Against the backdrop of Argentina winning the football World Cup only a few hours earlier, Great Britain men kept the hosts at bay as they finished the first part of their Pro League campaign unbeaten and top of the table heading into 2023.
It was a week of contrasts for GB hockey. While the men’s side finished with one win and three draws (winning all their shoot-outs), it was a trying experience for the women’s side, succumbing to four successive defeats and one goal.
On Sunday, GB men were denied a win against the hosts when Lucas Toscani slotted home a PC four minutes from time, after Phil Roper and Liam Sanford had scored first-half goals.
James Albery said: “It was a tough game, I don’t think any of us would’ve predicted coming here and playing Argentina just after their men won the World Cup.
“So it was an amazing atmosphere, it was a dogged performance at times, physical and so we’re happy to get the win.”
With his appearance in Sunday night’s game, Harry Martin moved into the top five men’s appearance makers in GB history.
Sunday marked his 108th cap, taking him one beyond Danny Hall and into fifth place in the all-time list.
Meanwhile, women’s captain Hollie Pearne-Webb reached 100 GB caps against Argentina, becoming only the 12th woman to hit a century of games in a Britain shirt.
Julieta Jankunas scored within 90 seconds against David Ralph’s side on Sunday for the only goal of the game.
Pearne-Webb said: “The squad has great potential but we’ve not played our best hockey over here. So we were a lot better today but we are right at the beginning of our journey as a young squad.”
