Smith: I am so proud of this team

Head coach Cheryl Smith has expressed her pride as Great Britain U18 Women secured the bronze medal at the Under-18 Women’s World Championship Division I Group B in Dumfries.

GB secured a final-day 4-2 victory over Netherlands to secure third spot behind gold-medal winners France and silver medalists Norway.

GB, who were the tournament’s fifth seeds, began with a 2-1 overtime defeat by Poland before losing 3-0 to France.

A dramatic sudden-death penalty-shot victory over second seeds Norway was followed by a 1-0 win over China to keep Britain in the hunt for a medal.

Chloe Headland scored twice on the final day against Netherlands, while Sophie Campbell and Verity Lewis were also on target.

It’s a first medal for GB U18 Women since 2013 and Smith says they have been building towards it.

“We have been so close a couple of times in the last few years, so this is a special moment,” said Smith.

“This has been a fantastic set of players to work with and I am so proud of them.

“Winning a bronze medal on home ice is obviously fantastic, but I am also proud of the way they responded to the coaching staff’s instructions throughout the week.

“We had a shaky start but they came back strong and the win over Norway gave them so much belief.

“There is so much talent in the women’s programme and we are excited about the future.”