Scottish ‘keeper Ali McGregor was one of several heroes for GB men’s hockey team as they got their Olympic campaign off to the best possible start with a win over arch-rivals Pakistan.

The Brits went 3-0 up in the first half, eventually winning 4-2.  McGregor made two crucial saves in the early stages and stood up to a barrage of attack from the three time Olympic champions in their desperate bid to catch-up.

A second minute strike from James Tindall got Team GB off to a strong start, but seconds later the post helped to deny an immediate reply from Pakistan to mark an explosive opening to the match.

It wasn’t long however before the Brits doubled their lead with a stunning reverse stick hit from Rob Moore who had his back to goal at the top of the circle.

McGregor was on hand to deny a reply in the 22nd minute with a great stop low to his right from a penalty corner and seven minutes later, Salman Akbar in the Pakistan goal could do nothing to stop a drag flick from Ashley Jackson after the ball had been injected by Glenn Kirkham from a penalty corner.

Britain survived an onslaught of four penalty corners between the 30th and 32nd minutes, the last of which saw McGregor on form with a good save to keep it 3-0 at the break.

Pakistan came out determined to make amends in the second half and it wasn’t long before they earned yet another penalty corner, but again, McGregor kept them at bay with a dive to the right.

Great Britain had a 47th minute penalty corner saved, but it was Pakistan who were to get the next goal as four minutes later, Ali Wilson lost the ball and a counter attack ended with a tap-in at the left post for Shakeel Abbasi. 

Britain again found the back of the net to regain their two goal cushion with nine minutes left on the clock when Daly cleared up a rebound from a penalty corner which had been well saved by Akbar. 

Pakistan pushed until the end, but Britain’s defence held firm to record a vital 4-2 victory in their opening match. 

World No.3 and current European Champions the Netherlands are next up for Britain, a game which will take place at 1400 BST on Wednesday.

Scottish goalkeeper Alistair McGregor said: “To go 1-0 up early was a great boost, and then I managed to pull off a couple of saves to keep things going.  It was especially important to get a good start against a team like Pakistan, who are so strong going forward.

“Our Olympic history against Pakistan is not that good, but we pulled together as a team . We knew where their threat would come from and worked hard to negate that.  At 3-2 there was a bit of a wobble but we try and lead from the back and as a team we have a pretty strong mental edge. We stayed strong to the end.  We’re a pretty close knit team and we work hard for each other.”