England’s men claimed a comfortable 5-0 win over Poland as they get their Pool B campaign under way at the EuroHockey Championships in Monchengladbach.
David Goodfield put England ahead in the first half but the 2023 finalists were made to wait to extend their lead by a resolute Polish side that came through the qualifiers in Dublin last summer.
Jacob Payton swept in the second in the third quarter and Phil Roper, Sam Ward’s deflected penalty corner shot and a Tom Sorsby effort in the last minute, rounding off the scoring.
“We really stuck at our gameplan. I was really proud of the boys to keep digging in knowing we were doing the right thing and we perservered and scored a few more goals,” said midfielder Sorsby.
“I think I had more shots in that game than in my entire international career so far and I want to convert a few more.”
England will now face hosts Germany in their next fixture on Sunday, 14:00 BST, before taking on France on 12 August, 11:30 BST.
