Four of the England team celebrate after scoring against Ireland! — Image Credit: Marek Stor/shutterlax.com

England claimed their second successive victory at the 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship after securing a 12-5 win over rivals Ireland.

Four goals from the energetic Matt Marsh along with a hat-trick from the ever dependable Lyndon Bunio ensured that England left the Eisarena with the win, despite a frustrating, feisty, and bitty second half.

England, who came into this game off the back of a closer than expected 13-8 victory over Scotland on the opening day of the tournament, couldn’t have asked for a better start as Marsh opened the scoring after just 43 seconds.

And, just as it looked like Ireland might be getting a foothold, Bunio was able to latch onto an upfield pass and score on the turn.

This second goal for England after four minutes knocked the wind out of Ireland’s sail and England were able to deny them any meaningful possession for much of the rest of the half.

England had chance after chance; first, Albert Whitehead saw his shot stopped easily before Marsh was denied by an unbelievable diving save by the Ireland goalie.

But it was only a matter of time before England grabbed their third and it was through Bunio once again who was in the right place at the right time in front of goal to catch, leap across the crease, and score.

Something of a trademark for this England team, Dave Groves also got in on the action with his own version of the dive across the crease goal, after he’d attacked the Ireland goal from a tight angle for England’s fourth.

Despite a shaky start to the second quarter and thanks to some help from eventual Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the match, goalkeeper, Cameron Macleod, England were able to weather the small Ireland storm and see it to half-time, while also adding two more goals courtesy of England’s opening day hat-trick hero, Dan Watson, and Marsh once again.

Whatever Ireland’s coaching team said to their players during the half-time team talk clearly had an impact and the team from across the Irish Sea were a different beast in the third quarter, scoring their first goal a couple of minutes in.

England were able to retain their six goal lead after Jamie Powell sold two Ireland defenders with a fake shot before hammering the ball into the top corner.

At this point, Ireland showed their quality by scoring three without reply and frustrating the England players with their aggressive style of play.

With the score at 7-4 and Ireland looking the more likely to push for more, England showed why they’re ranked fifth in the world first through Bunio who snatched his hat-trick and then through Whitehead who picked up the ball on the halfway line and broke quickly with Tom Bracegirdle in a two on one situation.

And when Bracegirdle blocked the run of one of the Ireland defenders, Whitehead was able to take a free hit at goal, which he did perfectly, scoring through the goalie’s legs.

The opening minutes of the fourth and final quarter proved to be the Matt Marsh show as he scored his third and fourth goals in front of the adoring England fans up in the stands and effectively putting an end to any glimmer of an Ireland comeback.

From this point onward, the game took a turn and a series of fouls led to England being granted two penalty points; Ireland did not have enough players on the field to continue the game so the game was stopped and England were given the opportunity to score one on one with the goalie.

On both occasions, England missed the chance to pull further ahead but they did manage to finish the game off in style through Whitehead’s second goal of the game with just one minute and nine seconds remaining after he picked up the ball in the attacking third, faked a couple of shots and scored.

With that win, England top Pool D and will play winners of Pool C, Switzerland, who are also unbeaten so far, in the crossover game tomorrow at 6.30pm BST.

England Points: Matt Marsh (4G), Lyndon Bunio (3G 2A), Albert Whitehead (2G), Dave Groves (1G), Dan Watson (1G, 1A), Jamie Powell (1G)

Crossover Schedule (Tuesday 2 August, times BST)