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The Canadian men's water polo team had a strong start against a tough side from Australia during the Beijing Olympics, but ultimately fell 8-5 in a match Thursday that saw team coach Dragan Jovanovic ejected in the third quarter for arguing a call with the referees.
Jovanovic received a red card for alleging that referees were letting the Australians get away with illegal tactics above and below the water.
"They were blind to that," said Jovanovic, who was escorted from the bench and off the pool deck after he was carded. "That's something I can't stand. I'm not going to just close my eyes to that."
Canada had three players foul out of the physical match.
Among those players was centre-forward Nathaniel Miller, who also received a red card for arguing the call on his third and final major foul. He too was forced to leave the bench area late in the fourth quarter, but his ejection did not result in a suspension.
Jovanovic's booking, however, has resulted in a one-game suspension from Canada's next match, against Greece on Friday.
The coach came back to watch his team from about about 15 metres away a few minutes after he was asked to leave, and stayed there until well into the fourth. But after he attempted to shout out some pointers to his players, he was asked to leave the pool entirely.
Begrudgingly, he accepted it and attempted to downplay the incident afterward.
"Honestly, I don't care," said Jovanovic, whose team dropped to 0-3 in Group A preliminary play. "The ones who are playing are in the water and they're going to do a good job for sure. I'm going to prepare the team the next couple of days for the game against Greece, but execution is coming from the players in the water."
Assistant coach Robert Couillard, who took over for Jovanovic, will coach against Greece.
Feltham paces Canada
Australian driver Pietro Figlioli led all scorers in the game with three goals, while Aaron Feltham of Lindsay, Ont., paced Canada with a pair in the team's third straight defeat at the Games.
Driver Kevin Mitchell of Maple Ridge, B.C., and centre-back Constantine Kudaba of Port Coquitlam, B.C., each scored in the first period to stake Canada to an early lead.
A third Canadian goal from Feltham helped the team to a 3-2 advantage through one period.
Feltham scored again in the second period to put Canada up 4-3 at the 5:51 mark, but driver Trent Franklin scored at 3:21 to knot the score at the half.
Australia proceeded to pull away in the second half, where it outscored the Canadians 4-1. The win gives Australia a 2-1 record in Group A, while Canada (0-3) remains winless in preliminary play.
The Beijing Games are Canada's first appearance in the Olympics since 1984, when it finished 10th. Its best finish ever was ninth place in 1976.
Croatia beats Germany
Also on Thursday, the 2007 world champions from Croatia used a total team effort in its 13-5 win over Germany at Yingdong Natatorium.
Damir Buric scored three goals on five shots in the win, while Maro Jokovic, Mile Smodlaka, Marc Politze and Miho Boskovic each added a pair for Croatia.
The victory keeps Croatia atop the standings in Group B. Germany is fourth in the group with a 1-2 record.
In other men's water polo action on Thursday:
Serbia (2-1) bounced back from its first loss on Tuesday with a 4-2 victory over the United States (2-1). Four different players scored for Serbia, champion of World Water Polo Super League for the past four years. Driver Peter Varellas scored both goals for the Americans.
Hungary (2-0-1) blanked Spain (2-1) in the second half of its 8-5 win in Group A match. Denes Andor Varga scored on both of his shots, while Tebor Benedik and Gabor Kis each added a pair in the win.
Montenegro (2-0-1) used five goals in the third period to defeat Greece 10-6 in Group A,. Greece is winless at 0-3. Four players scored two goals for Montenegro, which kept pace with Hungary atop the group.
Italy earned its first win in a 19-7 romp over China in Group B. Centre-forward Alessandro Calcaterra did the most damage for the Italians, scoring four goals on six shots in just under 17 minutes of action. Italy scored at least four goals per period in the win.
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