There was a certain irony when the public address system at Highfields played 'Simply the Best' after Jonty Clarke scored his 66th minute goal against Australia in the second test match in Nottingham this evening. England were 4-0 down at the time and the scoreline indicates who were the best team on the pitch. Despite that, the overall margins between the two teams were not that great and it was a series of errors by England, rather than the Australians dominating the match, which led to them losing the match.
In the opening exchanges there was not much to choose between the teams but two goals in three minutes shortly before the break – the first from Chris Ciriello from a penalty corner and the second by Glenn Turner – put the Australians into the driving seat for the restart. England had a second lapse when first Glenn Simpson and then Jamie Dwyer put two more goals to the credit of the Australians.
The final score: 4-1 to Australia.
The match was attended by just under a thousand spectators. It is the turn of England's women tomorrow when they take on Spain in the first of two test matches.
LATEST FROM JUNIOR WORLD CUP
Earlier this afternoon in Malaysia, England were twice ahead in their Junior World Cup Pool C match against Korea, only to be pegged back to a 2-2 draw. England's scorers were Chris Gregg and David Beckett. England have now finished fourth in the pool, between Malaysia and the USA.
Pool A:
Egypt 1 – 3 Argentina
Belgium 2 - 1 Pakistan
Pool B:
Australia 2 – 0 South Africa
Germany 3 – 1 Japan
Pool C:
Korea 2 – 2 England
Spain 3 - 3 Malaysia
Pool D
Netherlands 2 - 2 New Zealand
India 4 – 2 Poland
FINAL POOL STANDINGS:
Pool A: 1 Argentina, 2 Pakistan, 3 Belgium, 4 Egypt, 5 Russia.
Pool B: Jt1 Australia, Jt1 Germany, 3 South Africa, 4 Japan, 5 Chile.
Pool C: 1 Korea, 2 Spain, 3 Malaysia, 4 England, 5 USA.
Pool D: 1 Netherlands, 2 New Zealand, 3 India, 4 Poland, 5 Singapore.
