Hockey World Cup 2018, Bronze-medal match: 3 reasons why Australia demolished England

#1 England defence comes a cropper

Tim Brand

England's defence had a poor game against Belgium in the first semi-final yesterday. Goalkeeper George Pinner, who let in 6 goals against Belgium, was replaced by Harry Gibson in this game as head coach Danny Kerry looked to tighten his defence.

England had performed amicably against the Aussies in the pool stage as they held them to 0-0 till the third quarter. But all hopes of replicating such a tight display by their defence line were dashed in the very first quarter itself as goals from Blake Govers and Tom Craig made it 2-0 within the first nine minutes of the game.

England's defence comprising of Mark Gleghorne, Mikey Hoare, Liam Sanford struggled in the game as the Aussie forward line was afforded way too much space in the attacking circle. While defending the penalty corners as well, Govers and Hayward weren’t closed down quickly enough, allowing them to get two goals past Gibson. The scoreline stands as testament to the poor defensive display from England.