England's men's hockey coach Bobby Crutchley praised his team's battling instincts as they battled to a draw with hosts Germany in their World Cup warm-up match in Dusseldorf.
After a goalless first half, it was Germany who scored first after 39 minutes through Thilo Stralkowski, and the same player doubled their lead seven minutes later, both coming from open play.
But England reduced arrears five minutes later through Ashley Jackson before Dan Shingles pulled his side level from a 63rd minute penalty corner.
“I was disappointed that we failed to impose our game on Germany,” said Crutchley. “It was as if it took the two German goals to wake us.
“The squad must realise that they are good enough to hold their own against higher-ranked teams. We must make things happen in the game rather than reacting to the opposition.”
However, Alex Danson’s first half goal was not enough for England's women as Germany fought back to win 3-1 in Bremen.
England were made to work hard in the first half, and as their energy levels dropped after the break, Germany hit back to the annoyance of head coach Jason Lee.
“We were not up to our usual standards technically speaking, which meant we missed passing opportunities and receive opportunities and we missed tackles,” he said.
“This meant extra running in the game which caught up with us in the second half.”
© Sportsbeat 2014