Hockey: England on the Waugh path

ENGLAND will meet Spain in the semi-finals of the BMW European Junior Cup here tomorrow after a 3-0 win over the Netherlands last night. In the other semi- final, the Dutch will play the powerful Germans.

In an tense first half with limited scoring chances, the Dutch went nearest to taking the lead at two penalty corners, both well saved by Simon Mason. England's best opportunity fell to Nick Conway with a high deflection from a run and cross from Jon Hauck.

The second half was just nine minutes old when the England captain, Bill Waugh, converted their third penalty corner for the first of his two goals. Having survived a period of Dutch pressure while reduced to 10 men following the temporary suspension of Hauck, England scored their second with five minutes remaining. Waugh slipped the ball to Peter Gibbins who moved it on to Rowan Davies to beat the goalkeeper.

Waugh cemented the victory with two minutes left with his second penalty corner goal - a victory based on sound defensive play in which Conway and Andy Humphrey played key roles.

England's coach, Mike Hamilton, was delighted with the performance. 'We played well to our game plan and are getting better with each outing,' he said. 'It was a disciplined performance and we are making less errors each game.'

ENGLAND UNDER-21: S Mason (Firebrands); B Waugh (Southgate, capt); R Davies (St Albans), A Humphrey (Welton), B Cope (St Albans), N Conway (Doncaster); J Wyatt (Reading), S Nicklin (Slough); P Gibbins (St Albans), D Woods (St Albans), J Hauck (Teddington).

NETHERLANDS UNDER-21: R Peters; E Jazet; T Schopman Capt, E Steegers, D Donk; M Van Dijk, J Delmee, S Van Heeswijk; R Van Wijk, D Smolenaars.

Umpires: M Gallivan (Wal) and F Caballero (Sp).

Results, Sport in Short, page 37