Picture: England capain Glenn Kirkham intercepts Spain's Alex Fabregas.England were introduced by the stadium announcer as European Champions and for the first five minutes against Spain they played like it, with two goals in quick succession, the first from captain Glenn Kirkham and the second from Iain MacKay.
England had upped the pace from the previous day and looked impressive. But as the game progressed the Spanish were showing a worrying amount of possession and, although England held them at bay for the first half, the pressure started to tell in the second. A series of penalty corners, one converted by Pau Quemada and the other by Miquel Delas, put the sides on even terms. Shaken by losing their lead, it only took sixty seconds for a solo run by Jackson to be picked up by Mackay for him to score his second to put England back in the lead.
Despite re-establishing a lead, England continued to be pressed by Spain, who finally had their reward when Gabriel Dabanch scored with six minutes left on the clock. Final score 3-3 and England's first point of the tournament.
In the earlier matches, New Zealand did not face the same onslaught as they had suffered against Australia yesterday, but their 5-2 defeat at the hands of Germany places them firmly at the bottom of the table.
The most intriguing match of the day was the meet between Australia and The Netherlands. The Netherlands might have thought that they had done enough at 3-2 with less than seven minutes left to play, but goals from Desmond Abbott, Jason Wilson, Jamie Dwyer and Russell Ford snatched victory from them. Final score, 6-3 to Australia.
Tomorrow (Monday) is a rest day. Play recommences on Tuesday.
SUMMARY OF SECOND DAY:
New Zealand 2 Germany 5
Netherlands 3 Australia 6
Spain 3 England
Table:
Australia 6 pts (+11)
Germany 6 pts (+5)
Netherlands 3 pts (+0)
England 1 pt (-2)
Spain 1 pt (-3)
New Zealand 0 pts (-11)
