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All the news for Friday 19 June 2015

Germany spoil Spain's time in the sun, joining China, Great Britain and Argentina in final four

Two shoot-outs leave Irish and Spain heart-broken



China, Argentina, Great Britain and Germany have progressed through to the semi-final stage of the Hockey World League Semi-Finals in Valencia, all four teams securing a place at the prestigious Hockey World League Final in Argentina and moving within touching distance of a place at Rio 2016.

The opening match was a humdinger between 7th-ranked China and 14th-ranked Ireland, with the match finishing 1-1 in regulation time, before China clinched the match in the seventh round of shoot-out.

The result means Ireland will now face the 5th-ranked USA, who were felled by some moments of magic from Las Leonas, and Carla Rebecchi in particular.

Great Britain were in a different class to South Africa in the third quarter-final of the day. Two early goals sealed the win for Danny Kerry's team, and from then on they were rarely troubled by a hard-working but largely ineffectual South Africa.

The last quarter-final proved a fitting finale, with hosts Spain coming tantalisingly close to securing a semi-final spot, before Germany proved why they have such a fearsome reputation when it comes to the business end of things.

The semi-final line-up will be China against Argentina while Great Britain face Germany.

Liang Meiyu, was shoot-out hero for China as the Asian side booked their place in the final four after a gruelling encounter with Ireland. China got off to a flying start when Zhang Xiaoxue latched on to a long overhead pass and found a narrow gap at the left post to flick in the first goal after five minutes.

From there, the Asian side sat deep and soaked up pressure before counter-attacking at speed. Ireland did win plenty of corners – eight in the first half – while Katie Mullan was also denied by Li Dongxiao. Ireland's equaliser came from Chloe Watkins, in the second half, with a slap from close range after Kate Dillon’s pass.

This meant the tie went to a shoot-out and the first series of five ended 3-3. The next three were all saved before Liang raced left and slid in the winning shoot-out for a 4-3 success.

Speaking after the game, Liang said: "I was very confident and knew exactly where I would score, we were very well prepared and had been practising since before we travelled to the Netherlands in preparation for this tournament."

Cui Qiuxia explained just what this meant to her team: "This was our last shot at a place at the 2016 Olympics. We knew what we had to do, there was no-where to go."

Darren Smith, coach of Ireland, said: “It’s devastating to lose in a shoot-out. All you want is that ticket to Rio and we will do all we can to try and get that. We put our heart and soul into that match.”

Argentina moved to within touching distance of an Olympic berth as Carla Rebecchi inspired them to a 3-0 victory over USA in the Pan-Am El Classico. Rebecchi fired home a corner rocket before unleashing a stunning backhand shot to build a 2-0 lead at half-time and Noel Barrionuevo whizzed home another from a set piece to kill off the second quarter-final of the Hockey World League Semi-Final in Valencia.

Argentina's Macarena Rodriguez Perez, said: “It was such an intense battle because each side knows each other really well. The goal just after the first quarter was a definitive moment and then we were able to build confidence in the way we play.

“The side is growing up and learning how to build towards Rio in the best form. Because we don’t now have the best player in the world like last year, this tournament is a really good tournament to help us prepare and grow for Rio in 2016.”

Early goals from Alex Danson and Kate Richardson-Walsh saw Great Britain through to the final four in Valencia. "I know we are not there yet, and we still have a job to do, but everything was on this game, we knew we had to win," said Great Britain captain Kate Richardson-Walsh.

Danson and Hannah MacLeod served notice of GB’s intent in the opening minutes, drawing a fine double-save from Sanani Mangisa. And Danson was the one to break the deadlock 12 minutes in as she picked up Emily Maguire’s booming pass. A couple of minutes later, Richardson-Walsh’s swept corner shot took a big deflection off Bernadette Coston – running out number one – to spectacularly bounce off the underside of the bar and in to make it 2-0.

South Africa fought back, winning a couple of penalty corners before half-time with Liné Malan going the closest. The second half saw Great Britain under some pressure but they always had a strong buffer in their favour.

In the final match, Germany looked to be on their way out of the running, trailing 1-0 to Spain with nine minutes left of normal time. They then trailed 2-0 in the shoot-out before they came back to win it 3-2.

Lola Riera had put Spain ahead when she kept her calm to make it 1-0 from the penalty spot with 18 minutes to go. Germany got level with just under nine minutes through Eileen Hoffmann, forcing the game to the shoot-out.

The hosts built a 2-0 lead straightaway but Germany clawed back the deficit with Kristina Reynolds providing heroics in goal. Heroine of the hour was Franzisca Hauke who equalised in the fifth round before scoring again in the first round of sudden death.

Germany's Janne Muller-Wieland said: “We are delighted. It was a big drama and so German of us! Especially after being down 1-0 and then coming back in the shoot-out. It was just amazing and I am so proud of the girls and I want to say we deserved it.

“There are rumours about us that we are never beaten until we are on the bus on the way home. I am quite happy today that this was the case. We fight until the last minute and the last second.”

“GB will definitely be a tough challenge but we definitely want to beat them and not be hanging on and calculating whether we have the Olympic spot or not. We didn’t think about it before now. Tomorrow we will think about it properly but, for now, we are just happy.”

FIH site

Germany on bus to last four

Spain see chance of glory slip away



Germany v Spain 4-3 (1-1) (3-2 shoot-out)

Germany are never out of a competition until they are on the bus home. So said Janne Muller-Wieland, and her words were proven prescient as Germany won their encounter with Spain in dramatic fashion.

Franziska Hauke was the German heroine as she scored two nerveless shoot-out goals to see her side through to the Hockey World League Semi-Final last four, beating Spain in sudden death after normal time had ended 1-1.

On a couple of occasions, Germany looked to be on their way out of the running, trailing 1-0 with nine minutes left of normal time and also 2-0 in the shoot-out before they came back to win it 3-2.

Germany had the best of the opening exchanges but Maria Lopez de Eguilaz was equal to everything thrown at her. When she was beaten, Rocio Gutierrez did the mopping up work, one time clearing off the line, the other in slightly fortuitous fashion as she half-stopped the ball onto her body. A video referral deemed it another corner and not a stroke.

Spain, though, were having their moments as Roccio Ybarra first-timed one shot just wide while a couple of corners in the last minute of the half were also spurned.

And they carried that momentum into the second half, creating a string of chances which Kristina Reynolds needed to be on top form to keep out. Twice, she was drawn into double saves in quick succession. She was eventually beaten when Carlota Petchamé lined up a shot only for a German defender to impede her. Lola Riera kept her calm to make it 1-0 from the penalty spot with 18 minutes to go.

Germany got level with just under nine minutes to go when Charlotte Stapenhorst embarked on a stunning, 3D run down the right flank before pushing across the face of goal via Franziska Hauke to where Eileen Hoffmann was on hand to finish off.

Spain had a couple more chances to win it but Germany stayed on terms, forcing the game to the shoot-out.

The hosts built a 2-0 lead straightaway but Germany clawed back the deficit with Reynolds again heroic while Hauke equalised in the fifth round before scoring again in the first round of sudden death.

Moments earlier, Reynolds made an incredible stick-save to deny and Gigi Oliva, setting up the victory.

Germany next face Great Britain in the semi-final while Spain will meet South Africa in the classification matches.

Germany's Janne Muller-Wieland said: “We are delighted. It was a big drama and so German of us! Especially after being down 1-0 and then coming back in the shoot-out. It was just amazing and I am so proud of the girls and I want to say we deserved it.

“There are rumours about us that we are never beaten until we are on the bus on the way home. I am quite happy today that this was the case. We fight until the last minute and the last second.”

“GB will definitely be a tough challenge but we definitely want to beat them and not be hanging on and calculating whether we have the Olympic spot or not. We didn’t think about it before now. Tomorrow we will think about it properly but, for now, we are just happy.”

FIH site

Early double strike floors South Africa in third quarter-final

Professional Great Britain put paid to South Africa's semi-final hopes


Kate Richardson-Walsh celebrates scoring Great Britain's second goal

Quarter-Final 1: Great Britain v South Africa 2-0

Early goals from Alex Danson and Kate Richardson-Walsh saw Great Britain through to the final four in Valencia, qualifying for the Hockey World League final and moving a considerable step closer to the Olympic Games in the process. By contrast, South Africa will be contesting fifth to eighth place against either Spain or Germany.

"I know we are not there yet, and we still have a job to do, but everything was on this game, we knew we had to win," said Great Britain captain Kate Richardson-Walsh.

Danson spoke of the "professionalism" displayed by Great Britain throughout this competition so far, and she and Hannah MacLeod certainly served notice of GB’s intent in the opening minutes, drawing a fine double-save from Sanani Mangisa.

And Danson was the one to break the deadlock 12 minutes in as she picked up Emily Maguire’s booming pass. The striker had her back to goal but spun out of heavy traffic and slapped in a great goal for 1-0.

