Great Britain’s senior women win 2023 Danube Cup

Great Britain’s senior women continued their preparation for this weekend’s European Qualifiers by winning the 2023 Danube Cup.

An exceptional display saw them defeat Germany 9-4 in a thrilling final after Nick Buller’s side won four of their five matches across the competition.

A dominant final quarter – where they scored four unanswered goals – saw the British side take home the trophy to give them a massive boost of confidence ahead of next week’s European Qualifiers.

Lily Turner was the star of the show in the final, netting five times as the British team bounced back after a narrow 12-11 defeat to the same opposition in the group phase.

Kathy Rodgers added three of her own with Emma Bartlett also getting in the act with the final goal of the match.

It was impressive tactical performance from the British team as they turned the tables on a team that defeated them at the World Cup Qualification tournament last month as well as earlier in the competition.

Strong performances

The British contingent flew out to Hungary last Wednesday with the five teams of Great Britain, Germany, Romania, Serbia and local club Szentes all facing each other before the top two teams faced off in the final.

The squad of 13 were led by head coach Buller, assistant coach Peggy Etiebet and Team Manager Rose Younger.

Competition got underway on Thursday where Great Britain got to the best possible start by defeating hosts Szentes 12-7.

In a tough affair – against a club packed with professional talent – the British team pulled into an unassailable lead in the final quarter partly in thanks to hat tricks from Lily Turner and Kathy Rodgers.

Annie Clapperton, Toula Falvey, Izzy Howe, Rosie Huck, Niamh Maloney and Amelie Peters also got on the scoresheet in the opening contest.

They continued their form on day two where Great Britain added two more victories with wins against Serbia and Romania.

Strong performances against both teams saw them come away with another 12-7 win against Serbia before a more convincing 15-4 win against Romania.

Against Serbia they put themselves into 7-2 lead at the halfway point and managed the game well from there on out.

They then faced Romania where they won every quarter in an impressive 15-4 win.

Another Rodgers hat trick as well as goals from Clapperton (two), Falvey (two), Niamh Maloney (two), Peters (two), Howe, Turner, Cutler and Mhari Nurthen all scored in the win.

The British team limited their opposition to just one goal in the second half as the win booked their spot in the final with Germany.

Their final group game against Germany was a tight affair where Great Britain lost by just one goal.

Germany took a narrow 3-2 lead in the opening period but despite the British sides best efforts the two teams couldn’t be split throughout the rest of the contest.

It meant Germany came away with a 12-11 victory to see them top the standings in the group phase.

Despite the result, GB made the final in the runners-up spot where they took the opportunity to get their revenge and defeat the Germans in the final.

Great Britain’s senior women are back in action, along with the men’s side, in the European Qualifiers weekend.

The women have been drawn against Portugal, Finland and will once again face Germany as they look to secure their spot at the Championships in January.