>> Media Guide

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Men's Olympic Hockey Tournament:
Pool A: Germany, Spain, Korea, New Zealand, Belgium, China.
Pool B: Australia, Netherlands, Pakistan, Great Britain, South Africa, Canada.

Women’s Olympic Hockey Tournament
Pool A: Netherlands, Australia, China, Spain, Korea, South Africa.
Pool B: Argentina, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Great Britain, USA.

Final Positions

Pre tournament world rankings are in brackets

Women	Men
Netherlands (1) China (6) Argentina (2) Germany (3) Australia (4) GREAT BRITAIN (9) Spain (7) USA (11) Korea (10) Japan (5) South Africa (12) New Zealand (8)	GER (2)  ESP (4) AUS (1) NED (3) GREAT BRITAIN (8)  Korea (5) New Zealand (11) Pakistan (7) Belgium (12) Canada (15) China (17) South Africa (13)

>> MATCH SCHEDULE & RESULTS

PHOTOGRAPHS - The photographs used throughout the match reports are the copyright of Grant Treeby/GB Hockey and may not be reproduced without permission.  To view all photographs taken of GB Hockey at the Olympics, please click here.

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Final Tables
For up to the minute information, please visit www.worldhockey.org/olympics.

Women - Pool A	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
Netherlands	5	5	0	0	14	3	11	15
China	5	3	1	1	14	4	10	10
Australia	5	3	1	1	17	10	7	10
Spain	5	2	0	3	4	12	-8	6
Korea	5	1	0	4	15	19	-4	3
South Africa	5	0	0	5	5	19	-14	0
Women - Pool B	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
Germany	5	4	0	1	12	8	4	12
Argentina	5	3	2	0	13	7	6	11
Great Britain	5	2	2	1	7	9	-2	8
USA	5	1	3	1	9	8	1	6
Japan	5	1	1	3	5	7	-2	4
New Zealand	5	0	0	5	6	13	-7	0
Men - Pool A	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
Spain	5	4	0	1	9	5	4	12
Germany	5	3	2	0	12	6	6	11
Korea	5	2	1	2	13	10	3	7
New Zealand	5	2	1	2	10	9	1	7
Belgium	5	1	1	3	9	13	-4	4
China	5	0	1	4	8	15	-7	1
Men - Pool B	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
Netherlands	5	4	1	0	16	6	10	13
Australia	5	3	2	0	24	7	17	11
Great Britain	5	2	2	1	10	7	3	8
Pakistan	5	2	0	3	11	13	-2	6
Canada	5	1	1	3	9	14	-5	4
South Africa	5	0	0	5	4	25	-21	0

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Match Schedule & Results

Sunday 10 August
0830	0100	W PB	JPN	2	(2)	-	1	(1)	NZL	Report
1030	0330	W PA	CHN	3	(2)	-	0	(0)	ESP
1800	1100	W PA	AUS	5	(1)	-	4	(4)	KOR
1830	1130	W PB	ARG	2	(2)	-	2	(1)	USA
2030	1330	W PA	NED	6	(2)	-	0	(0)	RSA
2100	1400	W PB	GER	5	(2)	-	1	(1)	GBR
Monday 11 August
0830	0100	M PA	GER	4	(1)	-	1	(1)	CHN
1030	0330	M PB	PAK	2	(0)	-	4	(3)	GBR	Report
1800	1100	M PA	KOR	1	(1)	-	3	(0)	NZL
1830	1130	M PB	AUS	6	(3)	-	1	(0)	CAN
2030	1330	M PA	ESP	4	(2)	-	2	(1)	BEL
2100	1400	M PB	NED	5	(2)	-	0	(0)	RSA
Tuesday 12 August
0830	0100	W PB	ARG	2	(0)	-	2	(0)	GBR	Report
1030	0330	W PA	AUS	6	(1)	-	1	(0)	ESP
1800	1100	W PB	USA	1	(0)	-	1	(1)	JPN
1830	1130	W PA	CHN	3	(2)	-	0	(0)	RSA
2030	1330	W PA	NED	3	(2)	-	2	(1)	KOR
2100	1400	W PB	GER	2	(0)	-	1	(1)	NZL
Wednesday 13 August
0830	0100	M PB	RSA	0	(0)	-	10	(5)	AUS
1030	0330	M PA	CHN	2	(2)	-	5	(2)	KOR
1800	1100	M PB	CAN	1	(1)	-	3	(0)	PAK
1830	1130	M PA	BEL	1	(1)	-	1	(1)	GER
2030	1330	M PA	NZL	0	(0)	-	1	(0)	ESP
2100	1400	M PB	NED	1	(0)	-	0	(0)	GBR	Report
Thursday 14 August
0830	0100	W PA	CHN	0	(0)	-	1	(1)	NED
1030	0330	W PB	USA	2	(1)	-	5	(1)	GER
1800	1100	W PA	ESP	2	(2)	-	3	(0)	KOR
1830	1130	W PB	JPN	1	(0)	-	1	(0)	ARG
2030	1330	W PA	RSA	0	(0)	-	1	(1)	AUS
2100	1400	W PB	NZL	1	(1)	-	0	(1)	GBR	Report
Friday 15 August
0830	0100	M PA	ESP	2	(1)	-	1	(1)	CHN
1030	0330	M PB	NED	4	(3)	-	2	(1)	CAN
1800	1100	M PA	BEL	2	(0)	-	4	(3)	NZL
1830	1130	M PB	PAK	1	(1)	-	3	(1)	AUS
2030	1330	M PA	KOR	3	(1)	-	3	(1)	GER
2100	1400	M PB	RSA	0	(0)	-	2	(1)	GBR	Report
Saturday 16 August
0830	0100	W PB	NZL	1	(0)	-	4	(2)	USA
1030	0330	W PA	AUS	1	(1)	-	2	(1)	NED
1800	1100	W PB	GER	0	(0)	-	4	(0)	ARG
1830	1130	W PA	KOR	1	(0)	-	6	(2)	CHN
2030	1330	W PB	GBR	2	(1)	-	1	(0)	JPN	Report
2100	1400	W PA	ESP	1	(1)	-	0	(0)	RSA
Sunday 17 August
0830	0100	M PB	GBR	1	(0)	-	1	(0)	CAN	Report
1030	0330	M PA	KOR	3	(0)	-	1	(1)	BEL
1800	1100	M PB	PAK	3	(1)	-	1	(1)	RSA
1830	1130	M PA	NZL	2	(1)	-	2	(2)	CHN
2030	1330	M PB	AUS	2	(0)	-	2	(0)	NED
2100	1400	M PA	GER	1	(1)	-	0	(0)	ESP
Monday 18 August
0830	0100	W PB	GER	1	(1)	-	0	(0)	JPN
1030	0330	W PA	KOR	5	(4)	-	2	(0)	RSA
1800	1100	W PB	GBR	0	(0)	-	0	(0)	USA	Report
1830	1130	W PA	NED	2	(1)	-	0	(0)	ESP
2030	1330	W PB	ARG	3	(1)	-	2	(1)	NZL
2100	1400	W PA	CHN	2	(1)	-	2	(0)	AUS
Tuesday 19 August
0830	0100	M PB	NED	4	(0)	-	2	(1)	PAK
1030	0330	M PA	GER	3	(2)	-	1	(0)	NZL
1800	1100	M PB	CAN	5	(2)	-	3	(2)	RSA
1830	1130	M PA	KOR	1	(0)	-	2	(1)	ESP
2030	1330	M PB	AUS	3	(0)	-	3	(1)	GBR	Report
2100	1400	M PA	CHN	1	(1)	-	3	(2)	BEL
Wednesday 20 August
0830	0100	W 9/10	KOR	2	(1)	-	1	(0)	JPN
1100	0400	W 7/8	ESP	2	(1)	-	2	(1)	USA		Golden Goal
1800	1100	W Semi	GER	2	(1)	-	3	(1)	CHN
2030	1330	W Semi	NED	5	(3)	-	2	(0)	ARG
Thursday 21 August
0830	0100	M 9/10	BEL	3	(2)	-	0	(0)	CAN
1100	0400	M 7/8	NZL	4	(1)	-	2	(0)	PAK
1800	1100	M Semi	NED	1	(0)	-	1	(0)	GER
2030	1330	M Semi	ESP	2	(0)	-	2	(1)	AUS
Friday 22 August
0830	0100	W 11/12	RSA	4	(2)	-	1	(1)	NZL
1100	0400	W 5/6	AUS	2	(1)	-	0	(0)	GBR	Report
1800	1100	W 3/4	GER	0	(0)	-	2	(0)	ARG
2030	1330	W Final	CHN	0	(0)	-	2	(0)	NED
Saturday 23 August
0830	0100	M 11/12	CHN	4	(1)	-	3	(1)	RSA		Golden Goal
1100	0400	M 5/6	GBR	5	(0)	-	2	(0)	KOR	Report
1800	1100	M 3/4	NED	2	(2)	-	6	(4)	AUS
2030	1330	M Final	GER	1	(0)	-	0	(0)	ESP