A couple of minutes later, Richardson-Walsh’s swept corner shot took a big deflection off Bernadette Coston – running out number one – to spectacularly bounce off the underside of the bar and in to make it 2-0.

South Africa fought back, winning a couple of penalty corners before half-time with Liné Malan going the closest. The second half saw Great Britain under some pressure but they always had a strong buffer in their favour. Susannah Townsend’s shot looped on to the roof of the net while Danson continued to cause problems.

At the far end, Dirkie Chamberlain’s snap-shot went close while Illse Davids’ driving runs were dangerous but no further goals accrued.

"We came out here for a three week camp before the competition and it was the hardest training I have ever done. I'm not sure at 35, I should be putting myself through that," smiled Richardson-Walsh.

"We also had a lot of work to do psychologically after the disappointment of England's performance at the World Cup, and this was our first big test, and we came through it."

South Africa coach Sheldon Rostron said: "It was always going to be a tough game. We had to put a lot in to get a result out of it and qualify but, at the end of the day, we still have a process to finish as high as possible. We now have to set our sights on the next two games.

“It’s important for us to bounce back and we know what objectives we have to achieve. “The first quarter was the disappointing part. I thought we did really further on in the game. If we had taken more care early in the game, it could have worked out.”

FIH site

Rebecchi rocket fires Las Leonas to victory

Quarter-final match sees Pan-Am rivalry go South



ARG v USA 3-0

Argentina moved to within touching distance of an Olympic berth as Carla Rebecchi inspired them to a 3-0 victory over USA in the Pan-Am El Classico.

Rebecchi fired home a corner rocket before unleashing a stunning backhand shot to build a 2-0 lead at half-time and Noel Barrionuevo whizzed home another from a set piece to kill off the second quarter-final of the Hockey World League Semi-Final in Valencia.

It was a superb performance from Las Leonas who move a huge step towards Rio in 2016. USA did start well, drawing some big saves from Belen Succi with Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese buzzing around up front. But once Argentina found their mojo, they were not going to be denied.

Rebecchi’s 17th minute corner set the tone, finding a low route past Jackie Briggs. They continued to squeeze the life out of the USA defence and the press allowed Florencia Habif to intercept and quickly feed the ball into the circle for Rebecchi. With nimble feet, she got out of Briggs’s reach and, moving away from goal, pinged the ball into the top corner.

Barrionuevo made the result even more certain, setting up a semi-final date with China while USA go into the fifth to eighth place playoffs against Ireland.

Argentina's Macarena Rodriguez Perez, said: “It was such an intense battle because each side knows each other really well. The goal just after the first quarter was a definitive moment and then we were able to build confidence in the way we play.

“The side is growing up and learning how to build towards Rio in the best form. Because we don’t now have the best player in the world like last year, this tournament is a really good tournament to help us prepare and grow for Rio in 2016.”

USA coach Craig Parnham said: "We started well and we created a number of chances, but we fed Argentina some scraps and they took them. That put us in a chasing position."

FIH site

Liang's dream comes true

China battle through seven round shoot-out to beat brave Ireland



IRL V CHN 1-1 (3-4 after shoot-out)

"I had dreamed of how I would score this goal," said Liang Meiyu, as she proved the shoot-out hero for China in their hard-fought game against Ireland.

China became the first side through to the semi-finals of the Hockey World League Semi-Final in Valencia as they withstood 15 penalty corners to eventually beat Ireland in a shoot-out. Liang Meiyu was the one to hold her nerve and slot the winner in the seventh round of the shoot-out to seal the deal after a scrappy match packed with drama.

China got off to a flying start when Zhang Xiaoxue latched on to a long overhead pass and found a narrow gap at the left post to flick in the first goal after five minutes. From there, the Asian side sat deep and soaked up pressure before counter-attacking at speed.

Ireland did win plenty of corners – eight in the first half – while Katie Mullan was also denied by Li Dongxiao. The second half followed a similar pattern with Ireland running up seven more corners but they scarcely threatened from the set plays.

Chloe Watkins, however, did equalise with a slap from close range after Kate Dillon’s pass. Megan Frazer then shot home a corner chance but the second goal was disallowed on an umpire’s referral.

It meant the tie went to a shoot-out and the first series of five ended 3-3. The next three were all saved before Liang raced left and slid in the winning shoot-out for a 4-3 success.

Speaking after the game, Liang said: "I was very confident and knew exactly where I would score, we were very well prepared and had been practising since before we travelled to the Netherlands in preparation for this tournament."

Cui Qiuxia explained just what this meant to her team: "This was out last shot at a place at the 2016 Olympics. We knew what we had to do, there was no-where to go."

Darren Smith, coach of Ireland, said: “It’s devastating to lose in a shoot-out. All you want is that ticket to Rio and we will do all we can to try and get that. We put our heart and soul into that match. We could have been more clinical from our penalty corners. They defended them pretty well but it was a tight and tough match.”

FIH site

Ireland fall to China but Olympic dreams not yet over
 

Photo Credit: Stanislas Brochier

Ireland’s women were left devastated as they fell to China following a shoot-out in their World League Round 3 after normal time ended 1-1 in Valencia.
 
Darren Smith’s side made most of the running throughout, running up 15 penalty corners, while there was also a 55th Megan Frazer effort disallowed after initially being awarded.
 
But China hung tough, defended bravely and charged down every corner chance to deny Ireland in normal time before Liang Meiyu slotted the all-important shoot-out goal.
 
Smith said it was a heartbreaking situation to come so close to victory against the world number seven side with Olympic qualification on the line.
 
“It’s devastating to lose in a shoot-out. All you want is that ticket to Rio and we put our heart and soul into that match. We could have been more clinical from our penalty corners. They defended them pretty well but it was a tight and tough match.”
 
Earlier on, China got off to a flying start when Zhang Xiaoxue latched on to a long overhead pass and found a narrow gap at the left post to flick in the first goal after five minutes.
 
From there, the Asian side sat deep and soaked up pressure before counter-attacking at speed. Ireland won plenty of corners – eight in the first half – while Katie Mullan was also denied by Li Dongxiao.
 
The second half followed a similar pattern with Ireland running up seven more corners but they did not create enough danger from those set plays. They did eventually get their equaliser in the 42nd minute via Chloe Watkins.
 
She slapped home powerfully from close range after Kate Dillon powered through two tackles from a quick free before slipping a pass under her arm to Watkins.
 
It was no less than they deserved and they looked the more likely to push on from there. The main talking point came when Megan Frazer shot home a corner. It was initially awarded before the umpire Elena Eskina called a referral on her own decision and, after video footage, the goal was chalked off.
 
Smith admitted that he thought the “umpire got it right” and while the manner in which it was called for was slightly unsavoury – the Chinese surrounded the umpire to call for a second opinion – he said the decision was correct.
 
“In the end, they got it right so you can’t get too disappointed. It looks like a Chinese referral when they had lost theirs already but that’s the way it goes.”
 
It meant the tie went to a shoot-out and the first series of five ended 3-3. The next three were all saved before Liang raced left and slid in the winning shoot-out for a 4-3 success.
 
Ireland still have a chance to qualify for the Olympics via this tournament. The target is now a top five finish. This can be done by winning both of their classification matches over the weekend.
 
“From our perspective, we need to make sure we are determined and focused, defend well and tackle well and get into that fifth/sixth place playoff and give ourselves a chance of going to Rio. It might be a little bit of hurt for the next while but we hope that clears and we get the girls back into it.”

Ireland’s next match will be on Saturday, time and opponents yet to be determined.
 
World League Round 3

Ireland 1 (C Watkins) China 1 (X Zhang), China win 4-3 in a shoot-out

Ireland: E Gray, Y O’Byrne, C Sargent, E Smyth, N Evans, S McCay, M Frazer, L Colvin, N Daly, H Matthews, A O’Flanagan
Subs: K Mullan, G Pinder, A Connery, C Watkins, K Dillon, A Meeke, A McFerran
 
China: L Dongxiao, W Mengyu, C Qiuxia, X Xiayun, W Na, Z Xiaoxue, S Xiao, B Qianqian, Y Qian
Subs: X Xiaoxu, D Jiaojiao, W Mengchong, M Wei, Z Qiuling, L Jiaqi, G Jiajia
 
Umpires: K Hudson (NZL), E Eskina (RUS)

Irish Hockey Association media release

Great Britain overcome South Africa to reach Semi-finals


Kate Richardson-Walsh celebrates her goal with Laura Unsworth. Credit World Sport Pics Stanislas Brochier

Goals from Alex Danson and Kate Richardson-Walsh kept up Great Britain’s outstanding winning run in the competition and booked their place in the semi-final of the competition. Both goals came in the opening quarter of the match and despite a spirited display from South Africa, Danny Kerry’s team produced a professional performance to give themselves a great chance of securing Olympic qualification this weekend.

Great Britain signalled their attacking intent in the opening exchanges. Hollie Webb fed Alex Danson whose backhand shot was well saved by Sanani Mangisa. The goalkeeper then recovered to block the follow-up from Hannah Macleod.

