Six of the best see England past Ghana in Commonwealth Games opener

England 6
Bandurak (9', 30', 45' PCs); Roper (27' FG); Calnan (39' FG); Condon (51' FG)

Ghana 0

England were in full flow in their opening fixture of the Commonwealth Games, beating newcomers Ghana 6-0 in an entertaining affair at the University of Birmingham.

A hat-trick from Nick Bandurak as well as goals from Phil Roper, Will Calnan and David Condon gave England the points in Pool B.

They were made to work for victory however, Ghana goalkeeper Duisberg Offei thwarted them time and time again and it took a couple of special strikes, the pick of the bunch coming from Roper, to get the better of the outstanding Offei.

England: Payne (GK), Sorsby, Creed, Albery, Waller, Goodfield, Condon, Wallace, Griffiths, Ward, Roper
Subs (Used): Mazarelo (GK), Rushmere, Sloan, Ansell, Bandurak, Smith, Canlan.

Full report
A raucous home crowd greeted the players onto the pitch for the first men’s fixture of Birmingham 2022 and England were keen to put on a show, creating a number of chances within the opening minutes of the game.

Top-scorer in Gold Coast four years ago, Sam Ward looked to add to his Commonwealth tally here as he tore down the wing and drove to the byline. His cut back just evaded captain Zach Wallace and those charging towards goal allowing Ghana to clear.

But the chances came thick and fast and it was Nick Bandurak who mustered England’s first shot after six minutes. A neat turn from the Holcombe forward gave him a clear sight of goal but he flashed his effort just wide.

He would find the net soon after though, as England’s second penalty corner yielded their first goal of the tournament. Just nine minutes into his first major tournament start, Bandurak rifled an effort home to give England a deserved lead.

But they were made to wait for their second, as the heroics of Duisberg Offei denied them on several occasions. The experienced pair of Ward and Wallace were unlucky not to score as Offei’s reflexes kept Ghana in the game.

It was always going to take something special to beat Offei and that came courtesy of Phil Roper just short of half-time. Starting at his third Commonwealth Games, the midfielder used all of his experience to bring down a high ball from Jack Waller before lashing into the roof of the net from an acute angle.

That effort seemed to deflate Ghana as Bandurak managed to sneak another score before the half was out. It was a carbon-copy of the first as he struck across goal from left to right to add a gloss to the half-time scoreline.

After a bright start to the second half for Ghana it took England some time to re-establish their dominance and it was only when Wallace went close from the tightest of angles from the left-hand side that England started to wrestle back momentum. 

And it was that wing which yielded England’s fourth moments later. Will Calnan’s deft touch rounded off a flowing team move which all-but wrapped up the points.

By this point, Bandurak was in the mood and came close on two further occasions but Offei once again proved the scourge of the England attack. A stunning save via an outstretched knee was arguably the pick of the stops from his personal show-reel.

But Bandurak was not to be denied a third time as he wrapped up his hat-trick via another corner.

Play became increasingly stretched as England went in search of more, and while Ghana looked menacing on the counter attack it was England who grabbed the game’s final goal.

Midfielder David Condon’s cool effort put the finishing touches to a fine opening day display.

Ghana did come close to a consolation in the dying stages but the post denied them a memorable score as England held out for a clean sheet.

Next up for England are Wales on Sunday, who get their campaign underway against Canada on Saturday

Post-match, Bandurak reflected on a fantastic first England outing: "Everyone would dream of a home Games and it doesn’t get much more home for me than my university. It’s amazing to be back. I’m chuffed to be able to start a tournament off in that way.

"Ultimately that’s my job and thankfully I was able to do it today. It’s an unbelievable feeling to be back here and to start the tournament this way is amazing.

"We knew we were going to have a big crowd and were trying to get them as vocal as possible. The more they understand the way we are going to be playing under a new system and new coach, It really felt like they got behind us."