England's men will contest a bronze-medal match in hockey after losing 4-1 to Australia in their semi-final encounter at the Commonwealth Games this morning.
The Aussies, who have won gold at every Games since the sport's introduction back in 1998, looked keen to preserve that dominance early on and took the lead inside eight minutes.
Tristan White received the ball from a penalty corner before firing low past goalkeeper George Pinner to give England a mountain to climb.
It was two shortly after as Simon Orchard capitalised on some sloppy play by Dan Fox before producing a reverse-stick finish past Pinner.
Team England looked intent on reducing that deficit early in the second half and saw their perseverance rewarded through Harry Martin, who bundled the ball into the goal following good play by Ashley Jackson.
However, Australia killed any hopes of a comeback in ruthless fashion with 10 minutes remaining, as Chris Ciriello re-established the two-goal lead, before Eddie Ockenden capped the demolition in the dying stages.
England will face New Zealand or India tomorrow.
Shane Callaghan