Great Britain dominated the possession as South Africa adopted a defensive strategy to contain their threat and hit them on the break. Chances were hard to come by but with three minutes to the end of the quarter the game was turned on its head. First, Danson spun away from her marker and supplied a cool finish to break the deadlock with her third goal of the competition. Minutes later it was 2-0 as Kate Richardson-Walsh’s penalty corner found the net via a deflection off a South African player and the crossbar giving GB a 2-0 lead and a dream start.

South Africa posed their first real threat in the second quarter after good work from Bernadette Coston won them a penalty corner. Liné Malan hit a fierce shot but it flashed wide of the target. Lily Owsley was shown a green card, reducing GB to ten players. South Africa saw their chance with the player advantage and forced a couple of penalty corners. However some excellent defending from Giselle Ansley snuffed out the danger and preserved the lead at half time.

Danson continued to cause the South African defence problems in the third quarter. South Africa searched for a way back into the contest and Maddie Hinch was called upon to save a slapped effort from Jade Mayne. The Holcombe stopper had to be on her guard again with five minutes left in the quarter. A long cross found its way to Coston at the back post but Hinch smothered well to preserve the two-goal cushion.

Great Britain almost made it 3-0 late on in the third period as Susannah Townsend seized on a loose ball in the circle and let fly, only for Lisa Deetlefs’ timely intervention to send the ball looping over the bar.

In the fourth quarter it was still cagey with both sides knowing the next goal would be crucial. As players began to tire the game started to open up. South Africa threatened through Dirkie Chamberlain but the Canterbury forward’s strike was smashed wide of the target. Then, a lung-bursting run from Owsley set Danson free in the circle but with the angle narrowing she couldn’t quite set up a sliding Owsley with the return cross. Great Britain were able to see out the remainder of the game and set up a semi-final clash with either Germany or Spain this Saturday.

Quotes – Great Britain Forward Alex Danson

“We’re absolutely delighted. It was a really professional performance from the team. I’ve said it before but we do our homework on every team. The secret is that there are 31 of us in this squad and we train so hard every single day. 31 of us won that match today and we’re delighted.

It’s all about the team and the supply we get. We look at the video and assess the opportunities we get but we’re always looking to do better.

We’ll do our recovery and get ready for the next game. The work we do back home puts us in a really good position. Fitness is a key area for us and we have a lot left in the legs to hopefully get the job done.

We don’t mind who we play next. We do our homework on every team. We play to our strengths and our tactics and that’s what gets results.”

Great Britain Head Coach Danny Kerry:

“An awesome opening quarter took us into an early lead. South Africa had to come and press but we played smart and continued to control the game. I am so proud of the athletes and staff and what they have done over the last year. I'm delighted for Alex [Danson] and Kate [Richardson-Walsh] taking great goals.”

Great Britain 2 (2)
Alex Danson 12 (FG)
Kate Richardson-Walsh 14 (PC)

South Africa 0 (0)

Great Britain Hockey media release

Great Britain dash SA women’s hockey hopes

JONATHAN COOK

A brace of goals in the first quarter saw Great Britain beat the South Africa women’s hockey team 2-0 in the World League Semi-Final tournament’s quarter-final match at Campo De Hockey De Valencia in Valencia, Spain Thursday.

In-form GB striker Alex Danson scored the first goal in the 12th minute and Kate Richardson-Walsh the second from a rather fortuitous penalty corner (PC) deflection a minute later.

On Saturday, SA will face the loser of Thursday’s evening quarter-final between Germany and Spain. The time of the SA’s playoff match on Saturday that will determine who plays for fifth place on Sunday, will only be decided once all the quarter-finals are finished, and with consideration to international television requirements.

For SA, a fifth-place finish is a must, which would stand them in good stead should two of three semi-finalists in Valencia - Argentina, Great Britain and Spain/Germany win their continental championship. This would bring the fifth-placed team into the picture as a qualifier for Rio. The other semi-finalist, China, lost their continental championship to South Korea.

In the first minute SA keeper Sanani Mangisa made a double save. SA were content to allow GB to make the play, relying on stern defence and fast breakouts off turnovers.

In the ninth SA captain Nicolene Terblanche, Lilian du Plessis and Shelley Russell combined to set up an opportunity down the right flank but the GB defence held firm. SA left-side defender and birthday girl Celia Evans (25) put in some solid tackles as GB probed down the right.

Mangisa saved a deflection from Susannah Townsend - and Russell, deep in defence, cleared the danger before, in the 12th, a hit into the strike zone by Emily Maguire found Danson who spun to free herself some space before picking a spot between the posts (1-0). 

A minute later (13th) Richardson-Walsh slapped the match’s PC with considerable power and SA suffered misfortune when the ball deflected off first-wave defender Bernie Coston’s outstretched stick into the underside of the crossbar and over the goalline (2-0).

Four minutes into the second of the four 15-minute chukkas, SA defender Lisa Deetlefs made a crucial block from a GB shot while in the 22nd Coston showed her trademark pace down the left to earn a PC from her cross. Line Malan had a powerful shot but it flew on the wrong side of the left post.

The match was not short of physicality and GB lost a soldier to the sin-bin after SA right-side defender Erin Hunter had been mown down. A minute from half-time, a fluid move down the right channel resulted in Illse Davids finding space to get in a shot, which led to a second PC for SA. Deetlefs’ sizzling slap brought a third PC but this time GB first wave Lily Owsley got out of the starting blocks fast enough to block the shot.

The two early goals forced SA to chase the game in the second half but at the same time they couldn’t allow GB to get their winning margin out of sight.

The South Africans had four promising plays in the first part of the third quarter with excellent chances for Jade Mayne and Coston – who forced saves from GB keeper Maddie Hinch. Davids, as well as Evans and Kelly Madsen, also put pressure on the defence. At the other end the ever-dangerous Danson came close.

It had been a good 15 minutes for SA but the score remained 2-0 to GB with 15 left. One minute in, SA striker Dirkie Chamberlain smashed an absolute screamer that flew outside the post before Owsley carved out a great chance for Danson.

Possession continued to change hands and opportunities came and went but in the end GB emerged victorious.

South Africa: Sanani Mangisa, Lisa Deetlefs, Nicole Walraven, Line Malan, Celia Evans, Nicolene Terblanche (capt), Shelley Russell, Jade Mayne, Bernie Coston, Dirkie Chamberlain, Lilian du Plessis. Rolling subs: Anelle van Deventer, Erin Hunter, Quanita Bobbs, Illse Davids, Kelly Madsen, Candice Manuel, Tanya Britz.

SA Hockey Association media release

Great Britain 2 - South Africa 0: Kate Richard-Walsh edges team closer to Rio

By Graham Wilson


Alex Danson celebrates opening the scoring. Stanislas Brochier

GREAT BRITAIN moved a huge step nearer automatic Olympic qualification for Rio 2016 after dismissing the threat of South Africa with two goals in two minutes and easing into the semi-finals of the World League in Valencia, Spain.

Reading striker Alex Danson struck in the 12th minute, taking advantage of a mis-trapped long ball from Emily Maguire, turning and shooting home. Then a penalty corner from GB captain Kate Richard-Walsh took a deflection off a defender and went in high just under the bar. GB will play Germany tomorrow (Saturday) while Argentina meet China.

GB are the only side in the tournament with five successive victories and this was their fourth 2-0 win, having scored 12 goals and conceded only two.

Danson said: “This was a really professional response from the team. Our secret in this team is that there are 31 of us training full-time back at home and we work so hard every day, so 31 of us have won that match today and we are absolutely delighted. Fitness is a key area in our game and we have a lot left in these legs.”

Danson and Hannah Macleod had chances in the first minute but right through the game GB were quick to snuff out any danger on their goal, keeping chances down to a minimum and surviving three penalty corners.

Dirkie Chamberlain, of the Kent club Canterbury, had South Africa’s best chance late on but raked her shot wide of goal after possession was lost at the top of the circle.

GB could have wrapped up the game with 10 minutes remaining, Lily Owsley, on the break, sending a pass over to Danson whose first touch let her down in front of goal.

With South Africa’s Olympic chance gone, Chamberlain was left on her knees at the end being consoled by her Canterbury club team-mate, GB’s midfielder Susannah Townsend.

A top three place guarantees Olympic qualification in this event. The win means GB will take part in the World League Final in Rosario, Argentina, in December.

Daily Express

Olympic berth close for Great Britain but Kate Richardson-Walsh wants certainty

Great Britain women have "mathematically" qualified for Rio 2016, while there's agony for Ireland who fall short in shoot out
           
By Rod Gilmour, Valencia

 
Rio or bust: Great Britain had to make sure of South Africa victory in Valencia Photo: STANISLAS BROCHIER

Judging by the two wild cheers and general joy emanating from Great Britain women’s huddle following their 2-0 win over South Africa here, qualification for next year’s Rio Olympics was all but sealed on Thursday afternoon.

