BATTLING GB Women earned high praise from Head Coach Jesper Holmris after putting on a superb display in their penultimate Euro 2010 clash at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall this week.
Austria ran out 23-17 winners, but only after being forced onto the back foot by a Great Britain side who showed confidence, aggression and intelligence against a side which boasted several 2009 Champions League winners and a former World Player of the Year.
A near sell-out crowd at Kelvin Hall raised the roof in support of GB, and the team did not disappoint, prompting Holmris to say afterwards: “The GB squad are extremely passionate, dedicated and motivated about handball.
“We knew we had to be very aggressive because physically we cannot compete against Austria, so we have to work with speed and be very aggressive with both the defence and offence and I think we were very successful with this.
“We could have gone in at half time with a draw or maybe even with a lead but we had a few fast breaks we missed.
“Again Sarah Hargreaves had a fantastic goalkeeping performance and she played extremely well.
“Sometimes when you are too compact or aggressive in the middle then the opposition can have a chance from the wings, but I think we were very good with that tonight. At only 14-17 down with around 15 minutes to go I couldn’t believe it - it was amazing.
“We have a lot of players with good potential who are used to playing at a lower level, but they have to get used to playing against the very best players in the world which normally takes five or six years but we only have two years so we have to speed this process up.
“Our players are young and as they continue to work hard with their fitness we can be more together and improve more.
“Results like this will help us play friendly matches against other nations because now they know we are playing at a decent level – that is very positive.
“We just have to play more matches in Great Britain as it has been fantastic every time we have played here. It was phenomenal here tonight in Glasgow.
“France are one of the very best teams in the world and it will be very difficult on Sunday. However, we have had fantastic preparation – we were on the fitness camp in Norway and the tournament in Spain last week but we still have a long way to go and know we have to work hard.”
Austria ran out 23-17 winners, but only after being forced onto the back foot by a Great Britain side who showed confidence, aggression and intelligence against a side which boasted several 2009 Champions League winners and a former World Player of the Year.
A near sell-out crowd at Kelvin Hall raised the roof in support of GB, and the team did not disappoint, prompting Holmris to say afterwards: “The GB squad are extremely passionate, dedicated and motivated about handball.
“We knew we had to be very aggressive because physically we cannot compete against Austria, so we have to work with speed and be very aggressive with both the defence and offence and I think we were very successful with this.
“We could have gone in at half time with a draw or maybe even with a lead but we had a few fast breaks we missed.
“Again Sarah Hargreaves had a fantastic goalkeeping performance and she played extremely well.
“Sometimes when you are too compact or aggressive in the middle then the opposition can have a chance from the wings, but I think we were very good with that tonight. At only 14-17 down with around 15 minutes to go I couldn’t believe it - it was amazing.
“We have a lot of players with good potential who are used to playing at a lower level, but they have to get used to playing against the very best players in the world which normally takes five or six years but we only have two years so we have to speed this process up.
“Our players are young and as they continue to work hard with their fitness we can be more together and improve more.
“Results like this will help us play friendly matches against other nations because now they know we are playing at a decent level – that is very positive.
“We just have to play more matches in Great Britain as it has been fantastic every time we have played here. It was phenomenal here tonight in Glasgow.
“France are one of the very best teams in the world and it will be very difficult on Sunday. However, we have had fantastic preparation – we were on the fitness camp in Norway and the tournament in Spain last week but we still have a long way to go and know we have to work hard.”
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