Hockey World Cup 2018, England vs Australia: 3 Standout Players from the Bronze-medal match
Australia's pursuit of a hat-trick of World Cup titles may have ended in despair following their penalty shootout defeat in the semifinal against Netherlands. However, the Kookaburras bounced back with a vengeance by pummelling England 8-1 in the bronze medal match at the 2018 Hockey World Cup.
In what was an absolute demolition job, Tom Craig scored thrice to help Australia assert their dominance over a mentally deflated England side. Jeremy Hayward converted two of his penalty corners into goals even as Blake Govers, Trent Mitton and Tim Brand also found the back of the net.
Barry Middleton's goal towards the end of the third quarter could only offer scant consolation for England. Having gone down 0-6 against Belgium in the semifinal, they could not quite pick themselves up and simply went through the motions in the face of Australian imperiousness.
Here are the three standout players from Australia's dominant victory over England in the bronze-medal match.
#3 Blake Govers (Australia)
Aside from the semifinal, Blake Govers has scored in each of Australia's matches in the 2018 World Cup. Reiterating that the previous game was just an aberration, he continued his goal-scoring spree with an early goal in the bronze medal match.
Receiving a splendid pass from Tom Craig, Govers outclassed his marksman with a steely turn and nonchalantly unleashed a tomahawk from a difficult angle. The ferocity, as well as accuracy of the shot, was more than enough to beat England goalkeeper Harry Gibson.
Although he scored Australia's first goal in the 8th minute, this was a game of missed opportunities for Govers. He could have easily had another two or three goals. While two of his shots found the post, the 22-year old's selflessness came to the fore when he acted as a conduit for Tom Craig's brilliance in the 19th minute.
Govers finished his tournament with seven goals. Unless Belgium's Alexander Hendrickx scores in the final against Netherlands, the Australian will have an equal share of the title of leading goal-scorer in the 2018 World Cup.