Underdogs England stun Australia 3-1 in Champions Trophy

England's Samuel Ward celebrates a goal against Australia with teammates

Bhubanewar, Dec 6: England stunned defending champions Australia 3-1 in the inaugural match of the Men's Hockey Champions Trophy at the Kalinga Stadium here on Saturday.

Underdogs England dominated throughout the match, putting regular pressure on the World champions Australian team, which struggled hard to impress.

Barry Middleton led England to start the match with constant attacking moves, and surprised their opponents with highly aggressive game, which tore apart the Australian defence.

They got their first goal when Alastair Brogdon hit the net in the early sixth minute.

Australia got stronger in the second quarter and produced a row of penalty corners but could not capitalise on the opportunities, whereas England continued their aggressive play.

Samuel Ward scored second goal for the European team in the 27th minute. At the end of the second quarter, England were quite dominant with their highly encouraged brigade.

Both the teams struggled hard to score in the third quarter.

Trailing 0-2, Australia improved their game and in the 54th minute, they were rewarded with a penalty corner that was successfully converted by Chris Ciriello.

However, Ward completed his brace with a quick counter-attack two minutes later to completely shut the door on the Graham Reid-coached Kookaburras.

In their next match, the Eddie Ockenden-led Australia will face Belgium, while England will take on Pakistan.