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Thompson disappointed with a point

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Despite opening their World Championship campaign with a point, Head Coach Paul Thompson was disappointed that his Great Britain team didn't take all three on offer against the second seeded Polish side. "I am disappointed because I thought we had the majority of the play, created the better chances and should have won the game," he remarked.

Thompson admitted his side looked a little nervous in the early stages of the first period, "That's to be expected, this is a big competition and we are a young side, however once we got our stride we looked the stronger team. I thought the Basingstoke combination of Owen and Chambers teamed up well with Ashley Tait, they deserved their goal and could have had a couple more.

"I wasn't disappointed in a single player, they gave me all that they had and none of them let me or their nation down. I know most people expected Poland to win this game, but as the night went on I only saw us winning it. When it gets down to penalty shots it becomes a lottery, a bounce here, a bounce there and tonight wasn't our night."

Thompson continued, "I was delighted with Stevie Lyle, he looked strong in between the pipes and made some big saves when they were needed. It's a sign of how far we have come in the last twelve months that when I got back to the dressing room the boys were as disappointed as they were. I told them that they had played a strong game, but not to be satisfied, that Poland beat Austria just two weeks ago and if we play with the same desire that we showed this evening we could beat the host country in their own backyard."

Next game:- Team GB Vs Austria - Monday 14th April 7.30pm British Time