Britain battle to draw in Australia

Mantell and Iain Lewers both scored for the Brits in the first match of a three-Test series, but after Matt Gohdes' opener, before Jamie Dwyer ensured that it was honours even with the Australian equaliser.

British keeper George Pinner was outstanding as Australia mounted a late barrage in search of victory, earning Britain the draw in tricky conditions.

Mantell said: "It was a tough game in tough conditions. It rained pretty hard and the pitch was a bit slow. It was a competitive match and it was always going to be. 2-2 was probably a fair result and both teams could have won it but neither could get over the line.

"It's always important to match Australia physically because they are such a strong side. That's an area where we've improved over the last few years.

"We're a much more physical side now and we can run hard and use our skills to try and finish games off. Unfortunately we couldn't quite do it. The weather doesn't affect our plans. We go out and try to do our jobs and hopefully it's enough to win the game."

Both sides took a while to get into the game. Australia had more of the ball in the opening exchanges but clear chances were hard to come by. The only real half-chance in the first five minutes fell to Kiel Brown but his shot flashed wide of the near post.

Four minutes before the end of the quarter the hosts did take the lead though. Fergus Kavanagh played a hard hit pass into the circle and Gohdes ghosted in to apply the finishing touch, making it 1-0.

Great Britain had the better of the second quarter, enjoying long spells of possession and pushing Australia back into their own half.

Four minutes in it was all square as Alan Forsyth played in Ashley Jackson down the left and his pinpoint cross on the backhand was beautifully deflected in by a sliding Mantell.

It was a great way to mark the occasion of his 200th international appearance. There were no more goals in the quarter and it was 1-1 at the half-time interval.

The sun came out for the third quarter and Australia came out strongly. Jamie Dwyer fed a sliding Tom Craig but Pinner did brilliantly and blocked the chance.

Great Britain won the first penalty corner of the match five minutes into the quarter. It wasn't trapped cleanly but Jackson calmly played the ball across to the back post where Lewers applied the finish to give Bobby Crutchley's side the lead.

Moments later the Kookaburras won their first penalty corner. Chris Ciriello stepped up but Pinner got down superbly to his right to get a stick on the ball with Dwyer's rebound going wide. Great Britain exerted more pressure on the hosts but couldn't find another and it was 2-1 heading into the final quarter.

Australia showed their intent immediately at the start of the final quarter. Gohdes drove forwards from the re-start but some sterling defensive work from Michael Hoare and Barry Middleton kept the hosts at bay.

Tristan Clemons was forced into action at the other end but Australia were soon back on the offensive, winning another penalty corner with ten minutes remaining. On the third re-award Trent Mitton's pass was deflected in by Dwyer.

The Kookaburras showed no signs of letting up and forced another penalty corner with six minutes left. Ciriello went for goal again and Pinner did well to keep it out before making a stunning stick save from Mark Knowles’ follow up.

The second test in the series is on Sunday at 7.30am UK time.

Sportsbeat 2016