Britain off to a flier against Pakistan in group of death

Britain beat Pakistan 4-2 in a game that they had to win considering the strength of opposition they face later this week.

They took a 3-0 lead into half-time but British nerves were jangling when the resurgent Pakistanis pulled two goals back within 20 minutes of the re-start.

Only two months ago the Brits shared the points with Pakistan after leading 3-0 and it appeared to be happening again.

Skipper Ben Hawes admitted: "At halftime we talked about not letting it slip and I think in the first 15 minutes of the second half we showed our inexperience but I'm happy we bounced back."

Peter Kirkham, the former Scunthorpe footballer who switched sports, added: "It was a case of do or die in this game."

Striker James Tindall got the Brits off to the best start with goal driven low into the corner within the first minute but Pakistan, desperate for a quick equaliser, hit the upright a few minutes later.

Midway through the first half, striker Rob Moore added a second with a clever shot with his back to goal that caught the Pakistani keeper by surprise. Then Ashley Jackson crashed a short corner into the roof of the net from a penalty corner awarded when Ben Marsden was felled in the penalty area.

Britain managed to keep a clean sheet in the first half thanks largely to two brilliant diving saves from short corners by goalkeeper Alistair McGregor but their lead was reduced after the restart when they conceded possession in midfield leaving Pakistan's Shakeel Abassi with an easy tap-in.

Muhammad Waqas scored Pakistan's second after 54 minutes when he stole the ball from Marsden in the area and his diagonal shot found the corner. Just as Britain looked to be throwing it away, Matt Daly scored from a short corner.

If Britain are to proceed to the medal matches later in the week they will first have to emerge from a Pool B which features Australia and Netherlands, the Olympic gold and silver medallists, and South Africa. The Brits next match is against Netherlands on Wednesday.

The British team remains in contention to match the feats of the 1988 men's hockey team, starring Sean Kerly, which provided one of the shocks of the Seoul Olympics by winning gold.

The British women were trounced 5-1 by Germany last night in a match marred by heavy rain.