England got off to a bright start, but Spain reached match pace in second half England and Spain played out a 1-1 draw in the final men’s game on day one of the Rabobank Hockey World Cup and both teams will be disappointed not to have capitalised on chances created during the game.
In the opening minutes of the match It seemed that England had got their World Cup campaign off to the dream start as Alistair Brogdon (6′) ran the ball into the circle before slamming it past Spain’s goalkeeper Quico Cortes. Minutes later Simon Mantell earned the team in white a penalty corner, which Tom Carson shot just wide of the post. Spain quickly countered winning a penalty corner courtesy of Gabriel Dabanach.
The first half saw England continue to notch up numerous scoring opportunities, but coach Bobby Crutchley will have noted just how many times his team failed to convert. In contrast, Spain struggled to find a coherence to their play and, while they played some fast, attacking hockey in the centre of the pitch, they failed to put the England defence under any heavy pressure. Spain captain Santi Freixa said that he felt that for future matches his team will need to start their matches sharper and “keep their defence much more compact.”
England’s greater dominance in the first half was thanks to some good combinations involving the everindustrious Mark Gleghorne and Brogdon. Thanks to their graft, three chances in as many minutes shot past Cortes, only to be put wide by the England strikers.
Adam Dixon was among those players who came closest to doubling the England score. Things began to really heat up in the last 10 minutes of the first half when Ramon Alegre tangled with Barry Middleton, before David Alegre forced England ‘keeper George Pinner into action as he shot from wide on the edge of the circle.
Just two minutes into the second half those England misses began to look very costly as Spain equalised
through Eduard Tubau. His shot, a speculative one, seemed to catch the England defence and Pinner
unawares.
With the game evenly balanced both teams created chances, but again England were guilty of squandering opportunities. Perhaps the best chance came when Henry Weir broke through the Spain defence to set David Condon with a clear route to goal, but the midfielder elected to pass instead of shoot.
In the dying minutes of the game, Freixa completed a solo run that demonstrated the creativity that this
Spanish team possesses and Pinner was called on to make a last ditch save. This was, however, the last
significant action of the game and both team will have felt they could have struck the killer blow to take the three points.
Talking after the game, Dan Fox said that the game had been tight, but if they were to progress, England had to take their chances. “Every match is going to be tight, so we have to make these scoring opportunities count,” he said.