Alex Danson’s first half goal was not enough for England Women as hosts Germany fought back to win 3-1 in Bremen in the Four Nations Tournament on Saturday.
England were made to work hard in the first half, and as their energy levels dropped in the second period Germany hit back to take the points.
“We were not up to our usual standards technically speaking, which meant we missed passing opportunities and receive opportunities and we missed tackles,” said Head Coach Jason Lee. “This meant extra running in the game which caught up with us in the second half.”
Click here to see squad and caps information and to see the other results at the tournament.
Danson’s 18th minute strike proved a false dawn for England, who made a high number of technical errors which led to them having to put in extra work to recover, and this caught up with them after the break.
Germany’s first goal came on 51 minutes, Lydia Haase scoring a scrappy goal after a melee in the circle. England had several chances to clear, but couldn’t stop their hosts batting the ball home.
Three minutes later Maike Stockel gave Germany the lead from a penalty corner, which came about after England had been turned over.
Hopes of an equaliser for England were dashed on 63 minutes, when Kristina Hillmann bagged a third goal for Germany. A long pass went virtually the length of the field to pick out the forward, who rounded Maddie Hinch in the England goal before scoring.
England’s next game is on Sunday against Japan at 11:00.
