s2h team

England was just three minutes away from entering their fourth straight semifinal, riding on the goal apiece struck by Zachery Wallace (12th min) and Liam Ansell (33rd min). England were the semifinalist since 2010, though their fortunes never moved beyond.

However, the Germans did not give up. They got a stroke three minutes before the hooter, which was stopped by alert Oliver Payne, who had a wonderful outing in India’s hockey carnival. The English were on cloud nine as England shot the stroke above the bar.

However, the English joy was short-lived.  Things were compounded when the goal tender Zahery Wallace was given a green card suspension. Around the same time, German coach Andre Henning decided to play without goalkeeper, fortifying his team’s attack.

Normally, such a strategy doesn’t deliver. But, Wednesday was different. Undaunted by the failure to convert the heard-earned stroke, Germans were all over the English territory. Paul Ravington’s team could not handle the pressure and succumbed.

In a melee, captain Mats Grahmbusch netted (1-2). Hardly two minutes left for the hooter then.

Smelling the blood, their Germans kept the pressure and when presented with an another stroke, Oliver could do nothing than seeing young Grahmbush converting (2-2).

In the ensued shoot out, Germans emerged stronger. After both teams struck two goals, England’s David Goodfield failed. After German took the lead through Thies and Christopher, only Phil Roper was successful while Liam Ansell, who earlier in the proceeding struck a goal, failed, much to the delight of the resilient Germans.

We have seen in the knock-out phase, the teams that took lead like Argentina, India etc failing to protect it and then capitulating in the shoot out. This has happened to the English too.

Very destabilizing moment for them. And then, this is how the Bhubaneswar-Rourkela transpired.