GB captain Ben Pipes dreams of final four

Great Britain captain Ben Pipes does not want another taste of déjà vu when his team hosts Romania in a CEV European League double-header at Crawley this weekend. Pipes has seen GB follow an identical pattern this season in the competition - losing 3:1 in the first matches (to Slovakia and Spain) and then turning it around the following day with stunning 3:0 wins.
The setter knows that similar results this weekend will still leave them playing catch-up in their pool but a double victory over Romania would put them top. Pipes knows the young GB squad is growing up fast and even without the vastly experienced Jason Haldane proved too hot for Spain in Salamanca last Saturday.
“I’m obviously delighted, it was a big turnaround from a 3:1 loss to a 3:0 win," he stated.
"It was like déjà vu from the previous weekend when we beat Slovakia 3:0 on the Sunday match at EIS in Sheffield. It was a solid performance - not always pretty - but we battled for the result which means we maintained the level, so now is the time for us to say that this is the level we keep, to get this type of result going forward. We are massively looking forward to the matches next weekend in Crawley, not only do we get our first game down near London we get to test out what crowd we can gather there, I’m hoping they are as loud as the Spanish crowd was which made for a great atmosphere to play in. It is important that the two matches in Crawley against Romania have become must-win matches, and it is entirely within our own hands to qualify for the Final Four in Guadalajara in July”.
Haldane returns to the GB squad this weekend which will not be welcome news for a Romanian side which has lost only once so far, a tight five-set affair with Slovakia. GB head coach Harry Brokking knows his team now has a platform on which to build after showing they can win on the road. The fact his team have turned defeats into victories in the space of 24 hours (and also had a remarkable turnaround against Azerbaijan in the first round of the CEV European Championship this past May) is a credit to him and his coaching staff.
“I am very happy with the result and of course it keeps us in the race for the Final Four," he said after Saturday's win in Spain. "There was a lot of tension in the players after the loss in the first match, so it was a good win, with better serving and blocking than the day before. I am very much looking forward to Saturday's televised match against the group leaders Romania at the K2 in Crawley at 3.00pm and hope that we can get good support to help us go forward. We will be very much concentrating on the first game”.

Click here for a detailed schedule of the 2010 CEV European League

Picture: British captain and setter Ben Pipes showing his skills during the match against Slovakia played two weeks ago in Sheffield for the opening leg of the 2010 CEV European League