GBR 2:1 LBN | Great Britain - Lebanon (World Cup (men))

World Cup (men)

Cayman Islands – Armenia	6:1 (end)	\|	Portugal – USA	1:3 (end)	\|	Great Britain – Lebanon	2:1 (end)
India – Greece	3:0 (end)	\|	Bermuda – France	4:3 (3:2 after SO)	\|	Finland – Slovakia	1:3 (end)
Italy – Czech Republic	0:12 (end)

final

Great Britain

2:1 (0:1, 2:0, 0:0)

Lebanon

Friday 02.06.2017, 12:30 • Small arena, Pardubice • World Cup (men) • Skupina B1

		Welcome. Game starts at 12:30.
		The Brits entered the tournament yesterday against France. It was not a good day for the Islanders as they lost not only the game literally in last minute but also one of their players. Forward Greg Ferrington renewed his injury just 7 minutes into the game and the Worlds most probably ended for him. For Lebanon, this will be their opener for this year's competition.
		Starting lineups: Great Britain: Marchetti (Pearce) – Adamec, Cooke, Gaunt, Graham, Hirst, Johnson, Tulip, Wilson, Wright – Brown, Bull, Cole, Ellard, Ferrington, Hagg, Kristof, Morrison, Mort, Porubsky, Slack. Lebanon: Skaff (P. Habib) – Abboud, Awad, J. Boulos, Nasrallah, Nehme, Feghali, Younes – P. Haber, Sabeh, M. Habib, El-Haddad, Boutros, B. Boulos, Sayed, M. A. Haber, Salhany, Eid, Abdullah, Mohamad, Fadl, Haddad, Ziade. Referees: Horsky, Valachovic.
		Lebanon is ready for it's histrorical debut at the Worlds.
	00:01	Game started.
	00:29	First shot from Lebanese captain Bassil Boulos was blocked away.
	01:23	The Brits had their first offensive effort, but couldn't get the shot out of it.
	02:34	One of the Lebanese players was too aggressive on goal crease. The referees move the game into neutral zone.
	03:27	Jad Boulos misses with a blue line attempt.
	04:19	Haddad dumps the ball on goal and forces Marchetti to pause the game.
	04:59	Icing by team GB.
	05:48	Sabeh's shot hit the side netting of the British goal.
	06:16	Skaff had to make a save after a while. Faceoff in the Lebanese zone.
	07:07	P. Haber's long range attempt got deflected right in front of Marchetti. Fortunately for the Brits, the ball stayed on the goal crease before their goalie caught it.
	08:00	Long pass from Boutros gets blocked out of bounds in the neutral zone..
	08:58	Goal for Team Lebanon! It's first goal for Lebanon ever at the World Championship stage! ALEXANDRE HADDAD had a great shot from angle, but Marchetti blocked the ball away. Then there was a scramble on the crease and finally, Haddad got a second chance with a tap-in into the open net. Assisted by Milad Boutros.
	09:57	Ellard tried his luck with a shot from left wing. Skaff was ready.
	10:07	Another great save by Skaff right after the face off, now with a glove.
	11:08	After Abdulahad's shot from circles, Bassil Boulos fell on Marchetti. The game is whistled.
	11:41	Feghali read the game well and grabbed the ball from air right in front of an unguarded forward.
	13:07	Lebanon opened the zone with a dump-in, but the Brits collect the ball.
	13:43	Kristof was in a good place to make it even, but couldn't hit anywhere but the chest of Skaff. He's unhappy with himself as he returns to bench.
	14:31	Penalty for Lebanon (Elie Sabeh – 2 min., Holding an Opponent).
	14:59	Adamec scored a goal with a nice volley on a rebound, but it was immediately waved off for high-sticking.
	15:00	1st period finished.
		We've seen two goals in the first period, but only one of them was allowed. Lebanon took the lead with Haddad's tap-in after 9 minutes played. The Brits almost equalized within the last seconds of period 1, but Adamec's volley was too high according to the referees. Next period begins at 13:08 CET.
	15:01	Start of 2nd period.
	15:22	Great Britain starts with a power play.
	15:59	Skaff managed to stop Graham's shot with his mask. He also caught the follow-up.
	16:30	Team Lebanon is at full strength.
	16:56	Callum Mort tried to slip into the slot from left wing and it looked like he was tripped.
	17:31	Penalty for Great Britain (Hayden Johnson – 2 min., Tripping).
	18:57	The Brits put the ball far from their goal.
	19:58	Team GB is at full strength.
	20:19	Lebanon could get a lot out of its first power play, but now Marchetti had to make a save against a long range shot.
	21:21	Penalty for Lebanon (Julio Eid – 2 min., Tripping).
	21:45	Bassil Boulos makes the clearance for Lebanon.
	22:34	Long ranged shot hits the glass behind the Lebanese goal. There will be a face off in front of Skaff.
	22:42	Goal for Team Great Britain! It's even again! Team GB scores with their power play as ZACH WILSON remained unmarked at the post. He got a great pass and finished right behind Skaff – 1-1. Assisted by Scott Wright, Vojtech Kristof.
	23:52	The Lebanese play well when at full strength, now they press the Brits again.
	24:32	Kristof was in a clear scoring chance, but didn't finish well enough to put the ball in over Skaff who lied on the floor. Not even with a rebound. Awesome job by the Lebanese goalie.
	25:50	Now Lebanon is pressed hard by the GB.
	26:40	M. A. Haber was misunderstood and his long pass resulted in an icing of Lebanon.
	27:43	It's a 2 minute 5-on-3 power play for team GB after two consecutive fouls by the Lebanese! Milad Boutros got a minor for charging and at the same time, Elie Sabeh is called for tripping as he fouled during the given advantage for the Brits.
	29:02	The Brits pass the ball around the zone.
	29:17	Skaff stood well against Graham's one-timer and makes the save.
	29:28	Penalty for Great Britain (Vojtech Kristof – 2 min., Hooking).
	29:46	Goal for Team Great Britain! Now it's a shorthanded goal for the Great Britain as they take the lead. SCOTT WRIGHT with a good finish on a quick breakaway – 2-1. Assisted by Reece Bull.
	30:00	2nd period finished.
		We've seen a turnover in the scoreline as the Brits scored twice in the second part and took the lead. First goal came on power play while the second one shorthanded. Lebanon has to get more disciplined if they want something out of this game. Next period starts at 13:44 CET.
	30:01	Start of 3rd period.
	30:42	Lebanon starts the final period on powerplay.
	31:07	Bassil Boulos' shot gets blocked into the protective netting above the glass.
	31:28	Team Great Britain is at full strength.
	32:01	Ellard had a wide open net in front of him, but couldn't put the ball into it! The shot went over the top bar.
	32:35	Great chance also on the other side. Bassil Boulos saw a gap at post for a rebound, but missed by inches and only sent the ball into the side net with his backhand.
	34:08	Porubsky broke away, but Skaff made another decent save to turn him down. Then the British forward collided into the boards and it looks like he may have injured his hand. Hopefully not.
	35:21	Ziade gets rejected on the crease by Johnson, who pushed him away from Marchetti.
	35:45	Penalty for Great Britain (Scott Ellard – 2 min., Slashing).
	36:29	Skaff helped out his teammates with a long clearance from GB.
	36:46	Sabeh's crossing pass gets deflected out of bounds.
	37:36	Now Skaff couldn't get another long clearance before Bull reached it and it almost cost him.
	37:57	The Brits are at full strength again.
	39:00	Good save by Skaff. The Lebanese keep on fighting.
	40:23	Great Britain is excellent in guarding their own blue line at the moment.
	41:25	Graham dumped the ball on Skaff, but he quickly dropped it and passed on defenseman so the game can continue.
	41:50	Penalty for Lebanon (Charly Nasrallah – 2 min., Interference).
	42:32	Lebanon makes a clearance and send fresh players in.
	43:11	Great PK from Lebanon so far. They almost got a shot on Marchetti.
	43:59	Kristof had three huge chances on crease as the goalie was already down on floor and couldn't move because of his defenseman on crease. However, Kristof couldn't put the ball in not even with multiple chances.
	44:11	Timeout for Lebanon.
	44:32	Skaff is on bench and an extra attacker in for Lebanon!
	44:51	One of the Brits tried to score from his own zone, but missed. Icing.
	44:55	M. A. Haber had one last chance with a slap shot from the slot, but Marchetti managed to get a piece of it and keep it away.
		Game over.
		Lebanon had a decent start to their first ever Worlds campaign. They took the lead in first period, but the Brits took advantage of their power play to make it even and turned the scoreline around with a shorthanded tally. The Lebanese fought hard to get the equalizer until the final horn, but they did not. It's three points for GB. Best players: Bassil Boulos (LEB) Scott Wright (GBR) (14:12:14)

