Writing this at the European Indoor
Championships in Vienna, where the news is gloomy, we were half
expecting some more gloomy news in the form of the outcome of the
bronze medal match between England and Australia at the World League
Finals in New Delhi. After all, wins against Australia over the
course of more than a century have been rare enough.
Our mood was not relieved by the news
that Tom Carson's early goal had given England a lead that only
lasted three minutes before Australia equalised. But, to our
pleasant surprise, captain Barry Middleton found the net in the 54th
minute to give England a 2-1 win and a bronze medal at the end of the
very first World League season.
Back in Vienna it is difficult to put a
cheerful note on England's 6-7 defeat at the hands of Sweden.
Sweden, like England, have played well during this tournament, but
have struggled to find the knock-out punch against more experienced
opponents.
What is probably more galling is that
all seven Sweden's goals were scored by one player, Johan Bjorkman.
Quite an achievement – it's only a pity that he did not wake up
with a cold this morning. England's scorers contained all the usual
suspects – Chris Griffiths, Ben Arnold, David Becket and, of
course, Sam Ward.
We are informed that there is still a
theoretical chance of England avoiding relegation. But with one game
left to play tomorrow, do not expect a pig to be stealing an
aeroplane any time soon.
Pictures from all England's matches in
Vienna are on our sister site at www.HockeyImages.co.uk.
