All the pictures from the event can be accessed on our Flickr account by clicking through here. A special thanks to our photographers in Minsk, Anna Ray and Sarah Davies, great job!
Game 1 Russia v GBR 26.08.18
Captain Matt Madden and John Pratt fired in fourth quarter goals as Great Britain opened their European Championships campaign with a 19-2 (3-0, 4-0, 8-0, 4-2) loss to Russia.
A tough reintroduction to the highest level of European competition for the team, but GB fought to the end and frustrated Russia with some great defensive work in the first half.
Game 2 Netherlands v GBR 27.08.18
Connor Carpenter, Ben Riding, Ben Ray and John Pratt were all on target as Great Britain’s U19 men went down fighting 10-4 (1-1, 3-1, 5-1, 1-1) to Netherlands in their second group game at the European Championships in Minsk, Belarus.
After another strong defensive performance by GB against a powerful Dutch side, we spoke to Head Coach Sean King…
“I’m pretty disappointed and I’m sure the majority of the players are too. Stats do not ever tell the full story but we won 11 majors to Holland’s five and both teams had 30 shots on goal yet we have lost the game by six goals.
“That being said, we will now re-group and look to produce a strong performance tomorrow against the Serbs.”
Game 3 Serbia v GBR 28.08.18
Great Britain’s U19 men finished the preliminary stage of the European Championships in Minsk with a 24-1 (6-0, 7-0, 4-0, 7-1) defeat to Serbia.
This tournament has been a steep learning curve for Great Britain but it’s fantastic to see our players back competing against the world’s most powerful water polo nations.
Chris Sturtevant scored our only goal of the game, deep in the fourth quarter from a well-executed man-up.
Game 4 Belarus v GBR 29.08.18
Hat-tricks from Christopher Sturtevant and John Pratt weren’t enough to stop Great Britain losing 13-6 (3-1, 5-5, 3-0, 2-0) to Belarus in the 13th-16th classification semi-finals of the European Championships in Minsk.
A disappointing second half saw the game slip away from GB, who will now face Slovenia in Friday’s 15th-16th classification final, 8am start (UK time).
Game 5 Slovenia v GBR 31.08.18
Great Britain’s U19 men finished their European Championships campaign with a narrow 8-7 (2-4, 2-0, 1-3, 3-0) defeat to Slovenia.
Sean King’s men looked on course for victory heading into the final quarter 7-5 up, but Slovenia fought back with three unanswered goals to win the match.
Tom Hutchins (3), John Pratt (3) and Michael Patterson (1) were all on target for Great Britain in what was a fiercely-contested 15th-16th place classification final.
Slovenia, who had 14 exclusions to GB’s six, scored the winner with just 19 seconds remaining to leave Great Britain ruing their earlier missed chances.
Great Britian’s U19 men’s coach Sean King commented, “This tournament has been a very steep learning curve, for not only my players but also the staff.
“Today’s result is perhaps the most difficult to take, as I dont think our performance merited that outcome.
“I’m incredibly proud to have achieved qualification with these excellent players and it’s been fantastic seeing Great Britain back playing at the highest level of international competition.
“On a personal level, today brings to a close my 12 year association with the national team as I will be taking a break from the sport.
“I really hope that is not the case for my players and they can continue their huge progress and work together with the whole water polo community to ensure future Great Britain squads reach this high level again and again.
“I would also like to thank everyone for their great support here in Belarus and back home, and lastly, a massive thank you to my outstanding staff. Especially Andy McGinty and Colin Walsh. It’s been an incredible journey.”
University water polo competitions in the UK are provided by 2 organisations...
Good luck to London Otter who fly to Istanbul tomorrow to compete in the quarter finals of European Aquatics Challenger Cup, Dec 6-8th 2024. As the first British club to progress to this stage in 13 years, Otter will be facing tough competition but it’s great to see a GB club in Europe again! Follow play-by-play here > https://len.microplustimingservices.com/lenchallengercupwomen/indexCL_web.php?cal=1