Day 1 Report

2nd Commonwealth Water Polo Championships Challenge Stadium, Perth, Australia By Russell McKinnon Perth (January 22).- England and South Africa split their opening games in the II Commonwealth Water Polo Championships at Challenge Stadium here today. South Africa started slowly in the men's game before winning 11-8 while the English women were never troubled in winning 10-2 in the only games of the opening day. South Africa's recent experience in playing the Tom Hoad Cup tournament in Perth last month proved the telling factor as England struggled to come to terms with cohesive play in the glaring sun. South Africa led 3-2, 7-3 and 10-5 at the breaks before stepping off the accelerator in the final quarter. Donn Stewart was impressive with his three goals as the South Africans showed better composure and better shooting selections. Bernice Cowden led the English charge in the women's encounter with most players having their first experience of an outside pool, something that unsettled the team, according to captain Frances Leighton. England shot to a 3-0 lead at the quarter, was 5-1 up at halftime and was 7-2 up heading into the final quarter. Megan Schooling kept South Africa's hopes alive with both goals, including a lob from beyond halfway. All 14 teams are in action tomorrow with the Australians playing Singapore in both match in the evening. Match Reports: Game 1, 13:30, JANUARY 22, Men REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA 11 ENGLAND 8 Referees: Stefan Bottlik (SLO), Michael Hart (AUS). Quarters: 3-2, 4-1, 3-2, 3-1. REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA: Dwayne Flatscher, Brendon Varrie, Kevin O'Brien, Simon Daley (1), Bevan Manson (1), Alistair Stewart (1), Greig Bannatyne, Ryan Bell (1), Pierre Le Roux (2), Ettienne Le Roux (1), Duncan Woods (capt) (1), Donn Stewart (3), Marvin Kilian. Coach: Vlado Trninic. ENGLAND: Andrew Crawford, Scott Carpenter, Matthew Thresher, Mark Banwell (1), Craig Figes (3), Andrew Squires, Alex Parsonage, Thomas Curwen (3), Daniel Williams, Adam Scholefield, Richard Leighton (1), David Taylor, Edward Schott. Coach: Norman Leighton. South Africa began the competition in the best possible way with an 11-8 win over 2002 Commonwealth bronze medallist England. The first quarter was closely contested and the two teams exchanged goals before Donn Stewart scored on extra to give the South Africans a 3-2 lead at the first break. A 4-1 second quarter broke the game wide open for South Africa, and proved to be the difference in the end. By the end of the third period the South Africans had extended their lead to 10-5 and the game was virtually over as a contest. An improved final-quarter performance from the English helped salvage some pride and Craig Figes' third goal 19 seconds from full time reduced the final deficit to three goals. Donn Stewart, who spent a season playing for Perth Torpedoes in the Australian National League here at Challenge Stadium, was the standout player for the winners with three goals, Pierre Le Roux also impressed, scoring twice. For England Craig Figes and Thomas Curwen scored three goals each while goalkeeper Andrew Crawford starred with 13 saves. FLASH QUOTES: Norman LEIGHTON (ENG COACH): "I'm a bit unhappy, we were a bit slow to start with, the South Africans were ready for it but we weren't. Then it was always a case of catch-up. They were strong and we were finding it difficult to break down their defence." Craig FIGES (ENG player): "It was quite a physical game but I think they deserved to win it. We struggled playing our first game for the tournament and we're disappointed in our performance. We didn't play well but we kept fighting in the second half." Vlado TRNINIC (RSA Coach): "We'll take any win that we can. We didn't know anything about England so we're really happy to win this game. The best part of the game was that we were looking fit and physically strong. However we need to work on our shooting." Duncan Woods (RSA Captain): "Obviously we're happy to get a win under the belt, but we'll try to play a bit better tomorrow. England are a young side and we didn't know too much about them, I think they've got some great players of the future although they were a little bit soft at times in defence. We still need to improve our extra-man defence and our shooting." Game 2, 15:00, JANUARY 22, Women REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA 2 ENGLAND 10 Referees: Stephane Roy (CAN), Shie Wei Ni (CHN) Quarters: 0-3, 1-2, 1-2, 0-3 REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA: Hayley Duncan, Ursula Oosthuizen, Lisa Stirrat, Robin Brooker, Jade Liddell, Fiona Mallett, Lauren Hay, Lee-Anne Keet, Megan Schooling (2), Marcelle Keet, Sarah Harris, Kelly-Anne- Speirs (capt), Nikita Koch. Coach: Zsolt Desi. ENGLAND: Tara Smith, Kate Lewis (1), Bernice Cowton (3), Fiona McCann, Chloe Wilcox, Frances Leighton (Capt) (1), Hannah Wild, Christienne Bardecki, Carol Mohan (2), Angela Winstanley-Smith (2), Sarah Pimblett, Larissa Davies (1), Rosemary Morris. Coach: Nick Hume. England started strongly and finished the same way. It was just the middle periods that saw the English stutter and not stick to the plan. South Africa was shell-shocked in the first quarter and was 5-0 down until the final minute of the half when Megan Schooling narrowed the gap. Larissa Davies, having an excellent counter-attacking game, and Angela Winstanley-Smith with her second, gave England a commanding grasp on the game. It was left to Schooling to lift the crowd with a long lob from inside her half just 1.6 seconds from the quarter break. Centre forward and captain Frances Leighton muscled an superb goal from the pit and Bernice Cowton scored her second with a sharp goal from deep left-hand catch. South Africa took two timeouts but lost the ball both times with Cowton scoring her third between the minute breaks. FLASH QUOTES: Zsolt DESI (RSA Coach): "We are a very young team with an average age of 18 and for most it was their first international match. However, they had to follow my orders and sometimes they managed it and sometimes they didn't." Nick HUME (ENG Coach): "It's good to get a win under our belts. Now we will go back and look at the videos.. It was good experience and now we have that out of the way we can concentrate on improving." Frances LEIGHTON (ENG Captain): "It's good to get our first win. The girls had trouble playing outside (in the intense sunlight) but the rest of the games are inside so it's our first step."

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Local Date & Time - Saturday, November 22, 2008 , 10:49