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Lebanon debuts with narrow 2-1 loss to Britain

2. 6. 2017 | Marek Kratochvíl
Lebanon had a decent start to their first ever Worlds action campaign. They went ahead in first period thanks to Alexandre Haddad, who became the first goal scorer of his team in the competition, but the Brits took advantage of their power play and turned the scoreline around with a shorthanded goal in the second part. The Lebanese fought hard to get the much desired equalizer, but they fell just short of doing so. "It was amazing, we made a statement," said captain of Lebanon Bassil Boulos.
 

"It was amazing. Our first game in history and I thought we came out very strong. We made a statement that said we can play hockey. We know how to play hockey," is what Bassil Boulos said after Lebanese debut and the Worlds scene.

His side were 1-0 ahead after first period, but then the Brits equalized with a powerplay goal and turned it around while shorthanded. "There were too many penalties. However, I don’t think we should change much. I think we did great and it was a close game all the way to the end. We just took way too many penalties and that put us into disadvantage.

"Next match, we have to stay composed, we have to relax a little bit. We have the first match jitters out of the way and now we just have to focus on playing hockey."

Next opponent for Lebanon is Bermuda and the game will be played on Saturday. The newcomer will surely need the goalie Elie-Joe Skaff to keep his level. He kept his side alive for the whole game against team GB.

"He was phenomenal," said Boulos who also enjoyed the atmosphere. "It was very nice to see so many people enjoying ball hockey. It really helps to expand the world of ball hockey. Having people here who watch the games and streaming them, that is what we are here for."

The Czech Republic is first World Championship stop for this country and it seems it suits the players just right. "We are enjoying the time here so far. The weather is great, people are nice… So far, so good."