England wins Bronze with Golden Goal

28th August, GANT EHC in Mönchengladbach, Men: Belgium – England 1:2 GG (1:1, 0:1)

28.08.2011 - And the bronze medal goes to England! In a tense, technically first class ‘mini final’, the 2007 European champions needed a golden goal to defeat the surprisingly strong Belgians. The Belgians put up a good fight from the beginning, even if England was the more active and determined team in the opening stages of the game.

The reward for the then reigning European champions was the first penalty corner, which was safely put into the Belgian goal by defence boss Richard Mantell (7). The game developed into a very balanced game in front of the almost sold-out stands at the Warsteiner HockeyPark. Belgium also had a few worthy scenes in the English circle – including a penalty corner which was well parried by the English keeper James Fair – but until the break England managed to hold onto their slight lead.

The same picture continued in the second half, but the Belgian team still had something to offer. In the 44th minute Alexandre de Paeuw was successful with a chip, though this first had to be confirmed by the video umpire (1:1). Afterwards Belgium was the more dangerous team, but didn’t take advantage of their few good shooting chances. The English team also continued to threaten, but after 70 minutes the score still remained at 1:1 – extra time was needed.

Only four minutes into extra time the ball came out of the melee to James Tindall, and he almost playfully looped it into the goal with a backhand shot. The video umpire confirmed the goal and England and their fans could celebrate the bronze medal.

Goals:

0:1 Richard Mantell (PC, 7)

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1:1 Alexandre de Paeuw (44)

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1:2 James Tindall (GG, 74)

Penalty corners:

BEL 1 (no goal) / ENG 2 (1 goal)

Green cards:

Benjamin van Hove (47) / -

Umpires:

Francisco Vazquez Lopez / Christian Blasch