Belfius EuroHockey Championships
Pool C: England 3 (S Ward 2, A Jackson) Scotland 0
England eased to safety with three first half goals against Scotland giving them the result they needed in Pool C of the men’s Belfius EuroHockey Championships.
Sam Ward fired home from play and a corner either side of an Ashley Jackson goal for a 3-0 advantage they never looked like relinquishing, ending their campaign in fifth place.
After a quiet opening, England burst into life toward the end of the first quarter. Phil Roper went close from a first penalty corner before Ian Sloan picked an inch-perfect pass to Ward peeling away from goal. He controlled with his back to the net but spun and shot in one movement for 1-0 in the 15th minute.
Two more English corners were shut out but when Tim Atkins was sent to the sin-bin in the 26th minute, England struck twice to extend their lead to 3-0. Ashley Jackson fired in a drag-flick and Ward did likewise for a healthy advantage.
And England kept their foot on the throttle in the third quarter, creating numerous chances down the baselines. None of them ended in a further goal but they never let Scotland get a sniff of a comeback with goalkeeper Harry Gibson untested.
It was a similar pattern in the final quarter with Chris Griffiths’ shot charged down and a Tom Sorsby touch saved by Tommy Alexander.
Scotland’s first shot came with seven minutes to go but Gibson saved from Andy Bull to keep the clean sheet in place. Alexander closed out the tie with a couple of spectacular saves while Scotland finished with a trio of corners to no avail, meaning the Scots were left to wait on the result of Wales versus Ireland.
Umpires: S Duterme (BEL), J van ’t Hek (NED)
England – Scotland
15’ Sam Ward (FG) 1-0
27’ Ashley Jackson (PC) 2-0
29’ Sam Ward (FG) 3-0