British men target gold with high-risk hockey

To achieve that ambition the squad sees victory against Australia's world number one 'Kookaburras' as crucial to claiming gold.

Britain8217;s men8217;s hockey team will deploy a high-octane,attacking gameplan to drive them past tournament favourites Australia and on to Olympic gold,but they are well aware it could all end in tears.

We8217;re running to save someone from a bus. Saving someone from a bus is us winning the game,and you know,if we don8217;t quite get there in time,something goes squash, said coach Jason Lee,who played through two medal-less Olympics for Britain.

By ditching a rigid formation for a free-flowing structure where 8216;everyone plays everywhere8217; Team GB are hoping their attacking intensity will overwhelm the opposition,setting them on the way to a first men8217;s Olympic hockey medal in 24 years.

To achieve that ambition the squad sees victory against Australia8217;s world number one 8216;Kookaburras8217; as crucial to claiming gold.

One of the team8217;s most experienced players,Ashley Jackson,said the Aug. 5 group stage game against Australia would probably be the game of the tournament 8211; unless both qualify and end up meeting again later on in the competition.

Because of the two styles of game we have it8217;s going to be very high-paced,end-to-end with lots of chances,Jackson said.

An action-packed game between the two at the Olympic test event in May ended in a 3-3 draw,played out on the unique pink and blue pitch of the Riverbank Arena.

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The world number four GB team come into the tournament on the back of competitive wins against Spain and India 8211; ranked fifth and 10th in the world respectively. Their first group game is against Argentina on July 30.

Men8217;s hockey has a special place in British Olympic history after the 1988 Seoul Olympics final produced a surprise gold medal,snatched from under the noses of red-hot favourite West Germany in a game that generated widespread attention for the sport.

But,that past success is not a burden the British team feel, says captain Barry Middleton.

That isn8217;t something that comes into our heads when we walk out onto the pitch 8211; that we want to get 8217;88 out of the way, he said.

Even if we win,then they still won in 8217;88.

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All eyes turn to London on Friday for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics,an exuberant journey from Britain8217;s idyllic pastures through the grime of the Industrial Revolution and ending in a contemporary world dominated by popular culture.

The three-hour showcase created by Oscar-winning 8216;Slumdog Millionaire8217; director Danny Boyle will be watched by a crowd of 60,000 in the main stadium built in a run-down area of London8217;s East End and a global audience of more than a billion.