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Sunday 10 August

GERMANY (W)	5	(2)
Fanny Rinne 26,52 (PC,F)
Eileen Hoffmann 31,49 (F,PC)
Marion Rodewald 60 (F)
GREAT BRITAIN (W)	1	(1)
Crista Cullen 29 (PC)

Great Britain’s women were left to rue missed opportunities in Beijing earlier today after losing out 5-1 to reigning Olympic and European Champions Germany in their opening match of the 2008 Olympic Games.  Fanny Rinne and Eileen Hoffmann both netted braces with Marion Rodewald adding Germany’s fifth.  Crista Cullen was the only player on target for Team GB as they now look to pick themselves up for Tuesday’s encounter against World No. 2 Argentina – who earlier today were held to a 2-2 draw with the USA, ranked 11th in the world.

As the rain poured down, it could have been the perfect start for Great Britain with Bowdon Hightown’s Jo Ellis on the end of a long ball, but her deflection went just wide of the mark.  Ellis again had an opportunity in the 7th minute, but the ball seemed to stick and she couldn’t get her shot away as Kristina Reynolds in Germany’s goal cleared the danger and on the 13th minute, Helen Richardson saw her shot from the top of the circle deflected wide.

Germany opened their account on the 26th minute with Fanny Rinne netting her 89th international goal with a drag flick from a penalty corner, but three minutes later, Britain’s penalty corner specialist Crista Cullen got her side back on level terms as she made the most of the set piece which had been injected by Ipswich’s Jo Ellis.

However, a momentary lack of concentration led to Germany regaining their lead two minutes later when Eileen Hoffmann, one of two unmarked players in the circle, fired home from a quickly taken free hit from just outside the circle to make it 2-1 at the break.

On the 47th minute, Great Britain again went wide of the mark when Ellis (Bowdon Hightown) earned a free hit to the left of the circle, but the resulting shot went just past the post.  At the other end, Germany quickly won another penalty corner which was duly converted by Hoffman to make it 3-1.  Rinne made it 4 in the 52nd minute with an unstoppable shot and Rodewald put the final nail in the coffin with a goal on the counter-attack at the second attempt after Beth Storry had denied Germany’s first strike.

Britain couldn’t make a last-minute penalty corner count and will now be looking to make amends on Tuesday against Argentina.

Head Coach Danny Kerry was understandably disappointed after the game “Obviously it hurts a lot to lose by this kind of scoreline and the team is very quiet on the bus at the moment.  We have to take the positives out of today’s game in the fact that we had 10 corners and six shots, but Germany scored at some good points in the game and we were left chasing the match.

“I would describe our performance today as one with patches of isolated play.  The team defence worked on their own rather than in units and we need to work more on that.  Some haven’t played at their best today.  They know that and know they will have to do better in the next game”.

So what about Tuesday’s match against Argentina?  “We have to look forward and can’t dwell on today’s result.  We know what we need to work on and will look to improve substantially on Tuesday.”

Great Britain’s men will open their Olympic campaign at 0330 BST on Monday when they take on Pakistan in a crucial encounter.

STARTED
Mel Clewlow (Canterbury & ENG), Charlotte Craddock (Cannock & ENG), Crista Cullen (Leicester & ENG), Jo Ellis (Bowdon Hightown & ENG), Anne Panter (Leicester & ENG), Helen Richardson (Leicester & ENG), Chloe Rogers (Chelmsford & ENG), Beth Storry (GK) (SCHC & ENG), Rachel Walker (Olton & ENG), Kate Walsh (Slough & ENG), Lucilla Wright (Olton & WW & ENG)

USED SUBSTITUTES
Jennie Bimson (Leicester & ENG), Alex Danson (Slough & ENG), Jo Catherine Ellis (Ipswich & ENG), Sarah Thomas (Rotterdam & WAL), Lisa Wooding (Chelmsford & ENG)

Remaining pool matches
Tuesday 12 August v Argentina (world no.2), 0100 BST
Thursday 14 August v New Zealand (world no.8), 1400 BST
Saturday 16 August v Japan (world no.5), 1330 BST
Monday 18 August v USA (world no.11), 1100 BST

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Monday 11 August

PAKISTAN	2	(0)
Shakeel Abbasi 45 (F)
Muhammad Waqas 59 (F)
GREAT BRITAIN	4	(3)
James Tindall 2 (F)
Rob Moore 14 (F)
Ashley Jackson 29 (PC)
Matt Daly 62 (PC)

Great Britain’s men side were clinical in their finishing after an excellent first half display which put them 3-0 up at half time with goals from James Tindall with a powerful strike, Rob Moore with a reverse stick hit from the top of the circle and Ashley Jackson with a drag flick from a penalty corner.  Pakistan forced their way back into the game during the second half and there were some nervy moments as they pulled the score back to 3-2, but Matt Daly was on hand to finish off a rebounded penalty corner with eight minutes left to take the wind out of Pakistan’s sails.

Tindall’s second minute powerful strike from the right of the circle got Team GB off to the best possible start, but seconds later the post helped to deny an immediate reply from Pakistan as Great Britain survived a penalty corner in which Syed Abbas Bilgrami could only find the woodwork to mark an explosive opening to the match.

Britain earned their first penalty corner in the 11th minute but Richard Mantell’s attempt was cleared to Matt Daly who could only find the side netting.  It wasn’t long however before the Brits doubled their lead with a stunning reverse stick hit from Moore who had his back to goal at the top of the circle.

Ali McGregor was on hand to deny a reply in the 22nd minute with a great stop low to his right from a penalty corner and seven minutes later, Salman Akbar in the Pakistan goal could do nothing to stop a drag flick from Jackson after the ball had been injected by Glenn Kirkham from a penalty corner.

Britain survived an onslaught of four penalty corners between the 30th and 32nd minutes, the last of which saw McGregor on form with a good save to keep it 3-0 at the break.

Pakistan came out determined to make amends in the second half and it wasn’t long before they earned yet another penalty corner, but again, McGregor kept them at bay with a dive to the right.

Great Britain had a 47th minute penalty corner saved, but it was Pakistan who were to get the next goal as four minutes later, Ali Wilson lost the ball and a counter attack ended with a tap-in at the left post for Shakeel Abbasi.  Captain Ben Hawes was yellow carded shortly after and Britain, down to 10 men, found themselves under a sustained period of pressure from Pakistan which was rewarded just after Hawes returned to the pitch in the 59th minute.  Ben Marsden was unable to clear the danger in the circle and Muhammad Waqas netted to reduce their deficit to just one goal.

The next goal was to be crucial and it was Britain who found the back of the net to regain their two goal cushion with nine minutes left on the clock when Daly cleared up a rebound from a penalty corner which had been well saved by Akbar. 

Pakistan pushed until the end, but Britain’s defence held firm to record a vital 4-2 victory in their opening match. 

Head Coach Jason Lee said: 
“Obviously delighted with this win on our opening match.  There is no doubt that is has given us a boost to our confidence.  There is less pressure on us now in our two Games against Holland and Australia so we can just go for it.

"It was a brilliant start.  I had hardly settled into my seat in my coaching box (in the stand) when we scored and I got told off for shouting too much," said the former GB international. We scored early in the Olympic qualifying tournament final against India (in Chile in April) and today felt a bit like that. It certainly helped ease the nerves because we were nervous, to say the least."
 
