Wpo: Aust to play for bronze after semi loss to Greece

AAP General News (Australia)
08-25-2004
Wpo: Aust to play for bronze after semi loss to Greece
By Janelle Miles

ATHENS, Aug 24 AAP - Members of the Australian women's water polo team left the Athens
pool red-eyed today after host nation Greece dashed the reigning champions' hopes of defending
their Olympic gold medal.

Greece defeated Australia 6-2 in a physical semi-final as the home crowd went berserk,

singing, stomping and clapping until the Olympic Aquatic Centre shook.

Greece will now play Italy for the gold medal while the Australians will meet the United
States in the play-off for bronze.

Australia tied 7-all with Greece in a pool match in Athens last Friday.

But the semi-final was one-sided.

Greek centre forward Stavroula Kozompoli scored in the first few seconds for Greece
as spectators chanted "Hellas, Hellas" and waved the blue and white Greek flag.

The home team led comfortably for the rest of the game.

"We just didn't put our goals into the back of the net," said centre back Joanne Fox.

"That was our main problem. Greece ... when they shot, they shot strong. It's always
hard playing against a home crowd. We knew from Sydney when we won that carries you through
but at the end of the day, it's what happens in the pool."

Fox, who scored the first of Australia's goals today, was a member of the gold medal-winning
team at the Sydney 2000 Games.

Australia went into Athens ranked seventh with a younger, less experienced lineup than in Sydney.

"It really would have been a fairytale to go all the way through for us," said first-time
Olympian Nikita Cuffe.

"We'll just have to regroup. We'll probably have a team meeting, a recovery swim and
then focus on beating the Yanks."

In one of the most memorable gold medals at the Sydney Games, Australia played the
US in the first-ever Olympic women's water polo final.

Boosted by the cheers of a home town crowd, they beat the Americans 4-3 with only 1.3s
left on the clock.

Four years later, the Greeks stormed to victory on a wave of spectator support to drown
the Australians.

Defender Melissa Rippon said the Aussies would use the loss against Greece as motivation
when playing for the bronze.

"It's something you don't want to feel again. You don't enjoy losing," she said.

"You don't want to do it too often. You remember that feeling and you just know you
don't want to go there again."

Defender Bronwyn Smith, a member of the gold medal winning team from Sydney, left the
pool deck in tears, unable to talk about the loss.

Fox was also red-eyed.

In the other semi-final, Italy came from behind to beat the United States 6-5.

"The United States is the strongest team in the world," said Italian coach Pierluigi Formiconi.

"At that moment, the Italian team was the best in the world."

AAP jhm/sp

KEYWORD: OLY WPO DAYLEAD

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