It was almost a different team that took the field against a Korean side who were being tipped as finalists in the Samsung Champions Trophy here in Kuala Lumpur. I say “almost” because Great Britain are still displaying some of the failings which caused their setback against Spain on Thursday. GB were on the scoresheet as early as the sixth minute, when Matt Daly’s first time shot hit the back of the Korean net. For the next 38 minutes the Korean’s fought to get back into the game but some smart goalkeeping by Ali McGregor maintained the lead. It was Korea’s skipper, Jong Ho Seo who scored the equaliser but a penalty corner conversion by Richard Mantell restored the lead with nine minutes to play. Great Britain’s lead lasted less than a minute, with Korea’s second goal coming from Nam Yong Lee. Although a much improved performance, there were still displays of weakness under pressure, with some players trying to take on too many defenders rather than distribute the ball. But, one must not it take away from the team that they managed to recover from Thursday’s poor performance and draw against one of the strongest teams in the tournament.
At the time of writing it looked certain that GB would take part in the 5th/6th place match tomorrow (Sunday), with Australia as potential opponents. Check back later on this blog for a roundup of today’s action.
Photographs from today’s match will appear shortly.