It will now take a miraculous run of results by lower-ranked nations at other continental events to conspire against Great Britain’s Rio berth, as strikes from old guard pair Alex Danson and Kate Richardson-Walsh, the captain, forged a World League semi-final place against Germany on Saturday. A win would guarantee qualification.

“We know we have to finish in the top three and because our world ranking is lowish [eight] we really want to do it here to give us that cushion,” Richardson-Walsh said. “That was a big one so it is a relief.”

Danson gathered a long pass from Emily Maguire, turned and struck low across goal in the 12th minute, before Richardson-Walsh doubled the advantage two minutes later with a penalty corner goal via a deflection.

South Africa stymied Great Britain’s forward play in the remaining three quarters as they looked to counter, mainly through the impressive IIse Davids, but Richardson-Walsh paid tribute to a defence which has accrued four clean sheets and shipped only two goals in five games.

“Any team that Danny Kerry coaches has a sound defence,” the 35-year-old said. “It gives you a platform.”

Kerry, who watches from a vantage point during matches, raced down pitchside at the final hooter and gave an emotional speech to the 18-strong squad, the contents of which suggested that the women’s side would have a busy 2016.

“He’s exhausted and emotional but keen for us to keep up the momentum,” added the captain.

Danson, who notched her third goal of the week, said: “It’s a pretty good chance we’re there. Mathematically it’s pretty good."


Lily Owsley, left, and Sophie Bray celebrate at full-time

Earlier, Ireland, the world No 14 side, had 15 penalty corners over the 60 minutes, but lost a tense-ridden quarter-final to China in a sudden-death shoot out.

With the scores locked at 1-1 – a late Ireland goal was overturned on review – world No 7 China won 4-3 in the shoot out against the spirited Irish, all of whom are amateurs.

“They are devastated,” said Darren Smith, the Ireland coach. “We put our heart and soul into that match."

Ireland, aiming to become the first Irish sports’ team to compete at the Olympics since 1948, will now play in the fifth-eighth play-off. Smith believes that a route to Rio is still possible, admitting that higher-ranked teams would have to do “something pretty stupid” in the Continental Championships for the Irish not to qualify.

The shoot out, which came into effect in 2011, may be hockey’s climatic final act, but less said of the Olympic qualification route the better.

They are a fully-certified anti-climax due to the complex nature of the tournaments – in this case the World League semi-finals, where the top teams join at the Round Three stage – and understanding each competing nation’s permutations in reaching Rio.

The Telegraph

USA Falls to Top Seed, Pan American Rivals in Quarterfinal Play as Hockey World League Drives On

The U.S. Women’s National Team Fall to Argentina 0-3

VALENCIA, Spain – June 18, 2015 – The fifth match of the FIH Hockey World League Semifinal for the U.S. Women’s National Team was against Pan American rival and 3rd World Ranked Argentina. With USA as the fifth ranked team coming into the tournament it was a matchup of the two highest ranked teams in the event, only enhanced by the squads’ epic history of close competition. Along with a place in the semifinals and qualification for the FIH Hockey World League Finals as well as the big prize of Olympic qualification, the stage was set for an intense contest.  Despite no shortage of passion and effort, the USA could not overcome a highly skilled and efficient Argentina side in the quarterfinal stage falling 0-3.

The first quarter held much promise for Team USA as they used their speed in the attacking zone and quickly earned a penalty corner from Michelle Kasold’s (Chapel Hill, N.C.) ability to find an Argentine foot. The shot was absorbed by Las Leonas goalie Belen Succi. Succi was again challenged when USA's Paige Selenski (Shavertown, Pa.) was able to draw her far from the goal line to develop a 1v1 situation but was unable to get a shot off.

On the opposite end of the pitch, Team USA's defense was put to the test when Stefanie Fee (Virginia Beach, Va.) boldly approached a threatening Argentina breakaway in the midfield to contain and then regain USA possession. Similarly, USA captain Lauren Crandall (Doylestown, Pa.) forced a lone, lurking Argentine athlete from the center sweet spot of the semicircle to keep the scoreboard unmarked.

During the first half, USA earned three corners compared to Argentina’s one and established eight circle penetrations verses Argentina’s six. Despite valiant efforts displayed by Team USA, Argentina opened and closed the second period with goals. Argentina’s Carla Rebecchi buried a ball into the left bottom corner of the cage off of a penalty corner in the 16th minute and lit up the scoreboard again with a fiery hit to the top right corner of the goal in the 29th minute. The halftime score stood at USA 0, Argentina 2.

USA pressed hard throughout the second half and the best chances came with a flurry of penalty corner awarded to the red, white and blue. Despite a number of variations that led to goal mouth, scrambles none of the corners were converted into goals. Down at the other end the Argentinian corner again proved effective. In the 27th minute, Noel Barrionuevo capitalized directly off of a corner to give Argentina breathing room and Las Leonas were able to run down the clock to a final score of USA 0, Argentina 3.

“It’s a great challenge for us now ,” said Craig Parnham, U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach. “We move on from today’s loss and look forward to meeting Ireland again. It’s important we get in the right frame of mind to attack that game. No doubt we’ll come out and be all systems go for that one.”

USA will now play in the bottom half of the bracket over the weekend with the goal of finishing as high in the tournament with Olympic qualification remaining objective. The top three finishers in World League are guaranteed trips to Rio 2016, the next best placed finishers will be awarded Olympic qualification spots as they become open in the event countries who win the continental qualifiers and have already received qualification.

USA pool play began with a 2-0 win to Uruguay followed by a 4-1 victory to South Africa. In their third game, Team USA and Germany left the pitch with 2-2 draw. The USA wasn’t able to overcome Ireland and lost 0-2. The squad continues on with FIH Hockey World League Semifinals Saturday against Ireland. Follow @USAFieldHockey on Twitter for live Team USA match updates.

USFHA media release

Canadian women hoping to continue consistent play in final World League match

Canada faces Uruguay Friday at 10am PT/1pm ET

Shaheed Devji

One game remains for the Canadian Women’s Field Hockey Team at the World League Semifinal in Valencia, Spain, and while finishing with a win is most definitely the goal, success or failure doesn’t hinge on it.

In fact, when Canada faces Uruguay Friday at 10am PT/1pm ET, what they are most concerned with is consistency.

“Our performances have been pretty good on the whole,” says Women’s National Team head coach Ian Rutledge. “I’m confident if we play well, we’ve honored all the hard work we’ve done in the series.”

Despite having lost all their round robin matches, the Canadians haven’t looked out of place in this tournament, which features five out of the world’s top ten teams, and in which Canada is ranked the second lowest.

The Canadian women are typically among the youngest teams at every tournament in which they compete, making each time they step on a bigger stage - like this one where Olympic qualification was up for grabs – a learning experience.

The World League Semifinals have been no different.

After qualifying by finishing second at World League Round 2 in Dublin, Ireland, Canada knew it had a steep hill to climb if it wanted to qualify for Rio through World League. And while they weren’t able to manage a win in the first four matches, they were not disappointed with their play.

“With exception with the first half against Argentina, I think we’ve pretty much been in most games for the majority of the match,” adds Rutledge. “I think that’s a pretty pleasing place to be given the quality of the opponents we’ve come across.”

What’s also pleasing is what good performances mean moving forward.

With the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto just around the corner, and being the Canadian women’s final shot to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games, playing well and consistently is what they’ll need to do to give themselves the best shot possible.

“I think we continue to make progress. It’s already been a good year,” says Rutledge. “We’ve already achieved some good things with our World League 2 result and our series against Ireland.”

Finishing off the World League Semifinal with a win against Uruguay would also be an achievement. The result would mean they place ninth in the tournament – exactly where they’re ranked. And while it’s not the Olympic qualification they had hoped for, it’s a sign that that could be right around the corner.

Field Hockey Canada media release

HWL2015 Antwerp: Oceania derby set to light up women’s Pool B



With the start of the eagerly anticipated FINTRO Hockey World League Semi-Finals in Antwerp just days away, we look at the teams that will be competing in these crucial qualification competitions for the HWL Finals and Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Our fourth and final preview looks at women’s Pool B, where Oceania rivals Australia and New Zealand are joined by host nation Belgium, India and Poland in the race for the quarter-final places.

Australia - current world ranking: 2
With qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on the line, Australia’s Hockeyroos will go into the Hockey World League Semi-Final tournament in Antwerp with their strongest available line-up. Captain and star midfielder Madonna Blyth is set to become the most capped Hockeyroo of all time as she closes in on Nikki Hudson’s 303-game record. Blyth, a two-time Olympian with 301 appearances under her belt, is likely to break Hudson’s record in Australia’s third match, against fierce rivals New Zealand. At the other end of the experience spectrum, live-wire forward Mariah Williams has been called up for her first major FIH tournament following strong displays against China in Sydney and at the Hawke’s Bay Cup in New Zealand in April. Williams and fellow forward Kathryn Slattery are two of only three members of the side that were not part of the Hockeyroos teams that claimed Silver at the Rabobank Hockey World Cup and Commonwealth Games Gold in 2014. The other is 206-times capped Teneal Attard, who missed much of last year through injury. The Hockeyroos welcome back Anna Flanagan and Casey Sablowski, both of whom missed the April series while playing in the Dutch Hoofdklasse league for MOP and Pinoke respectively. Back up to number 2 in the FIH World Rankings, no- one can question that this current Australia team is a major force in world hockey and is capable of claiming a tournament victory in Antwerp.

