Hockey World Cup
Final matches: 13 March Venue: Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Delhi

By Marc Vesty

The Netherlands fought back from 3-1 down to beat England 4-3 in the World Cup bronze medal match in Delhi.

After Teun De Nooijer had put the Netherlands in front, a goal from Alastair Brogdon and two Ashley Jackson penalty corners put England 3-1 up.

But Taeke Taekema's deflected shot and Alastair Wilson's own goal levelled things before Rogier Hofman sealed the bronze medal with three minutes to go.

Australia beat defending champions Germany 2-1 in the final.

Edward Ockenden put Australia, who lost to England in their opening group game, in front.

Moritz Furste equalised for Germany but Luke Doerner's 59th-minute penalty corner secured World Cup glory for Australia for the first time since 1986.

Doerner's eighth goal in the tournament made him the joint leading scorer with another penalty corner specialist, Taekema from the Netherlands.

606: DEBATE The experience gained will stand them in good stead and overall they have played some good attacking hockey Popple

Taekema's eighth goal of the tournament started the Dutch comeback in their win against England, a result described as "absolutely devastating" by England captain Barry Middleton.

"All the hard work we have done in the tournament has come to nothing because we failed to win a medal.

"We just did not do the little things well in the match. It was our worst game in the tournament."

With both sides seemingly still trying to deal with the disappointment of missing out on the gold medal match, the game started slowly.

England, who had lost their semi-final to Germany 4-1, dominated the early possession, while the Dutch, who had lost 2-1 to Australia, were happy to sit back initially.

The first chance of the match fell to England after a fast-paced, free-flowing move set Richard Alexander free but veteran keeper Guus Vogels came out of his goal quickly to save with his legs.

Against the run of play the Netherlands thought they had taken the lead when Wilson failed to clear and Hofman slotted in.

However, following a referral from Middleton, the goal was disallowed because of a dangerous high ball in the build up.

England continued to enjoy the most possession, forcing a series of penalty corners, one of which was stopped on the line by Geert-Jan Derik after Richard Smith's drive.

It was a moment of class from the Netherlands which eventually brought the opening goal, with De Nooijer flicking in a close-range finish after getting onto the end of some incisive Dutch passing which had carved the England defence apart.

But going a goal down proved to be the jolt England needed as boss Jason Lee's side suddenly found a cutting edge.

Seconds after the Netherlands' goal an England counter attack caused havoc in the Dutch defence and after Rob Moore's shot was saved by Vogel, Brogdon reacted quickest with an instinctive flick to level the scores.

Jackson's sixth goal of the tournament put England ahead as he rifled his dragged-flick into the bottom left corner at a penalty corner.

Jackson's seventh goal of the tournament gave England a 3-1 lead

And Jackson again proved ruthless from England's sixth penalty corner when he hammered his shot high into the top right corner with Vogels well beaten.

But De Nooijer was a constant thorn in England's side and with 23 minutes to go England finally conceded a penalty corner, and were duly punished.

Taekema's low drive took a deflection off the shin of Richard Alexander to fly into the corner and put the Netherlands back in the game.

And the Dutch side, playing with a renewed confidence, managed to find a well deserved equaliser when Klaas Vermeulen ran at the England defence and smashed in a low cross which Wilson deflected into his own goal.

With three minutes to play the Dutch completed their comeback.

Dan Fox failed to deal with a through ball and Hofman finished coolly from close range to secure the bronze medal for the Netherlands.

The tournament will still be reflected on as a success for England after they reached the semi-finals of a World Cup for the first time since they hosted the event in 1986.

England lost in the final to Australia that year, before going on to win Olympic gold in South Korea in 1988.

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