Great Britain need to find finishing touch after losing European Championship opener

By Sportsbeat staff

BRITISH head coach Szilveszter Fekete admitted there was room for improvement after his women's side lost their opening fixture at the water polo European Championships in Eindhoven.

Having qualified for the finals for the first time since 1997, his team put in a battling performance against Hungary – world champions in 2005 – before ultimately going down 19–9.

"We're happy to be playing at this level but it was our first game and we were too nervous and missed some possibilities," said Fekete, himself a former Hungarian international.

"We lost a bit of confidence after having the early advantage but the movement was okay so hopefully we can improve for our next match.

"It was our first official game for a while as well so missed getting back into it."

Ciara Gibson-Byrne gave Britain an early lead but Hungary's superior experience soon told as they established a solid first quarter lead.

They increased their advantage by half-time and despite solid contributions from Fiona McCann, Chloe Wilcox and captain Fran Leighton, Great Britain - who take on Russia in their next match - were ruthlessly put to the sword.

"In future games, we need to be more clinical in our finishing but there are a lot of positives to take," said player Rebecca Kershaw.

"We're going to build on our performance here and look to improve in our next two group matches."

© Sportsbeat 2012