The British Gas GBR Men’s Water Polo Team’s 2014 European Championship qualification campaign came to an end with a battling 18-8 playoff defeat by Romania in Sunderland.
Aiming to turn around an 18-7 aggregate score from the first leg in Bucharest, the Brits made a great start against their more experienced opponents.
Goals from Ciaran James, Glen Robinson, Tom Curwen and Jake Vincent gave the home team a 5-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Romania started establishing themselves in the second quarter but Britain held on and went into half time level at 6-6.
After that, the visitors seized control with seven unanswered scores as their fitness and experience told in the third and fourth quarters.
While Ciaran James completed a hat-trick for the home side with a third quarter effort, the Romanians ultimately pulled away in the third and seven unanswered scores in the fourth quarter sealed an 18-8 (3-5, 3-1, 5-1, 7-1) victory.
That completed a 36-15 aggregate victory for the visitors, who now qualify for this summer’s European Championships in Budapest in July.
British head coach Andrei Iosep said: “We played very well until the mid-point of the third quarter, but going into the game with such a deficit meant it was always going to be a difficult.
“Fitness and experience did come into it. Today’s game showed the difference between a team who practises once or twice a week and a team who practises 11 to 12 times a week.”
GB goalscorers: Ciaran James 3, Glen Robinson 2, Tom Curwen 2, Jake Vincent.
British Gas GBR Men's Water Polo Team
- Edward Scott (captain)
- Ciaran James
- Jake Vincent
- Alasdair Campbell
- Declan Thompson
- Jack Waller
- Glen Robinson
- Tom Curwen
- Joe O'Regan
- Jonny Kirk
- Carl Wyatt
- Chris Armstrong
- Matthew Holland