Hockey: England defeat Belgium to finish seventh at Champions Trophy
Last Updated: 14/12/14 4:02pm
England avoided the wooden spoon thanks to a 3-2 victory over Belgium to finish seventh at the 2014 Champions Trophy.
Two goals for East Grinstead's David Condon in the first and second quarter and one for his club team-mate Chris Griffiths on the stroke of half-time secured victory after Florent van Aubel had bagged a brace for Belgium in Bhubaneswar.
We coped well with the physical demands out there and I think the victory was a justifiable reward for the overall performances during the last week of competition.
Bobby Crutchley
Bobby Crutchley's men were made to battle hard but showed plenty of determination in defence to remain calm under pressure and secure a morale-boosting win.
Crutchley felt England coped well under pressure and he was pleased to pick up a much-needed win to end the year on a high.
"Although we didn’t play our best hockey today I'm very pleased with the win," he said. "It was a difficult game with both teams missing players at the end of a long and tough tournament.
"We coped well with the physical demands out there and I think the victory was a justifiable reward for the overall performances during the last week of competition."
The title went to Germany who beat Pakistan 2-0 in Sunday's final thanks to goals from Christopher Wesley and Florian Fuchs.
It was Germany's first victory in the competition in seven years, following five successive wins for Australia who edged out India 2-1 in the third-place play-off match.
The Netherlands thrashed Argentina 4-1 to claim fifth spot.
