Aussie Stingers denied water polo gold as Spanish power to victory with four last quarter goals

PARIS: Spain has powered to the women's water polo gold medal, denying Australia's Stingers with a four-goal fourth quarter to snuff out a brewing comeback and claim an 11-9 victory in the final at La Defense Arena.

The Stingers were brave and scored the final two goals of the match after their coach Bec Rippon had reminded them to "never say die" in a timeout with 1.49 left on the clock, at that stage down 11-7.

They played hard to the final whistle, with Sienna Hearn and Alice Williams scoring to give the Stingers a shot at a miracle but Spain played out the clock and held on for an 11-9 victory.

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Clearly disappointed at missing their golden opportunity, emotional Stingers players embraced on the side of the pool immediately after the gold medal game.

But the long faces soon turned to smiles and they started to celebrate the incredible tournament they've had, resulting in a silver medal - the second best result the team has ever had at an Olympics and the best result in 24 years.

Williams' goal in the dying stages was her fifth for the match and her 21st for the tournament, making her the top goal scorer in the competition.

Joining Eddie McGuire in Nine's Paris studio soon afterwards, Williams was stunned when asked about her achievement.

"I didn't actually know," she said, adding with a laugh, "well you're the first one to tell me."

"I mean, none of that comes off without my teammates, so I scored goals they all set up. It's a huge accolade but it goes to the rest of my teammates as well, it's a testament to their work ethic and their support in the pool."

At half-time the Stingers looked a match for Spain and the dream of following in the footsteps of the golden girls of Sydney 2000 was alive, with the Aussies trailing 3-2 as a tense contest unfolded.

Both of their early goals were struck by Williams, with centre forward Tilly Kearns causing havoc close to goal as her strength to hold off the Spanish centre back won a penalty then forced an exclusion, leading to the two scores.

But Kearns was nullified in the second quarter and it took some outstanding saves from Stingers keeper Gabi Palm, the shootout hero against the USA in the semi-final, to keep her side in it.

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It was the third quarter where the damage was done, with a powerful burst from Spain blowing the scoreline out to 6-3 with three quick goals that triggered several substitutions from Rippon.

At that point the bleeding was stemmed, with Williams completing her hat-trick and a sharp rebound from substitute centre forward Danijela Jackovich tightening the deficit to two at three-quarter time, with the Aussies seizing the momentum.

But the 7-5 three-quarter time scoreline was soon a distant memory as the Spaniards went on a tear after conceding the first goal of the final period. With the gold medal on a knife's edge at 7-6 to Spain, they scored four quick goals, with the Stingers managing just one in the same period, triggering a timeout with less than two minutes remaining and one last roll of the dice.

With Rippon's words ringing in their ears, the Stingers summoned one last effort to launch a comeback, with Williams scoring her fifth goal of the final to add to Hearn's finish.

But ultimately it was too little, too late.

Speaking to media, including Wide World of Sports, after the game, Kearns paid tribute to the impact Rippon had made on the team, crediting her with their charge to the final.

"She has been in our position before, and she just gets us, she lets us feel things, and she there's so many emotions in sport, especially at Olympic level, and she lets us feel those things because it's totally normal," Kearns said.

"And also she inspires us. And I, personally, I want to win for her every game that we play, and I think all the girls are the same, so she's just an inspiration. And we're really, really lucky to have her."

Meanwhile, Stingers captain Zoe Arancini said she was "elated" to win an Olympic silver medal after 16 years in the national team program.

"I can't quite believe it. You know, I think relief, exhilaration to finally, like, I don't think I'm still processing it, but just stand here with the greatest bunch of girls with the silver medal is it's pretty special," she said.

"This is probably, this is my top moment for my career, and I'm so proud and just humbled to share with such a special group of girls."