Olympics-Water Polo-Croatia to defend title in water polo final

By Joshua Schneyer RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Croatia remain on course for back-to-back golds after defeating Montenegro 12-8 in the first men's water polo semi-final to clinch a spot in Saturday's gold-medal match. In a hard-fought match notable for aggressive grappling close to the goals, the Olympic title-holders' win owed much to deft goalkeeping, and an almost impregnable defence. Goalkeeper Marko Bijak made several crucial blocks to deny Montenegro's prolific shooters, saving 10 of 18 shots on goal. Though Croatia's attack took fewer shots, they were more often on the money. Croatia's Andro Buslje scored four times -- an 80 percent success rate. Montenegro's goalkeepers, by contrast, saved only two of 14 shots during the match. "It's always the most important part of the game," Croatian goalkeeper Bijak said of his team's superior defences on Thursday. "(Montenegro) have a few very good shooters." The victory takes Croatia within one win of retaining the title they won in London in 2012 and becoming just the fourth team in the 116-year Olympic history of the sport to win back-to-back gold medals. Only Great Britain, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia - of which Croatia formed a part - have accomplished the feat. Montenegro's defeat denies them the chance to fulfil their dream of playing for Olympic gold for the first time as an independent team. They were narrowly denied a podium spot at the last two Games, finishing fourth each time. Their last medal was a silver in Athens in 2004, when the combined Serbia-Montenegro team fell in the final to Hungary. Montenegro knocked Hungary, the most successful water polo team in Olympic history, out of medal contention in Rio, beating them 13-11 in Tuesday's quarter-finals. In Saturday's final, Croatia will meet the winner of Serbia and Italy, who face off later on Thursday. Though the Serbian side got a slow start in the Rio tournament - with two draws, a loss and two wins during the group phase - they looked far more authorititative in their 10-7 quarter-final victory over Spain earlier this week. Serbia, who in January added the European championship to the world title they won last year, are aiming to win their first Olympic gold medal as an independent team. Water polo is among the most popular sports in countries of the former Yugoslavia. Serbian coach Dejan Savic has said that his team faces considerable pressure to win in Rio, telling reporters before Games match play began that the media back home "are waiting to cut the head off our team if we don't win the gold". He added: "We have won everything else, now we want this." Serbia must first get past Italy, a team that has won four of their six matches so far and whose goalkeeper Stefano Tempesti impressed in their 9-5 quarter-final victory over Greece. (Reporting By Joshua Schneyer,; Editing by Neville Dalton)