Belgium defeats Great Britain in the second test of the two-match friendly series: 3-1
The men’s hockey team of Belgium displayed a splendid show against Great Britain, winning the second test of the two-match friendly series, played in Antwerp, Belgium. The host team registered three goals against the single of the Britain’s team, levelling
the series by one-all.
The defeat did not undermine the confidence of Great Britain’s Hockey Coach, Jason Lee, who was still optimistic after the game.
He observed, “We have learnt a lot from these two games and although we did not win this afternoon there were some positives that came out of the game. We lacked the same level of technical skill we showed last night and that is disappointing, but I think
we had an even number of chances in the game today we just didn’t take them as well as Belgium”.
Although the British squad had an upper hand owing to its victory in the opening match, it failed to establish its dominance, neither in the first set of play nor in the second.
However, the duo battled evenly in the first thirty-five minutes of play, exchanging plenty of attacks. Despite a fast-paced game, the two sides failed to add a goal to their scores in the first 18 minutes of the game.
In the 18th minute mark, Renaud Pangrazio (Belgium) managed to drive the ball to the top of the circle, unleashing a reverse-stick shot and putting the host ahead of Great Britain by 1-0. British custodian, James Fair, had no chance to stop the
ball at any occasion.
It seemed that the Belgian team would maintain its lead throughout the first half of play but that did not happen.
The visitors played aggressively in the latter part of the match, making the score even before going into the second half of play.
In the waning seconds, Harry Martin received a classic pass from Mark Pearn, slamming a powerful shot into the Belgian goal. The two teams moved ahead in the second round locking horns at one-all.
The second period resumed with Great Britain displaying a poor show. The hosts dominated the second half completely, hurling back to back goals. The British players received many scoring chances but failed to avail any of them.
On the other hand, the hosts built up their win over the opportunities they earned during the second set of play.
Tom Boon marked a couple of goals in the 53rd and 60th minutes, respectively, expanding the lead and sealing the victory for Belgium by 3-1.
The hosts, Belgium, will contest the forthcoming Champions Challenge I, set to be played in Johannesburg, South Africa, from November 26 to December 4.
On the other side, Great Britain will play Owen G Glenn FIH Champions Trophy, that will take place from December 3 to 11, in Auckland, New Zealand.
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