England took the gold in both the Grand Masters and the Great Grand Masters tournaments in the first official Grand Masters Hockey European Cup here in Canterbury this afternoon. After a weekend of hockey the two tables were topped by England, with the German sides taking the silver and the Dutch the bronze. The Tournament Trophy for non-national teams was won by England LX Red with England LX Blue as runners-up. The showpiece match of the weekend was the game between England and Germany Grand Masters, which was won by England 3-1. WE ARE NOW ABLE TO BRING YOU THE FULL MATCH REPORT FROM YESTERDAYS MATCH BETWEEN ENGLAND AND ARGENTINA IN THE CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE.
An energetic fight back by England who were trailing 1-4 with 19 minutes left was not enough to secure them a point in their opening match in the BDO Champions Challenge in Boom, Belgium. Although England took the lead in the 13th minute when Richard Alexander tipped in Richard Alexander's left wing cross at the near post, it was Jorge Lombi, Argentina's 35 year old striker winning his 227th cup and who missed selection for last year's World Cup, who thrust his side ahead. A gloriously flicked penalty corner equaliser was followed by a touch by Lombi to divert Juan Gilardi's free hit for the lead. Lucas Rey increased the lead, pouncing on a corner rebound shortly after Richard Mantell was suspended and when Rodrigo Vila added a fourth the match looked over. Simon Mantell replied quickly converting a penalty stroke but England were again reduced to ten men when Rob Moore fouled Innocente Argento. The Argentineans were incensed but Argento made a miraculous recovery. Ben Hawes, who found himself injecting a penalty corner with other choices off the field, snapped up a corner rebound to produce an exciting last 11 minutes of what Jason Lee, England's coach, described as a poor performance.
A REPORT ON TODAY’S PROCEEDINGS IN BOOM WILL BE POSTED LATER THIS EVENING (SUNDAY).
