World Lacrosse Championship: Hong Kong end campaign on winning note as US and Canada tussle for title
Hong Kong bounce back from disappointing Germany defeat by beating Hungary to head home on a high
Hong Kong capped a successful 2018 FIL World Lacrosse Championship with a 15-5 humbling of Hungary in Netanya, Israel on Saturday, but will fly home dwelling over missed opportunities to break into the world’s top 20.
“Unfortunately the ball didn’t bounce our way [at times] and while we felt we left a few Ws on the table, we couldn’t be happier with our pool win and the improvement we’ve shown,” said attacker Stephen O’Brien, who scored three goals in Hong Kong’s final ranked play match of the tournament.
“While we didn’t land in the top 20 like we wanted, the effort and passion we exhibited was world class … my proudest moment was the way we came back from behind against New Zealand despite the loss.”
Hong Kong had swept Luxembourg, Poland and Uganda in the Olive Pool group before falling to ninth-ranked Germany in the championship bracket.
Narrow losses to New Zealand 11-9 and Czech Republic 9-8 in the proceeding ranked play were much lamented by coach Scott Browning, who hopes the experience of playing in tight games will help their confidence against future high-level oppositions.
“We’re really happy with how we competed but are we happy with the outcome? No,” said Browning, adding that his team has made huge strides in fitness, strength and lacrosse IQ since their last worlds campaign four years ago.