Surely there were mixed emotions.<\/p>\n
But Fatovic got what he wanted: Australia defeated European powerhouses Croatia for the first time in Olympic history – and as a bonus – his son Loren top-scored with two goals.<\/p>\n
Most importantly it kickstarted the Sharks' campaign and with such an impressive 11-8 win over the world No.3 side, they can now truly believe they're a legitimate chance of a medal in Tokyo.<\/p>\n
The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that Australia have been starved of recent international competition, so it was hard to get a gauge on how they were travelling.<\/p>\n
On Sunday in their first pool match, they pushed world No.1 Montenegro hard before going down 15-10<\/a>.<\/p>\n Goalkeeper Anthony Hrysanthos was outstanding for the Sharks, making 10 saves from shots on goal.<\/p>\n Richard Campbell top-scored for the Sharks with three goals while Blake Edwards bagged two.<\/p>\n Rhys Howden, Aiden Roach and Nathan Power netted goals early before Australia dug in defensively, keeping Croatia – who won silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics and gold four years earlier in London – scoreless in the second quarter.<\/p>\n Legendary Croatian goalkeeper Marko Bijac made a string of good saves but with further goals to Andrew Ford and Campbell, Australia had built a handy 5-3 halftime lead.<\/p>\n Both sides lifted the intensity after the main break as the physicality also ramped up.<\/p>\n But it was at the very end of the third quarter that got Fatovic, and a few of the Aussie players, fired up.<\/p>\n Edwards launched a shot into the back of the net just as the siren sounded. It was a tight call as to whether the ball was released in time. It went to the video review system and after deliberation, the goal was denied.<\/p>\n Fatovic was particularly animated poolside.<\/p>\n But there would be no Heartbreak Hotel for Elvis as Australia powered to a brilliant victory.<\/p>\n Fatovic, who enjoyed a long water polo career playing for Croatia, celebrated with his Aussie team as the fulltime siren went off.<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n