Photo: James Tindall celebrates Richard Smith's late winning goal.What an amazing day!. This morning there was a theoretical chance that England could make the final. It depended on the improbable chance that The Netherlands, who have had a poor tournament here, could overcome the hosts, Germany. But, of course, England had first to beat New Zealand, a side that has grown in stature incredibly as the week has progressed.
If, before today, you had asked me to name a New Zealand penalty corner striker, I would have been struggling, but I struggle no longer. Their Andrew Hayward nearly put pay to England's dreams of pulling themselves out of the basement end of this tournament. England went ahead twice in this match, only to be pegged back by Hayward's corner striking.
England got off to a dream start, with a goal from James Tindall in less than 60 seconds. Six minutes later it was one apiece, thanks to Hayward's first goal.
England went 3-1 ahead with a goal from Simon Mantell and a second from Tindall, but two second half goals from Hayward meant that England were facing earning just one point from this final match of the round-robin stage.
England were literally saved during the dying seconds, when Richard Smith collected a rebound from a penalty corner and fired home to give England a 4-3 win and another three points.
It all now depended on the results of the other matches. The meeting between The Netherlands and Germany was settled in the first eight minutes when Mink Van Der Weerden scored from a penalty corner. Despite some tense play and several referrals to the video umpire, the Germany could not break down the Dutch defence and the score remained at 1-0.
The well-oiled Australian goal machine looked as if it needed to go in for a service in the early stages of their match against Spain. Spain had already qualified by virtue of winning the previous four matches. Spain were on five points, which would have edged them over England on seven, if they recorded a victory. Each side scored just before the break but the second half was all Australia's and goals from Russell Ford and Des Abbott gave Australia a 3-1 win.
Remarkably, England now find themselves in the final against Australia tomorrow, no mean achievement considering how sparse points were in the early matches. Danny Kerry, the England women's coach, will be reflecting on the irony of his side failing to reach the finals with 10 points in Nottingham, whilst the men have done it here on seven.
Summary of today's matches:
England 4 New Zealand 3
Netherlands 1 Germany 0
Australia 3 Spain 1
Final table after five matches:
1. Australia 15 pts (+16)
2. England 7 pts (-1)
3. Germany 6 pts (+1)
4. The Netherlands 6 pts (-2)
5. Spain 5 pts (-4)
6. New Zealand 4 pts (-10)
Tomorrow's (Sunday) programme:
4th/5th place: Spain v New Zealand
3rd/4th place: Germany v The Netherlands
Final: England v Australia
