Great Britain’s U21 men suffered late heartbreak on day four of the ICF Canoe Polo World Championships in China as a semi-final spot was snatched away.
A 3-3 draw with France and an eventful 9-6 win over Belgium earlier on day four in Dequig left unbeaten GB needing a win in their final group game against New Zealand to cement a last-four tie with Italy.
GB edged 3-2 ahead in the final minute, but their opponents levelled with just four seconds left to send Britain into a play-off for fifth place with Poland on Saturday.
However, both GB’s senior sides still have the semis in sight.
The men’s side lie third, but just one point off top spot with two games to go, after a tight 2-1 win over Switzerland was followed by an unlucky defeat to France by the same scoreline.
And GB’s women opened their second pool stage with 1-1 draws against Singapore and Super Cup winners Spain to sit joint-third with three games remaining.
Having held Denmark to a draw and beaten Portugal on day three, the Great Britain U21 men retained high hopes of a semi-final berth as they faced three second-phase group games on Friday.
Against France, GB dominated the first half but were frustrated by inspired goalkeeping, including a penalty save from Jake Searle, until relentless pressure at last paid off when Angus Boyle converted a second penalty.
Yet the French were level within 30 seconds from virtually their first real attack as Constant Aumont struck.
Nielsen Ruas gave the French a second-half lead while a man short, but the British reply was instant as Boyle capitalised on a one-on-one.
Again France stole into the lead through Elage Ndiaye’s long-range score, but once more the lead was short-lived as Searle twisted and fired in a second equaliser.
Boyle hit the bottom bar and Searle was denied by a point-blank block as GB could not quite turn late pressure into a winner.
For the third time in four matches, the U21 men fell 2-0 behind as Belgium netted twice inside 82 seconds, and within seconds of Ryan Dixon’s reply, Andreas Guillemyn took them two goals clear again.
But in a remarkable end-to-end first half, Searle forced in a second to spark a run of five British goals in as many minutes.
Toby Marlow levelled with a disputed goal before Searle scored twice to complete his hat-trick and Henry McCann finished another quick breakaway to make it 6-3 right on half-time.
The goals continued to rain in as Flynn Hammond extended the GB lead soon after the restart, only for Tim Rogghee’s penalty and Guillemyn’s second to cut the lead to 7-5.
Boyle and Kobe Keuppens traded goals as the Belgians refused to lie down, but Marlow finished a nicely-worked break for his brace to seal a rollercoaster 9-6 victory.
Searle lit up the gloom late on day four in an all-action clash with New Zealand, making a trio of fine first-half saves and firing GB in front with a strong finish two minutes before the break.
The frenetic tone carried into the second half as Kai Alock levelled but was shown a green card just 20 seconds later. Searle capitalised on the man advantage, finding space on the overlap to finally beat NZ keeper Shepherd.
Alcock slotted his second to tie the scores, but was again sent to the sinbin, and GB looked to be heading through as Boyle smashed in the penalty with 57 seconds to play.
Searle pinged a shot against the top bar, but it allowed NZ to break away and level through Tyler Walters with just four seconds on the clock.
Ginny Coyles said:
“It was a heartbreaking way to lose out on the semifinals for the U21 men after they had shown they could be so competitive with the top teams, drawing to both eventual semi-finalists. The progress they have made over the season has been far beyond expectation and they should be proud of how they have come together as a team under the experienced guidance of their dedicated coach Paul Hammond.
“Huge disappointment for those players who age-out after this Championships and were hoping to medal, but hopefully a positive rollercoaster experience for the four first time squad members.”
The Great Britain men had to work hard to grind down ninth-ranked Switzerland, but duly made it two matches, two wins in the second group phase after their superb result over Italy on day three.
GB dominated first-half possession but found it tough to break down a disciplined Swiss defence, with Santanam McCutcheon’s powerful long-range strike providing the only goal before the break.
Fergal McConvey was denied from close range by a great save from Shane Vogeli only for GB to be pegged back by Vogeli’s equaliser.
Yet the British men kept their cool and within 50 seconds, Santanam, the younger of the four McCutcheon brothers, found space to cut inside and slam in his second.
The Swiss continued to impress and were denied by the goal frame in a spell of late pressure, but GB held on.
Up against sixth seeds France, Britain fell behind to Pierre Battin’s strong left-handed shot in the third minute.
They bossed the rest of the half, but again found it tough to turn pressure into goals with Santanam having a shot saved and
Lewis Hammond’s powerful effort deflected wide in a six-minute block of possession.
However, Baptiste Cotta was shown a green card as the French foul count mounted, and GB finally made the man advantage count.
After seeing two shots blocked in quick succession, Santanam struck a minute into the second half, forcing the ball home just as Cotta was due to return.
Yet having worked so hard to haul themselves level, GB trailed again within 90 seconds as Cotta re-established the French lead.
The Frenchman was then shown a yellow card, but Santanam’s subsequent penalty attempt was tipped against the top bar and France held on for a smash-and-grab win.
With the top two in their group – France and Italy – still to play each other on Saturday, GB will reach the semi-finals by winning their remaining matches with Spain and Belgium.
The Great Britain women were also on the wrong end of a late, late show as they opened their second pool stage with a draw against Singapore.
Disciplined defence blunted a string of attacks in a scoreless first half, with both sides hitting the goal frame, while Eleanor McBay twice had close-range efforts well blocked.
The Singapore keeper continued to star in the second half, but having hit two bars with an effort, Bethan Littlewood slotted GB ahead with a third-minute penalty.
The British defence looked to have held out as Singapore threatened, but they were finally breached as Konstanze Kwek equalised with the final shot of the game.
GB’s second match in the group served up a rematch of last weekend’s Super Cup.
Spain edged that clash, and this match was equally close, with Britain resisting early pressure before hitting the front midway through.
Having seen a shot tipped on to the bar and over, Kirsten Lee then converted from a well-worked corner routine.
Katie Howes’ shot from an acute angle forced a good save as GB searched for the security of a two-goal lead, but Spain levelled with four minutes left when Sonia Martinez Garcia worked space to fire in.
Littlewood made a fine save as a quick break from the 2023 European silver medallists created a one-on-one chance, and the GB keeper then made a crucial last-minute block to earn a point.
It preserves their unbeaten record in the group going into day five where they will face Iran, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
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