England’s Men started the tournament with a 4-2 win against Ireland. “The game went exactly as I dreamt it,” said Jason Lee, England’s coach, “Ireland started well but the quality of our players made the difference.”
Also making a difference was Iain Lewers, a former Irish International, who gave a polished display in central defence and made a big contribution to the third goal.
Ireland enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges and took the lead in the 15th minute when a rebound from a free hit fell to the unmarked Chris Cargo, whose shot into the far corner gave James Fair no chance. Matt Daly put England level within minutes when a similar chance fell to him at the other end.
Just into the second half, England took the lead after a scintillating passage of play in which they moved the ball all around the pitch to create the opening for Barry Middleton. Ashley Jackson increased the lead from a penalty corner, their only success from ten efforts, but Ireland fought back with John Jermyn converting a corner. With two minutes left, Lewers created the opening, a little dink by James Tindall, a cross by Rob Moore and Middleton slid in for his second.
England’s Women play Germany at 1600 (CET+1) this afternoon.
