GB Women finish qualification group on a high

[Photos courtesy of European Aquatics]

A fine performance in Funchal completed the primary round of matches at the European Aquatics Water Polo Championships. Katy Cutler opened the scoring as Great Britain’s Women took advantage of a Swiss player exclusion, before Toula Falvey and Lucy Blenkinship added the first of their goals to end the first period 4-2 in the lead.

The second and third periods saw the gap in the scoreline extend thanks equally to the team’s composed defence and clinical attack - with Lily Turner and Katie Brown also adding their names to the scoreboard before the final whistle went on the 18-6 victory.

After the match Head Coach, Theo Nousios commented:

“The game started with the Swiss being strong but we kept pushing and found the solutions in attack. This group of players have had to find resilience over the years, and they know how to perform when they need to.”

Having begun the championships with a stern defensive effort against the reigning European champions, Netherlands, by restricting them to a 14-4 scoreline, the resilience to return a positive result showed in being able to bounce back with the win against Switzerland after the 11-6 loss to Israel dashed hopes of a top eight position.

Moving forward into the classification (9-16) rounds the team have confirmed fixtures against Romania and Portugal before a final match on Monday 2nd February to determine their championship ranking.

Classification (9-16) stage fixtures confirmed

Great Britain will continue their European Championships campaign with three classification matches:

• 30 January – 7.15pm vs Romania (ROU)
• 1 February – 1.45pm vs Portugal (PRT)
• 2 February – TBC

Supporters can follow every game live through the Eurovision Sport website and app.

Full results can be followed on the European Aquatics website, with more details on the British team competing in Funchal here.