Captain Ben Hawes said: 
“We know that Pakistan score goals.  When they scored the two goals we were under pressure.  But I was pleased with how we brought it back.  We can now look forward to the Games against Holland where we give it our all."

First goalscorer, James Tindall said:
“Barry put in a good tackle and the ball fell to me and I was able to pop it in.  It gave us a massive boost and you could see the players step up and the confidence get higher.”

Goalkeeper Alistair McGregor said:
“To go 1-0 up early was a great boost, and then I managed to pull off a couple of saves to keep things going.  It was especially important to get a good start against a team like Pakistan, who are so strong going forward.  Our Olympic history against Pakistan is not that good, but we pulled together as a team . We knew where their threat would come from and worked hard to negate that.  At 3-2 there was a bit of a wobble but we try and lead from the back and as a team we have a pretty strong mental edge. We stayed strong to the end.  We’re a pretty close knit team and we work hard for each other.”

Alistair Wilson said:
“It was a reasonably nervous last 10 minutes but we knew we had it in us to keep playing our hockey and hang on for the win.”

Assistant coach Bobby Crutchley said:
“I thought we played well in parts, and the goals were well executed. We need a bit of work in other areas, but we’ve got three points against one of the best sides in the world. It wasn’t a shock that they came back hard, but we scored the fourth goal at just the right time, as the game was starting to ebb towards them.”

World No.3 and current European Champions The Netherlands are next up for Britain, a game which will take place at 1400 BST on Wednesday.

STARTED
Richard Alexander (Surbiton & ENG), Jon Bleby (L’boro Stds & ENG), Jonty Clarke (Reading & ENG), Ben Hawes (Surbiton & ENG), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead & ENG), Glenn Kirkham (East Grinstead & ENG), Richard Mantell (Reading & ENG), Alistair McGregor (L’boro Stds & SCO), Barry Middleton (HGC & ENG), James Tindall (Surbiton & ENG), Alastair Wilson (Beeston & ENG)

USED SUBSTITUTES
Matt Daly (Surbiton & ENG), Stephen Dick (Inverleith & SCO), Simon Mantell (Reading & ENG), Ben Marsden (Surbiton & ENG), Rob Moore (Surbiton & ENG)

Remaining Pool Matches:
Wednesday 13 August v Netherlands (World No.3), 1400 BST
Friday 15 August v South Africa (World No.13), 1400 BST
Sunday 17 August v Canada (World No.15), 0100 BST
Tuesday 19 August v Australia (World No.1), 1330 BST

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Tuesday 12 August

ARGENTINA	2	(2)
Soledad Garcia 10 (PC)
Alejandra Gulla 27 (PC)
GREAT BRITAIN	2	(0)
Sarah Thomas 49 (PC)
Mel Clewlow 51 (PC)

Argentina squandered their second 2-0 half-time lead in two matches as Great Britain continued their Olympic campaign against the world’s second ranked team and current Champions Trophy holders.  Team GB found themselves 2-0 down at half time following a brace of penalty corners from a side with good Olympic pedigree, looking to add the elusive gold to their collection having won the silver medal in 2000 and the bronze in 2004.  The USA came back from 2-0 down at half-time against ‘Las Leonas’ in the opening match on Sunday, and Team GB inflicted the same fate upon the South American side to put a real dent in their hopes of a gold medal.  32-year-old Mel Clewlow from Canterbury scored as she earned her 250th international cap in today’s game, with Leicester’s Crista Cullen, who will turn 23 next week, earning her 100th international cap.  Helen Richardson, also from Leicester HC, earned her 50th Great Britain cap.

‘Las Leonas’ took the lead in the 10th minute from a penalty corner in which Claudia Burkart’s shot ricocheted off the left post, only to see it well followed up by Soledad Garcia – a veteran of the 2000 and 2004 Olympics – who had taken the set piece to begin with.

Team GB had no real opportunities of note within the first half and couldn’t make either of their penalty corners in the 17th and 18th minutes count, the second of which saw Cullen’s strike easily saved by Paola Vukojicic.

Argentina increased their lead to 2-0 on the 27th minute when Noel Barrionuevo feigned to shoot and Burkart’s shot was deflected into the back of the net over Storry’s stick by Alejandra Gulla.

Two minutes into the second half, Storry did well to deny Argentina a third and then at the other end Team GB had a great opportunity when a reverse stick shot from Sarah Thomas was saved by Vukojicic who then did well to prevent Helen Richardson from making anything of the follow up.

Thomas was involved again shortly after when she drove into the circle and won a penalty corner, but the resulting routine came to nothing.

Storry was called upon in the 42nd minute to deny Gulla’s shot on goal and then again in the 44th minute when she made an excellent save to stop a reverse-stick hit from the four-times World Player of the year Luciana Aymar ‘La Maga’ (the Magician), who is often compared to Diego Maradona.

Britain began their comeback by pulling a goal back on the 49th minute at the third attempt from a penalty corner – Cullen’s first shot was saved by Vukojicic as was Clewlow’s follow up, but Richardson’s strike from the top of the circle was deflected in by a well-positioned Thomas at the left post.

Team GB were then level through another penalty corner which was well-executed by Alex Danson and converted by Clewlow with a straight strike from the top of the circle. 

Two-minutes from time, Great Britain were lucky not to concede when the ball was beautifully put across the face of goal by Carla Rebecchi, but a diving Rosaria Luchetti could not get her stick on the ball to deflect into an open goal, for Britain to take a point from a tough encounter.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach Danny Kerry said “Had we lost, my job (as Head Coach) would have been a lot harder in the next match, but as a squad, we can take confidence going into our next game against New Zealand.

“They play 4-4-2 which will be a change for us tactically.  We beat them in Hong Kong in a warm-up match, but obviously that result doesn’t count and you can’t read a lot into it.  Great Britain v New Zealand matches are always decided by the odd goal, so this could be a real hum dinger”.

When asked how she kept her side motivated despite being 2-0 down, captain Kate Walsh said “I was still positive because we still had a lot of possession and chances even though we were 2-0 down.  My role is to keep the team positive throughout and to keep the spark going and I never stopped believing we could get back into the game”.

Veteran of the side Mel Clewlow earned her 250th international cap today and coach Kerry was asked for his thoughts on the milestone.  “I’m delighted for Mel.  We have a love-hate relationship” he joked.  “She retired back in 2005 along with a number of other players who I thought had a lot left in them playing for GB and she was one of those, so I’m glad she came back.  Her father died 18 months ago and I know he encouraged her to return, and I’m delighted for her that she scored on her 250th international appearance.”

MATCH STATISTICS
Shots on goal: Argentina 5, Great Britain 2
Penalty Corners: Argentina 5, Great Britain 8

PREVIOUS OLYMPIC ENCOUNTERS
21 September 1988, Seoul, Argentina 0-1 Great Britain
18 September 2000, Sydney, Argentina 1-0 Great Britain

STARTED
Jennie Bimson (Leicester & ENG), Mel Clewlow (Canterbury & ENG), Charlotte Craddock (Cannock & ENG), Crista Cullen (Leicester & ENG), Alex Danson (Slough & ENG), Anne Panter (Leicester & ENG), Helen Richardson (Leicester & ENG), Chloe Rogers (Chelmsford & ENG), Beth Storry (GK) (SCHC & ENG), Sarah Thomas (Rotterdam & WAL), Kate Walsh (Slough & ENG)

USED SUBSTITUTES
Lisa Wooding (Chelmsford & ENG), Jo Catherine Ellis (Ipswich & ENG), Lucilla Wright (Olton & WW & ENG), Rachel Walker (Olton & ENG), Jo Ellis (Bowdon Hightown & ENG)

Great Britain women's remaining pool matches
Thursday 14 August v New Zealand (world no.8), 1400 BST
Saturday 16 August v Japan (world no.5), 1330 BST
Monday 18 August v USA (world no.11), 1100 BST

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Wednesday 13 August

GREAT BRITAIN	0	(0)
-
NETHERLANDS	1	(0)
Taeke Taekema 63 (PC)

Great Britain men lost out to a solitary goal seven minutes from time against 2004 silver medallists the Netherlands in a hard-working performance which saw chances at either end.  Rob Moore, who came agonisingly close to taking the lead for Great Britain and would have done if not for the fine save from Guus Vogels, earned his 50th Great Britain cap in today’s match.

