Plucky England youngsters held by Germany

ENGLAND shared the honours with hosts Germany in the first of their Under-21 international matches at Krefeld on Thursday.

ON TARGET; Simon Faulkner, pictured in action for Loughborough, finds the net for England Under-21s in a 3-3 draw with Germany (Ady Kerry)

When Chris Newman handed England a 3-2 lead with just seven minutes to go, Andy Halliday's troops looked to be heading for a hard-fought victory, only for Tobias Matania to hit back almost immediately to secure a 3-3 draw.

Sheffield Hallam's Will Hearn had given England the lead after just eight minutes, pouncing on a poor back-pass and hammering home with a reverse-stick shot.

But a strong Germany side hit back on 26 minutes when Paul Pongs capitalised on a misunderstanding in the England defence.

And the hosts were ahead in the first minute of the second half as Julian Altenrath caught England napping to score with ease from inside the circle.

But England were back on level terms just six minutes later when Loughborough's Simon Faulkner, son of Olympic gold medallist and England Hockey performance director David Faulkner, from a penalty corner after a fine run from Ben Arnold.

Newman then scored from free play on 63 minutes after a counter attack down the left and a good cross from Tom Carson, but Germany ensured a draw shortly after, with Tobias Matania scoring from a low drag flick from a penalty corner.

The German senior team are the reigning Olympic and world silver medallists but Halliday admitted a tinge of disappointment, believing England's opponents were there for the taking.

"I think we looked a little naïve at times, but overall it was a good performance against a strong Germany team," he said.

"It's a steep learning curve for a few players who have not played at this level before, but overall they acquitted themselves very well."