Jonty Clarke has World Cup final berth in reach (From Echo)

Jonty Clarke has World Cup final berth in reach

9:22am Thursday 11th March 2010 in

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FORMER Old Southendian star Jonty Clarke will be gunning for more World Cup glory today when England take on Germany in the semi-finals.

Clarke netted twice against Pakistan during the group stages to help his side make the final four for the first time since 1986.

But captain Barry Middleton was always certain the team could do it.

“We believed we could reach this stage,” said Middleton.

“We said it for weeks building up to the tournament and nobody really believed us, but we as a group felt we could do it.

“We had two days off and that is going to help massively.

“In a couple of games we’ve looked and felt a bit tired afterwards so two days off will give us a bit of an edge.”

That fatigue showed on Monday as a disappointing 2-0 defeat by Spain in their final group game ruined England’s unbeaten World Cup run, as they had won all four of their previous matches.

However, reaching the last four of the competition for the first time in 24 years continues a resurgence evident since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Great Britain finished fifth at the Games, but England, from whom the majority of the British team are drawn, have since gone on to win the 2009 European Championships.

They defeated Thursday’s opponents Germany — who are also the reigning world champions — in the final of that tournament, winning 5-3 having trailed 3-2.

The team’s performance director, David Faulkner, played in the 1986 World Cup final, which England lost 2-1 to Australia and won gold as part of the British team who defeated West Germany at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

He believes England are now ready to make regular appearances in the closing stages of major international events.

“If you look at nations readily medalling — not just in hockey, but in all Olympic sports — putting yourself in a position to consistently compete for medals is the most important thing,” said Faulkner.