The Dutch had the first opportunity to score in the 9th minute, but keeper Ali McGregor continued the fine form he showed against Pakistan on Monday to deny Matthijs Brouwer with his feet.

Great Britain had three penalty corners in the first half and prevented Holland, who are so dangerous from these set pieces, from earning any.  The first two corners came in quick succession with the first strike from Richard Mantell just kept out by Vogels and the second from Ashley Jackson going straight into the pads of the approaching keeper.  Richard Mantell’s strike from their third corner in the 24th minute was just wide of the mark.

In the 27th minute, it was the woodwork that denied the Dutch after Robert van der Horst was allowed a clear run on goal and flicked the ball over the pads of McGregor, but was thwarted by the post leaving either side unable to break the deadlock at the break.

Denied of any first-half penalty corners, the Dutch were quick to earn their first of the game a minute into the second-half giving specialist Taeke Taekema his first opportunity of the match.  Taekema, who is currently dating Rachel Walsh, the sister of women’s captain Kate, scored a record 16 goals – including a double hat-trick against Belgium in the semi-final – as the Dutch cruised to the gold medal in last year’s European Championships in Manchester (when they qualified for the Olympics) and had scored two out of three so far in this Olympic tournament.  However, an excellent save from McGregor prevented him from adding another to his tally at this point.

Their second penalty corner chance came on the 50th minute, and with Taekema not on the pitch, it was Roderick Weusthof who took the shot at goal, but he was blocked by a brave Aliastair Wilson.

Vogels performed a good save from a 50th minute penalty corner to stop Richard Mantell from opening the scoring and five minutes later, Ashley Jackson showed some lovely skills entering the circle and putting a reverse stick hit across the face of goal, but neither Matt Daly nor Glenn Kirkham could get the touch needed to find the back of the net.

Britain’s best chance from open play came in the 58th minute when Richard Alexander did well to pick up the ball and pass to Rob Moore who moved across the circle and launched an excellent shot which looked to be going into the top corner of the goal, but Vogels was equal to the attempt and made a fine save to deny Britain again.

Team GB gained a numerical advantage in the 61st minute when Sander van der Weide received a yellow card and a minute later, McGregor made a double save from Robert Reckers.  However, the numerical benefit did not last long as James Tindall was sin-binned for a clumsy challenge just outside the circle which also awarded the Netherlands the penalty corner from which they scored through Taekema. 

Four minutes from time, Taekema was again thwarted by McGregor from another penalty corner to keep the score to 1-0, but they had already done enough to take all three points. 

The result sees Great Britain retain an outside chance of qualifying for the semi-finals – but it will mean having to beat South Africa and Canada as well as table-toppers Australia, the world’s no.1 side, who have amassed 16 goals in two games so far.  However, Team GB remain on course to finish higher than their world ranking of 8th which was the target set for the side before the start of the tournament.

Head Coach Jason Lee was proud of his team’s work rate against the World No. 3 side and said after the game “Holland are the best team in the world and we are not.  However, we are trying to push to that kind of standard and this game reflected that.   We are trying to play on quality and hard work I am proud of how we played.  We have made some good strides in the last two years.

“We would’ve been happy with a point, obviously, but you have to play for full 70 minutes”.

Lee was asked if the yellow card sustained by James Tindall, which also gave away the penalty corner, had any effect on the result, to which his response was “I don’t think the yellow card made a difference, but the corner did.  I have no criticism of James though.  To win a game against Holland, you have to take risks. 

“We want to try and improve our performance, but I don’t think we’re far off our best based on today’s game.” 

Vice captain Glenn Kirkham echoed his coach’s comments, “We showed tonight that we can cope with one of the best teams in world hockey. We closed out their main attacking threats effectively and limited their penalty corner chances as we were aware of the danger of Taekema.”

Midfielder Barry Middleton, who plays his club hockey in the Netherlands, was disappointed with the result but looking ahead said “We can take belief from this match with the knowledge that we can live with a top world team.”

STARTED
Jon Bleby (L’boro Stds & ENG), Jonty Clarke (Reading & ENG), Stephen Dick (Inverleith & SCO), Ben Hawes (Surbiton & ENG), Glenn Kirkham (East Grinstead & ENG), Richard Mantell (Reading & ENG), Ben Marsden (Surbiton & ENG), Alistair McGregor (GK) (L’boro Stds & SCO), Barry Middleton (HGC & ENG), Rob Moore (Surbiton & ENG), James Tindall (Surbiton & ENG)

USED SUBSTITUTES
Richard Alexander (Surbiton & ENG), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead & ENG), Simon Mantell (Reading & ENG), Matt Daly (Surbiton & ENG), Alastair Wilson (Beeston & ENG)

PREVIOUS OLYMPIC ENCOUNTERS
1968, Mexico City, Netherlands 2 – 1 Great Britain
1972, Munich, Netherlands 1 – 3 Great Britain
1984, Los Angeles, Netherlands 3 – 4 Great Britain
1996, Atlanta, Netherlands 2 – 2 Great Britain
2000, Sydney, Netherlands 3 – 2 Great Britain

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Thursday 14 August

NEW ZEALAND	1	(1)
Gemma Flynn 29 (PC)
GREAT BRITAIN	2	(1)
Alex Danson 31 (F)
Crista Cullen 50 (PC)

Great Britain’s women earned their first victory of the 2008 Olympic Games by overcoming New Zealand 2-1 in a close contest.  With only one place separating these sides in the world rankings, it was inevitable that the odd goal would decide the game. 

Beth Storry made a number of good saves throughout to deny the Blacksticks, the first of which came in the 8th minute when a mistake by captain Kate Walsh allowed Niniwa Roberts a shot on goal, but Storry made a good save to prevent New Zealand opening their account.

The next opportunity did not come until the 17th minute when Great Britain were awarded a penalty corner, but Crista Cullen’s shot was easily saved by Beth Jurgeleit.

New Zealand were first to get on the scoreboard from a 29th minute penalty corner taken by Stacey Carr.  Lizzy Igasan’s original shot was deflected by Anne Panter towards a watching and waiting Gemma Flynn who fired home in a diving motion to make it 1-0 to the Blacksticks.

Britain’s reply was almost immediate and came two minutes later when Lucilla Wright dribbled the ball into the circle from a Helen Richardson pass.  Wright stumbled as she entered the circle, but recovered well and fed the ball across to Charlotte Craddock, who deflected the ball upwards towards a centrally placed Alex Danson who kept a cool head to direct the ball into the back of the net.

With 26 seconds left on the clock before half-time, Great Britain won another penalty corner from which they were convinced they had scored, but the umpire controversially ruled out Panter’s goal to leave it even-stevens at the break.

However, 15 minutes into the second half, Great Britain successfully converted a what turned out to be the deciding penalty corner with a well-worked routine which saw the ball pushed out by Panter to the top of the circle where Mel Clewlow feigned to strike, but the ball was crossed to Cullen who launched a powerful shot into the back of the net.

Great Britain move up to fourth in the table on the same number of points as third placed Japan and are in with a chance of making the semi-finals.  If they overcome Japan and the USA in their final two pool matches and Germany do as expected against Argentina (Saturday) and Japan (Monday), the Brits will make the final four.

Head Coach Danny Kerry said after the game “I’m delighted (with the result).  Also in the manner in which we won.  Second half, we really went about our game.”

So what does he make of his team’s performances so far in the Olympic Games?  “We had a particularly poor start to the tournament in the first match, especially in defence.  Then, against Argentina, I thought we were ok but needed to tighten up.  Going into this, it was always going to be tooth and nail and against New Zealand it’s always going to be decided by one goal”.

And what about Britain’s chance of making the semi-finals? “ We can’t get too excited – we need to focus on Japan.”

