Ashley Jackson in action against Argentina Picture: Barry Goodwin

by Alex Hoad at the Riverbank Arena

Ashley Jackson was delighted to get Great Britain’s Olympic campaign under way with a convincing 4-1 win over Argentina.

The hosts oozed class against tough opponents – who had beaten them just a month ago in a pre-Games competition - in a physical match at the Riverbank Arena which threatened to boil over on more than one occasion.

GB skipper Barry Middleton lashed home the opener from a rebound just after the half-hour to send the partisan crowd wild and Jackson himself was denied a second when he was foiled by keeper Juan Manuel Vivaldi when clean through soon after.

Middleton grabbed his second six minutes into the second half to ease GB nerves after the South Americans had made a bright opening to the half, and it wasn't long before Jackson drove forward and exchanged passes with Dan Fox who drilled a low shot in to make it 3-0.

With Jackson (pictured) temporarily off the field Richard Smith converted a penalty corner chance to make it 4-0 with 17 minutes to play, but the Argentinians pulled one back from their only penalty corner, Pedro Ibarra beating keeper James Fair, who made a number of key saves with the game evenly poised.

Jackson was thrilled with the opening win and said: “It’s been a long time coming. It’s nice to get it out of the way and move onto the next step.

“It was a good performance. The win is the most important thing but the performance is nearly as important going forward into the next group game (against South Africa on Wednesday afternoon).”

Jackson revealed the 15,000+ fans present had played a part, adding: “The crowd were absolutely fantastic.

“That breeds confidence and lets us grow in confidence and that’s only going to get better as it goes on.”

While admitting that he was “happy with my performance for a while now,” Jackson sounded a battle-cry, claiming: “I think everyone knows we’re a force to be reckoned if they want to take us lightly then more fool them really.”