Penalty corners inflict cruel cuts

HOCKEY/World Cup qualifying tournament: Ireland came out a long way second best to the Old Enemy in their opening assignment at the World Cup qualifying tournament at Changzhou in China yesterday as they crashed to a 5-1 defeat.

The losing team took a pasting at penalty corners against the side that finished fourth in the recent Commonwealth Games.

However, the player who handed out most of the punishment was not in Melbourne but only recently rejoined the squad after lengthy injury.

Richard Mantell proved not only that he is a decent defender but also gave Mark Ruddle a horrid time in the Irish goal, with four goals from penalty corners.

His strike rate was awesome, making the most of four of the set-pieces from seven that gave such a lopsided look to the result of a game contested on level terms in other departments.

Mantell was also responsible for the penalty stroke that completed the English tally, hitting Mark Gleghorne as the Ulsterman stood on the goal-line.

"I genuinely felt that, if we had won corners, it could have been a five-all game," insisted national coach Dave Passmore as the process of rebuilding morale for today's fixture with Canada began.

"I have every confidence that the lads will pick themselves up and turn themselves around."

Certainly the early stages were evenly contested, though Mantell's younger brother Simon had a half chance that Ruddle booted easily away.

Even when the destroyer-in-chief set about his work with the opener on 24 minutes, Ireland were not long about replying in kind. The Irish goal was forced by John Jermyn and then converted by the same player with a panache that matched the carnage that eventually unfolded at the other end of the pitch.

However, England were ahead at the break after Mantell made it two from two in the first half.

Still, he showed on the resumption he was not quite invincible as Jason Black made a brave block at his third attempt.

Then it was business almost as usual at the fourth, with Gleghorne taking a painful blow on the leg and Ben Hawes taking the penalty low past Ruddle.

The keeper at least put a hand on Mantell's next delivery on 55 minutes, shortly after Timmy Cockram had obliged Ruddle's opposite number, Jon Ebsworth, to make a reflex save from a reverse stick shot.

This finished the contest but not the damage as Mantell banged home his fourth on the hour before a late flurry of Irish attacks yielded nothing.

Earlier, Canada ensured they would enter today's fray against Passmore's bruised lads in considerably better mood.

They never looked like caving in against a Pakistani attack that produced nothing more than Abbasi Shakeel's cheeky first-half decider.

Elsewhere in the same group, Egypt were in the running at 2-2 at the break before collapsing to 5-2 defeat by the end against a much more consistent Belgium.

In the other half of the draw, France took a pounding from a much fancied if wasteful Korea but still collected a point, while Kiwi Philip Burrows scored the goal of the day at the end of a 70-metre solo in New Zealand's 4-1 lesson doled out to the host side, China.

The all-Asia clash between Korea and Japan went the way of the Rising Sun, thanks to a score by Takahiko Yamabori.

IRELAND: M Ruddle, P Brown, J Black, I Lewers, S Butler, M Irwin, J Jermyn, G Shaw, A Barbour, M Black, T Cockram. Subs: J Sherriff, M Gleghorne, K Burns, D Hobbs.

ENGLAND: J Ebsworth, G Kirkham, R Alexander, R Mantell, M Jones, B Gerrard, J Clarke, B Hawes, B Middleton, J Bleby, J Fair, S Mantell. Subs: M Jones, R Moore, J Tindall, B Marsden.

Umpires: N Iggo (Netherlands), H Ehlers (Denmark).

World Cup Qualifiers: at Changzhou, China Day one - Pool A: Pakistan 1 (A Shakeel), Canada 0; Belgium 5 (JP Brule 2, L Vandeweghe, J Truyens, P Goldberg); Egypt 2 (M Mohamed 2); Egypt 2 (M Mohamed 2); Ireland 1 (J Jermyn) England 5 (R Mantell 4, B Hawes penalty). Pool B: Korea 2 (JH Jang , HS You), France 2 (J Boyer, F Soyer); China 1 (XT Liu), New Zealand 4 (P Burrows 2, S Child, B Collier); Malaysia 0, 1 Japan (T Yamabori).