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News for 17 January 2016

All the news for Sunday 17 January 2016


Euro Indoors provides thrill-a-minute day two

Austria and Germany will face off in the EuroHockey Indoor championships final after a wild and dramatic day of action in Prague.

The semi-final line-up was completed early in the day when Russia beat Poland 4-1 and the Czech Republic stunned world champions the Netherlands 2-1.

Indeed, the last 17 seconds of the latter tie was a mini-epic in itself. The Dutch needed a draw to go through and thought they had that result secured when Timmo Kranstauber levelled the game at 1-1 from a corner.

But the Czechs, down to four players with two in the sin-bin, managed to nick a corner themselves on the final hooter. After a reset corner, a penalty stroke followed which Tomas Prochazka scored to spark big celebrations.

They could not continue their form into the semis in the evening session where Germany won out 5-0 with Timm Herzbruch raised his goal tally to eight from the tournament while Fabian Pehlke scored twice in the closing stages.

The other semi-final, though, was a stunner. Austria and Russia shared a 5-5 draw in normal time with Michael Körper’s hat trick crucial for the former in bouncing back from a two-goal deficit.

And he ended up scoring the critical shoot-out goal after Mateusz Szymczyk had denied Sergii Spichkovskii’s second round effort.

Austria and Germany meet in the final on Sunday at 2.30pm (CET) with the Czechs and Russia playing in the bronze medal match at 1pm.

Euro Hockey League media release



Hat-trick hero Horler hands England top spot


Ed Horler in indoor action for England

A hat-trick from England’s Ed Horler helped Andy Halliday’s side to blow away the challenge of Croatia in their third match of the EuroHockey Indoor Championship II.

Horler, who had been in blistering form in the domestic indoor for his club, Loughborough Students applied three expert finishes to add to strikes from Luke Taylor (2), Chris Newman (2), Richie Dawson-Smith, Johnny Kinder and Brendan Creed as England’s fast-paced attacking game notched up double figures and a second win from three games. The win means England top their pool and will play for the promotion spots later on.

Andy Halliday’s side fell behind to two early strikes from Mario Mucic but despite the setback they put Croatia under pressure and were rewarded in the 18th minute when Horler netted his first with a lovely spin and shot on the backhand. A well-worked corner from Taylor levelled it up and then the Loughborough man slotted in a carbon copy on the stroke of half time to send England in at the break 3-2 ahead.

England extended their lead early in the second half with a beautifully taken goal from Dawson-Smith and then at the other end Paddy Smith made a fine block to preserve the lead. There was nothing Smith could do to prevent Mucic completing his hat-trick with a sublime lofted finish but then a minute later Tom Carson set up Kinder to re-establish the cushion. The Wimbledon man became provider for England’s sixth, setting up Reading’s Newman who spun on the top the circle and found the net via the post with a splendid finish. Smith continued his fine work in goal, dashing from his line to deny Toni Premilovac.

England continued to invite pressure from their opponents, knowing they had to throw caution to the wind to rescue the game and would be vulnerable on the break. Carson burst forwards, skipped away from the defender and picked out Creed to score for number 7 and then Horler showed his prowess in front of goal again for the eighth. Domagoj Cefko made it 8-4 from a penalty corner but after a lovely long pass out of the back Newman expertly guided in the ninth and then Horler stole the ball from the kicking back to make it 10-4 and complete his hat-trick and a superb win.

Head coach Andy Halliday said afterwards:

"After a sloppy start it was another improved performance and sets us up nicely for our final two games in the promotion pool. I was particularly pleased with our clinical finishing and resolute deep defence".

England now top the pool and await their opponents for the evening game at 19:15 UK time.

England 10 (3)
Ed Horler 18, 30, 37 (FG, FG, FG)
Luke Taylor 19, 20 (PC,PC)
Richie Dawson-Smith 24 (FG)
John Kinder 26 (FG)
Chris Newman 28, 36 (FG, FG)
Brendan Creed 30 (FG)

Croatia 4 (2)
Mario Mucic 3, 11, 25 (FG, FG, FG)
Domagoj Cefko 34 (PC)

England Starting 6:
1 SMITH Patrick (GK)
5 GOODFIELD David
9 KINDER John
11 CARSON Tom (C)
12 TAYLOR Luke
17 CREED Brendan

Substitutes used:
2 REYNOLDS-COTTERILL Toby (GK)
6 ALBERY James
13 DAWSON-SMITH Richie
18 NEWMAN Chris
20 HORLER Edward

England Hockey Board Media release



Late charge not enough for England



England’s grandstand finish wasn’t quite enough to salvage a point as they went down to their first defeat of the EuroHockey Indoor Championship II, narrowly losing out 5-4 to Belgium.

Andy Halliday’s men slipped three goals behind in the second half, trailing 5-2 and although they clawed two goals back they weren’t quite able to finish the job and were beaten.

