England finally claim first victory at London Cup

Posted: Saturday 16th July 2011 | 11:18

ENGLAND men's defeated New Zealand to claim their first victory at hockey's London Cup in Chiswick.

Jason Lee's side were looking to rebound from defeats to Korea and Belgium and took the lead against the Black Sticks after just 17 minutes - Richard Mantell firing home a penalty corner.

Adam Dixon's diving finish earned him a first international goal in his 50th appearance for England to double the advantage before Nick Wilson reduced arrears for the visitors in the 41st minute.

However, Rob Moore made sure of the victory three minutes from time.

England will now take on Belgium for third place while the Kiwis and Korea clash in the final.

“We did pretty well as we were a bit low on confidence but it was a strong performance," said Lee

"We were addressing the appalling performance against Belgium and this shows that we’re a high quality team; it has just come a bit late in the tournament. It’s obviously good in terms of European Championships preparation.”