It proved to be too little too late for Bobby Crutchley’s Great Britain side after they were downed 4-2 by Argentina despite a late rally in the Hockey World League Final.

Crutchley, who also coaches England, was left frustrated by the result which left Britain in sixth place overall in the competition.

It was four penalty corners that did the damage for Argentina with Pedro Ibarra and Gonzalo Peillat scoring two apiece.

Ibarra opened the scoring after just five minutes and it was three before 20 minutes after Peillat doubled the advantage before Ibarra added his second.

Simon Mantell pulled one back from a penalty corner in the second half but Peillat’s effort sealed the win though Phil Roper’s goal made for a tense finish.

Roper’s goal came on 57 minutes and Britain did push to secure a dramatic comeback but it never arrived and Crutchley was left to bemoan his team’s efforts.

“We gave away some cheap penalty corners and didn’t defend them very well, which with the corner threats they have is always going to make life difficult,” he said.

“We played better in the second half but by then it was too little, too late and the damage was done.

“We started well in the tournament but the group as a whole hadn’t experienced this environment before and so they seemed to find it hard to get the consistency needed for this level.

“We’ve learnt a lot and have plenty to take away from the competition but on the whole it’s a frustrating end for us.”

Sportsbeat 2015