FIH Hockey Pro League: England defeats South Africa 4-2 in the first leg

Within the regulation time, Bandurak Nicholas in the 9th and 18th minute, Griffiths Christopher in the 22nd and Ward Sam in the 39th minute were the goal scorers for England. In contrast, Guise-Brown Matthew scored for South Africa in the 48th minute and Horne Keenanin in the 50th minute.

The men's team gave a brilliant performance to record their third consecutive victory of the season. Bandurak Nicholas opened the scoring for England in the first quarter with a precise and powerful strike from a penalty corner, beating South African goalkeeper Nolutshungu Siyavuya. He soon doubled the lead with another excellent shot from a penalty corner that went into the net after a slight deflection off defender Jethro Eustice. A low drag flick by Griffiths Christopher from a penalty corner gave England a 3-0 lead by the half time.

Ward Sam further increased the lead for England after two failed attempts when he slotted the ball into the net with a beautiful deflection after receiving a pass from Griffiths Christopher. South Africa mounted an unpredictable counter-attack in the final quarter as a great baseline from Bradley Sherwood gave South Africa a penalty corner. Guise-Brown Matthew fired the ball into the centre of the net with a deceptive shot, giving South Africa their first goal. Just two minutes later, Horne Keenanin scored the second goal for South Africa. Sherwood Bradley of South Africa got a yellow card in the 55th minute, which broke the momentum of the South African squad. The match ended with a comfortable 4-2 victory for England.

In a post-match interview, Christopher Griffiths said, "It was a pretty good game - it is a nice momentum build. Our penalty corners are our main threat at the moment. We want to score more outfield goals, but the more corners we score, the more opportunities we'll give ourselves to win games.

Both the squads will lock horns again in the second leg of the match on May 29.

England's women's hockey team defeat Spain 3-1

In the women's event, England won against Spain with a 3-1 in the first leg of the match at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, England, on May 28.

Giselle Ansley put England in the lead with a second-quarter goal from a penalty corner. She slotted the ball into the net with a precise finish past Spanish goalkeeper Jan Martinez. 

Lily Owsleymade it 2-0 for England with a goal just three minutes before halftime. Gine Xantal scored the first goal for Spain in the 40th minute, but Balsdon Grace ended the game with a brilliant finish to win the match for England.

Player of the match Flora Peel said, "We needed a big team performance off the back of last weekend. We have got things to work on, but we'll be happy with what we did.