Herbert strike rescues England despite late drama

England and Korea played out an entertaining and drama-filled 2-2 draw in the first match of Day Two here at the Rabo FIH Champions Trophy for women.

Beckie Herbert fired England into the lead in the 21st minute but two second half strikes from Kim da Rae gave Korea the advantage before Herbert levelled the scores seven minutes from time with a smart volley. Korea had a goal ruled out in the dying moments of the game when the video umpire was called into action, spotting that the ball had gone out of play just before Kim Jong Hee slammed her shot into the goal.

The result means temporarily moves Korea into second place in Pool A ahead of the meeting between Argentina and China, while England remain at the foot of the table on goal-difference.

The match itself was an entertaining encounter, with England exploding into life from the very first second. Danny Kerry’s team did not manage to win a single penalty corner in Saturday’s defeat against Argentina, but needed only 12 seconds to secure their first set piece opportunity in this contest, which was ultimately unsuccessful.

Korea were soon in on the action, winning a brace of penalty corners that brought good saves from Maddy Hinch, the 22-year-old goalkeeper who played in place of the rested Beth Storry.  

The opening goal was stated and finished by lively England forward Beckie Herbert who linked well with Hannah MacLeod before slapping the ball into the roof of the Korean goal.   

Korea pressed hard for an equaliser before half time, but England’s resolute defending from Crista Cullen and team captain Kate Walsh ensured that Hinch was rarely called into action.  However, the young keeper – who was making her first appearance in an international tournament – pulled of a superb save from a penalty corner at the end of the half, diving to her right to deflect the shot around the post to keep her team ahead at the break.

Korea hit back shortly after half time when Kim Da Rae tapped in from close range following a slick move down the right. Despite long spells of England possession, Korea looked a constant threat on the attack and overloaded the England defence on numerous occasions.  Kim Da Rae struck again with ten minutes of the match remaining, forcing the ball home from six metres as the England defence failed to clear their lines.

To their great credit, England did not panic and set about the task of finding an equaliser with great purpose. It arrived in the 63rd minute, when superb work from Ashleigh Ball and Helen Richardson caused chaos in the Korean circle before Herbert drilled home emphatically to restore parity.

The final two minutes were packed with drama, with Korea having a goal ruled out by the video umpire before Herbert almost completed her hat trick with a ferocious strike which brought the best out of Korean keeper Moon Young Hui. However, the scores stayed at 2-2, giving both teams an important point for the Pool A league table.

Review 5.England vs Korea 2-2 - Rabo FIH Champions Trophy 2011 

> This was the first CT match to see four field goals being scored since the Final 5-6 in 2009, when China beat England 7-0 scoring four field goals.
> Rebecca Herbert scored England's first two goals at the 2011 CT. Two years ago, at the 2009 CT, she scored goals against China and Argentina, so Herbert has now scored against all three of England's opponents in Pool A.
> Herbert is now on a total of 4 CT career goals which makes her England’s all-time top scorer in Champions Trophy competition.
> The British record for most CT goals is 6 by Karen Brown (GBR, 1987-1997).
> Kim Da-Rae became the first Korean player to score twice in a CT match since Kim Mi-Seon scored twice against England at the 2003 CT (2-1).
> Korea were awarded 4 PC’s in this match, but failed to convert. Their 2011 CT PC record is now 0 for 9.
> England were awarded their first PC at the 2011 CT in this match, but failed to convert.