Spain setback for Great Britain squad

Scotland captain Chris Grassick was included in a Great Britain men’s squad for a two match series against Spain in Terressa earlier this week.

Unfortunately, the side suffered two defeats against the Spanish, going down 1-0 and 4-1.

Following the matches, Great Britain Head Coach Bobby Crutchley said, “We looked a bit rusty and although there were some good moments, there were too many occasions we were poor in key areas.

“We made too many defensive errors and simply weren’t clinical enough in their circle. It’s been a frustrating couple of games and a few players looked off the pace but we will be able to take some positives from the trip.

“It’s been a good exercise in getting back to playing international hockey against a tough opponent. It’s shown us the standards we need to set and the levels we need to reach.”

A 49th minute penalty stroke from Spain’s Marc Salles was enough to give the home side a win in atrocious conditions at Atlétic Terrassa Hockey Club, Barcelona. It was a match of few chances, settled when Salles held his nerve to slot home from the spot 11 minutes from full time after Henry Weir had conceded a penalty stroke for a foul in the circle. Great Britain were unable to break the Redsticks down and though neither side were able to force a penalty corner, it was Bobby Crutchley’s men who went home empty handed.
Great Britain slipped to their second defeat in as many games as Spain swept into a four goal lead at Real Club de Polo, Barcelona. Two goals in the first quarter did the damage as Spain took advantage of the visitors’ mistakes. The pick of the goals as far as the Redsticks were concerned came from Albert Beltran Mir who evaded a number of tackles before lifting the ball over goalkeeper Paddy Smith’s shoulder and into the roof of the net. Ashley Jackson struck a late consolation goal but it was too little, too late.
“We looked a bit rusty and although there were some good moments, there were too many occasions we were poor in key areas. We made too many defensive errors and simply weren’t clinical enough in their circle. It’s been a frustrating couple of games and a few players looked off the pace but we will be able to take some positives from the trip.
“It’s been a good exercise in getting back to playing international hockey against a tough opponent. It’s shown us the standards we need to set and the levels we need to reach when we go to the Champions Trophy as England.“

A 49th minute penalty stroke from Spain’s Marc Salles was enough to give the home side a 1-0 win in the first match during atrocious conditions at Atlétic Terrassa Hockey Club, Barcelona.

It was a match of few chances, settled when Salles held his nerve to slot home from the spot eleven minutes from full time after Henry Weir had conceded a penalty stroke for a foul in the circle. Great Britain were unable to break the Redsticks down and though neither side were able to force a penalty corner, it was Bobby Crutchley’s men who went home empty handed.

Great Britain slipped to their second defeat in as many games as Spain swept into a four goal lead at Real Club de Polo, Barcelona in the second game.

Two goals in the first quarter did the damage as Spain took advantage of the visitors’ mistakes.

The pick of the goals as far as the Redsticks were concerned came from Albert Beltran Mir who evaded a number of tackles before lifting the ball over goalkeeper Paddy Smith’s shoulder and into the roof of the net. Ashley Jackson struck a late consolation goal but it was too little, too late.

 

 

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