Photo: The pain on the Dutch defender's face says it all, as Richard Alexander celebrates Jonty Clarke's equaliser in England's match against The Netherlands.Sometimes it wasn't pretty, but you have to hand it to the England men, who managed to record their first win in this Champions Trophy in Monchengladbach. Sheer hard work, and a lot of grit, saw England get the better of their Dutch opponents, although the match hung in the balance until the final hooter was sounded.
Richard Alexander was able to find the net within five minutes of the start but the Dutch were soon on equal terms, courtesy of Rogier Hofman. England re-established their lead ten minutes later when Simon Mantell scored, only to see an almost immediate riposte from Jeroen Hertzberger. The Dutch took the lead for the first time in the match just before half time when Mink Van Der Weerden converted a penalty corner. Taeke Taekema is not at this tournament, so it was interesting to see other players taking corners for the Dutch.
The game looked as if it was going off the boil in the second half but, as full time approached, England picked up the pace and started to press the Dutch. The equaliser came from Jonty Clarke and then, with seven minutes left, Nick Catlin forced his way through the Dutch defence to set up Richard Alexander to score England's winner. Final score 4-3 to England.
Today's result unexpectedly dumps The Netherlands into bottom place, with England looking at the possibility of a crack at a medal if they can beat New Zealand on Saturday when they play their last match of the round robin stage.
Looking at today's other matches, you had to feel sorry for the New Zealanders, who nearly pulled off their second shock of the week when they met Spain. With seconds left to play, and with a 4-3 lead, they conceded a penalty corner which was converted by Spain's Miquel Delas in overtime. Germany v Australia is often a treat and their meeting this afternoon was no exception. The Germans struck first from a Martin Haner corner, but two goals from Des Abbott and a goal by Jamie Dwyer gave them the win and maximum points in the tournament to date.
Tomorrow (Friday) is a rest day.
Summary of today's play:
Spain 4 New Zealand 4
England 4 Netherlands 3
Australia 3 Germany 1
Table after five matches:
1. Australia 12 pts +14
2. Germany 6 pts +2
3. Spain 5 pts -2
4. England 4 pts -3
5. New Zealand 4 pts -9
6. Netherlands 3 pts -2
