New Delhi: England snatched a dramatic 5-3 win against New Zealand to set up a three-way race for the two semi-final berths from Pool B of the men's hockey competition in the Commonwealth Games on Saturday.
Three goals by James Tindall and one apiece by Richard Mantell and Rob Moore featured England's victory while Hayden Shaw (2) and skipper Phil Burrows replied for the Kiwis.
The victory, their second in three matches, took England's tally to seven points while New Zealand remained on six, the same as South Africa after three matches. All the three play their concluding league matches on Sunday -- South Africa facing the Kiwis and England taking on Canada, who are out of contention.
"It will be a tough game for us tomorrow as South Africa will be fresh after a day's break today, but we need to grind it out," said England head coach Jason Lee.
Lee's counterpart Shane McLeod too expected a difficult game against Canada on Sunday and said he was disappointed with his team's performance on Saturday.
"England were clinical and we lost a key player (penalty corner specialist Hayden Shaw) at a crucial moment in the match (41st minute) when we trailed 2-3. It shifted the momentum in England's favour," said McLeod.
The hard-fought match saw the teams going neck and neck until England pulled away in the second-half.
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