England managed to secure the runners-up in the Rabo Men’s Four Nations Cup here in Amsterdam this afternoon.
In what many saw as a re-run of the 2009 European Cup, England faced Germany in their last match of the tournament. There are no crossover matches to decide the winner as a result of the early matches being cancelled due to adverse weather on Day One.
In what was sometimes a very physical match, England fell to a Thilo Stralkowski penalty corner in the 23 minute. Alastair Brogdon managed to equalise just before the half time, in a goal that more resembled a car crash than a game of hockey. The second half was only three minutes old when Oliver Korn put the Germans ahead again, but the English side were playing some good hockey and Iain Mackay put the score at 2-2 on the 49th.
With the match looking as if it was going to be another draw, Rob Moore scored the winner with only two minutes left on the clock. Final score 3-2 to England.
In the other Four Nations Cup match, The Netherlands beat Pakistan 4-0 to win the tournament.
The final positions are:
1. Netherlands 7pts (+5)
2. England 5pts (+1)
3. Germany 3pts (-1)
4. Pakistan 1pt (-5)
England’s women did not play in today’s Champions Trophy matches. They face Australia tomorrow to decide the fifth place. In the matches that were played, Argentina beat New Zealand 3-2, whilst Korea fell 0-2 to the Netherlands.
The full line up for tomorrow’s matches is:
Germany v China (7th/8th place)
England v Australia (5th/6th place)
Argentina v New Zealand (3rd/4th place)
Netherlands v Korea for (1st/2nd place).
England will have to win their match tomorrow to avoid relegation from next years Champions Trophy.
Images from today’s matches will appear on our pictures site at www.HockeyImages.co.uk.
