Hockey: Australia clinch 11th Champions Trophy

Moenchengladbach: Australia won a third successive hockey Champions Trophy, and 11th in all, with a comprehensive 4-0 mauling of England, shrugging off a 60-minute rain delay in the process.

England secured the consolation of runners-up yesterday having never previously done better than fifth place while the Netherlands took bronze with a 4-1 defeat of Germany. Australia coach Ric Charlesworth was delighted with his team`s perfect reord of six wins in six matches. "If you had told me before the tournament we would have these results I would have been very happy. You don`t expect it will happen," Charlesworth said. "We came here with the most inexperienced team in the tournament and this has deepened the belief of a number of players that they can play at this level." England coach Jason Lee was disappointed with the quality of his team`s performance. "They did not show up to play today and I hope they are not satisfied that the silver medal is enough," Lee said. Australia stamped their name on the trophy with three goals inside the first 15 minutes.Luke Doerner converted his side`s first penalty corner, Des Abbott knocked in a pass from Glenn Turner and Jason Wilson scorched a shot into the middle of the net. England had three penalty corners at the end of the first half, but Ashley Jackson and Simon Mantell were off target. A cloud burst flooded the pitch a minute into the half-time break, causing a 60-minute delay. There were few quality performances in the second half due to the slow pitch although Jamie Dwyer managed to tee up a drive which rocked the goalposts for Australia`s fourth goal.The 4-0 scoreline equalled the highest score in a Champions Trophy final - a mark held by Germany and Australia. Germany`s long season created mental and physical stress as the hosts slumped 4-1 to the Dutch. "We played a bad game. The players were not up to the task and it`s a combination of mental and physical exhaustion," said Germany coach Markus Weise. PTI