Shark attack: Australia upset Olympic Champion

Courtesy olympics.com.au

Australia has defeated defending Olympic Champion Serbia 8-3 in a major upset in the group stage of men’s Water Polo.

This is the first time the Sharks have beaten Serbia at the Olympics Games.

The Sharks led from start to finish at the Paris Aquatic Centre, scoring the opening six goals of the match in a dominant performance.

Four goals to Luke Pavillard, including an opening half hat-trick, as well as two goals to Matthew Byrnes solidified the performance.

Charlie Negus and Jacob Mercep also joined the score sheet with a goal apiece.

Shark’s goalkeeper Nic Porter said the win had left him speechless.

“I always knew this group had a performance like that in them and we've shown glimpses of it this Olympic cycle over the last three years,” he said.

“But to put a performance like that together in front of all our family and friends at the Olympic Games, I couldn't have imagined this in my wildest dreams.

“Everyone probably looked at this matchup and thought Australia's got no chance, but the boys believed and we showed it today and got the win.”

The win was the perfect response for the Sharks after their opening round loss to Spain on Sunday, putting them back on track to make the Olympic quarter finals for the first time since London 2012.

The Sharks aim to use the momentum from their upset win today when they face host nation France on Thursday.

They will take a moment to enjoy today’s win before switching focus to their next match.

“We will recover this afternoon and train today and tomorrow with full focus because we really have to beat France on Thursday,” Nic said. 

There will be added revenge on the line for the Sharks after being eliminated by the French in the playoff phase of the last two World Championships.