Team GB celebrate victory over Latvia. Great Britain continued their excellent form with a well-deserved 25-20 victory over a strong Latvian side in their second match of the Women’s Four Nation Handball Tournament in Sheffield, with Daniela Sposi top-scorer with six goals.
Lenka Kocisova put Britain ahead for the first time in the sixth minute after Kelsi Fairbrother had cancelled out Latvia’s opener.
Lyn Byl then finished an attack in the best possible way to put them up 3-1 after eight minutes before Latvia started to settle and show their physical spirit which put paid to the Faroe Islands last night.
But that spirit proved a little too much for the referees at times, with influential half-left Jolanta Bicka being yellow-carded on two separate occasions midway through the first period, which the Latvians would come to regret later.
Yvette Frings scored on 20 minutes for GB to make it 7-6 which was added to by Britt Goodwin four minutes later, but Latvia held firm and the teams went into the break evenly poised at 8-8.
The second half saw Latvia open the scoring with Elita Ekkerte, but their celebrations were cut short as Fairbrother hit back just seconds later.
GB then scored again but one of the main turning points quickly followed as, just two minutes into the half Kocisova was fouled by Bicka on the edge of the area and yellow-carded warning meant she was shown red and sent to the stands.
If the Latvian team were deflated by this, they were further deflated by Hargreaves whose penalty save from Nadezda Kalasnikova enabled Lynn McCafferty to score and even up the scores at 11-11.
GB then took the lead thanks to Britt Goodwin’s finish following an excellent pass from McCafferty again before Biel was yellow carded and the subsequent penalty was scored by Kalasnikova to make it 12-12.
Latvian then took the lead again as they employed their pivot Lana Nikolajeva to become McCafferty’s shadow as they looked to numb the GB threat.
Daniela Sposi then brought the scores level again but just as GB had got back into the match Latvia then took a two-goal lead through Kalasnikova and Ivita Asare.
Yvonne Leuthold and then a penalty from Sposi brought GB back into it again, but it was down to left winger Holly Lam-Moores to start influencing the game as she scored on an excellent fast-break 16 minutes in to make it 16-16.
Good goals from Asare and Leuthold kept the scores equal, but Lam-Moores rose to the occasion, setting up Frings and then scoring herself in the space of a minute to make it 19-17 to GB as the team looked to pull away from their opponents in front of a vocal and partisan crowd.
Byl scored twice to further stretch the lead to 21-17 and despite Kalasnikova’s score to make it 21-18, the good teamwork Britain had shown throughout paid off as Sposi and Byl again scored.
The final act of the match saw Louise Jukes smash the ball home as the home team ran out 25-20 victors with a 100% tournament record so far and sent the crowd home happy and expectant that GB can take the tournament trophy with a victory over the vastly-improved Faroe Islands tomorrow night.
GB Scorers: Sposi 6, Byl 4, Goodwin 2, Lam-Moores 2, Kocisova 2, McCafferty 2, Frings 2, Leuthold 2, Fairbrother 2, Jukes 1.
Latvia Scorers: Asare 6, Ekkerte 5, Gundega 3, Kalasnikova 2, Guseva 1, Bicka 1, Skabarde 1, Nikolajeva 1.
Text: Andrew McSteen, LOCSP.org
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