Great Britain drew 0-0 in their second of five test matches against current World No. 2 team Argentina. Following a 3-0 win in their first match, Head Coach Danny Kerry chose a young squad to face the home side which included the five players who received their first cap on Tuesday. 19 year old Sam Quek became the sixth newcomer in yesterday's 0-0 draw with Argentina.
Cleary bruised from the defeat in the first game, Argentina came out strong and had all the early pressure. GB had to wait until the 12th minute before they got their first real attacking chance and this fell to 17 year old Craddock whose shot was well saved by the keeper. Apart from that shot it was all Argentina and GB were really on the back foot. A penalty corner for the home side in the 24th minute saw a drag well saved by keeper Beth Storry who also stopped a number of other Argentinean opportunities in the first half.
The second half was much the same and with two Argentina corners in the 42nd minute it was only Crista Cullen's quick closing down at the top of the D that denied the home side more shots on goal. The British team were given a short reprieve when they won a corner in the 43rd but any shot on target was denied when the umpire called an obstruction by the visitors at the top of the D.
The tempo increased and a fantastic run by Aicega ended in a hard shot that hit the side netting. This was followed by another penalty corner for the home team in which the first shot was saved and the rebound shot looked sure to go in if it had not been for the quick reaction of Story in goal.
As the tempo increased, so did the heat on the pitch and the last period saw a succession of yellow cards with Kerry Williams being first to go in the 54th for a stick tackle, followed by Beckie Herbert 10 minutes later for the same offence. Argentina's Luchetti joined them in the 66th minute.
With the pressure never letting up, GB fought until the end and kept the score at 0-0.
Head Coach Danny Kerry said ÔÇ£As expected Argentina threw the kitchen sink at us this evening. With Walsh, Richardson and Thomas rested this young team showed good resilience in the face of sustained pressureÔÇØ
The two sides meet again on Saturday 24 November, Sunday 25 November and Tuesday 27 November.
Quek's first GB cap was also her first senior international cap as she has yet to play for the senior England side. She was part of the GB Youth Gold medal winning squad at this year's Youth Olympic Festival in Australia.
Source: Great Britain Hockey ltd.