New Zealand - current world ranking: 4

Under the guidance of Head Coach and former Australian international Mark Hager, New Zealand’s Black Sticks have enjoyed arguably the most successful period in their history. In 2011, the team claimed their first ever Champions Trophy medal when they took 3rd place at the tournament in Amsterdam, and a year later narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal when they were beaten by Great Britain in the fight for Bronze. Following a difficult 2013, the team achieved a hugely creditable 5th place finish at the Rabobank Hockey World Cup before claiming 4th place at the end of year Argentina Hockey Champions Trophy, providing plenty of evidence that they continue to be a force to be reckoned with. Hager has announced a strong line-up in his bid to land secure a place in the World League Final and also secure that all-important berth at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The defensive line will be strengthened with the return of experienced goalkeeper Sally Rutherford, who has recovered from a broken toe which has kept her out of action for the past few months. Sophie Cocks also returns to the side following a recent illness, while versatile midfielder Julia King has earned a call-up thanks to a strong club season in England. The side is captained by Anita Punt as part of a leadership group that also includes Sam Charlton and Stacey Michelsen.

Belgium - current world ranking: 12
Belgium is one of the rising superpowers of global hockey. Very much like their male counterparts, the women’s national team – known as the “Red Panthers” – have made massive strides forward in recent years, powering up the world rankings from 27th in 2005 to their current position of 12th. 2012 proved to be something of a landmark year for Belgium’s women thanks to a brilliant performance at the Olympic qualifying event on home soil in Kontich, where they stormed to the title and secured their first ever appearance at an Olympic Games. The side finished 11th in that tournament courtesy of a 2-1 classification match victory over USA. Their performances in 2013 provided further evidence that they are a growing force on the world stage, with a fourth place finish at the TriFinance EuroHockey Championships and qualification for the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014 in The Hague – their first World Cup appearance since 1981 – where they finished 12th. Head Coach Pascal Kina has selected nine players who have broken through the 100 senior international caps barrier – Anouk Raes, Jill Boon (both 200+), Emilie Sinia (190+), Barbara Nelen (170+), Louise Cavenaile (160+ caps), Stephanie de Groof (160+), team captain Lieselotte van Lindt (140+), goalkeeper Aisling D’Hooghe and Alix Gerniers (both 110+).

India - current world ranking: 13
Under the guidance of recently appointed German Head Coach Mathias Ahrens, India have been training hard and are currently feeling upbeat about their chances of success in Antwerp. 23-year-old team captain Ritu Rani has described the atmosphere under Ahrens as being “very positive”, whilst also stating that the team is making big improvements to their game. Ahrens was not in charge during India’s dominance of the Hero Hockey World League Round 2 event in New Delhi earlier this year, with Hockey India Performance Director Roelant Oltmans filling the void with huge success. The “Eves” were victorious in all of their six matches, scoring 31 goals and conceding just one as they cruised to the title. Although there will be a marked rise in the standard of opposition in Antwerp compared to what they faced in Round 2, they certainly have more than enough ability to trouble the top teams. The biggest challenge for their opponents may well be figuring out how to stop free-scoring attacking duo Vandana Katariya and 20-year-old strike partner Rani, who netted a combined total of 18 goals at the Round 2 event.

Poland - current world ranking: 23

They may be the lowest ranked team in the competition, but they have already proven themselves as a side capable of beating supposedly superior opposition in this year’s Hockey World League. Lead by inspirational captain Marlena Rybacha, the team claimed a creditable 2nd place finish at the Hero Hockey World League Round 2 event in New Delhi, defeating two higher-ranked opponents in Malaysia and Russia before losing the competition final against host nation India. Poland women have never managed to qualify for an Olympic Games, but the current group will be determined to put an end to that undesirable record in Antwerp.

#HWL2015 #RoadToRio

FIH site

India outplay Great Britain 3-1 in fourth practice match

ANTWERP: After beating USA in the previous match, Indian men's team on Thursday posted a 3-1 win over Great Britain in their fourth practice match ahead of the Fintro Hockey World League Semi-Final 2015.

The Indian team opened their account in the very first minute of the match when midfielder Gurbaj Singh stormed into the opponent's D and hit the ball into the goal-box without giving any chance to British defenders.

With the motivating first goal, the Indian players kept on attacking and defender Devindar Sunil Walmiki extended the lead by 2-0 when his shot found the nets during a raid in the 12th minute.

After eight minutes (20th minute), forward player Akashdeep Singh scored the third goal for his team.

Trailing by 0-3, Great Britain scored the consolation goal in 28th minute and the match finished at 3-1 in favour of India.

Indian defenders displayed a brilliant performance and denied any penalty corner to the opponents.

Fintro Hockey World League Semi-Final 2015 is scheduled from June 20th to July 5th.

India will clash against France in their opening match of the tournament on the June 20.

The Times of India

We are improving our defence in penalty corners: Sreejesh

ANTWERP (Belgium): Gearing up for the FIH World League Semifinal, Indian men team's goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has been working extra hours to strengthen his skills in cutting down opponents' chance of scoring through penalty corners.

"In a fast-paced game and with the new rules, penalty corners have become goal-scoring opportunities. Everything happens in a fraction of a second and one bad reaction in the penalty corner can take the match away from you. Goalkeepers need to be very attentive and quick to anticipate the shots. We are improving ourselves in this area and our coaching staff are working extra-hours on penalty corners," he said.

"Chief coach Paul van Ass stresses on the improvement in penalty corners and we are trying-out new strategies to restrict goals. Being a key member of the strategies, I am also working on my agility and anticipation skills. I am happy with our progress in this area and very hopeful that our team will defend goals during penalty corners," added Sreejesh, who is also the vice-captain of the side.

Indian men's team will open their campaign against France on the first day of the tournament on June 20.

Meanwhile, Indian women's team custodian Savita also echoed Sreejesh's views.

"The penalty corner is a very crucial moment of a match and it is also a tense moment for every player. All the pressure come on the goalkeeper as his or her quick thinking can save a match or lose it. Under the new Chief Coach Mathias Ahrens, we are running the extra-mile to improve our skills in penalty corners. We come before the practice sessions and work extra-hours to strengthen abilities," she explained.

"We have made good progress and getting positive results. If everything goes as per our strategies, we can defend ourselves in penalty corners and concede fewer goals. We are looking forward to the tournament and expect a good start," Savita said.

The Times of India

Australia bring A-team for World Hockey League in Belgium

By S. Ramaguru



KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 1 Australia are not taking the World Hockey League Semi-Finals lightly and have named a vastly-experienced side to spearhead their challenge.

They have retained 14 members of the team who won the World Cup last year. The World Hockey League begins in Antwerp, Belgium, on Saturday and it is a qualifier for next year’s Olympics. Only the top three teams will qualify.

Said Australian coach Graham Reid: “Our main objective is to qualify for the Olympics. To do that, we’ve picked as strong a team as we could. Before our recent friendly matches in Hobart, we asked the guys to give us everything. What they showed was that we could have picked any combination of 18 from the group we had available.”

Australia are in Group A with India, Pakistan, France and Poland. Group B consists of hosts Belgium, Britain, Ireland, China and Malaysia.

The only surprise in the Kookaburra side is the inclusion of 18-year-old forward Blake Govers, whose brother Kieran is also in the final 18-man squad.

World Player of the Year Jamie Dwyer, 36, will also feature in Antwerp. He recently became Australia’s most capped player in history, overtaking Jay Stacy’s record of 321 appearances at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh.

Two players will be in line for milestone appearances. Midfielder Eddie Ockenden will be approaching his 250th match and Fergus Kavanagh will be playing his 200th game.

Other notable players in the side include Kieran Govers (100 caps) and Tyler Lovell (50).

But the player to watch is skipper Mark Knowles. The 2014 World Player of the Year is an extraordinary defender and a mainstay of the Kookaburra side.

Since making his debut in 2004, Knowles has collected a staggering haul of gold medals including the Olympics (2004), World Cup (2010 and 2014), Champions Trophy (2005, 2008, 2009 and 2012) and Commonwealth Games (2006, 2010 and 2014).

“I believe all our players are focused on our objective and we will ensure that they take each match seriously. We will plan for each match at a time,” Reid said.

Australia will begin their campaign against France on Sunday.

