Scott Carpenter was a key figure for Great Britain

Britain's men missed out on a medal at the European Nations Water Polo Trophy after a 9-4 defeat by the Netherlands in the third-placed play-off in Lugano.

The match was tied at 4-4 at half-time but the Dutch scored five second-half goals to secure a convincing victory.

Britain had high hopes of winning a medal having beaten the Dutch in the group stages in Switzerland.

But the team still secured a spot at the next qualification tournament for the European Championships next August.

"The team have done better than ever before," said world class programmes manager Joanna Wray.

"It's a shame that they were unable to take the opportunity in the semi-final but they are still a young, strong team and it was a good experience for them."

Britain, who won four out of their five group matches, went into the play-off after losing 15-6 to eventual winners Turkey in Saturday's semi-finals.

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