Great Britain's men and women both secured FIH Hockey Pro League victories on Sunday, with the men getting the better of Spain before the women proved too strong for USA at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London.
Great Britain men bounced back from Saturday's shoot-out defeat at the hands of Spain to record a 2-0 victory against the Red Sticks, with Rupert Shipperley scoring both the goals for the team coached by Danny Kerry. The result leaves GB sitting sixth in the FIH Hockey Pro League standings with a win percentage of 41.67, with Spain down in ninth position with a win percentage of 25.
There was little to choose between the two teams in the first and second quarters, with GB eventually breaking the deadlock in the 28th minute when Shipperley volleyed home from close range after excellent build-up play from Will Calnan. Spain found chances hard to come by after half time, with Shipperley doubling GB's advantage in the 41st minute with a tap-in after brilliant link-up play between Liam Sanford and Alan Forsyth.
"It's nice to get a win, especially after yesterday", said GB's Shipperley, who was named Player of the Match. "We knew we had some things to improve on, and we worked on those today and got the result for it."
Regarding those areas of improvement, Shipperley said: "We needed to tidy a few things up. We asked them [Spain] a few different questions yesterday. Some things didn't work - we had a big chat about connecting the deep midfield to the high midfield. We did that today, and came away with the win."
Reflecting on the game, Spain head coach Fred Soyez said: "I'm disappointed with the result and our performance today, but I think GB played a very good game, and gave us a tough game in defence. You need to be efficient [in front of goal], and GB were more efficient than us today."
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Great Britain's women scored five times for the second time in two days when they overpowered USA 5-0 to claim a maximum six points from their FIH Hockey Pro League double-header. The result against the ninth-placed Americans has helped Great Britain climb up to fourth in the FIH Hockey Pro League standsings, boosting their win percentage to 55.56.
In a dominant performance, the needed just 16 minutes to establish a 3-0 lead thanks to penalty corner conversions from Anna Toman, Giselle Ansley and Sarah Evans. USA soaked up huge amounts of British pressure throughout the contest, but eventually buckled in the fourth quarter when Sarah Robertson cracked home a backhand strike before Sarah Jones produced a fabulous deflection to complete the scoring.
"I think over the two games we showed a lot more consistency in our performances than in the past, and that is a really positive thing for us", said GB's Sarah Jones, who was named Player of the Match. "It was pleasing to score some penalty corners today, because we won a lot of them. I think everyone is feeling positive. We've had a really positive run recently, and the mood in the camp is really good. Still challenging and learning a lot, but I think really positive going towards the Olympics."
Reflecting on the result, USA captain Amanda Magadan said: "GB are a very experienced team and we are kind of in a re-building stage. It's important to take these games and learn a lot from them. The energy is a bit down right now, but we'll take some good lessons from this game."
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The FIH Hockey Pro League will continue next weekend when the the men's and women's national teams of Belgium and the Netherlands take to the field in Antwerp.
Keep up to date with all the latest news on the FIH Hockey Pro League via the Watch.Hockey app, event website and through FIH social media channels - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
FIH Hockey Pro League
Sunday 23 May 2021 – London (GBR)
Men
Great Britain 2, Spain 0 [Match 2 of 2]
Player of the Match: Rupert Shipperley (GBR)
Umpires: Dan Barstow (ENG), Hannah Harrison (ENG) and Sarah Wilson (SCO - video)
Women
Great Britain 5, USA 0 [Match 2 of 2]
Player of the Match: Sarah Jones (GBR)
Umpires: Alison Keogh (IRL), Sarah Wilson (SCO) and Hannah Harrison (ENG - video)
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Image courtesy of GB Hockey.