The Star of Malaysia

Life while on tour

Mark Knowles tells all about what really happens on tour



Kookaburras captain Mark Knowles spills the beans about what really happens while on tour with the lads. The Kookaburras are only days off from starting their Olympic qualifying campaign at the World League Semi Final on Sunday. Step into the shoes of a Kookaburra and get to know the team on a different scale.

In our Q&A with Mark, he shares the Kookaburras’ aeroplane rituals, pre-game antics, the thoughts running through his head before stepping onto the pitch, what’s on the menu game day for breakfast and more. Read and listen below.

Hockey Australia (HA): What’s happening in the change room pre-game?
Mark Knowles (MK): Everyone is a little bit different, some of the guys listen to music and some try to zone out concentrating on their game. The goalkeepers and some of the defenders are looking over penalty corners attacks or routines for set plays.

A big thing that we try and do is that when we step onto the field everyone is a team, so you can act, behave and perform in the way you want in the lead up and in the warm-up, but when we are out there on the field it’s a big team effort.

HA: Game day, what’s on the menu for breakfast?
MK: For me its cereal, fruit salad and toast, however, some of the boys are into their bacon and eggs and other different types of food. Pre-match I like a healthy roll or pasta depending on the time of the day and I always have a coffee two hours out from the match.

HA: When you’re standing in the tunnel ready to walk out into a packed stadium of screaming fans, what’s running through your head?
MK: I’m really trying to focus. I think about my game and when I play well I start to look back on past performances and how I’m feeling. I’m a player who likes to be amongst the whole group, so I’m really looking out for my teammates and seeing how they’re feeling and responding.

I know when I step onto the field and I’m playing well them I’m going to do my job for the team. When the anthem comes on I get a little bit of emotion run through me. I think about growing up in Rockhampton, my parents, my family and my young kids and then it’s just about narrowing in and concentrating on my direct opponent.

HA: As an athlete, what are your hot tips for travelling on the plane?
MK: The biggest part is the hydration and food intake and it’s really important that we prepare for long-haul flights with different types of fluids that we take on board. We try and kill time by watching movies, sleeping, and with a six month old baby I try to catch up on sleep.
 
We also have to take our rollers on-board to stretch and loosen up our muscles. As soon as we get off the flight, we do a light gym session and a walk as a team. The first three days on tour are the most important.

Hockey Australia media release

Browne changes role due to injury

Nigel Simon


USA’s Alex Cunningham, centre, is sandwiched between T&T duo, Tariq Marcano, and Jordan Reynos during their FIH World League Round Two encounter in San Diego, California on March 1. USA won 7-1.

Injured national senior men’s hockey team standout and most capped player, Kwandwane Browne will serve as an assistant coach to Glen Francis for next month’s Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada.

Browne  was expected to spear-head the 29th world ranked T&T’s “Calypso Stickmen” campaign in Pool A against  Argentina, Cuba and USA, but his Olympic Games hopes and T&T chances took a major blow earlier this month when he sustained a torn achilles tendon left leg injury, which forced the 18-year national team veteran, with over 300 appearances to his name, out of the tournament in Canada.

However, having completed his surgery and started his recovery—which will take between six and nine months—Browne, the current England Under-21 assistant coach and coach for National League Premier Division’s Canterbury, was selected as part of the T&T technical staff for the upcoming event.

A former Queen’s Royal College student, Browne had hinted at the Pan American Games tournament being his last international for T&T as a player, but he may now instead be starting off a new chapter in his career as part of the national coaching set-up.

Having represented T&T at four Commonwealth Games as well as four Pan American Games and three Pan American Cup, Browne, who in 2012/13 won the award for England Hockey High Performance Coach of the Season had his last competitive outing for T&T at the FIH World League Round Two qualifiers in San Diego, California in March.

According to national team administrator, Cindy Martin-Faustin, Browne is a very good motivational person and will be an asset to the technical team and also the players. With regards to the team’s preparations Martin-Faustin noted that the road has not been an easy one for the team with the turf at the National Hockey Centre, Tacarigua only being available for training in May 2015.

She added, “For a team preparing for an international tournament that was a severe blow but the squad persevered. “It’s difficult when you are expected to play as a professional and your country demands medals but yet your facilities and treatment are not on par. It’s very hard to motivate and inspire players after an eight hour day’s work, but I must commend all the  players for the dedication they have shown to this cause.”

As a precautionary measure, Martin-Faustin said that all the players selected for the Pan Am Games have been banned from representing their clubs in the T&T Hockey Board League in order to minimise and protect them from any injuries. She explained “We have to preserve the players for the rigorous days on tour and the toll this takes on their bodies, also taking into consideration rest and recovery. We need them to be at their peak by the tournament and not before it’s all part of the coach’s plan.” 

Prior to competing at the Pan American Games, the “Calypso Stickmen” will depart for Mexico next week (June 24) for a tri-nation series involving Cuba and the host.

However, with Australian-based duo, Akim Toussaint and Stefan Mouttet as well as Aidan De Gannes unavailable for the tournament, the trio of Lyndell Byer, Teague Marcano and Jordan Vieira will travel to Mexico with the team, but return home once the tri-nation series is completed and no first choice player picks up an injury.

On July 1, the T&T squad is set to arrive in Toronto for a pre-camp before heading to the Games Village on July 9, ahead of the start of competition from July 15 - 25. At the Games, national goalkeeper Andrey Rocke, is set to mark his 100th international appearance for T&T and Martin-Faustin, on behalf of the local federation, congratulates him for his selfless work.

T&T men Pan Am Games hockey squad

Stefan Mouttet, Akim Toussaint, Dillet Gilkes, Aidan De Gannes, Ishmael Campbell, Darren Cowie, Shaquille Daniel, Solomon Eccles, Kristien Emmanuel, Tariq Marcano, Che Modeste, Kiel Murray, Mickell Pierre, Jordan Reynos, Andrey Rocke, Christopher Scipio. Reserves: Lyndell Byer, Teague Marcano, Jordan Vieira.

Technical staff: Glenn “Fido” Francis (coach), Kwandwane Browne (assistant coach), Kirth Davis (manager), Nicholas Baldeosingh (videographer).

The Trinidad Guardian

Parkites dent Dame’s hopes

Nigel Simon


Defence Force’s Neil Lashley, centre, trips over the ball while surrounded by Queen’s Park CC trio, from left, Dominic Young, Jordan Reynos and Mark Ayen in their T&T Hockey Board Men’s Championship Division match at the National Hockey Centre, Tacarigua, on Sunday. The match ended 1-1. Photo: Anthony Harris

Damion Bright scored a 48th minute equaliser as Queen’s Park dented the chances of Notre Dame repeating as T&T Hockey Board Men’s Championship Division winners after a 2-2 draw at the National Hockey, Tacarigua on Tuesday night. After a 0-0 first-half, the Parkites who began the day fourth on the table with 12 points were first to strike when Jarryon Paul opened the scoring in the 36th minute, but within three minutes Shaquille Daniel got the defending champions level.

Six minutes later with the momentum now in its favour Notre Dame went 2-1 ahead via Dillon Campbell, but the determined Parkites answered swiftly with Bright scoring three minutes later to even up the contest at 2-2. Both teams then created a few openings, but in the end the match finished 2-2 leaving the Dames with 21 points from 11 matches, four adrift of table toppers, Petrotrin which had a chance to take another step towards the crown when it faced third placed Queen’s Park last night.

The Parkites have 16 points from 11 matches, followed by Paragon with 13 points from nine matches, while Defence Force has 12 from 11 matches. On Wednesday, Fatima moved off the foot off the eight-team standings with a stunning 3-2 upset of Defence Force. The youthful Fatima raced into a 3-0 cushion with goals from Craig Rahim (24th), Kafele Alexander (28th) and Chad Mohammed (39th) before Shane Legerton (45th) and Kern Lee (60th) replied for the “Army/Coast-Guard combination to trail 3-2.

Despite its late flurry of attacks, Defence Force could not get another goal as Fatima held on for only its second win of the campaign, to move to nine points in seventh spot, three more than Paradise and one behind Courts Malvern. At the top of the Women’s Championship Division standing is Georgetown Cricket Club of Guyana which ended its 12-match campaign with 20 points while the trio of defending champion Paragon, Harvard Checkers and Shandy Carib Magnolias, are all on 13 points.

However, Magnolias has five matches to play while Paragon and Notre Dame has four and Checkers three to complete their campaigns.

