England played their penultimate match in the Women's Champions Trophy in Sydney today when they played the hosts.
England had got off to good starts in their preceding three matches but they struggled against the Hockeyroos, conceding their first goal from a Nicole Arrold penalty corner after 13 minutes. A penalty corner conversion by Casey Eastham took the home side into the second half on 2-0 and, in torrential rain, Arrold scored her second early in half to build on the Australian lead. Hope Monro added to the tally in a match that ended 4-0.
England captain, Kate Walsh, who has suffered a number of serious playing injuries over the last few years, had to leave the pitch later in the first half after being hit in the face, although she did return in the second half. Sporting a black eye and three stitches, Walsh commented after the match, "We are really, really gutted. We got rolled over today. We need to go home and work hard; today was a bit of a kick up the backside."
The result means that England will meet China twice this weekend, first in their last match in the round-robin stage, and again the next day in the 5th/6th play-off.
In the only other match played today, Argentina drew against The Netherlands 2-2. The result guarantees Argentina a place in Sunday's final.
Table after four matches:
|
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
1 | Argentina | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 10 |
2 | Netherlands | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 8 |
3 | Australia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 7 |
4 | Germany | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
5 | China | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
6 | England | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 1 |
Tomorrow is a rest day.
England squad against Australia: Laura Unsworth replaced Jo Ellis. Beth Storry replaced Becky Duggan.
