A dominant first quarter proved key for Greece as they triumphed 14-13 against Montenegro, booking a date with Italy in the Water Polo World Cup semi-finals.

The Greeks narrowly beat Montenegro in the quarter-finals of the World Aquatics Men’s Water Polo World Cup on Thursday evening at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre to advance to the final four.

Greece owed the win in large part to a very strong opening period wherein they scored seven goals to Montenegro’s three.

The other quarters saw the Montenegrins edge closer and closer, with the scoreline reading 9-6, 12-10, and finally 14-13 by the end of the second, third, and fourth periods respectively.

Captain Stylianos Argyropoulos stood out marginally with four goals throughout the contest, though the Greeks collectively willed their way to victory, as evidenced by the fact they had nine different scorers.

Montenegro’s Strahina Gojkovic proved a major thorn in Greece’s side as he bagged five goals in the game.

Greece’s keeper Panagiotis Tzortzatos also proved influential in key moments during the contest, particularly in the final quarter where he made two major saves (one of which being a one-on-one chance).

The match went down to the wire as Montenegro produced one last attack in the dying moments to try draw level, though their final shot failed to meet the target as Greece hung on for the win.

Greece’s coach Theodoros Vlachos praised his side on their strong start (something he asked of them beforehand) which he said proved invaluable in them getting the victory.

“The first period was almost perfect,” Vlachos told Neos Kosmos post-match.

“We only conceded three goals and scored seven. You obviously can’t maintain that throughout the course of a game. Montenegro is a very good team, they were always going to react and try get back into the game. And we just needed to be more cautious in some details.”

“That start gave us confidence to believe throughout the game that we were the better team and that we would get the win,” he said, adding that making them chase them from the beginning was key to their success.

He lamented some silly mistakes they made which allowed Montenegro to get back in the match and have a chance of winning it themselves.

“They shouldn’t have been able to think they could win that game,” Vlachos said frankly.

“What’s important is the result, we can leave it there.”

Greece’s win means they will face Italy in the semi-finals after they had earlier beaten Georgia 18-12.

Vlachos noted Italy’s strength and physicality as things they will have to be wary of when they face them, though stressed they need to focus on their own strengths and let the game speak for itself.

“We will need to make sure not to forget our strengths with both attack and defence, which our team is better at than Italy,” he said.

“We don’t need to feel pressure about the result. We should just try to enjoy the game and give our best performance, both individually and as a team, and we will see the result is.”

Greece and Italy’s clash will take place Saturday 25 July, with the victor to advance to the final that will be played the following day.