England and Great Britain coaches Trevor Down and Joe Leveridge hailed the development of their respective teams during a competitive EU Nations Junior Men Water Polo Tournament.
Down’s England team took seventh spot during the three-day event in Brno, Czech Republic, while Leveridge’s British squad – who were playing up an age group – finished eighth.
England defeated Luxembourg 18-10 and drew 13 all with eventual runners-up Lithuania in Group C, while Britain were beaten 13-5 by Cyprus before beating Ireland 15-13.
That set up a fifth-to-eighth-place clash between the two teams with England eventually edging a closely-fought contest 12-10.
They took seventh spot after being beaten 20-12 by Austria and 11-10 by hosts Czech Republic.
However, Down said the results were a marked improvement on their previous EU Nations Tournament last October.
He said: “The guys were quite disappointed after the small we win we had against GB.
“They didn’t let themselves down but a bit of complacency might have crept in.
“Against Czech Republic, I thought we played well enough to win it but unfortunately maybe the home crowd got the better of them and they beat us by one goal. But we stuck to the structure and stuck to the systems which was really good.
“Austria got five or six gaols in front in the first quarter and we changed the defensive pattern twice and in the second half, when we went to a press, it worked well.
Hoping for better things
“I thought we were certainly competitive in the middle two quarters and reasonably competitive in the last quarter.
“We have seen a lot of the guys develop over the five games which is what they are here for, gaining the experience.
“It would have been nicer to win and come higher than seventh.
“However, it’s still two years to go for the development for these guys so a big stepping stone and big improvements from last October when we came here last playing up an age group.
“So it’s really positive moving forward and I think, as the year progresses and the more training the guys do together, they will become more of a gelled team.”
Britain were beaten in their remaining fifth to eighth place matches by Czech Republic (14-11) and Austria (14-8).
Leveridge said: “We have had a fantastic three days of water polo.
“We finished the tournament eight which was great. That meant we only had one win in the five games we played but every single game we were competitive, the lads improved as they always do on these weekends and we have a whole load of things we can work on for next year.
“We’re hoping for better things in the future.
“The lads are confident, they made loads of good friends here and are already talking about what they need to do to get into the medals next year.”
Results
Group B
Great Britain 5-13 Cyprus
Harrison Walsh (2), Shea Gilder (2), Joseph Carolan,
1st 3-3; 2nd 0-3; 3rd: 0-4; 4th 2-3
Great Britain 15-13 Ireland
Thomas Davis (5), Joseph Carolan (3), Murray Dickson (3), Tadhg Perry (2), Samuel Leveridge, Harrison Walsh
1st 3-4; 2nd 5-4; 3rd 2-3; 4th 5-2
Group C
Luxembourg 10-18 England
Rueben Powell (7), Ben Alderson (4), Aaron Downer (2), Hamza Tran (2), William Thompson, Lewis Glennon, George Barnicle
1st 3-3; 2nd 3-5; 3rd 2-2; 4th 2-8
England 13-13 Lithuania
Ben Anderson (5), Reuben Powell (2), William Thompson (2), Ryan-Jay Griffiths (2), Henry Jackson, Lewis Glennon
1st 2-6; 2nd 4-3; 3rd 5-3; 4th 2-1
5th-8th place matches
Austria 20-12 England
Arish Patel (4), Ben Alderson (4), Reuben Powell (2), William Thompson, Cayden Down
1st 7-2; 2nd: 5-4; 3rd 4-4; 4th 4-2
Great Britain 11-14 Czech Republic
Joseph Carolan (5), Thomas Davis (3), Henry Broadhurst, Louie McKie, Murray Dickson
1st 2-4; 2nd 3-4; 3rd 4-5; 4th 2-1
Great Britain 10-12 England
GBR goals: Joseph Carolan (3), Robert Bentham (3), Thomas Davis, Harrison Walsh, Murray Dickson, Tadhg Perry
England goals: William Thompson (4), Reuben Powell (4), Arish Patel, Ben Alderson, Henry Jackson, Cayden Down
1st 3-3; 2nd 2-2; 3rd 1-2; 4th 4-5
Austria 14-8 Great Britain
Thomas Davis (2), Joseph Carolan (2), Murray Dickson (2), Harrison Leeke
1st 2-2; 2nd 5-1; 3rd 5-3; 4th 2-2
England 10-11 Czech Republic
Reuben Powell (3), William Thompson (2), Ryan-Jay Griffiths (2), Lewis Glennon, Ben Alderson, Henry Jackson
1st 2-2; 2nd 3-1; 3rd 2-2; 4th 3-6
England squad
Ben Anderson (Sedgefield/Rotherham Metro), George Barnicle (Devonport), James Coleman (Devonport/Exeter), Cayden Down (Boldmere/Coventry/Wellington), Aaron Downer (Cheltenham), Zachary Downer (Cheltenham), Lewis Glennon (Northampton), Ryan-Jay Griffiths (Sedgefield), Sam Handley (Cheltenham), Henry Jackson (Rotherham Metro), Daniel Moos (Watford), Arish Patel (Watford), Reuben Powell (Exeter), William Thompson (City of Bristol), Hamza Tran (Hucknall).
Head coach: Trevor Down (Wellington); Assistant coach: Tim Dunsbee (Hucknall); Team manager: James Jackson (Rotherham Metro)
Great Britain squad
Peter Ash (Beckenham), Robert Bentham (City of Manchester), Henry Broadhurst (Worthing), Joseph Carolan (City of Manchester), Thomas Davis (Bridgefield), Murray Dickson (Stirling and Scottish Saltires), Sam Fitzsimons (City of Manchester), Shea Gilder (Northampton), Tobias Ishaque (Warley), Harrison Leeke (Northampton), Samuel Leveridge (Bingham), Louie McKie (Cheltenham), Felix Monaghan (Worthing), Tadhg Parry (Boldmere & Handsworth), Harrison Walsh (Cheltenham)
Head coach: Joe Leveridge (Bingham); Assistant coach: Tim Dunsbee (Hucknall); Team manager: Terri Halstead (Warley)