Britain could have made it 2-1 on the stroke of half-time but Anne Panter’s goal was disallowed because the ball entered the goal above 18 inches and as hers was the first shot on goal and it was deemed to be a hit, it was ruled out.  “I am happy with the decision.  It should have been disallowed” said Kerry.

17-year-old Charlotte Craddock played well throughout and her captain was quick to praise the schoolgirl from Repton.  “Charlotte is an outstanding talent” said Kate Walsh.  “She is a great contender and it’s great to have her as part of the team”.

PREVIOUS OLYMPIC ENCOUNTERS
2 August 1992, Terrassa, Great Britain 3 – 2 New Zealand

Started
Mel Clewlow (Canterbury & ENG), Crista Cullen (Leicester & ENG), Alex Danson (Slough & ENG), Jo Ellis (Bowdon Hightown & ENG), Anne Panter (Leicester & ENG), Helen Richardson (Leicester & ENG), Chloe Rogers (Chelmsford & ENG), Beth Storry (SCHC & ENG), Sarah Thomas (Rotterdam & WAL), Kate Walsh (Slough & ENG)

Used Substitutes
Charlotte Craddock (Cannock & ENG), Jo Catherine Ellis (Ipswich & ENG), Lisa Wooding (Chelmsford & ENG), Lucilla Wright (Olton & WW & ENG)

Did not play
Rachel Walker (Olton & ENG)

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Friday 15 August

GREAT BRITAIN	2	(1)
James Tindall 20 (F)
Matt Daly 66 (F)
SOUTH AFRICA	0	(0)
-

Great Britain secured their second victory of the Olympic Games against a resolute South African team, who prior to this match had conceded 15 goals in two matches.  A goal in each half without reply was enough to take all three points from Britain’s third encounter in their Olympic campaign and leaves them in third place in the table on six points.

James Tindall netted the only goal of the first half in the 20th minute when he picked up the ball and drove into the circle, finishing with aplomb by chipping the ball over the approaching keeper to put the Brits 1-0 up.

Britain escaped a South African reply in the 25th and 26th minute when first of all a dangerous ball was put across the face of goal with no-one  to finish, and then Rob Moore defending well to deny Emile Smith.

Matt Daly netted the second goal with four minutes left on the clock when some brilliant work from captain Ben Hawes down the right saw him beat three players to pass across the face of goal for a waiting Daly to tap in. 

Britain’s next match sees them play fifth-placed Canada who are yet to earn a point in this tournament.  The match will take place on Sunday 17 August on the same day which sees a top of the table clash between Australia and the Netherlands.

Head Coach Jason Lee said after the match “We are very pleased with the result but I feel it was our poorest performance so far.   The team looked more tired and lethargic than in previous games but the final result is very pleasing.  We did well with our corners in the first two matches, but we didn’t do so well today, and I think that reflected our nervousness in getting a good result out of the game.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the tournament, he continued “We have had a plan for the Games well in advance and that includes a plan in place for the Canada match.  We still have an outside chance of reaching the semi-finals.”

Midfielder Middleton took the positives from the game, “A win is a win. We want more, but this was a controlled performance. We need to step up a gear in our next match against Canada and take the momentum forward from there.”

Started
Richard Alexander (Surbiton & ENG), Jon Bleby (L’boro Stds & ENG), Ben Hawes (Surbiton & ENG), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead & ENG), Glenn Kirkham (East Grinstead & ENG), Richard Mantell (Reading & ENG), Simon Mantell (Reading & ENG), Alistair McGregor (GK) (L’boro Stds & SCO), Barry Middleton (HGC & ENG), James Tindall (Surbiton & ENG), Alastair Wilson (Beeston & ENG)

Used Substitutes
Jonty Clarke (Reading & ENG), Matt Daly (Surbiton & ENG), Stephen Dick (Inverleith & SCO), Ben Marsden (Surbiton & ENG), Rob Moore (Surbiton & ENG)

PREVIOUS OLYMPIC ENCOUNTERS
27 July 1996, Atlanta, Great Britain 2 – 0 South Africa
27 August 2004, Athens, Great Britain 1 – 1 South Africa (9v10 play-off, GB won 3-4 after penalty strokes)

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Saturday 16 August

JAPAN	1	(0)
Keiko Miura 60 (PC)
GREAT BRITAIN	2	(1)
Anne Panter 32 (F)
Crista Cullen 70 (PC)

Great Britain picked the best possible time to score the winning goal in their first-ever Olympic encounter with Japan in a game in which Alex Danson earned her 100th international cap and Helen Richardson earned her 150th.  The teams were level-pegging on points as they went into today’s match and with Argentina’s 4-0 defeat of Germany earlier in the day, the two countries knew that only the winner would keep alive feint hopes of a semi-final spot.

Chloe Rogers created the first opportunity of the match as she put the ball across the face of goal in the 6th minute, but a diving Jo Ellis (Hightown) could not get the vital touch.

Japan earned their first penalty corner in the 8th minute but it was defended well by Great Britain and a diving Beth Storry maintained her good form to keep out their second corner in the 17th minute.

The Brits’ first set piece opportunity did not come until the 31st minute when Rogers found a Japanese foot to earn the first of two first-half penalty corners, neither of which could find the back of the net.  However, Team GB took a one goal advantage into the break after Anne Panter scored her first goal for Britain when she squeezed the ball in at the left post from close range after a good cross from Rogers in the 32nd minute and Storry got down well to prevent a reply from a Keiko Miura shot on the stroke of half-time.

Some hard work from Mayumi Ono in the 46th minute allowed her to break into the circle where she found a waiting Kaori Chiba, but Storry was again on hand to keep the one goal advantage.  Shortly after, Rogers received a yellow card and Japan pushed hard to make the most of the numerical advantage, but their 49th minute penalty corner was deflected wide by Crista Cullen.

In the 55th minute, Panter earned another penalty corner after she was tackled hard in the circle, but Clewlow’s shot was cleared.

Japan finally found success from a penalty corner when a 60th minute direct shot from Keiko Miura was deflected out of Storry’s reach by Rachel Walker to level the score with 10 minutes left on the clock.

A goal mouth melee involving Sarah Thomas and Ellis (Hightown) came to nothing when goalkeeper Ikuko Okamura cleared the ball to safety in the 62nd minute and it looked like the two teams would be taking a point apiece from the game, but Japanese hearts were broken in the dying seconds when a well-worked penalty corner routine injected by Panter and involving Clewlow, Walsh and then Cullen with the final shot, handed the 2-1 victory to Britain with no chance of a reply from Japan.

The three points puts Britain on seven points and up to third place in the Pool B table behind Argentina on six points and Germany on nine points with one match to go.  Table-toppers Germany will play Japan and Argentina take on rock bottom New Zealand, who will be playing for pride, in their final group matches.  Whilst the outside chance of a semi-final spot remains a possibility (depending on the results of Germany and Argentina on Monday), Great Britain will want to secure a third place pool finish with a victory over the USA, who are currently occupying the fourth spot on five points.  If they do this, the Brits will be playing off for 5th/6th and will guarantee them a finish at least three places above their current world ranking of 9.

Cullen said after the game: "For the goal our main penalty corner striker Mel Clewlow dummy passed to captain Kate Walsh and I finished it off.

“It was my third goal of the tournament and was obviously very important,” she added. “We play USA next. They are playing well and it will be a huge game. We are putting pressure on the top two teams in the group (Germany and Argentina), which is where we wanted to be."

PREVIOUS OLYMPIC ENCOUNTERS
This was Great Britain and Japan’s first meeting in the Olympic Games

Started
Mel Clewlow (Canterbury & ENG), Charlotte Craddock (Cannock & ENG), Alex Danson (Slough & ENG), Jo Catherine Ellis (Ipswich & ENG), Jo Ellis (Bowdon Hightown & ENG), Anne Panter (Leicester & ENG), Helen Richardson (Leicester & ENG), Chloe Rogers (Chelmsford & ENG), Beth Storry (SCHC & ENG), Sarah Thomas (Rotterdam & WAL), Kate Walsh (Slough & ENG)

Used Substitutes
Laura Bartlett (Milne Craig Western & SCO), Crista Cullen (Leicester & ENG), Rachel Walker (Olton & ENG), Lisa Wooding (Chelmsford & ENG), Lucilla Wright (Olton & WW & ENG)

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Sunday 17 August

CANADA	1	(0)
Ken Pereira 48 (F)
GREAT BRITAIN	1	(0)
Matt Daly 67 (F)

Great Britain pulled back a late goal through Matt Daly to rescue a point from their fourth match in their Olympic campaign as they struggled to break down a gritty Canada.  The result means that hopes of reaching the semi-finals are all but over, but the chance of finishing third in the pool and playing in the 5th/6th play-off – which would guarantee a finish at least two places above their current world ranking of 8 – is still alive.

