Goalkeeper Antoni Kindler stood between England and victory as his heroic saves enabled Canada to force a 1-1 draw in a pool 'B' men’s hockey match at the Commonwealth Games here Thursday.
England, down by a goal after Iain Smythe deflected home a centre from Sukhwinder Singh in the 13th minute, worked overtime for nearly an hour before equalising with Simon Mantell who scored off Ashley Jackson’s pass.
The draw took England’s tally to four from two games while the Canadians opened their account after having lost their first match.
Apart from that equalizer, England repeatedly ran into an inspired Kindler who parried the bullets shot at him from all angles and situations.
“Antoni was just awesome today. We knew he had the potential and today, he was up to it,” gushed forth Canadian captain Kenny Pereira.
“Their goalkeeper made some good saves and you don’t see those (the saves) every day. But our younger players should step up to the next level. We missed a few chances,” said England coach Jason Lee.
The encounter was punctuated by highly physical play as bodies were hurled about in close tackles and the punishing tackles only added spice to the proceedings.
The encounter was punctuated by highly physical play as bodies were hurled about in close tackles and the punishing tackles only added spice to the proceedings.