TOM CARSON'S
twin strikes were crucial as England's men qualified for the
semi-finals with a 2-2 draw against Ireland at the TriFinance EuroHockey
Championships in Boom, Belgium.
The Reading forward is one of the newcomers in the England squad but his reactions were sharp as he first deflected home a shot by David Condon and then steered a cross by Barry Middleton past the Irish keeper.
England only needed a draw to make the last four and they looked on the way to better that with a two-goal lead at half-time.
Neither side gained clear superiority in the opening half but Carson's double in the seventh and 19th minutes was the difference between them.
The second half belonged to Ireland and their efforts were rewarded with goals from two penalty strokes in the 51st and 57th minutes, both converted by Shane O'Donoghue, with the second being hotly contested by England. However, having lost their only video referral allowed early in the game, they had no option to challenge.
As both sides strove for the winner, the atmosphere became charged, with England defender Iain Lewers prominent in denying his former Irish team-mates as his side came under increasing pressure in the final stages.
England coach Bobby Crutchley said: "I think the game was always going to be tight and, though there is a significant gap in the world rankings between us, we are a young team and are going through a rebuiding stage.
"We knew how strong this Irish side was going to be.
"I'm really proud of the players today, coming up against a very strong side and getting the result we needed."
Of his goals Carson said: "I was fortunate the balls fell to me in the circle and that is something we have been working on really hard in training.
"But I couldn't score the goals unless the right balls are fed to me."
England's semi-final opponents will be Belgium who have confirmed here their vastly improved form in recent years.
The Reading forward is one of the newcomers in the England squad but his reactions were sharp as he first deflected home a shot by David Condon and then steered a cross by Barry Middleton past the Irish keeper.
England only needed a draw to make the last four and they looked on the way to better that with a two-goal lead at half-time.
Neither side gained clear superiority in the opening half but Carson's double in the seventh and 19th minutes was the difference between them.
The second half belonged to Ireland and their efforts were rewarded with goals from two penalty strokes in the 51st and 57th minutes, both converted by Shane O'Donoghue, with the second being hotly contested by England. However, having lost their only video referral allowed early in the game, they had no option to challenge.
As both sides strove for the winner, the atmosphere became charged, with England defender Iain Lewers prominent in denying his former Irish team-mates as his side came under increasing pressure in the final stages.
England coach Bobby Crutchley said: "I think the game was always going to be tight and, though there is a significant gap in the world rankings between us, we are a young team and are going through a rebuiding stage.
"We knew how strong this Irish side was going to be.
"I'm really proud of the players today, coming up against a very strong side and getting the result we needed."
Of his goals Carson said: "I was fortunate the balls fell to me in the circle and that is something we have been working on really hard in training.
"But I couldn't score the goals unless the right balls are fed to me."
England's semi-final opponents will be Belgium who have confirmed here their vastly improved form in recent years.
In today's (Thurs) women's semi-final England meet Olympic champions Netherlands who are in imperious form, having won their pool without conceding a goal.