T&T Hockey Board RESULTS

Tuesday:
Men’s Championship Division:
Notre Dame 2 (Shaquille Daniel 39th, Dillion Campbell 45th)  vs QPCC 2 (Jarryon Paul 36th, Damion Bright 48th)

Wednesday:
Men’s Championship Division:
Fatima 3 (Craig Rahim 24th, Kafele Alexander 28th, Chad Mohamemd 39th) vs Defence Force 2 (Shane Legerton 45th, K. Lee 60th)

Upcoming T&THB matches
Today
Men's Championship: Defence Force vs Petrotrin, 4pm; Courts Malvern vs Notre Dame, 5.30pm
Women's Championship: Notre Dame vs Courts Malvern, 7pm

Tomorrow
Under-19 Boys: Courts Malvern vs Fatima, 2pm
Men's Championship: Paradise vs Defence Force, 3;30pm
Men's Championship: Fatima vs Paragon, 5pm
Women's Championship: SC Magnolias vs Paragon, 6.30pm
Trinity Men: Paradise vs Carib, 8pm.
Sunday 
Men's Championship: Courts Malvern vs Paradise, 12.30pm; Petrotrin vs Notre Dame, 6.30 pm
Women's Championship: Ventures vs Courts Malvern, 2pm; Harvard Checkers vs Notre Dame, 5 pm
Trinity Men: Paradise vs Shape, 3.30pm; Notre Dame vs Paragon, 8 pm.

Current T&THB selected tables:

Men’s Championship:
Teams    P    W    D    L    F    A    Pts
Petrotrin    9    8    1    0    35    12    25
Notre Dame    11    6    3    2    29    16    21
QPCC    11    4    4    3    27    20    16
Paragon    9    4    1    4    22    23    13
Defence Force    11    2    6    3    22    21    12
Malvern    11    2    4    5    16    21    10
Fatima    11    2    3    6    16    30    9
Paradise    9    2    0    7    16    41    6

Women’s Championship:
GCC    12    6    2    4    22    20    20
SC Magnolias    7    4    1    2    20    8    13
Paragon    7    3    4    0    17    7    13
Checkers    8    3    4    1    8    4    13
Notre Dame    7    3    1    3    12    13    10
Malvern    6    1    2    3    7    13    5
Ventures    7    0    0    7    1    22    0

The Trinidad Guardian

Scotland entertain Wales as international hockey action gets underway


Chris Grassick Euros v WAL

Scotland Senior Men kick off ten days of international hockey in Glasgow tomorrow with the first of three international matches from 19-21 June against Wales.

The Scots are now well into their preparations for the EuroHockey Nations Championship II in Prague next month and are encouraging you, your friends and family to be their '12th man' at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre this weekend.

Great Britain internationals Chris Grassick and Gordon McIntyre return to the squad after recovering from recent injuries, while Edinburgh University's Jamie Wong is in line to win his first senior cap.

With twenty-four players selected, Head Coach Derek Forsyth is giving a chance for all squad members to impress and submit a case for European selection this summer.

For more information about the Wales series and forthcoming international matches, please visit the International Hockey Festival events page.

Scotland Senior Men

Scottish Hockey Union media release

Kenyan Hockey players boycott training over unpaid allowances

By BRIAN YONGA


From left: National Hockey team players Terry Juma, Audrey Amooh, Pauline Amutebi and Anita Agunda celebrate a goal during a past match. The national women’s and men's hockey teams have boycotted training due to unpaid allowances. PHOTO | FILE |

The national women’s and men’s hockey team players are yet to resume training ahead of the 2016 Olympic qualifiers set for Egypt in September due to unpaid allowances, Nation Sport has learnt.

Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) named the players for both women and men’s teams late last month but weeks later, no single player has reported for training.

The two teams are meant to take part in the African Olympic qualifiers which will be held in Ismalia, Egypt from October 17-24. This is the last opportunity for Kenya to qualify for the Olympic Games after both the men’s and women’s teams lost in the world league series.

The players, according to a reliable source, are reluctant to return to national duty over unpaid allowances dating back to last year’s World League series which also acted as Olympic qualifiers.

OWED SH15,000

The men’s team of 18 players, which lost to Egypt in the final of the World League One Series held in Nairobi last September, is owed a total of Sh270,000 by the government while each player owed Sh15,000.

The women’s team won the World League One Series and advanced to the second round in Uruguay in February but finished last after failing to win a single game due to poor preparations.

Beside the Sh15,000 arrears owed to them for the World League One Series, the women’s team are also demanding another Sh30,000 per player promised to them for qualifying for the second phase of qualifiers.

A section of players who spoke to Nation Sport on condition of anonymity have vowed not to return to the national team until their arrears are cleared. The players lamented the treatment by the government having played their hearts out for the national teams.

“We have we families to cater for and bills to pay. Most of us have sacrificed a lot for the love of the sport, but it reaches a time when you cannot take anymore,” said one of the players.

“I have lost hope of ever playing for the national team if this what happens, it is not fair,” another one added.

KHU chair Nahshon Randiek has appealed to the government to settle the players’ allowances so that the teams can embark on their preparations for the qualifiers.

Sports Commissioner Gordon Oluoch declined to comment on the matter referring us to the Sports Principal Secretary.

Daily Nation

Busy week ahead as Canadian junior men prep for 2016 Junior World Cup

India Club tournament and USA Series to be played in B.C.

Shaheed Devji

Canadian junior men’s field hockey players are going to have a lot to do over the next week as a weekend tournament and series with the United States take place in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

This weekend, June 19th-21st, in Surrey, much of the Canadian Junior Development Squad will take part in India Field Hockey Club’s junior tournament at the Tamanawis fields.

The tournament, which can be watched at teampunjabi.com, will be used as a way for Men’s National Team staff to evaluate junior athletes before a four-game series with the United States Under-21 team next week in Surrey and West Vancouver.

Competing in the tournament will be teams created by the Canandian National Team staff and include an Under-21 team form Ontario, and Under-18 from B.C., and U.S. Under-21, and two all-star teams.

"This is the equivalent to our National Championships for the Under 21 age group," says Canadian Junior Head Coach Paul Bundy. "It gives us the opportunity to look at the best players in the country in one place. It also gives us the opportunity to identify the athletes just outside the Junior Development Squad, and see if they can earn an invite to this summer's National Camp."

Coaching and evaluation will be done by Bundy, Aaron Guest, Indy Sehmbi, Geoff Matthews, Scott Sandison, and Reggie Pereira, giving the athletes exposure to National Level instruction and feeddback.

The Canadian Under-21 roster for the series with the U.S. will be named after the India Club competition. Matches with the States take place on June 23rd, 26th, and 27th in Surrey, and on the 24th at Rutledge Field in West Vancouver.

The week ahead is a key opportunity for the Men’s Junior National Team to prepare for the Junior World Cup, which will take place in India in December 2016.

Canada will host its World Cup regional qualifier the 2016 Junior Pan American Championships, next May in Toronto, Ontario.

In addition to the competitions this weekend in B.C., the Canadian junior men will attend a National Development Camp this summer in Brampton, Ontario.

The National Camp will not only give the athletes yet another opportunity to develop and the staff another chance to evaluate talent, but it will be held alongside the 2015 Pan American Games, which take place in Toronto from July 10th-26th.

After the National Camp a 2016 Junior Development Squad of approximately 30 athletes will be named. It is those athletes who will compete for a spot on the team that will compete for 2016 Junior World Cup qualification.

Field Hockey Canada media release

We need more awareness of Indian hockey: Zafar Iqbal

Jamie Alter

When Zafar Iqbal speaks about hockey, you have to listen closely. The former national caption and coach, who led India at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and who was part of the 1980 team that won the last Olympic gold medal for the country, spoke to TOI Sports on the state of the sport, the reason why Indian hockey has not matched its past glory, the differences from when he was a player and more.

Excerpts:

Star Sports has been running a catchy advertisement on TV in the build-up to the Hockey World League. Do you think more of the same can act as a boost to the team and create awareness?

Definitely, it would do a lot of good. Earlier, there was a lot of coverage of Indian hockey, during my playing career. Nowadays, there is hardly any if you were to compare. In my days, if there was any tournament played in the country, all the newspapers covered it. The Beighton Cup, Gold Cup, Agha Khan, Obaidullah Gold Cup, MCC and what not. But today there is hardly any coverage. Its more commercialised. So its good to see TV commercials showcasing the achievements of the current team. It will do a lot of good. People will go through the present hockey situation and naturally they will divert their minds towards hockey rather than purely cricket or a few other games.

What impact do you think sponsorship such as that of Hero MotoCorp and other companies would have had on Indian hockey during your time?

There was no need for sponsorship in the 1970s, '80s or prior to that because hockey was very popular. People were following it deeply, in the sense that what was happening to the team when it went to tour Europe, Australia and the like. As I said, there was a lot of coverage back then. But for the last 20-odd years there has hardly been any coverage. That has had an impact, I would say. It has also killed this game.

That said, you have to be competitive with other sports. If you want to live upto the expectations of people, you have to perform. Slowly, over time, we could not do much as desired with the people of our country. Earlier, we were winning a lot and we never started focusing when he started losing in international hockey, such as in '62 or '72. We never bothered. We felt that 'okay, we will recover'.

