A solitary goal from Alex Danson proved to be enough to give England victory over Germany in their Pool D meeting here in Amstelveen.
Danson finally broke the German resistance in the 50th minute with a cool finish under the body of Germany keeper Yvonne Frank who was in top form throughout the contest.
It was the sixth successive time that England have beaten Germany in tournament play, and leaves their opponents in the 7th-8th place play-off match.
Both teams produced defensive master-classes in the first half, reducing their opposing forwards to limited opportunities to open the scoring. Germany’s Julia Müller was a commanding presence for her team throughout the opening period, while England captain Kate Walsh was also in fine form for her team.
Germany arguably had the better of the first 20 minutes, hitting the frame of the England goal early on before Müller saw two penalty corner strikes blocked by the English back-line.
England’s best chance of the half came from veteran forward Anna Bennett, who moved into the circle from the right before dribbling past Frank. However, her attempted cross was cut out by the well organized Germany defence.
The deadlock was finally broken 20 minutes from the end of the game when Alex Danson got behind the Germany defence, headed towards goal and slotted coolly under the body of Germany keeper Yvonne Frank.
The strike seemed to give England a huge boost in confidence, as Danny Kerry’s charges went in search of a second goal. However, Frank produced a string of outstanding saves to deny three England penalty corner attempts in quick succession.
The strike seemed to give England a huge boost in confidence, as Danny Kerry’s charges went in search of a second goal. However, Frank produced a string of outstanding saves to deny three England penalty corner attempts in quick succession.
Germany found a real sense of urgency in the final ten minutes, winning a number of penalty corners but could not find a way past Beth Storry, who like Frank was also outstanding in this match.
Marie Mävers also went close in the final minutes, but Storry finished the contest with her second clean sheet of the tournament.
Review 14. England vs Germany 1-0 - Rabo FIH Champions Trophy 2011
> England have now beaten Germany in 6 successive encounters: 2011 CT (1-0), 2010 World Cup (2-0), twice by 2-1 at 2010 CT, and twice in 2 test matches in May 2010 (2-1 and 3-2).
> England join Australia on 4 points from 2 matches in Pool D.
> Germany are bottom in Pool D on 0 points from 2 matches. China are on 2 points.
> Germany will play in the Final 7-8 on Sunday.
> Germany failed to convert any of their 7 penalty corners in this match and are now on 1 for 16 this tournament.
> England were awarded 3 penalty corners in this match. They are now on 0 for 6 at Amstelveen 2011.
> Alex Danson also netted in England’s 2-0 World Cup win over Germany at Rosario 2010.
> England were awarded 3 penalty corners in this match. They are now on 0 for 6 at Amstelveen 2011.
> England were awarded 3 penalty corners in this match. They are now on 0 for 6 at Amstelveen 2011.
> Alex Danson also netted in England’s 2-0 World Cup win over Germany at Rosario 2010.
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