Olympics: Coach believes GB girls have mental edge over opponents

Great Britain women’s coach Danny Kerry believes his squad not only have a physical advantage over their Olympic opponents but a mental one as well.

Kerry regards his team as the fittest in the world, but the work they have done over the last three years has improved their minds as well as their bodies.

The squad was taken on a two-day Royal Marines training exercise, which Kerry thinks the players detested. But he has also pushed them in various other ways, including specific psychological training as well as getting them to perform comedy shows for the backroom and office staff – which they hated even more.

“We have done a huge amount of work around team building, character and self-awareness which involved them understanding themselves and each other better,” he said.

Scots duo Emily Maguire and Laura Bartlett played in the team’s final warm-up match yesterday, with a 2-1 victory over New Zealand in a friendly international at the Riverbank Arena in London.

The No 4 seeds made all the early running and opened the scoring in ten minutes through Reading striker Alex Danson. The goal was created by some great work down the right by Wales’ Sarah Thomas, whose pass across the circle was swept past the Kiwi goalkeeper by Danson.

Set piece expert Crista Cullen doubled the lead when her drag flick at a penalty corner flew into the net early in the second half. Although New Zealand hit back in the final stages and managed to get a goal back, the GB defence subsequently stood firm against the No 6 seeds.