Payne and Bandurak edge England past Germany

Nick Bandurak’s winner combined with captain Ollie Payne’s heroic display in goal helped England’s men edge Germany 1-0 in the FIH Pro League.

Bandurak struck what proved to be the only goal of the game in the 12th minute as England had the better of the first half in Monchengladbach.

However, the hosts piled on the pressure after the break, forcing Payne into several key saves to keep his side in front.

The result sealed an England double over Germany at SparkassenPark after the women won 4-3 in a thriller earlier on Wednesday afternoon. 

England started brightly with Will Calnan flashing an early chance just wide of the post before Payne was called into action after nine minutes to stop Germany captain Mats Grambusch’s effort. 

Bandurak gave the visitors the lead shortly before the end of the first quarter when he deftly deflected an impressive standing reverse stick pass from David Goodfield past Alexander Stadler in the German goal.

Both sides continued to feel each other out in the second quarter with clear cut chances not always easy to come by, although Payne was again on alert to maintain the lead just before half-time.

Duncan Scott had an early chance for England in the third quarter before momentum began to swing towards Germany. 

Payne pulled off a blinding save in the 42nd minute to once again deny his counterpart Grambusch by scooping his shot over the bar.

Germany continued to put plenty of pressure on interim coach Zak Jones’ side and had a string of penalty corners in the fourth and final quarter. 

However, the English defence held firm in the face of a sustained barrage of possession late on, seeing out the match to gain the psychological upper hand ahead of Thursday’s repeat fixture. 

Christopher Ruhr, who had often broken through the England defence without applying the finishing touch, laid down the gauntlet ahead of tomorrow’s rematch, saying: “You cannot win games without scoring goals. It will be different in tomorrow's match.”

Player of the Match Payne praised the effort of his side and revealed he will savour picking up the individual gong - something that does not happen too often as a goalkeeper.

He said: “'I'm super happy. This (winning Player of the Match) doesn't happen very often, so I will enjoy this one. 

“Germany are a good side but our lads put in one hell of a shift. In the second half it felt like wave after wave of pressure.”