 Chambers and Phillips celebrate victory (Picture by Diane Davey) |
Great Britain cruised to a comfortable 11-1 win against Romania to end their pre-qualifying group for the 2010 Winter Olympics on a high. GB went into the game with their hopes of making it to the next stage already over following defeats against hosts Poland and Japan in Sanok. There were goals from 10 different players, including two by David Clarke, and four assists by Greg Chambers. The victory meant Britain finish third above Romania in the four-team pool. "I'm a realist and know it wasn't much of a challenge for us today but the important thing was that we went out there with the right attitude," said Great Britain coach Paul Thompson. "It's good to finish with a win in the tournament. But there is undoubtedly a big part of me that is thinking 'what if?'" "There were many positives to come from this and overall I think the younger guys have gained more experience to take into the next challenge at the Worlds." The Romanians had shipped 16 goals in their opening two games so hopes were high of a British victory despite being two places below their opponents in the world rankings at 29. Paul Thompson's side had narrowly been beaten in both of their previous games in Group D - losing on penalties to Poland on Thursday before going down 2-1 against Japan the following day. They nearly fell behind against the Romanians too but for Razvan Lupascu's wayward finishing with the goal gaping in the second minute.  | There is undoubtedly a big part of me that is thinking 'what if?' |
It was down to captain Jonathan Weaver to settle the nerves with nearly five minutes on the clock - the Coventry Blaze defenceman blasting in his second goal of the tournament from a central position just inside the blue line. Within a minute it was 2-0 as Weaver turned provider, setting up Colin Shields for a shot from the right wing circle which squirmed under Romanian netminder Szabolics Molnar. A well-worked goal after seven minutes gave GB even more breathing space - Paul Sample assisting Russ Cowley - before Clarke all but wrapped up the points three minutes from the end of the first period with a five-on-three powerplay effort. Ashley Tait extended the lead further with after 22 minutes, providing a well-placed finish for his 21st international goal, before Romania opened their account, catching GB cold through Zsombor Antal. Normal service was resumed when Greg Owen intercepted in the neutral zone before coolly finishing to make it 6-1 four minutes from the end of the period. It was a goal that meant that Britain matched the score they had beaten Romania by at the World Championships in Slovenia two years ago. But that scoreline would soon be surpassed as David Phillips opened his international goalscoring account with a backhand to round off a fine individual effort. | 606: DEBATE |
Weaver then slammed a shot against the crossbar five minutes into the final period before Jonathan Phillips became the eighth different British goalscorer - the Sheffield Steelers man finding the net just after 46 minutes. It was 9-1 two minutes later, as Clarke got his second of the match and 17th in a British jersey, before Mark Richardson made it double figures with a simple finish. There was still time for Coventry Blaze's Leigh Jamieson to add his name to the scoresheet as Britain registered their biggest win since hitting 12 against Israel two years ago. Meanwhile, Chambers' four assists moved him to the top of the assist list for the tournament with six overall.
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