In what was a pretty uninspiring first-half, a dogged Canada began brightly in the opening two minutes with Wayne Fernandes looking dangerous as he got behind the British defence before birthday-boy Richard Mantell raced back to clear the ball.  Two minutes later, it was Bindi Kullar who was denied by some good defending.

Britain won their only penalty corner of the first-half in the 10th minute but Richard Mantell’s shot, although on target, was hit straight into Mike Mahmood’s pads.

Three minutes later, Rob Moore found some space down the right and put a dangerous ball into the circle, but a diving Stephen Dick was denied by Mahmood.

Britain found themselves a man up in the 28th minute when Sukhwinder Singh received a yellow card for swinging his stick into Glenn Kirkham’s face, but the advantage lasted for only two minutes as Matt Daly joined him in the sin-bin after a poor tackle on Ken Pereira.

With four minutes left on the clock, Canada unleashed a ferocious shot on goal, so much so that it knocked Ben Hawes’s stick out of his hand before the ball went out of play which was the last action before the interval.

Just as they did in the first-half, Canada came out brightly after the break and just after the restart, Paul Werrlaufer’s shot found the back of the net, but to the Canadian’s dismay, the umpire had blown his whistle a second before, then shortly after, Canada stole the ball from the British defence to allow Bindi Kullar a free run at goal, but Alistair McGregor raced out to meet him and prevented any shot.

40 minutes in, James Tindall received his second yellow card of the tournament when he clashed with a Canadian player and overturned him on his shoulder in an impetuous move and Canada took full advantage of the numerical advantage when Ken Pereira beat McGregor at his near post, squeezing the ball in from the right of the circle to put his side 1-0 up in the 48th minute.

Tindall returned to the field of play with 18 minutes left on the clock and immediately sought to make amends, upping the pressure on the Canadians, and Britain worked hard to create openings but struggled to break down their opposition’s defence.

On the 56th minute, Jon Bleby was forced to leave the pitch after being hit in the mouth by a stray stick from Bindi Kullar and although his apologies were forthcoming, he would have felt lucky that the umpire didn’t see the incident.

In the 59th minute a good run down the left from Tindall saw him beat a couple of players and enter the circle but his shot could only find Mahmood’s pads.

Ranjeev Deol and Sukhwinder Singh combined well to give Canada a chance to make it 2-0 with six minutes left on the clock, but the move came to nothing and it was Britain who got the next goal after a free hit from the left taken by Richard Mantell was fired into the circle for Matt Daly to deflect into the back to the net to score his second of the tournament and equalise for Team GB.

Having been handed a lifeline, Britain woke up with two minutes left and won a penalty corner which was taken with 38 seconds left on the clock, but the routine found a Canadian foot winning another penalty corner taken just after the hooter sounded for full-time, but the game ended as Ashley Jackson’s stick seemed to get stuck in the astro-turf to record a 1-1 draw.

Head Coach Jason Lee said after the match “The first 25 minutes showed we had enough to win but our discipline cost us.  They went down to 10 men (on the 26th minute when Sukhwinder Singh was sin-binned) and that was our golden opportunity, but we didn’t take advantage.  There are many positives about our team, but there are some negatives and we’re now left with no chance of the semi-finals”.

Great Britain will play their final pool match against world no.1 Australia on Tuesday at 1330 BST.

PREVIOUS OLYMPIC ENCOUNTERS
1 August 1984, Los Angeles, Great Britain 3 – 1 Canada
20 September 1988, Seoul, Great Britain 3 – 0 Canada
24 September 2000, Sydney, Great Britain 1 – 1 Canada

STARTED
Jon Bleby (L’boro Stds & ENG), Jonty Clarke (Reading & ENG), Matt Daly (Surbiton & ENG), Ben Hawes (Surbiton & ENG), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead & ENG), Glenn Kirkham (East Grinstead & ENG), Richard Mantell (Reading & ENG), Ben Marsden (Surbiton & ENG), Alistair McGregor (GK) (L’boro Stds & SCO), Barry Middleton (HGC & ENG), James Tindall (Surbiton & ENG)

USED SUBSTITUTES
Richard Alexander (Surbiton & ENG), Stephen Dick (Inverleith & SCO), Simon Mantell (Reading & ENG), Rob Moore (Surbiton & ENG), Alastair Wilson (Beeston & ENG)

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Monday 18 August

USA	0	(0)
-
GREAT BRITAIN	0	(0)
-

Great Britain survived a total of 10 USA penalty corners – seven in the first half and three in the second – and ended their final pool match 0-0 to take a point which was of no use.  The point has secured a third placed finish and has assured Team GB of at least the sixth position overall, which would be three places above their current world ranking of ninth.

The first of the USA’s penalty corners came on the 8th minute but they were denied by the in-form Beth Storry and a minute later, their second penalty corner somehow stayed out of the net as Angela Loy, hanging by the post, couldn’t control the loose ball and was quickly surrounded by British defenders.

The last of their first-half penalty corners came with 30 seconds left on the clock of the first half, but the shot was deflected high over the bar.

The USA took only five second-half minutes to earn their eighth penalty corner, but Storry was equal to the shot and deflected it over the bar.

In the 52nd minute, Chloe Rogers stole the ball in midfield and put a long ball into the circle, but there was no-one there to take a shot. 

The woodwork denied the USA from a 54th minute penalty corner when Angela Loy’s shot hit the post and the ball was somehow scrambled off the line to safety.  A minute later, Rachel Walker and Charlotte Craddock combined well down the left, but the attack petered out when Craddock was stopped by Kelly Doton.

Some great play from Alex Danson down the right in the 59th minute ended with a cross, but found no-one waiting to tap home.
Great Britain earned the first of just two penalty corners with five minutes left on the clock, but Kate Walsh’s shot was just wide of the mark and the USA were quick to mount a counter-attack from which they won their final penalty corner, but Storry made a double save, getting down well for the first shot and clearing the rebound attempt to safety to deny America yet again.

With just one minute left on the clock, Great Britain created a number of opportunities, and as the seconds counted down, earned a last-gasp penalty corner, but there was to be no last minute reprieve and after a number of attempts, the USA earned possession and cleared the ball out of the circle to finish 0-0.

Team GB midfielder Helen Richardson was quick to praise the efforts of goalkeeper Storry after the game, “Beth made some great saves. She picked the right ones at the right times. The same goes for our other players. We were all at the right place at the right time.” Commenting on the overall performance of the team she said, “We played pretty well. The United States are a very tough team, very physically tough. They threw everything at us. We got some penalty corners towards the end, but we just couldn’t put them in the back of the net this time.”
 
Great Britain Head Coach Danny Kerry paid tribute to tonight’s opposition, “I thought the United States closed off our options pretty well. Our lack of meaningful penetration just shows how well they played today. I am basically disappointed with our performance. But as a whole, we climbed the world rankings and beat some good teams. You have to look at the bigger picture. It was not good tonight, but overall (in the tournament) it was pretty good.”
 
Team GB captain Kate Walsh was upbeat looking ahead to the classification match, “We want to go on to finish fifth in the competition and that is what we are going to do.”

