Hockey: Mason mourns defeat as King reigns supreme

There was joy and despair for England in Manchester yesterday. The women majestically beat Scotland 6-1 to claim a semi-final place, while the men were knocked out of the race for medals when they lost 1-0 to South Africa. They will now play off for fifth or sixth place.

England's men started in positive mood, playing fast, open hockey, creating numerous chances in an opening 25 minutes of sustained attack, described afterwards by the captain, Craig Parnham, as "the best we have played in the tournament".

The England coach, Malcolm Wood, said: "We should have killed the game off in the first 20 minutes. We then lost our way." A careless give-away by Mike Johnson in midfield gave the Springboks the opportunity to open the scoring in the 29th minute. Gregg Clarke swooped on the ball, raced 20 yards to provide the match-winning goal for Emile Smith. After surviving early South African pressure at the beginning of the second half, England returned to the attack but their pathetic finishing allowed the South Africans to hang on and claim a place in tomorrow's semi-final against Australia.

The goalkeeper Simon Mason, making his 100th international appearance for England, said afterwards: "It was the most disappointing day in my international career. I would have traded all my caps for a win in this game."

Leisa King grabbed her second international hat-trick in England's comprehensive 6-1 win against Scotland to the delight of their Australian coach, Tricia Heberle, who said afterwards: "I was pleased with the win in very difficult conditions. It was nice to get back to our passing game. We created a lot opportunities and converted many of them. It was a perfect preparation for our semi-final against Australia."

England dominated the game from the first whistle, opening the scoring with King's first goal at a 14th-minute penalty corner. Helen Grant secured the second after good work by Jane Smith 17 minutes later.

After the break, further goals from Sarah Blanks and Kate Walsh put England 4-0 up. A spectacular reverse stick shot from Sam Judge from the edge of the circle pulled a goal back for Scotland. King then completed her hat trick to complete England's domination.

India claimed the second semi-final place with a dramatic fightback to beat South Africa 4-3 with a 78th minute golden goal from Suman Bala after overcoming a 3-0 interval deficit. India play New Zealand in the semi-finals.