra but converted all four penalty shots. New Zealand had a creditable three-from-five conversion rate on extra as well as scoring its only penalty attempt. Kate Gynther, twice the highest goal-scorer at a Super Finals series, blasted in six goals while centre forward Gemma Beadsworth grabbed four. Goalkeeper Victoria Brown made eight saves. By qualifying for Montreal, McFadden said he would concentrate on giving his younger players plenty of pool time in the remaining two games against China and Japan. These two countries fought out a 7-all draw by full time but China won the penalty shootout 5-4 to claim the match. Results: FINA World League, Tianjin, China, day 4: Australia 16 (K Gynther 6, G Beadsworth 4, N Cuffe, G Hadley 2, S Fraser, S Mills) New Zealand 8, China 12 Japan 11 in penalty shootout (FT: 7-7). Progress points: AUS 8, CHN 6, JPN 2, NZL 0. Tianjin, China (June 1).— Stingers clean out Japan in third World League match Nikita Cuffe’s six-goal effort helped Australia thrash Japan 19-2 in their Women’s World Water Polo League match here last night with a brilliant performance. Head coach Greg McFadden expected Japan to be their toughest opponent in the four-team Asia-Oceania qualifier for the Super Finals in Montreal, Canada next month. “We played really well for the first three quarters and things we practised in the morning were put into place in the game. “In the fourth quarter we threw in the juniors and they kept the game scoreless for five minutes. Then we put in the seniors and they scored three goals in three minutes,” McFadden said. “We were expecting our toughest game but they were so small and couldn’t match up.” The statistics tell the story of the game with the Aussie Stingers converting 19 from 29 shots, seven from eight on extra while defending nine from 10 of Japan’s extra-player situations. Goalkeeper Alicia McCormack was sensational with 13 saves and one steal. The quarters went 5-0, 7-1, 4-1 and 3-0. The Stingers tonight meet New Zealand in a do-or-die match for the Kiwis. Should Australia win it was qualify for the Super Finals with two matches in hand while the Kiwis, who lost to China 10-8, need to win to stay in the hunt. Results: FINA World League, Tianjin, China, day 3: Australia 19 (N Cuffe 6, S Fraser, G Hadley 4, J Moran, J Santoromito, K Gynther, K Finucane, H Lincoln-Smith) Japan 2, China 10 New Zealand 8. Progress points: AUS 6, CHN 4, JPN 2, NZL 0. Tianjin, China (May 31).— Stingers beat China in second World League match Solid defence was again the key as the Aussie Stingers women’s water polo team beat China 11-6 on day two of World League play here last night. The defence set up many counter-attacking opportunities but not all met with success, according to head coach Greg McFadden. “We had a lot of opportunities but poor finishing let us down. We just failed to put the ball away,” he said. It was a physical game and McFadden said he was happy with the overall performance, singling out goalkeeper Victorian Brown, who made eight saves and two steals. Nikita Cuffe and Kate Gynther, with three goals each, Gemma Beadsworth and Erin Douglass were other standouts, he said. Australia won all the quarters — 3-1, 2-1, 3-2 and 3-2. Tonight’s opponent is Japan, who beat New Zealand 13-9. Results: Women’s World League, Tianjin, China, day 2: Australia 11 (N Cuffe, K Gynther 3, G Beadsworth 2, J Santoromito, E Douglass, K Finucane) China 6, Japan 13 New Zealand 9. Progress points: AUS 4, CHN 2, JPN 2, NZL 0. Tianjin, China (May 30).— Stingers beat New Zealand in opening World League game The Aussie Stingers women’s water polo team thumped New Zealand 14-6 in their opening game of the World League here last night.But it was the second half head coach Greg McFadden was unhappy with as the Stingers led 12-3 at halftime and failed to swim away with the game. The Kiwis won the second half 3-2 and kept the game scoreless in the final quarter. “I was disappointed at our lack of composure at crucial periods and not being able to take them to the cleaners in the second half. “It was the first game back (after April’s FINA World Championships where they took out the silver medal) and there were a lot of young players in the team.” He was pleased with the opening half and is looking for a better performance in the match with China later tonight. China beat Japan 8-6 in their first game of the Asia-Oceania division from which the top two teams go directly to the Super Finals in Montreal, Canada on July 4-8. Results: FINA World League, Tianjin, China, day 1: Australia 14 (G Beadsworth 5, G Hadley 2, N Cuffe, J Moran, S Fraser, K Gynther, E Douglass, K Finucane, S Mills) New Zealand 6, China 8 Japan 6. Tianjin, China (May 29).— Stingers to open World League campaign against New Zealand Australia returns to the scene of its 2006 FINA World Cup triumph when it plays New Zealand on the opening day of the women’s World League water polo here tonight.The Aussie Stingers, now ranked second in the world after their silver-medal effort at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne in April, will be using this year’s World League to blood new players and give fringe players a further taste of international competition, said head coach Greg McFadden. “I’m not greatly concerned with the results as our Beijing Olympics preparation starts on September 1 when we go into a residential training camp at the AIS for three months.” The Stingers are playing the Oceania-Asia division of the World League, which they have won the past two years, and should move on as one of the top two from the division to the eight-team Super Finals in Montreal, Canada on July 4-8. The Stingers will play China tomorrow and Japan on Thursday before the rotation starts again on Friday.

 

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