The men's squad of England began its Hero Honda FIH World Cup build up with a hard fought draw against the world's number three side Spain in Cadiz thanks to goals from HGC pairing Barry Middleton and Ashley Jackson. Overall, it was a close affair which was lit up by three goals in a frenetic final few minutes.
It was Jackson, playing in his 40th game for England, who nearly opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute when he was set up after good work by Middleton down the right hand side. Unfortunately for the Kent-born midfielder his effort was well saved by the Spanish goalkeeper.
England, playing in their first competitive fixture since losing to Spain in the fifth place playoff at the ABN AMRO Champions Trophy in Melbourne in early December, looked good in possession throughout, seeing plenty of the ball in a tight opening period.
And Jason Lee's side was rewarded for that control with a half time lead courtesy of captain Middleton, who finished off from close range in the 21st minute. It was Middleton's 32nd goal for England in 125 appearances.
Into the second half and England were grateful to their Cannock goalkeeper James Fair who produced a number of crucial saves as Spain looked to get back on level terms. In particular, two saves from dangerous Spanish penalty corner efforts which looked destined for the back of the net.
Although still enjoying good spells of possession, England found themselves under more intense pressure from Spain as the match wore on and with England looking like they might hold out for a narrow 1-0 victory Spain's Juan Lainz struck to make it one apiece with just three minutes remaining.
The English response was immediate. From the restart Barry Middleton drove powerfully forward before splitting the Spain defence with a fantastic through ball to Jackson. From the most acute of angles there did not look to be much danger but such is the skill of the 22 year old that he managed to fire home to put England into a winning position with just over 60 seconds left on the clock. Spain, however, were not finished and Ed Tubau netted the hosts' second goal with the final act of the match to secure a 2-2 draw.
Speaking after the game, England team manager Andy Halliday, who last weekend coached England's indoor team to gold at the EuroHockey Indoor Nations Trophy and Indoor World Cup qualification, said, ÔÇ£We're disappointed to have conceded so late on today after getting ourselves into a winning position but overall this was a better performance from us than in yesterday's uncapped practice match.ÔÇØ
Spain-England 2:2 (0:1)
Goals Spain: Juan Lainz 67 (F), Ed Tubau 70 (F)
Goals England: Barry Middleton 21 (F), Ashley Jackson 69 (F)
Source: England Hockey
