Having beaten Russia 10-1 in their opening match, England came into the fixture full of confidence but they were put to the sword by goals from Mirco Pruijser and Constantijn Jonker either side of half-time.

The result leaves The Netherlands clear at the top of Pool A on six points, with England ahead of Spain on goal difference.

The home country worked hard to break down their opponent’s defence but were ultimately unsuccessful in their efforts and were undone by The Netherlands’ counter-attacking prowess. 

"We need to learn to score dirty goals," said England’s David Ames.

"We matched them for most of the match, but they put away chances, while we look to score perfect goals."

The Netherlands made the breakthrough in the 26th minute with Pruijser on hand to hit a rebounded penalty corner into the goal, despite the best efforts of England goalkeeper George Pinner and line-man Barry Middleton.

With England probing for an equaliser gaps began to appear in their defence, and the game was put beyond doubt in the fourth quarter when Jonker turned home a cross from Rogier Hofman.

"We played well for periods but, like our performance against Spain, we did let the intensity slip for a time," said The Netherlands’ goalkeeper Jaap Stockmann.

Elsewhere in Pool A, Spain thrashed Russia 9-0 with Pau Quemada’s five-goal haul being added to by a Alex Casasayas brace and one goal apiece from Xavi Lleornart and Gabriel Dabanch.

As for Pool B, Lukas Windfeder and Florian Fuchs earned defending champions Germany a 2-0 success against Ireland, while France lost 4-3 for the second successive match as Belgium got themselves off the mark courtesy of Tom Boon’s final-quarter winner.

Meanwhile in the women’s competition, The Netherlands followed up their 9-0 drubbing of Poland yesterday with a convincing 8-1 victory over Spain in Pool A.

Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel opened the scoring for the Dutch in the first quarter before goals from team mates Kelly Jonker, Marloes Keetels and Eva de Goede put them into a 4-0 lead at half-time.

The third quarter saw Jonker bag her second in between goals for Naomi van As and Caia van Maasakker, who went on to make it 8-0 in the fourth.

Berta Bonastre grabbed a consolation goal for Spain, who remain winless after two matches.

The other Pool A encounter saw Belgium maintain their unbeaten record, easing to a 4-1 win against Poland thanks to goals from Louise Versavel, Alix Gerniers, Emilie Sinia and Judith Vandermeiren.

Poland managed to grab a late consolation through Pauline Okaj but it was not enough to prevent a second consecutive defeat.


Related stories
August 2015: Hoog hits hat-trick as The Netherlands' women thump Poland in EuroHockey Championships opener
August 2015: Dutch delight as London 2012 silver medallists get off to winning start at EuroHockey Championships
August 2015: Germany eyeing EuroHockey Championships hat-trick with event on London's Olympic Park set to begin
August 2015: Boost for EuroHockey Championships organisers as tickets for England's men's clash with Netherlands sell out
August 2015: Liam Morgan: Legacy the buzzword as London’s Olympic Park prepares to host EuroHockey Championships