Alex Danson 's creativity and coolness in front of goal has seen her compared to Wayne Rooney. Luckily,
it doesn't look like she is going to emulate the Manchester United and
England forward's knack of under-performing in major tournaments.
The Great Britain striker, a Sportsmail columnist, netted twice in a ruthless first-half performance against hapless Japan as they opened their Group A campaign with a convincing win.
Sally Walton and Sarah Thomas grabbed
the other goals as Britain sent a message out to gold medal rivals
Argentina that they will be very hard to beat at this tournament.
'It was the perfect start,' said Danson. 'It feels amazing. Scoring felt incredible.
'I just want to win because I'm the most competitive person ever. It sends a message that we are fit, athletic, quick and world class, especially in defence.
'Hopefully, teams will look at us and be
aware.
'I don't think we've ever done such a slow lap of honour because the applause was so great.'
Victory, however, was marred by an injury to captain Kate Walsh, who was taken to hospital last night after being hit in the face with a stick.
Britain may be ranked fourth in the world but victory at the test event here earlier in the year has given many hope they can become Olympic champions.
They certainly had the air of future gold medallists as they tore the Japanese apart in the first half. Danson's reverse stick flick from close range after just six minutes took away any nerves there might have been.
It was a cool
finish, as was Thomas's 16 minutes later, a cute flick which kicked off a
five-minute onslaught that killed off the world's ninth ranked team.
A Walton penalty corner on 25 minutes and then Danson's second two minutes later made it 4-0 at the break.
Cue a happy-sounding rendition of 'When the Saints go marching in' on loop from a trumpet in the stands.
The second half was more restrained from the hosts, who were happy to conserve energy.
Expect more goals tomorrow on the blue and pink 'Smurf Turf' when South Korea are the opponents. They were thumped 4-0 by China yesterday afternoon.
The Great Britain striker, a Sportsmail columnist, netted twice in a ruthless first-half performance against hapless Japan as they opened their Group A campaign with a convincing win.
Bring it in: Team GB celebrate during their routine 4-0 victory over Japan
'It was the perfect start,' said Danson. 'It feels amazing. Scoring felt incredible.
'I just want to win because I'm the most competitive person ever. It sends a message that we are fit, athletic, quick and world class, especially in defence.
Show stopper: Alex Danson excelled with two well taken goals
'I don't think we've ever done such a slow lap of honour because the applause was so great.'
Victory, however, was marred by an injury to captain Kate Walsh, who was taken to hospital last night after being hit in the face with a stick.
Britain may be ranked fourth in the world but victory at the test event here earlier in the year has given many hope they can become Olympic champions.
They certainly had the air of future gold medallists as they tore the Japanese apart in the first half. Danson's reverse stick flick from close range after just six minutes took away any nerves there might have been.
Easy: Sarah Thomas (left) added to Danson's two goals
Class act: Danson lived up to the hype with a stellar performance
A Walton penalty corner on 25 minutes and then Danson's second two minutes later made it 4-0 at the break.
Cue a happy-sounding rendition of 'When the Saints go marching in' on loop from a trumpet in the stands.
The second half was more restrained from the hosts, who were happy to conserve energy.
Expect more goals tomorrow on the blue and pink 'Smurf Turf' when South Korea are the opponents. They were thumped 4-0 by China yesterday afternoon.
No comments:
Post a Comment