ENG senior men at the EU Nations, Szczecin, Poland. May 2017 RESULTS

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Game 1 ENG v POR 19.05.17

England’s senior men opened their EU Nations campaign this morning with a 5-3 (2-0, 2-2, 0-1, 1-0) victory over Portugal here in Szczecin, Poland.

Centre forward Jordan Elliot broke the deadlock before firing in a penalty to make it 2-0 at the end of the first.

Joel Leighton and Aaron Winstanley were on target in the second to put England 4-2 ahead, but Portugal shut England out in the third to make it 4-3 and set up a nervy final quarter.

Thankfully England held strong and edged further in front through Lewis Daly, while goalkeeper Dylan Green topped a fine performance by saving a penalty to ensure there was no way back for Portugal.

Head Coach Tim Dunsbee commented after the match: “We’re very pleased to start the tournament with the win. Our young team showed strong fitness and we defended strongly.

“In attack, there were a few missed chances, which on another day will go in. There is plenty more to come from us.”

Next up for England in Group C are Lithuania, 2pm start (UK time) this afternoon (Friday).

Game 2 ENG v LTU 19.05.17

England’s senior men will battle for a place on the podium at the EU Nations Cup after a 9-7 (3-0, 1-2, 3-2, 2-3) victory over Lithuania confirmed them as Group C winners here in Szczecin, Poland.

Two goals for Jordan Elliot and one for Joel Leighton put England firmly in control as they led 3-0 at the end of the first.

Dan Paddon added to England’s tally in the second, before Elliot fired home two more in the third.

Great team work then allowed Paddon to score his second of the afternoon to make it 7-4 going into the final quarter.

Lithuania finished the game strongly, but Aaron Winstanley converted a penalty and Elliot capped a fine individual performance with his fifth of the match to ensure England will play in the 1st-4th place group this weekend.

Team Manager Dave King said after the match: “We are showing game on game improvement, and it is great to see the positive interchange between the players and coaches with the team constantly learning.

“The two victories today have guaranteed us a top four finish, with matches to come over the weekend against South Africa, Malta and probably Poland.”

Game 3 ENG v RSA 20.05.17

England’s senior men narrowly lost out to a strong South Africa 11-7 (3-1, 2-4, 4-2, 2-0) at the EU Nations Cup earlier today here in Szczecin, Poland.

Aaron Winstanley was on target for England in the first quarter and goals from Jordan Elliot, Elliot Kelly, Tom Grieve and Addison Brown ensured the scores were level at 5-5 at the end of the half.

Dan Paddon fired in twice in the third, but the more experienced South Africans edged further in front and finished the match strongly to win 11-7.

Next up for England are the hosts, Poland, 7.50pm start UK time, as we go in search of a podium finish.

Poland also lost their first match in the 1st-4th group earlier today, as Malta brushed them aside 14-4.

Game 4 ENG v POL 20.05.17

England’s senior men battled their way to an outstanding 5-5 (0-1, 1-2, 1-1, 3-1) draw with Poland tonight to keep their hopes of a podium finish alive here in Szczecin.

Three late goals from centre forward Jordan Elliot sparked wild celebrations as he completed his hat-trick with just 8 seconds remaining to tie the match and break Polish hearts.

Ben Tinkler-Davies and Dan Paddon were our other scorers and the result means it’s all to play for tomorrow as the medal places could be decided by goal difference, with England facing Malta in our final game and Poland taking on South Africa.

Assistant coach Matt Holland commented after the match: “A cracking effort from all of the lads. They’ve shown high performance levels throughout the tournament.

“With more experience and time, this young squad will deliver.

“What’s impressed me the most is the willingness to learn and improve, and never give up, demonstrated by the great comeback against Poland tonight.

“There is lots more to come.”

1st-4th place standings (with one game to go)

P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1. Malta 2 2 0 0 26 14 +12 6
2. S Africa 2 1 0 1 21 19 +2 3
3. England 2 0 1 0 12 16 -4 1
4. Poland 2 0 1 0 9 19 -10 1

Sunday fixtures (UK time):

12.10: Malta v England
13.20: Poland v South Africa

Game 5 ENG v MLT 21.05.17

England’s senior men have one hand on the bronze medal here at the EU Nations Cup despite losing their final game 11-6 (2-1, 3-0, 2-3, 4-2) to champions Malta.

Our young side bettered Poland’s result against Malta (14-4), so the hosts now need to cause a shock in their last game by beating (or drawing with) South Africa to knock us off the podium.

With seven members of the Malta squad having played at the 2016 Men’s European Championships, our newly-formed senior team expected a tough battle this afternoon, but for large periods of the game we were more than a match for Malta.

Dan Paddon fired in a well-taken hat-trick, while Jordan Elliot, Alex Gaywood and Thomas Grieve were also on target to ensure England finished with the result we needed.

All we can do now is watch the final match of the tournament and hope South Africa can get the better of Poland…

2017 EU Nations Result

BRONZE for England! England’s senior men and coaches are celebrating in Poland today after sensationally winning the bronze medal at the 2017 EU Nations Cup here in Szczecin!

Competing against 11 established and experienced teams, for England’s young squad to finish on the podium in their first ever senior international water polo tournament is a massive achievement.

England started the day knowing they had to equal or better Poland’s result against gold medallists Malta (14-4) and an 11-6 loss, along with Poland’s defeat to South Africa (16-6) was enough for us to take home the bronze.

Huge congratulations to all the players, head coach Tim Dunsbee, assistant coach Matt Holland and team manager Dave King. Plus thanks for all the fantastic support back home and here in Poland.

The senior team’s preparations will now continue for this summer’s World University Games in Taipei (August 19th-30th).

Coach Tim commented: “We’re very happy to have won a medal in this competition, it’s the start of a journey.

“Today we delivered a very solid performance, particularly in defence. We hit our performance target and there is more to come in the future.”