England men's hockey team clinched the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games following a frenetic win over South Africa.
One day after watching the women's team win gold over Australia in the final, England secured a 6-3 triumph in the bronze medal match to restore parity after losing to Australia in the semi-finals.
There were no goals to be had in a cagey opening quarter, but the game exploded into life with three goals apiece in the second, as England came from behind twice to level the scores at 2-2 before going ahead through Samuel Ward.
South Africa equalised in the final minute before half time through Nqobile Ntuli, but the visiting team's attack was stunted in the second half of the match, and Paul Revington's side regained the lead through Phillip Roper.
Roper added a second for himself early in the fourth quarter before South Africa took off their goalkeeper to try to claw their way back into the game, but a penalty stroke from Zachary Wallace sealed the deal for the host nation.
England have now won the bronze medal in the men's hockey at the Commonwealth Games for the third time in a row after beating New Zealand and India in the 2014 and 2018 third-place matches respectively.
Ben Knapton
