A first-half hat-trick from James Gershfield helped GB cruise to an 8-3 victory in their opening match against Belgium.

Things got off to a nightmare start when Michael Sacks was sent off after bringing an opponent down as the last defender inside the first minute.

The 13th European Maccabi Games get under way in Vienna today.

Team GB's 220-man delegation start with a match in the junior futsal competition.

Then it is the turn of Jonny Cohen's Open futsal squad who take on highly-fancied Australia.

All eyes will be on Ben Winston's Open football squad who start their medal challenge with a game against Belgium.

Michael Stone, the Barnet coach, believes that Team GB can end several decades of heartbreak and take gold in the Open competition at the European Maccabi Games.

Having recently helped the Bees survive relegation from League 2, Stone has been running his eye over the Team GB Open squad who will be going for gold in Vienna.

Ben Winston came away from the Team GB's final European Maccabi Games warm-up match with plenty of positives following a 1-1 draw against Wingate & Finchley on Tuesday night.

A first-half effort from TJ Keterman put GB ahead but the Ryman League club levelled following an error at the back from Michael Sacks that was emphatically punished.

Ben Winston, Maccabi GB's Open Football manager, says that he is happy with the team's draw for the European Maccabi Games in Vienna.

Runners-up at the 2009 Maccabiah Games, GB will line up against Austria, Belgium, Switzerland and Mexico in a group of five.

The Netherlands, France, Holland and Hungary are in Group B. Holders Denmark are not sending a delegation.

Maccabi GB Open Futsal manager Johnny Cohen heralded the inaugural MIFT as a huge success.

The event, which was jointly sponsored by the Maccabi GB Open Age and Masters Futsal Teams competing at the EMG this summer, consisted of five teams.