Coach Williams: “Excellent warm-up ahead of M18 EHF Championship”
As part of their preparation for the M18 EHF Championship which starts later today in Tulln, Austria, the GB Men’s U18 side played in the invitational ‘Copper Box International Handball Championship’ held in London last week at the venue used for handball at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Their preliminary group saw them open with a win against the Indian men’s national team but lose their next match against French side Oxpot.
A 20:8 victory over Chelsea Handball Club and 16:10 win against London GD U19 was enough to see them qualify for the quarter-finals, despite a tight 12:11 loss to the London GD I senior team, the current English Champions.
Unfortunately, the quarter-finals were a step too far for the young side playing against senior players, as they lost 9:8 to HC Dubai and then their 5/6 Placement Match against Olympia HC 20:11. To round off the tournament which featured all games consisting of two 15 or 20-minute halves, the boys played Chelsea again in a friendly match.
“The Copper Box International Handball Championship was an excellent warm up tournament for our young squad ahead of Austria,” said Ciaran Williams, GB Men’s U18 Head Coach. “It allowed me to see different combinations of players on the court and also for them to get better acquainted with each other and our tactical systems.
“India came with a completely different style of play which posed a different task for us,” continued the London 2012 GB Olympian. “We had to be more patient and disciplined in defence and wanted to play at speed in our transition play - we did this and ran out winners.
“Overall it was a good mix of different styles and levels we faced which will also be the case in Austria. We played seven games in three days which also was a test of our physical condition, but the boys came through and showed they have all been putting the work in away from our GB camps which I was especially pleased with.”
Copper Box International Handball Championship Results
Preliminary Group
GB vs India 21:7
GB vs Oxpox 12:19
GB vs Chelsea Handball Club 20:8
GB vs London GD 1 11:12
GB vs London GD U19 16:10
Quarter-Final
GB vs Handball Club Dubai 8:9
5/6 Placement Match
GB vs Olympia Handball Club 11:20
Friendly
GB vs Chelsea Handball Club 10:12
Squad
Hamish Bottomley – Kelvinside (goalkeeper)
Jack Booth - Warrington Wolves (goalkeeper)
Edward Irving - Warrington Wolves (left wing)
Migual Harwood - Colegio Vetusta: Spain (right wing)
Rob Damianou - Carshalton Titans (right wing)
Craig Yule - Tryst 77 (right wing)
Josh McDaid NEM Hawks (playmaker)
Joshua Plumridge - Nottingham (playmaker)
Derry Asante - Carshalton Titans (pivot)
Magnus Stuwe-Hall - Havørn AI: Norway (pivot)
Owen Sartain - Olympia London (pivot)
Graeme Goldie - Tryst 77 (left back)
William Taylor - London GD (left back)
Elliott Buckle – Oly Cats (right back)
Sean Bryon - Livingston (right back)
