Photo: The victorious England team.Australia were just too strong for England when they met in the final of the Champions Trophy here in Monchengladbach. Two goals in less than a minute, the first from a Luke Doerner corner and the second from Des Abbott, made England look outclassed. A third goal, scored by Jason Wilson, halfway through the first half, finally sunk England's hopes of getting their name on the trophy.
There had been some speculation that a little rain might slow the pitch and suit England against the fast running Australians. Instead of rain we had a monsoon, almost on the half time hooter. The rain was torrential enough to hold up play for well over 30 minutes and there was still some surface water left when the teams returned to resume play. It turned out that the speculation had been misplaced and an early second half goal from Jamie Dwyer gave the Australians a 4-0 victory and the Champions Trophy that went with the win.
The Netherlands overturned form in this tournament by soundly defeating Germany 4-1 to take the bronze medal. Plucky New Zealand succumbed to Spain 3-2 to take the sixth and last place.
Final places:
- Australia
- England
- Netherlands
- Germany
- Spain
- New Zealand
Looking back on the week, Australia were undoubtedly the best team here, winning each of their six matches. There was a general consensus amongst coaches that none teams here had played well, and England had the cards stacked against them with injuries to key players. But to give them credit, England has put in some gutsy performances and can feel proud of their silver medals.