Commentary by

Marek Kratochvíl

@marekratochvil

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 23. Wilson (Wright, Kristof), 30. Wright (Bull) – 9. Haddad (Boutros)

Great Britain: Marchetti (Pearce) – Adamec, Cooke, Gaunt, Graham, Hirst, Johnson, Tulip, Wilson, Wright – Brown, Bull, Cole, Ellard, Ferrington, Hagg, Kristof, Morrison, Mort, Porubsky, Slack

Lebanon: Skaff (P. Habib) – Abboud, Awad, J. Boulos, Nasrallah, Nehme, Feghali, Younes – P. Haber, Sabeh, M. Habib, El-Haddad, Boutros, B. Boulos, Sayed, M. A. Haber, Salhany, Eid, Abdullah, Mohamad, Fadl, Haddad, Ziade

Referees: Horsky, Valachovic

1st period
	08:58	LBN	0:1	Haddad (Boutros)
	14:31	LBN	2	Sabeh, Holding an Opponent
1st intermission
2nd period
	17:31	GBR	2	Johnson, Tripping
	21:21	LBN	2	Eid, Tripping
	22:42	GBR	1:1	Wilson (Wright, Kristof)
	27:43	LBN	2	Sabeh, Tripping
	27:43	LBN	2	Boutros, Charging
	29:28	GBR	2	Kristof, Hooking
	29:46	GBR	2:1	Wright (Bull)
2nd intermission
3rd period
	35:45	GBR	2	Ellard, Slashing
	41:50	LBN	2	Nasrallah, Interference
Final