EuroHockey 2015: England beaten by Germany in semi-final shootout

England men lost to Germany in the EuroHockey Championships semi-final following a penalty shootout.

Mark Gleghorne gave England the lead, only for Martin Zwicker to equalise and Lukas Windfeder to put Germany 2-1 up.

Ashley Jackson levelled at 2-2 with a penalty stroke with one minute 50 seconds left, but Sam Ward's miss proved decisive as Germany won the shootout 3-2 at the Olympic Park.

They now play the Netherlands in Saturday's final (16.30 BST).

England women's forward Alex Danson tweeted after the game before their semi-final against Spain on Friday

Before the final, England face Ireland in the Bronze-medal match (14:00).

In the semi-final, the hosts took a 20th-minute lead when Gleghorne turned Adam Dixon's pass home only for Zwicker to equalise seconds before the break.

Markus Weise's side then went ahead just over three minutes from time through Windfeder, but Jackson held his nerve to level after Barry Middleton's attempt was impeded by Tobias Hauke, sending the game to a shootout.

England captain Barry Middleton said: "We're proud of the way we played and the game we put out there. But in the end we lost and that's tough to get away from right now."

Germany's Christopher Ruhr said self-belief drawn from previous successes was a major factor in their victory, as well as faith in goalkeeper Nicolas Jacobi.

"We have the best keeper in the world when it comes to shootouts," he said. "And we have the confidence that comes from winning in the big games. We are confident and looking forward to the final against the Netherlands."