Spain dresses again in gold in Budapest

The women's water polo team wins Russia and wins its second continental title

The Spanish women's water polo team returned to smile in Budapest. Six years later, the training team Miki Oca He rose again with the title in the European. A triumph that, in addition, had a certain taste of revenge. Russia, the selection that prevented them from achieving gold in Mlaga in 2008, fell on this occasion in a very close match, in which the attacks shone above the defenses in the first half and in which the tables were changed in the second. The stops of Laura Ester and the success of Maica Garca, author of four goals, the same ones that Russian Ekaterina Prokofyeva added, were decisive to be imposed on a rival who also had in his goalkeeper, Anna Karnaukh, to one of his most outstanding players.

Russia hit first taking the first quarter in extremis. The team that directs Alexander Gaidukov He was able to get ahead on the scoreboard up to three times through the goals of Olga Gorbunova, Ekaterina Prokofyeva and Alena Serzhantova. Spain reacted by initially matching the light with the first goal of Anni Espar and managed to get ahead through Roser Tarrag only to see how Elvina Karimova scored 2-2. Maica Garca, in her first appearance, will put a momentary 3-3 that escaped almost in the last breath.

Far from accusing the coup, Spain reacts strongly in the second quarter. Not only did he score 4-4 very soon, thanks to a Pili Pea launch, but he also responded to Evgeniia Soboleva's 4-5 through a Bea Ortiz who, with two consecutive goals, put the Spanish team ahead and forced to Russia to go somewhat in tow. Soboleva, Gorbunova and Prokofyeva responded to the goals scored by Ortiz, Maica Garca and Roser Tarrag to send the game to rest with a tight 8-8.

The scoring effervescence of the first part of the match was replaced by a greater prominence of the defenses after the break. Russia, again, threatened Miki Oca's team, treasuring an advantage of two goals (8-10) through Prokofyeva and Bersneva, that Maica Garca, again, and Anni Espar They were in charge of matching to send the game to an emotionally loaded outcome. The rival goalkeeper, in both cases, managed to touch the ball, but could not prevent it from ending at the bottom of her goalkeeper. Laura Ester, with two big consecutive stops momentarily delayed the Russian escape while, in the other goalkeeper, Karnaukh also signed very good interventions.

Nothing can do, however, the Russian goalkeeper to prevent Spain from escaping on the scoreboard in the last quarter. Clara Espar, very attentive, with a slap on goal of a ball that crashed into a crossbar, Maica Garca, with her fourth goal, and Paula Leitn placed a 13-10 on the scoreboard that Prokofyeva and Serzhantova, in this case after Gaidukov will invalidate an action that also ended up entering the goalkeeper when asking for dead time, they will be responsible for transforming in the final 13-12 that gave the Spanish Spanish team its second European title. A triumph that allows him to face the Tokyo Olympics with morale through the clouds.