Great Britain’s four sides bolstered their medal chances with another encouraging day at the 2024 ICF Canoe Polo World Championships in China.
The GB men’s side pulled off perhaps the result of day three in Deqing as they opened their second group stage with a superb 3-2 win over the world number three-ranked Italians.
A tight 4-3 win over Denmark and 9-3 victory over Australia saw the GB women finish second in their group to book their place in the second phase.
It puts them in a group with the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Singapore and Switzerland, needing a top-two finish to make the semis.
The British U21 women also celebrated a big result, beginning the second group phase with a draw against world number ones Germany before being edged 3-2 by New Zealand in their second and final game.
With the top two going through to the semi-finals, Britain will progress on goal difference if the Paddle Ferns beat Germany by two clear goals in the final group game on Friday.
A dramatic late comeback earned the GB U21 men a 2-2 draw with Denmark in their opening match of the second pool stage before fighting back to beat Portugal 8-3.
It leaves them second in the group with tests to come against France, Belgium and New Zealand.
“Our primary objective was to improve on sixth place at last year’s European Championships of sixth and seventh at the World Championships,” said U21 men’s coach Paul Hammond.
“With half the team attending their first champs, this will be a great test of character and resilience, particularly against the more physical and established front-runners like Germany, Italy, Spain and France.”
A clash of two former world champions got the action under way as the GB men closed their first group stage against Australia.
Shivan McCutcheon rewarded early pressure with the opener midway through the first half and Alex Lowthorpe finished a quick counter to stretch the lead before Shivan’s backhand flick made it 3-0 at the break.
GB skipper Suryan McCutcheon found the net early in the second half, and another backhand finish gave Shivan his hat-trick.
Jack Steel’s yellow card summed up Australian frustrations, with Fergal McConvey putting the late seal on a comprehensive 6-0 win.
The result sealed a second-place group finish for Great Britain behind Poland.
It kept them on track for the semi-finals and sent them into a tough second pool phase with France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Belgium.
The Brits faced a testing task against Italy first up, but they made the perfect start.
Suryan won the opening throw in, swapped passes with his brother Shivan and slammed in a powerful finish.
Gianmarco Emmanuele soon equalised, but GB edged a hard-fought first half thanks to Sanatam McCutcheon’s penalty shortly before the break.
Suryan muscled his way into the heart of the Italian defence to fire in a third and create some daylight, yet the tension grew when Jan Haack halved the lead with two minutes left.
But after GB smacked the goalframe for a second time, a series of brilliant late blocks sealed an impressive win to spark noisy celebrations.
After opening with a massive win over hosts China and a convincing defeat by world champions Germany on day two, Great Britain women knew victory over Denmark would seal qualification with a group game to spare.
Sofia Andersen broke the deadlock but that was as good as it got for the Danes who started a place higher than GB in the world rankings in eighth.
Bethan Littlewood banged in an equaliser just 20 seconds later before the game’s crucial moment.
Sara Love Andersen was shown a red card for dissent, leaving Denmark to play the remaining 15 minutes with four players, and Littlewood tucked away the resulting penalty.
The short-handed Danes kept GB at bay for the rest of the half and Lara Robra levelled a minute after the break while green-carded Katie Howe was in the sinbin.
With GB restored to full strength, parity lasted just 30 seconds as Littlewood completed her hat-trick, and Georgie Longbottom’s long-range effort then made it 4-2.
Andersen’s second made for a nervous finale, with Robra also denied, but GB held out.
Fast-starting Great Britain were checked in their final group game against Australia as Erin Moore cancelled out Littlewood’s early penalty.
But that would be the last time Australia were in touch.
Eleanor McBay restored the lead from range, and GB profited from quick counter-attacks as Sara Lanao-Madden’s double and a Kirsten Lee strike put them in command.
Britain had to weather some pressure after Moore’s penalty late in the first half cut the gap to 5-2.
But two goals in 16 seconds from Howes and Madden restored order, and although Jennifer Stevens pulled another goal back, Madden’s fourth and McBay’s second capped a comprehensive 9-3 win.
Great Britain U21 men opened the second group stage against Denmark and fell 2-0 behind to Carl-Christian Dahl’s precise finish and Viggo Willumsen’s penalty.
The goalframe came to the Danes’ rescue, with Toby Marlow twice striking the bar, while determined defence further frustrated the British.
Flynn Hammond’s audacious paddle flick rattled the top bar and Marlow’s piledriver was tipped wide as GB camped deep in Danish territory after the break.
The Danes were out of luck when a technical fault stopped the game as they bore down on goal, and the GB pressure finally told with two minutes left when Hammond finished a one-on-one chance.
Denmark looked to have secured the points when a point-blank save denied Jake Searle, but with just 10 seconds left, Searle squeezed in a fine shot from a tight angle to rescue a draw.
As in their opener, the young British side quickly found themselves 2-0 down to Portugal, but skipper Angus Boyle steadied the ship, winning possession upfield to slot in from range.
Hammond’s long pass found Marlow all alone to level before Searle squeezed in a finish to complete the comeback.
Hammond added a close-range fourth before the break to put GB in control and they eased four goals clear through Searle’s penalty and Boyle’s one-on-one.
The Portuguese continued to impress in attack as Jose Bernardo made it 6-3, but Marlow and Hammond added more gloss to Britain’s goal difference.
Great Britain U21 women faced a daunting task in the second pool stage against the world’s top two ranked sides – New Zealand and Germany.
But having held the podium-chasing Spanish to a 1-1 draw earlier in the competition, GB opened with another impressive point against top seeds Germany.
Mistakes from both sides meant for few chances in a scoreless, cagey first half, with Evie McNamara making a couple of decent saves and Emmy-Lou Hessin’s effort tipped over.
Lia Koelling finally broke the deadlock four minutes into the second half, but GB earned a deserved point with two minutes left when good work from Poppy Clews teed up Jessie Hurtt to pounce from close in.
GB had succumbed to two late goals in a 4-3 defeat to New Zealand in the first group stage and started their rematch strongly, forcing several saves and seeing another shot tipped against the bar.
However, at the other end, the defending champions were clinical in front of goal as Hayley Austin scored from deep and Kayla Carne doubled the lead inside five minutes.
Evie McNamara finally found a way through late in the first half, but Austin’s second restored the two-goal cushion soon after the break.
Hat-trick-hunting Austin fluffed her lines when she sent a penalty over the top, but frustration grew as the New Zealand keeper continued to defy them.
Yet Clews’ super angled shot gave GB a deserved second at the death, and while not enough to salvage a draw, it did improve their goal difference. That could yet prove crucial.
Action continues tomorrow which you follow across the Planet Canoe channels
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