England Hockey Results Service, Commonwealth Games
Delhi, India
Wednesday 6 October 2010
CANADA 1 (1)
Diana Roemer 4 (PS)
ENGLAND 4 (1)
(Click player name to view image)
England Head Coach Danny Kerry criticised arrangements that mean teams playing in the middle of the day in Delhi but was pleased with his side after they secured a second consecutive victory at the Commonwealth Games.
In their second match of the tournament, England’s women recovered from an early setback to record a 4-1 victory over Canada courtesy of goals from Leicester pair Chloe Rogers and Crista Cullen either side of goals from Reading’s Alex Danson and Cannock’s Charlotte Craddock.
Having created two early chances England fell behind against the run of play to Diana Roemer’s penalty stroke after a cut back from the baseline left England exposed and Kate Walsh was adjudged to have stick checked the Canadian forward who was looking to knock the ball into the goal.
England responded with a series of penalty corners at the other end. Tuesday’s hat-trick heroine, Leicester’s Crista Cullen, crashed her second off the base of the cross bar but could only watch as it bounced down onto the goal line and was cleared.
England’s equaliser came midway through the first half courtesy of another Leicester player, Chloe Rogers, who deflected Kate Walsh’s penalty corner strike beyond Azelia Liu in the Canadian goal.
The World Cup bronze medallists enjoyed the bulk of first half possession but it took until early in the second half for them to take the lead through Reading’s Alex Danson, who held off two defenders before sending a reverse stick shot inside the far post for 2-1.
And England took control shortly after when Cannock’s 19 year old forward Charlotte Craddock got the faintest of touches on Danson’s shot from the right to deflect the ball inside the front post. It was the young Geography student’s second in as many games in Delhi following her goal against Wales on Tuesday.
Following the third England goal Canada enjoyed better possession but failed to trouble Reading’s Beth Storry.
With two minutes remaining Crista Cullen took her tournament tally to four with a well taken penalty corner flick low to Liu’s right. The goal takes Cullen joint top of England’s all time Commonwealth Games goal scorers list.
Following the match, Head Coach Danny Kerry said he was pleased with his team’s performance but criticised organisers for a match schedule that require players to play in the middle of the day. He said, “We started brilliantly. We could have been 2-0 up after two or three minutes but those chances didn’t go in. Canada scored against the run of play. They were well organised defensively but we ground it back to 1-1 for half time. Canada didn’t really provide a threat in the second half and I’m really pleased with the girls and how we broke them down.
“To ask players to play very good hockey in 40 degrees heat and 85% humidity is not good because quite frankly it’s dangerous and it doesn’t make for good hockey.”
Captain Kate Walsh agreed with her coach’s summary, saying, “Fortunately we’ve got a brilliant strength and conditioning programme and I think that has held us in good stead. Credit to the girls because we worked really hard in the ten days we had after we came back from the World Cup and before we arrived here.
“I agree with Danny, playing in 40 degree is hard, hard work. You just can’t play for 70 minutes in that heat!”
England now have a day to recover before they take on New Zealand on Friday.
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