England got off to a disappointing start in their opening encounter in the BDO Champions' Challenge in Boom (Belgium) this afternoon. Playing top seeds Argentina, they took an early lead through a goal by Richard Alexander only to go behind to a penalty corner strike and a goal in open play, both by Jorge Lombi. England fell further behind when Lucas Rey converted a penalty corner in the 45th minute. Shortly after, England managed to pull one back after a foul in the circle, and Simon Mantell stepped up to take the resulting penalty stroke. In the 51st minute, Rodri Vila restored the margin with a field goal. Ben Hawes scored England's third in the 58th minute. Final score: 4-3 to Argentina. We hope to bring a fuller report on this match tomorrow.
In other matches, New Zealand overcame India 2-0, and hosts Belgium lost 1-2 to Japan.
