Great Britain claim vital Pro League point but fall to Argentina in penalty shootout

Great Britain 1 Argentina 1

(Argentina win 2-1 on penalty shootout)

Four minutes from time, the Lee Valley Hockey Centre erupted into a deafening cauldron of noise, the type synonymous with a last-gasp victory.

It was, in reality, simmered down to an ephemeral sigh of relief, courtesy of a 56th-minute equaliser from Lily Owsley after the University of Birmingham striker poked the ball home following a frantic goalmouth scramble.

With it, Great Britain women earned a 1-1 draw against Argentina in the FIH Hockey Pro League – where they sit seventh – and salvaged a much-needed point if they are to progress to the final stages of the competition, which serve as a qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

But the jubilation was short lived. Mark Hager’s outfit could not carry their late wave of momentum into the ensuing penalty shoot-out, which Argentina won 2-1 to deny the home side a bonus point.

Great Britain’s goal scoring in this competition was a bleak barometer upon which to measure how they would fare in this encounter: they had notched only 10 in their previous eight fixtures.

It was a theme which was replicated in this game and one which forced Giselle Ansley – one of five Rio gold medallists in Great Britain’s starting line-up – to candidly admit that they needed to convert more opportunities in the final third.

“Obviously, we’d love to be scoring more goals,” said Ansley. “We can’t shy away from the fact that we need to score more. We need to put the ball in the back of the goal, but that’s not going to happen overnight and we’re doing a hell of a lot of work for it back at Bisham Abbey, where we train.

“It will get there, we just have to keep getting the ball into that area to score.”

As time wore on, the Lee Valley held its breath to learn whether the grey clouds hanging over this proud Olympic venue would prefigure Great Britain’s ongoing lacklustre form in the centre circle.

They were indebted to goalkeeper Sabbie Heesh as Argentina acclimatised to a British outfit that had managed to quell any threat of attack in the opening exchanges.

The Surbiton stopper marshalled the ball out from her near post before a gloved hand blocked an angled effort from resurgent striker Carla Rebecchi – who has enjoyed fairy-tale form in front of goal in this competition since returning to the international stage just six months after starting a family.

For a fleeting moment, the hosts looked to have broken the deadlock when Erica Sanders’ fierce shot whistled inches wide of the target after effective link-up play between Ainsley and Sarah Evans.

An Argentina goal looked ominous as Micaela Retegui smashed a shot across the face of goal and not long after, the South Americans intercepted possession in midfield to ambush their opponents at the back as Agustina Albertario’s shot deflected into the net.

“We said at the end of our team huddle, it’s definitely a step forward,” Ansley continued.

“To finish full time with a 1-1 draw and to come back from being a goal down was a big step forward for us,

“Argentina have been scoring goals for fun in this competition. They’ve been playing very well – a lot of their older players have come back and they’re a really settled team.

“They’ve got that experience in the back line all the way through the middle of the pitch.”

There was further misfortune for Great Britain in the men’s league, which runs concurrently with the women’s competition, after Danny Kerry’s side suffered a 3-2 loss at the hands of Argentians.

Argentina were leading 3-0 when Samuel Ward pulled one back for the hosts and a comeback looked to be on the cards when Alan Forsyth was on hand to pounce at a rebound on the hour mark, but the South Americans prevailed.

Both British teams continue their FIH Pro League journey against Belgium on Sunday.