PREVIOUS OLYMPIC ENCOUNTERS
25 September 1988, Seoul, Great Britain 2 – 2 USA
23 July 1996, Atlanta, Great Britain 1 – 0 USA

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Tuesday 19 August

AUSTRALIA	3	(0)
Bevan George 40 (PC)
Jamie Dwyer 45 (F)
Eddie Ockenden 68 (F)
GREAT BRITAIN	3	(1)
Barry Middleton 34 (F)
Richard Mantell 47 (PC)
Rob Moore 55 (F)

A determined Great Britain put in a performance full of character to draw 3-3 with World No.1 Australia in their final pool-match of the 2008 Olympic Games.  Barry Middleton put Britain 1-0 up just before half-time, but Australia’s captain Bevan George levelled the playing field five minutes after the interval.  Jamie Dwyer put the Aussie’s 2-1 up before Richard Mantell pulled the scored level again.  Rob Moore regained Britain’s advantage, but the win was not to be as Eddie Ockenden netted with just two minutes left on the clock.  Great Britain will now play Korea (world no.5)  in the battle for fifth place, and as the eighth ranked side in the world, a top six finish will mark a successful campaign for the British team.  Should they overcome Korea and finish fifth, it will be Britain’s (men) highest Olympic placing since their famous gold medal in 1988 and will be four places higher than their ninth place finish in Athens four years ago.

After absorbing a period of early pressure, Great Britain had a good chance to score in the 14th minute when a quickly taken powerful free hit taken by Richard Mantell just outside the circle was deflected by Matt Daly through the legs of a number of Australian defenders.

Australia earned the first of their two first-half penalty corners in the 19th minute and Britain, who had so far conceded only one penalty corner from 11, kept up that impressive record when the shot went wide of the mark, but the ball had hit a defenders foot on the way out giving the Kookaburras a second bite of the cherry, but the attempt went wide again.  The ensuing play saw some very impressive defending and saw the Brits survive thanks to the quick thinking of goalkeeper Alistair McGregor and captain Ben Hawes.  Grant Schubert’s reverse stick shot was kept out by McGregor with the rebound attempt being cleared off the line by Hawes, but the ball was picked up again, this time by Fergus Kavanagh, and McGregor was again on hand to deny a further attempt from the Aussies before clearing it to safety.

In the 28th minute, Rob Moore won the ball just outside of the circle and passed to Barry Middleton, but he couldn’t quite get full control of the ball and was prevented from taking a shot by the approaching Stephen Lambert in the Australian goal.

Middleton, who was hard-working and impressive throughout, turned from defender to his more accustomed position of attacker within minutes and in the 33rd minute denied Australia at one end, before finding his way up the other end to put Britain a goal up a minute prior to half-time.   Some good work from Matt Daly down the right saw him dance around three defenders before passing to James Tindall on his left, who quickly supplied Jonty Clarke near the back-line who in turned crossed to a waiting Middleton to direct the ball into the back of the net.

The Australian’s showed their intent early into the second half winning three penalty corners in the opening four minutes.  Hawes came out quickly for the first surprising the Australian attack, but when the ball hit his foot, another penalty corner was awarded.  This time, a straight strike was turned away by McGregor.  Their third set piece saw an interesting variation in which the ball came out to the top of the circle and was slipped left before David Guest took a shot which was saved, but captain Bevan George was waiting to convert for the equaliser.

Shortly after, the Kookaburras took the lead for the first time in the match when double World Player of the Year (2004 & 2007) and former World Young Player of the Year Jamie Dwyer finished well to put his side 2-1 up.

A minute later though, Great Britain won their first penalty corner of the match and whilst Britain’s defensive record in this tournament is impressive, their scoring record from these set pieces shows a complete contrast with only two converted out of 19.  This record went up to two out of 20 as Richard Mantell’s shot was deflected wide, but another corner was awarded and this time, the statistics read three out of 21 as Mantell’s low drag flick straight down the centre of the goal gave Lambert little chance making it 2-2.

Team GB regained their lead after some good work from Hawes down the right ended with him crossing the ball into the circle from the back line.  The ball came off Robert Hammond and fell to Moore who fired home to put the Brits 3-2 up in the 55th minute.

In the closing stages of the match, Australia piled on the pressure.  McGregor was excellent again with a point blank save in the 64th minute and just after Hawes had coolly cleared the ball off the line, the Kookaburras threatened again with a 66th minute penalty corner but it was turned away by Richard Mantell.  Their pressure finally told two minutes from time when Richard Mantell this time missed the ball in the circle and a diving Grant Schubert crossed to Ockenden for an easy tap in.

Goalkeeper Alistair McGregor, who has been outstanding throughout the tournament and again made a number of crucial stops today said “We can take some pride with how we played.  To come out here and get a draw from Australia is very pleasing.  They are a team that is always hard to beat so we have to be pleased with that result.”

Great Britain will now finish in the top six of the Olympic Games and as the eighth ranked team in the world and seventh at the tournament, this will be an achievement.  Head Coach Jason Lee was realistic about his side’s performance at these Games: “When you put everything into context, we came sixth (out of eight) in the Europeans three years ago and went down to 11th in the world in 2006 (GB are currently 8th in the world), but this top six finish could mean we go up to seventh at this point.  There are many areas of our game which we can improve upon.  Ultimately we will always be technically weak, and this will always be an area of work for us as well as trying to advance the physical and psychological aspects of our game.”

PREVIOUS OLYMPIC ENCOUNTERS
30 November 1956, Melbourne: Great Britain 2 – 1 Australia
1 December 1956, Melbourne: Great Britain 1 – 0 Australia
14 October 1968, Mexico City: Great Britain 0 – 0 Australia
2 September 1972, Munich: Great Britain 1 – 1 Australia
9 September 1972, Munich: Great Britain 1 – 2 Australia
11 August 1984, Los Angeles: Great Britain 3 – 2 Australia
28 September 1988, Seoul: Great Britain 3 – 2 Australia
3 August 1992, Terrassa: Great Britain 0 – 6 Australia
29 July 1996, Atlanta: Great Britain 0 – 2 Australia

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Friday 22 August

AUSTRALIA	2	(1)
Madonna Blythe 29 (F)
Hope Munro 68 (F)
GREAT BRITAIN	0	(0)
-

Despite a 2-0 defeat against Australia – a side who missed out on a semi-final place by goal difference – Great Britain finished their 2008 Olympic campaign in sixth spot, three places above their world ranking.  The top-six finish means that England will play in the 2009 Champions Trophy in Australia which will be a valuable experience for their 2010 campaign in the same competition on home turf in Nottingham.

A goal in each half was enough to secure the victory for the Aussies in a stop-start game which saw a goal apiece disallowed by the video umpire. 

The first penalty corner of the game fell to Australia in the 11th minute, but the brilliant Beth Storry got low quickly to prevent a conversion.  It took only three more minutes for Britain to win their first set piece, but Sarah Thomas could not quite get control of the rebound from Crista Cullen’s original shot before Rachel Imison in the Australian goal forced the ball out of play.

An early ball to Alex Danson in the 22nd minute saw her break into the circle, but she was caught by a defender before she had the opportunity for a shot.

Australia scored their first half goal in the 29th inute after a free hit outside the circle was deflected by Casey Eastham forcing a save from Storry, but the ball found its way back into danger zone where a waiting Madonna Blythe picked up a deflected ball, sweeping it into the back of the net.

With 21 seconds left on the clock in the first half, Britain had the opportunity to level the score, but they were denied at a penalty corner by an Australian defence quick off the line.

Three minutes after the break, the Brits won another penalty corner, but the routine which saw the ball injected by Anne Panter and then slipped left by Cullen back to Panter at the post was kicked to safety by Imison.

Then came the first intervention of the video umpire.  A 45th minute penalty corner was taken by Panter out to Clewlow at the top of the circle.  Clewlow fed the ball back into the circle where it was deflected off Panter to Thomas who thumped the ball home and Britain thought they had equalised.  However, after a lengthy period, the video umpire ruled that the ball went in over the legal height for a first shot on goal and it was disallowed. 

Both sides saw a penalty corner come and go in the 54th and 56th minutes before the video umpire was involved for the second time of the game.  In the 62nd minute, Storry got down well to deny the Hockeyroos, but the loose ball was picked up by Hope Munro who chipped the ball over Storry into the back of the net.  But after another lengthy period, the goal was ruled out as it was deemed to have hit Munro’s foot before she got her shot away.

