Mohr Scores 17 as GB Men Battle Against Turkey

GREAT Britain men turned in strong performances against Turkey in friendly matches this week, narrowly losing to a top-class opposition and a partisan support.

Chris Mohr (pictured) scored nine goals for GB as they lost out 30-33 in their first clash, and he bagged another eight in the second match which GB again narrowly lost 26-30.

It was a marked improvement from earlier in the week, when GB had lost out 33-20 to Turkey A.

“When we played Turkey in the Loughborough Series earlier this year they only beat us by two goals,” said assistant coach Bill Baillie. “But they had two or three of their main players out for that game as they couldn’t get visas, so I think they wanted to play us at full strength.

“It’s a good test for us as we’re about on the same level, but their team is older and more experienced with a lot of players in their late 20s and early 30s.

“They play a typical Mediterranean style of handball. They have an aggressive defence, we normally play against 6-0 defences, whereas they are quite open and similar to African and Asian teams in a lot of ways.”

In the first match, as well as Mohr scoring nine goals John Pearce bagged four, while Sebastian Prieto scored six in the second match, while Chris McDermott added five.

The team will now return to London for a couple of days of preparation before heading off to Brazil for an eight-day training camp at Sao Paolo where they will take on their hosts in several matches.