Great Britain downed by Romania in Finland

GREAT Britain paid the price for a sluggish start as Dragan Djukic's men began their World Championship qualifying tournament with defeat to Romania.

ON TARGET: Robin Garnham netted four against Romania but he could not prevent Great Britain from slipping to defeat (Roel Custers Sittard) 

Romania caught Great Britain cold in the first half and stormed into a 21-11 lead.  While Great Britain bounced back to edge the second half 16-15 it was not enough to avoid slipping to a 36-27 defeat.

Sebastian Prieto top-scored for Great Britain with six goals and Robin Garnham netted four while Bob White saved two from three penalties, giving Djukic reason for optimism.

And GB assistant coach Bill Baillie was left to rue what might have been had his side flown out of the traps.

"We're happy with the result," said Baillie.

"But we were still disappointed because we had done a thorough analysis on Romania before we came here, but the first half wasn't good.

"The lads looked nervous, but after half time they looked a different team and played well, and at one point we fought back to just three down and really had the Romanians on the rack.

"Technical errors let us down once again, but we've arrived on the international scene now and we're learning from every game."

GB continue their matches at Vantaa with a game against Bosnia Herzegovina on Saturday afternoon as they bid to qualify for the 2011 World Championships in Sweden.