Two goals from defender Crista Cullen helped Great Britain to a 2-0 victory over Argentina in the final of the Visa International Invitational Hockey Tournament – the Olympic Test Event in London. A fourth consecutive clean sheet means that Great Britain have not lost a goal in 280 minutes of hockey at the Riverbank Arena on Olympic Park.
The victory was overshadowed by injuries sustained by Cullen and forward Alex Danson (below) in the second half.
After a goalless first half Leicester’s Cullen got the second half off to the best possible start as she fired home a low penalty corner, clocking up a milestone 50th international goal in the process. And things got even better for GB five minutes later when Cullen doubled her tally, again from a penalty corner, propelled high into the net. In the process of scoring though, the 26 year old Beijing Olympian was caught by the onrushing Argentinean defender and left the field with a sprained right ankle.
Cullen was later joined on the bench for the remainder for the match by Reading’s Alex Danson, who was hurt in a collision with an Argentina defender in the 53rd minute. Danson left the field clutching her left shoulder although the exact nature of her injury is unknown.
Speaking afterwards, Head Coach Danny Kerry said, “Argentina were defensive today. They invite the opposition to come to them with the hope of achieving a breakaway. The challenge is to try and unpick that and we were able to unpick them in the second half.”
Talking about the injuries to Cullen and Danson, Kerry added, “We still don’t know how serious Alex’s injury is but Crista should be ok.”
Great Britain’s athletes will now turn their attention toward Olympic squad selection on Friday 18 May before preparing for the Investec London Cup in Chiswick from 5-10 June. Tickets for the six team tournament, which features GB, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, South Africa and Ireland, are still available from www.greatbritainhockey.co.uk/investeclondoncup.