At the same time, the other countries have progressed like anything. They concentrated on everything, they encouraged different levels of hockey. Look at Holland, Germany, Spain, Argentina. I don't think we planned our game in a manner that we should have, just going and playing without any game plan prior to a tournament. In the 1978 World Cup in Buenos Aires, I remember though we were defending champions, there was hardly any planning. Our coach, Mr RS Gentle, never bothered. Players were going here and there. Just before a match we would assemble and the coach would say 'okay, you are playing and you are not' and that was it. You cannot survive that way in such big competitions. That was a big blunder on our part. We never focused on how to improve our game when we started losing. Be it '68 or '72, we won bronze medals but never thought that we have to bounce back or looked at what was wrong with our system. This is my reading for the last 40 years.

Now we are focusing and planning and the team is playing much better. We didn't to that. It was like 'okay, we're playing against Spain? No problem, chak de fattey sher de putter! Bharat maata ki jai!'. That was our attitude, instead of looking at what we should be planning for. There was josh but no proper planning.

And what if there had been proper planning?

Then we would have performed much better! Lose or win, a team should have planning that is inserted in the minds of players, that this is how we should play against Germany, this is their weak point and strong point, this is how we should defend. We would go out and do it, but not in the manner in which our opponents were planning.

You say that today there is planning, so what is lacking in our hockey?

There are many reasons. Funding, development, a proper system, lack of enough quality players. We have talent, of course. We have some fine players. Sometimes there is an open goal that is missed, a pass is deflected, a pass is not good enough. You can look at it in many ways. There is no doubt that our players are getting more confident, though they may not as good as an Ashok Kumar, Dhyan Chand or Ajit Pal Singh, BP Govinda....

Or a Zafar Iqbal....

(Laughs) It may not just be about individuals. Game-wise, they are doing pretty well. Overall the structure needs working, which will take time.

Are foreign coaches making a difference?

There is an impact, there are some good strategies, but not as much as we would like. Maybe its because of a lack of quality players. We are lacking a big talent pool. If you compare us to Australia, Germany, Holland or England, even Argentina, they have many quality players. Of course we have world class players too, but not as many.

Initially, I was very much in favour of foreign coaches. The feeling was that they should come here and teach us some strategy and game plans. But for whatever reason, I have not been impressed with the last three of four coaches. Jose Brasa was okay, Michael Nobbs had some good ideas. Paul Van Ass was a good player in his time and will give his best. But whether they have enough quality players is also a question that must be asked.

Which reflects on the system....

Yes, and many changes have taken place to international hockey. In my opinion, it will take time. Competitions like the WHL and such will have an impact. But at the same time, in general people are not very enthusiastic about hockey. We need more reporting, more awareness. Hockey's progress in our country is not very fast. It is growing slowly. Aisa nahin hai ki you can capture world hockey in the next five years. There is a big gap between us and the top teams. We are bad at some basics, such as trapping. Our base is lopsided, its not systematic.

You know, when I first went to Argentina I did not know that hockey was that big there. There were 75 men's clubs just in Buenos Aires! Before we went to Moscow for the 1980 Olympics, we were at the NIS Patiala where we were told that the surfaces there were very fast. One day, the authorities there shaved off all the grass and then ran a roller over the turf, and then put cow dung all over. Their logic was that the surfaces in Moscow would be something like this! Then we landed in Moscow and saw synthetic Poligrass surfaces and were stunned.

It has been said that Indian hockey failed to adapt to the changes, such as the more aggressive, fast European style of play as well as to the turf variations. Do you agree?

It is a wrong perception. If you are a quality player, you will do well anywhere. That is the hallmark of a very good player. I saw the Pakistan team which like us had no experience playing on astro turf, do so well. The fund distribution system has not helped. The government gives Rs 150 crore to hockey, which SAI then has to distribute between so many federations. Some of the federations don't get much out of this stock. Hockey India has had to drop tours because of a lack of funding.

That said, the Hockey India League has helped. Our youngsters get to play with good foreign players. They are finding themselves playing with and against someone like Jamie Dwyer. That pushes them.

Which of the current lot excites you?

We have good players. Rupinder Pal Singh is good, so is Gurbraj Singh. When I was a selector for three years, Gurbraj was not playing for the country. He was removed but I kept insisting that this boy be selected. He is very confident. Then he came back and has been playing for the last four years. Sardar Singh is slowing down, but he is a good player. We need quality players in the front line.

Do we have enough goal scorers?

Not like before, when you could easily identity scorers. But this team is playing good hockey.

There seems to a perceived weakness in the mind, particularly when it comes to final moments. It seems like the team starts to get the jitters....

Nothing like that. We have strong players, physically and mentally. Their defence is okay, they are sustaining the pressure.

What are your expectations of the team at the 2016 Rio Olympics?

For us, the WHL is only a test of where we stand. Just to qualify doesn't mean you have won the gold. In 2012 right here in Delhi, when we won the final of the Olympic qualifiers, I was asked whether we could win an Olympic gold. My response was that this is just a small wall, and that we must jump much higher walls in London. The Olympics is a different level. Looking at Rio 2016, I think India will finish somewhere between sixth and tenth. I'm not saying we cannot do something special, but that is a realistic expectation. Of course, we can do something special and reach the semi-finals. It is possible, but the team needs a very positive outlook. They must play fearlessly.

Which Indian who you played with most impressed you?

Mohammed Shahid was a great player. It was largely because of him that we won that 1980 Olympic gold. If he hadn't played so well we would have lost. Opponents used to put two men to mark him, he was that good. Nobody could stop him. He would leave the Australians in a tizzy. Shahid had jugglery. By nature, he was like that. If I want to play like that, I cannot. He had that exceptional advantage. That was his flair. He would suddenly break and opponents would fall here and there and he would zoom past them. That was his class.

The Times of India

A tribute to a hockey star: Brian Elliott (1948 - 2015)

by STEVE JASPAN

The South African hockey community was shocked to hear of the untimely death of Brian Elliott earlier this month following a large abdominal aneurism.

Brian was a brilliant attacking midfielder and defender during the golden age of hockey at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in the late 1960s and early 1970s.His achievements and influence at various levels of the game were remarkable.

Having been schooled in Bloemfontein and thereafter as an American Field Service Scholar in Indiana, where he won the junior state 100 and 200 metre championships, he arrived at university at a time when the influence of Horst Wein’s coaching and adoption of the 4-2-3-1 system had been entrenched by the great South African player, Neville Berman, who captained the team.

Inspirational leadership may well have been a catalyst to the arrival at the University of a remarkable and talented crop of players, none less so than Brian Elliott.

Alistair Forbes, another SA hockey legend, recalls that Brian, Neill Edwards and himself met in lectures for English 1 and became lifelong friends as they travelled a sporting life together.

I vividly remember meeting Brian in 1969 when I arrived at Wits and was fortunate to become part of that special team. Brian in particular made me feel very welcome into this vibrant group.

The Wits first team dominated club hockey in Johannesburg between 1968 and 1972 and were undoubtedly the best club team in South Africa at the time, also winning the inter-varsity tournament on a number of occasions.

Brian’s role as centre back was crucial to this winning combination as his speed and stick skills enabled him to provide cover for the sweeper and defend stoutly, but also initiate attacks with deft stickwork and pinpoint passing. Brian also played right half with aplomb.

These skills were highlighted in the SA Universities team from 1969 to 1972.

Not surprisingly, the Southern Transvaal provincial team were able to match the mighty Natal and Western Province teams during the 1970 - 1976 period and win a handful of interprovincial titles, with the core of the team coming from Wits.

Brian’s ability to lift his game at provincial level was the precursor to higher honours, which followed rapidly.

Together with six Wits team-mates he was selected for the South African team under the leadership first of Brian Belchers and then Neville Berman. Another eight Wits players were to be selected for the South African team in the years to follow.

The South African team coach, Brian Edwards, preferred a 5-4-1 playing system and with the abundance of talent including the likes of Daryl Bestall, Brian Elliott did not play as many Tests as the pundits felt he deserved.

He was, however, part of the SA team that defeated the German 1972 Olympic gold medal-winning team in the 8 Nations Tournament final in 1974 (the 50th anniversary of both the FIH and the SA Hockey Union) at The Wanderers in Johannesburg.

Brian was also part of the marvellous Old Johannians Club team that twice won South Africa’s Champion of Club Champions Tournament.

Nicknamed “Simon”, by his closest friends, he was a wonderful, kind and humorous team-mate who often lifted the team with his magical play and chirpy comment. He always sought out the seemingly lonely person at a party and made them feel at home.

A loyal friend and a modest man, Brian’s pride and love for his family always shone like a beacon and I am sure he had made many friends in Knysna, where he lived in his later years.

To Elaine, his wife, who travelled every inch of Brian’s adult life and hockey career with him, his daughter, Ashleigh, and son, Bryn, we extend our heartfelt condolences. A wonderful man has passed on but we will all cherish our hours with him – not least the hours spent in the magical world of hockey.

In the words of Neill Edwards, who played at all levels of the game with Brian, and attended the wake in Knysna, “His dry, subtle sense of humour and charming disposition will be sorely missed by all who were fortunate enough to know him.”

SA Hockey Association media release