England drub Pak; Aussies slot a dozen

On a day when Australia posted a record-breaking 12-0 win over South Africa in an earlier Pool B match, England rose above the tensions to subdue Pakistan, whose last-four chances took a nosedive with their second defeat.

Tempers flared up often in the second half as Pakistan fought back from 0-2 to make it 2-2. In the end, however, poor goalkeeping and defending nailed Pakistan’s chances, with England striking three swift blows in the second half for their third straight victory.
Englishman Simon Mantill was injured in a tumble while Iain Mackay received a yellow card for elbowing Pakistan’s Irfan Muhammad. As the game ended, the players almost got into another clash and the officials had a tough time separating them.

Ashley Jackson ran in from the blind side of the defence to slot in goals in the 20th and 31st minutes to peg back Pakistan in the first half. In the second, Shakeel Abbasi, shouldering plenty of burden, dribbled past James Fair to pull one back for Pakistan in the 45th minute.

Two minutes later, Rehan Butt deflected in a Zubair Muhammad hit from the right to pull things level, following their fourth penalty corner. Mantill fell over a Pakistani player, injuring himself in the process.

England then slowly wrested control. Cashing in on a pool clearance by goalkeeper Salman Akbar, captain Barry Middleton fetched England the lead again in the 53rd minute and Jonty Clarke put the game beyond the four-time champions’ reach with a fierce hit in the 62nd. By the time Middleton struck his second goal in the 64th, Pakistan were totally out of the contest.

Big win

The last time Australia and South Africa played each other was at the Beijing Olympics and the result read 10-0 in the Aussies’ favour. Their first World Cup meeting produced another goal fest as the tournament favourites used South Africa for target-practice.
Pakistan’s 12-3 win over New Zealand in 1982 ranks as the biggest win in World Cup history but slamming in a dozen without a reply, the Aussies went a notch higher in terms of winning margin.

Like Doerner, on song with penalty corners, netted four goals (15th, 34th, 49th and 68th minutes) and Jamie Dwyer struck three (52nd, 54th and 65th) while the other goals came from Glenn Turner (21st and 61st), Desmond Abbott (26th), Fergus Kavanagh (35th) and Matthew Butturini (44th).

The South Africans dug their own grave, defending poorly and allowing the Aussies to pass the ball around freely. Against a goal-hungry opponent, that was asking for trouble. The Aussies have six points while South Africa are eyeing their first point after three straight losses.