England Hockey’s U23 women team battle to draw against New Zealand

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England Under-23 Women had to settle for 2-2 draw with New Zealand in their opening match of a Six Nations Tournament in Breda, The Netherlands, after conceding a late goal on Sunday afternoon

Victory had looked on the cards for the England outfit after they had battled back from a goal down to lead 2-1. But a goal from a penalty corner four minutes from the end ensured New Zealand took a share of the spoils.

Amy Robinson had given the Kiwis the lead after 15 minutes, but on 41 minutes England leveled with Hannah Martin scoring with a deflection at the right hand side at a penalty corner.

Rebecca Van Berkel gave England the lead from a penalty corner, shooting straight from the top of the D into the bottom left corner after 57 minutes. But nine minutes later New Zealand scored through Kelsey Smith, leaving England with little time to re-take the lead.

“After an indifferent start we grew into the game by creating a number of good opportunities,” said Head Coach Craig Keegan. “After having gone down to an early goal it was pleasing to see the amount of character this team showed to come back and lead the game 2-1. It was a see-saw game, momentum swinging both ways and unfortunately we conceded late on to a corner breakdown.”

After a rest day on Monday, England will take on The Netherlands on Tuesday evening in their second match.

Goalscorers:

England (0) 2

Hannah Martin 41 (PC)

Rebecca Van Berkel 57 (PC)

New Zealand (1) 2

Amy Robinson 15 (FG)

Kelsey Smith 66 (PC)

 

Date/time Fixture Result
Sunday 19 July 2015
13:00 Netherlands India 1-0
15:15 England New Zealand 2-2
17:00 Germany China
Tuesday, 21 July 2015
17:15 India Germany
19:00 New Zealand China
19:15 England Netherlands
Wednesday, 22 July 2015
17:00 England Germany
17:15 Netherlands New Zealand
19:00 India China
Friday, 24 July 2015
13:15 England China
15:15 India New Zealand
17:15 Germany Netherlands
Saturday, 25 July 2015
13:15 India England
15:30 Netherlands China
17:45 New Zealand Germany
Sunday, 26 July 2015
11:15
13:00
13:30

 

England U23 Women’s Squad 

1 Amy Tennant
2 Francis Taylor
3 Laura Bevan
4 Juliette Inverdale
5 Kim Leiper
6 Lydia Macdonell
7 Alicia Caillard
8 Hayley Turner
9 Rebecca Van Berkel
10 Hannah Martin
11 Suzannah Petty
12 Olivia Paige
13 Eleanor Rayer
14 Philippa Lewis
15 Mollie Rawnsley
16 Josephine Blunt
17 Megan Crowson
19 Kate Holmes