Great Britain made it five wins out of five as they put four goals past the USA in their final game in San Diego. The game mirrored yesterday’s performance with a 0-0 score line at half-time, but Great Britain came out the stronger side in the second period to retain their 100 percent record on Stateside.
The game was of considerable note for Leicester’s Crista Cullen who made her 150th appearance for Great Britain and England combined. Speaking after the game she said, “It is an honour to be part of this squad and amazing to get this many caps; I only hope that there are many more to come.”
In rainy conditions in San Diego the first half of the game was played at a considerable tempo as the US came out with a clear intention to ensure that Great Britain did not get everything their way during their visit. It was end to end action with some strong physical play from both teams, however neither managed to capitalise on their chances. Like yesterday, the game was goalless as the teams went in at half-time.
Within one minute of the second half Great Britain made the breakthrough when Slough’s Nicola White intercepted a pass on the baseline and pulled the ball back to team mate Ashleigh Ball who connected well to make it 1-0.
After the physicality of the first half Great Britain seemed to come out the stronger side and after being awarded a penalty corner on 52 minutes Sarah Thomas reacted first to a deflection from Kate Walsh’s shot to make it 2-0. With a two goal advantage Great Britain took control of the game and set about adding to their impressive 17 goal series tally.
With 27 minutes of the second half played White was involved in the build up play again. This time she picked out Dundee Wanderers Vikki Bunce to make it 3-0 to Great Britain. It looked like the game would finish that way, but with one minute to go Bunce struck a fierce shot from the top of the circle which a US defender and Alex Danson battled for. The goal was credited to Alex Danson who has had a fantastic week with six goals in total. The final score was 4-0.
Speaking after the game, Great Britain Head Coach Danny Kerry said, “The US were tenacious in the first half and made it a very competitive game for us. It was vital to score the early goal in the second half and from there we took control of the game and scored four good goals.”
After making her 150th appearance Leicester’s Crista Cullen added, “Today was a great way to finish off our tour. We’ve dominated the series and it’s been great to score so many quality open play goals.”
The Great Britain women’s hockey team will next be in action in the Champions Trophy in Argentina. Great Britain’s first Pool match will be on January 28th against Japan at 15:00 local time.
USA 0 (0)
GREAT BRITAIN 4 (0)
Ashleigh Ball 36 (F)
Sarah Thomas 52 (PC)
Vikki Bunce 62 (F)
Alex Danson 69 (F)
Great Britain v USA
Name (Club) Position
Started
Abi Walker (Canterbury) Goalkeeper
Crista Cullen (Leicester) Defender
Sally Walton (Bowdon Hightown) Defender
Laura Unsworth (Loughborough Students) Defender
Kate Walsh (Reading) Defender
Ashleigh Ball (Slough) Midfielder
Helen Richardson (Reading) Midfielder
Laura Bartlett (Reading) Forward
Nicola White (Slough) Forward
Alex Danson (Reading ) Forward
Sarah Thomas (No Club) Forward
Substitutes used
Rebecca Herbert (Leicester) Forward
Vikki Bunce (Dundee Wanderers) Midfielder
Chloe Rogers (Leicester) Midfielder
George Twigg (Clifton) Midfielder
Anne Panter (Leicester) Defender
Great Britain Hockey media release
