England defeats Belgium by 5-2 to secure third place in London Cup
Second half drama led the English men to the victory stand as they defeated their Belgian counter-parts by 5-2 for the third place match at the London Cup, played on Saturday, July 16 at the University of Westminster Sports Ground in Chiswick, London, England.
It was the first edition of the London Cup in which four teams participated including the hosts.
England's coach looked very pleased over the result and commented that his side was probably the best side in the tournament, in spite of ending their campaign in London Cup at the third place.
“Obviously we haven’t played to our full potential, but the Olympics is so close now that it feels just over horizon. In all seriousness we really could win the Europeans back to back and that would be a phenomenal achievement; one that we could build upon
and go on to be a genuine gold medal chance,” Jason Lee, the head coach of the English athletes, stated after the match.
The English side played good hockey particularly in the later part of the game. They were down by two goals to nil at the interval, but after the breather they really came back strongly and made penta-strike to steal the victory.
The match was started with early show by the Belgian athletes who took an early lead in the 4th minute, when Renaud Pangrazio opened the account with a beautiful field goal, while the Belgian athletes once again looked in action three minutes
before the interval, when Tom Boon doubled the lead in the 32nd minute. The score was 2-0 to Belgium at the interval.
The second half depicted the opposite side of the coin as in the later thirty-five minutes, the English men were sensational in their approach. The first twelve minutes of the second half really stunned the Belgian players as the English side scored four
out of their five goals.
The first strike was made by Iain Lewers on a penalty-corner, just three minutes into the second half and the score was equalised in the 39th minute, when James Tindall also scored on a penalty-corner. England took the lead for the first time
in the match in the 42nd minute, thanks to Barry Middleton, the skipper. The lead was further increased in the 47th minute, when Mark Pearn contributed to the score-board, while the last English goal was once again scored by James Tindall
in the 61st minute. The score stood at 5-2 to England until the end.
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