Brazil’s Ernst Rost Onnes said that playing in front of a fervent home crowd, cheering their every move has been an incredible sensation this week in Deodoro.`
But the Dutch-raised player, who lines for HIC in the Overgangsklasse, said it is a two-sided coin after heavy defeats to Spain, Belgium and Great Britain.
“This is amazing, this crowd here in Rio. It’s so nice to be here and have everyone cheering for us. There is obviously two sides; on one side it is spectacular event for us – a once in a lifetime event, maybe, in our own house.
“We hope we can qualify for the next one. That’s the beautiful part but losing is always terrible and especially losing that big!”
Despite the tought scorelines, he says that his side will keep on battling all the way in spite of their lack of experience.
“We keep on fighting and that’s what we have to do, minimum, for every ball. In the third and fourth quarter, we struggle. We are learning with every game and it is tough but I am enjoying it a lot.”
Against Great Britain, Stephane Vehrle-Smith made history with Brazil’s first ever Olympic goal, giving them the lead in the fourth minute before GB bounced back to make it 9-1.
“It is so nice that Steph scored it. You saw the crowd exploding and it was a very special moment. I think it gave us a lot of confidence in the first and second quarter. We didn’t stop playing but they have a very experienced team with a lot of caps. That’s our problem, the experience.
“We can learn a lot from this game and I think we can play a higher level. We will see against New Zealand and we will keep on fighting.”