Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
PALERMO / SPORT – An off-colour Ortigia, far from the dazzling form they had shown so far this season, lost the Sicilian derby to a sharp and determined Telimar, who won 10-5 thanks to a high-intensity defence and by capitalising on their opponents’ errors.
For the players managed by Hrvoje Koljanin, coming off a difficult week with physical niggles and flu, the defeat took shape mainly in the second half of the match, after a first half played on a knife’s edge.
[Image: A moment from the Sicilian water polo derby between Telimar and Circolo Canottieri Ortigia 1928]
The match: balanced until half-time, then the hosts pull away
In the first two quarters the game was evenly poised, with both defences alert to block shots and the goalkeepers in the spotlight:
- First quarter (2-2): after a long spell of probing without goals, captain Di Luciano broke the deadlock from the perimeter. Telimar replied immediately with a man up, then drew level again at the end through Vlahovic, right after Ortigia had gone ahead once more thanks to Skiljic.
- Second quarter (2-2): the pattern did not change in the second period, with both teams trading blows until the 4-4 that took them into the interval.
- Third and fourth quarters (2-0, 4-1): after the break the balance tipped firmly in Palermo’s favour. Ortigia wasted numerous chances with a man up and lost their composure, while Ivano Quartuccio’s side stepped up their defensive pressing and struck accurately with the extra man (5/11 for the hosts by the end, against 1/12 for the Syracuse side), sealing the win at 10-5.
Coach Koljanin’s analysis: “We lost our composure at the key moments”
After the match, Ortigia coach Hrvoje Koljanin acknowledged the opponents’ merits without excuses and identified poor finishing with a man up as the key to the setback:
“We deserved to lose. Some of the things we had worked on during the week we did not put into practice as we should have. Today Telimar were better than us, but even so we had good chances in the game: the problem is we wasted them and that made us lose confidence, so we stopped thinking positively as we had in the first half of the match.”
The Ortigia coach then urged the team to stay calm and consistent over all four quarters:
“At the decisive moment in the match we lost our composure and were not ready. It is clear that if you fail to score in seven or eight consecutive man-up situations, you have no chance of winning. Over the next few days we will analyse the game to see where we went wrong, but we must look ahead and work to always give our best.”
The match stats
TELIMAR – C.C. ORTIGIA 1928 10–5 (2-2, 2-2, 2-0, 4-1)
- Telimar: Valle, Privitera 1, Vucurovic, Modica 1, Vlahovic 3, Alfonso Pozo 1, Giliberti, Agulha De Freitas 1, Lo Cascio (C) 1, Fabiano, Lo Dico, Pettonati, Hovhannisyan, Russo 2, Montesanto. Coach: Ivano Quartuccio.
- C.C. Ortigia 1928: Ruggiero, Stellet, Torrisi, Sicali, Di Luciano (C) 2, Snel, Tringali Capuano 1, Tankosic 1, Trimarchi, Marangolo, Radovic, Skiljic 1, Reina, Polizzi, Bordone. Coach: Hrvoje Koljanin.
- Referees: Massimo Calabrò (Macerata Campana, CE) and Alessandro Roberti Vittory (Riese Pio X, TV).
- Notes: Man-up: Telimar 5/11; Ortigia 1/12 + 1 penalty. Lo Dico (T) sent off in the 4th quarter for foul limit.