However, she was to get onto the scoresheet with two minutes left on the clock after Britain had taken the decision to play the last three minutes without a goalkeeper with Cullen adopting a blue shirt and playing as kicking back in an attempt to throw everything left at the Aussies.  Cullen was called upon quickly as she swung her stick at a free hit taken outside the circle to clear the ball off the line, but it was picked up by Casey Eastham who played it to Munro who took full advantage of the open goal to make it 2-0.  Storry returned to the pitch for the last minute and a half.

Speaking afterwards, captain Kate Walsh said “I felt it was a tight game.  When it stayed at 1-0 (after disallowed goal) I thought we were still in with the fight and we had the lion’s share of possession, but we couldn’t convert the chances.” 

When asked about her side’s overall performance at the Games, she commented “It was disappointing to come so close and not get to the semi-final, but we have to take some positives in coming into the tournament ranked as 9th and finishing in 6th place.  It will be exciting over the next four years seeing some of our younger players come through.”

Head Coach Danny Kerry added to Walsh’s comments by saying “I am pleased with the way we tried to go about our game, although I felt we didn’t penetrate the circle enough which Australia did very well.” 

When asked about the disallowed goal which would have levelled the score, he said “I couldn’t see from where I was sitting and it wasn’t a great piece of TV work (for the replays), but we had other chances to score so we can’t blame that.”

Looking ahead to London 2012, he continued “We have so many young players we will be trying to push through and I’m very excited at this.  We have some excellent players in the U18 age group, but I’m not sure if they will be ready for 2012.”

Performance Director David Faulkner said “We are delighted with our top six finish and we must now set about moving on from this position.”

PREVIOUS OLYMPIC ENCOUNTERS
17 September 2000, Sydney, Great Britain 1 – 2 Australia

Started
Mel Clewlow (Canterbury & ENG), Charlotte Craddock (Cannock & ENG), Crista Cullen (Leicester & ENG), Jo Ellis (Bowdon Hightown & ENG), Anne Panter (Leicester & ENG), Helen Richardson (Leicester & ENG), Chloe Rogers (Chelmsford & ENG), Beth Storry (SCHC & ENG), Sarah Thomas (Rotterdam & WAL), Rachel Walker (Olton & ENG), Kate Walsh (Slough & ENG)

Used Substitutes
Laura Bartlett (Milne Craig Western & SCO), Alex Danson (Slough & ENG), Jo Catherine Ellis (Ipswich & ENG), Lucilla Wright (Olton & WW & ENG), Lisa Wooding (Chelmsford & ENG)

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Saturday 23 August

KOREA	2	(0)
Jong Hyun Jang 48 (PC)
Hye Sung Hyun 67 (PC)
GREAT BRITAIN	5	(0)
Barry Middleton  44 (F)
Ashley Jackson 49 (PS)
Jonty Clarke 54,63 (F,F)
Glenn Kirkham 70 (F)

Great Britain this morning (Saturday) achieved the fifth-place – their best Olympic finish since the Gold Medal winning performance of 1988 and three places above than their world ranking of 8 – with a 5-2 victory over world no.5 Korea, condemning the 2000 Silver Medallists to their heaviest defeat of the tournament.  A brace from Reading’s Jonty Clarke together with goals from Barry Middleton, Ashley Jackson and Glenn Kirkkham secured the win for the hard-working British side.

Great Britain started what was a goalless first-half well, dominating the early period of play, and won their first penalty corner in the 2nd minute, but Richard Mantell’s strike was wide of the mark and in the 5th minute, a kneeling Stephen Dick at the post couldn’t quite get to a stationary ball.

Korea’s first penalty corner came in the 10th minute, but Jong Hyun Jang’s flick was tipped over the bar by Alistair McGregor who finished the tournament in the fine form he has played in throughout.  Their 23rd minute penalty corner was wide of the mark and McGregor’s foot denied an attempt from Nam Yong Lee in the 32nd minute after a cross from Jong Ho Seo in a quick counter-attacking move.

Richard Alexander had what was probably Britain’s best chance of the first-half just before the break when he won the ball just outside of the circle and dribbled towards goal, but his shot flashed past the post to leave it 0-0 with all to play for in the second-half.

Team GB again began brightly and won a 39th minute penalty corner but a good save from Don Sik Ko in the Korean goal prevented Richard Mantell from opening Britain’s account.  It wasn’t long however before the breakthrough was found when an unmarked Barry Middleton received the ball in the circle, taking it forward with an excellent first touch and finishing with good composure in the 44th minute.

It took just four minutes for Korea to rule out the goal with one of their own after a good penalty corner routine ended with their specialist taker Jong Hyan Jang putting the ball just out of McGregor’s reach, but Britain were back on top within a minute after they were awarded a penalty stroke when Alexander was deliberately brought down by Dong Sik Ko and Ashley Jackson made no mistake from the spot, firing his shot into the roof of the net.

A good strike from Seong Jung Kang was well saved from McGregor in the 53rd minute to prevent Korea from levelling the score for a second time and it was Team GB who was to get the next goal going 3-1 up in a counter-attacking move which saw a great run down the left from Rob Moore, feeding the ball forward to Dick who put a good ball across the face of goal for a diving Clarke to deflect home.

Captain Ben Hawes had the opportunity to get on the scoresheet, but his 60th minute reverse stick hit from the right went flying past the left post.

A 61st minute Korean penalty corner was well-defended by Alexander and shortly after, a shot from the edge of the circle was kept out by McGregor.  Britain broke quickly and raced up the other end of the pitch and a good pass from Jackson found Clarke in open space who, one on one with Dong Sik Ko, coolly rounded the keeper and ended with a quality finish.

Korea’s penalty corner specialist was sin-binned in the 63rd minute and with their opponents down to 10-men, Britain continued to push forward and in the 65th minute Moore supplied Dick in the circle, but his well-struck reverse stick hit was wide of the mark. 

Despite the absence of Jong Hyan Jang, Korea converted a 67th minute penalty corner with Hye Sng Hyun placing a low drag-flick under the body of McGregor to pull back a goal, but the action was not over as Britain netted a last-minute goal when Glenn Kirkham’s pass from the right was deflected into the back of the net off the stick of captain Jong Ho Seo with seconds left on the clock.

Captain Ben Hawes said after the match:  “I am pleased with that result and the way we played today.  It was a difficult one as we have never had the experience of having so many days off between matches.  It is testament to the sort of professionalism that we have got in the squad that we have done things properly over the last four days.

“Before the game we had a long chat on the pitch and spoke about what it meant to be top-six in the world and what we have been through over the last 12 months together.  One of the major factors coming through the Qualifiers was the intensity and amount of training that we have done together and as a squad, we get on brilliantly. 

“When we step on the pitch, we now believe we can beat anyone.  I just hope we can keep the majority together for the next four years.  It is proven that those squads who keep together over a double cycle make it into semi-final and medal games.  I believe we have everything going for us.”

Performance Director David Faulkner said “I am delighted for the men because they have clearly demonstrated that the fifth place in the World Cup two years ago was not a one off.  We are now competing with the top six sides in the world and now have a fantastic platform on our journey towards 2012.”

PREVIOUS OLYMPIC ENCOUNTERS
18 September 1988, Seoul, Great Britain 2 – 2 Korea
21 July 1996, Atlanta, Great Britain 2 – 2 Korea
17 August 2004, Athens, Great Britain 2 – 3 Korea

Started
Jon Bleby (L’boro Stds & ENG), Jonty Clarke (Reading & ENG), Stephen Dick (Inverleith & SCO), Ben Hawes (Surbiton & ENG), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead & ENG), Glenn Kirkham (East Grinstead & ENG), Richard Mantell (Reading & ENG), Alistair McGregor (GK) (L’boro Stds & SCO), Barry Middleton (HGC & ENG), James Tindall (Surbiton & ENG), Alastair Wilson (Beeston & ENG)

Used Substitutes
Richard Alexander (Surbiton & ENG), Matt Daly (Surbiton & ENG), Simon Mantell (Reading & ENG), Ben Marsden (Surbiton & ENG), Rob Moore (Surbiton & ENG)

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