Champions Trophy: England top group after Belgium draw
Last updated on .From the section Hockey
A brilliant strike from Iain Lewers earned England a 1-1 draw against Belgium and ensured they top Pool A at hockey's Champions Trophy in India.
England had only needed a draw to win the group but fell behind after nine minutes, and Lewers then missed a chance to level with a penalty stroke.
It was the final quarter when he made amends, firing home from long range.
England progress to Thursday's quarter-finals where they will face Germany, who finished bottom of Pool B.
After an opening victory over world number one side Australia and an 8-2 thrashing of Pakistan, England were in danger of letting all their good work in Bhubaneswar slip against Belgium.
| England's results |
|---|
| 6 December: England 3-1 Australia |
| 7 December: England 8-2 Pakistan |
| 9 December: England 1-1 Belgium |
Amaury Keusters found space in the circle to score with the reverse stick after nine minutes as the Belgians dominated the opening exchanges.
England had a golden chance to level through a penalty stroke with seconds remaining in the half, but after a lengthy delay for a video referral, Lewers could only hit the bar.
The third quarter saw a succession of penalty corners as England pressed hard for the equaliser, but they were almost caught on the break as Keusters rattled the bar in a rare Belgian attack.
The breakthrough finally came when Lewers made space on the edge of the circle and cracked a fierce reverse-stick strike into the bottom corner to equalise, and England survived a couple of nervous moments as the clock ran down.
"It was nice to make up for the [penalty] miss and contribute to the team," said Belfast-born Lewers.
"It happens sometimes but fortunately it didn't have too many consequences. We started to regroup after half-time and we maybe shaded it in the final quarter."
