King hat-trick helps England to seven-goal rout

England eventually opened their account in their fourth game in the Korean Telecom Cup in Seoul with an emphatic 7-1 win yesterday against Japan which included a hat-trick from Ipswich's Leisa King.

The coach Tricia Heberle was, however, quick to point out that the scoreline was "more than a little flattering". She added: "King's hat-trick was very pleasing and capped a solid individual effort. As a team we are making small improvements with each game but, as the players are only too aware, we still have a very long way to go."

King gave England the lead in the 10th minute when she scrambled home a rebound at a penalty corner and six minutes later scored her second. Further goals from Denise Marston-Smith, Mel Clewlow and Rachel Walker before the interval gave England an unassailable 5-0 lead. King completed her hat-trick after the interval with Anna Bennett wrapping up England's scoring before Natsumi Hori scored Japan's late consolation goal. England play their final Pool game against the United States tomorrow.