Britain, Germany notch up opening wins

NOTTINGHAM: Britain overcame a resurgent Japan 6-4 and Germany eased past New Zealand 3-1 on the opening day of the men’s 4-Nations tournament on Monday.

The Britons sped to a 3-0 lead in the first half with goals from Ashley Jackson, James Tindall and Barry Middleton, but faded to allow Japan’s Katsuyoshi Nagasawa to score late in the half.

Nick Catlin scored early in the second period to give Britain a 4-1 lead only to see the lead dissolve to 4-4 with goals by Yoshihito Anai, a second by Nagasawa and Kazuhiro Tsubouchi with 10 minutes to play.

The home side regrouped with goals by Catlin and Jonty Clarke to put the result beyond doubt.

Japan coach Siegfried Aikman was disappointed with his side having conceded early goals.

“We had discussed this before the game and I was disappointed with the way we were scored against and then I was pleased they could come back to 4-4, but it happened too early in the second half for us to shut down the rest of the game,” Aikman said.

Great Britain coach Jason Lee saw improvements in his team.

“We have not had a lot of time together so I was pleased that we had longer periods of good play in this match than we have in previous matches since this group started playing together,” Lee said.

Germany’s 3-1 win over New Zealand was highlighted by the Germans’ ability to keep their defensive patterns and find holes in those of New Zealand.

The Kiwis held Germany scoreless in a first half marked by near misses on goal by both teams and three unsuccessful penalty corner chances for the Germans.

Field goals to Benedikt Frk, Florian Fuchs and Christoph Menke early in the second half came as a result of defensive errors in New Zealand’s circle.

Germany fell away in the last quarter of play allowing New Zealand three raids into Germany’s circle with Blair Hilton deflecting into goal at the right post from Shea Macaleese’s cross from the left.

Germany coach Markus Weise was pleased with his side’s dominance.

“Most of the time we played quite well and dominated the play and created lots of chances but were not able to convert lots of those,” Weise said.

New Zealand coach Shane McLeod said his team was a learning curve as he trials young players with an eye on the 2012 London Olympics and beyond.

“The group we have brought over is with the intention of looking at our players beyond 2012 and there are some quite talented players who are making their debut over the course of this week,” McLeod said.

The 4-nations tournament continues Wednesday when Great Britain meet Germany and Japan play New Zealand.