Belgium started the stronger of the two sides, taking the lead in the fourth minute after Gilles Jacob drove into the circle and slotted in the opener. England went straight up the other end and levelled via a well taken strike form David Goodfield. The game settled into something of a cat and mouse affair thereafter and it wasn’t until the tenth minute there was another goal. Ed Horler picked up where he left off this morning with another nice finish to make it 2-1. John Kinder was unlucky not to make it 3-1 as he was denied by Matteo Gryspeerdt in the Belgian goal and then the No1 did superbly to deny Horler from close range.

The England No20 was looking dangerous but he squandered a gilt-edged opportunity with the goalkeeper seemingly beaten his lobbed effort flew agonizingly wide of the target. England were made to pay moments later as Gabriel Garetta slotted in at the far post to make it 2-2 at the break.

Belgium came out for the second half extremely strongly. Tanguy Zimmer scored another far post strike to make it 3-2 and although England responded well with some pressure and a good effort from James Albery which was well saved, Pierre Louis Maraite made it 4-2 with a neat finish.

Horler drew a good save from the goalkeeper before Zimmer grabbed his second, somehow smuggling the ball past Paddy Smith and in.

England were not done, however and with time running out Kinder ripped an unstoppable penalty corner into the net to reduce the arrears and then Horler repeated the trick from another penalty corner to make it 5-4. England almost snatched an equaliser at the death but it was too little, too late and they were beaten.

Head Coach Andy Halliday said afterwards:

"Obviously it's disappointing to lose but I am pleased with the way we fought back in the final minutes. We failed to control the game in the early stages of the second half which ultimately cost us the victory. We move on to a pivotal game against Denmark on Sunday which will decide promotion to the A Division and World Cup qualification."

The defeat leaves England second in the pool, needing just a point from tomorrow’s final game against Denmark to secure second place in the competition.

That match takes place tomorrow afternoon at 14:00.

England 4 (2)
David Goodfield 4 (FG)
Ed Horler 10, 35 (FG, PC)
John Kinder 34 (PC)

Belgium 5 (2)
Gilles Jacob 4 (FG)
Gabriel Garetta 18 (FG)
Tanguy Zimmer 22, 30 (FG, FG)
Pierre Louis Maraite 25 (FG)

Starting 6:
1 SMITH Patrick (GK)
5 GOODFIELD David 26
9 KINDER John
11 CARSON Tom (C)
12 TAYLOR Luke
17 CREED Brendan

Substitutes used:
6 ALBERY James
13 DAWSON-SMITH Richie
18 NEWMAN Chris
20 HORLER Edward

Did not play:
2 REYNOLDS-COTTERILL Toby (GK)

England Hockey Board Media release



Defeats on day two lead to European relegation for Scotland

Following defeats to France and Ukraine on day two of the EuroHockey Indoor Championship II, it was confirmed that Scotland Senior Men will be relegated to the Championship III division in two years time.

The narrow 5-4 loss to the French, plus England's win over Croatia, in the final pool A matches this morning meant that both Scotland and Croatia progressed to the relegation pool.

Significantly, the Scots carried zero points to the next stage as a result of yesterday's loss to the Balkan state, meaning that the national side faced a must-win match against Ukraine this afternoon.

A 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Eastern Europeans made it mathematically impossible for Derek Forsyth's side to escape the drop to the third tier, effectively rendering tomorrow's final match against hosts Portugal meaningless from a Scottish perspective.

Scotland captain Gavin Byers had given his side the perfect start against France, scoring a fantastic effort from a tight angle.

However, Scotland were soon chasing the game when penalty corner goals from Viktor Lockwood and Francois-Javier Laffineur put the French side 2-1 up inside the first ten minutes.

Mickael Kempf increased his team's lead to 3-1 two minutes from half-time, only for Inverleith's Patrick Christie to keep the Scots within touching distance with a field goal on the stroke of the hooter.

Laffineur's penalty corner six minutes after the interval restored France's two-goal cushion, but Dan Coultas' replied from the corner set-piece mid-way through the half to keep Scotland in the hunt.

Unfortunately, a Theophile Ponthieu goal to give France a 5-3 advantage proved the winner, Coultas' second strike of the contest coming too late in a 5-4 loss.

With continuing survival in the division resting on a must win encounter for Scotland against Ukraine, it was no surprise that both sides started the match cautiously.

Dmytro Luppa finally broke the stalemate in the eighth minute, rifling a penalty corner effort into the net to give his side the lead.

Nevertheless, a cooly taken field goal from Callum Duke restored parity to the contest going into the half-time break.

The Scots were right in the match up until the last ten minutes, when Oleksander Diachenko finally beat Scotland goalkeeper Sean Hadfield to make it 2-1 in the 31st minute, and an Artem Ozerskyi hat-trick inside seven minutes killed off any lingering hopes of a Scottish comeback.

Scottish Hockey Union media release



Cockram Goal Earns Green Machine 1-1 Draw With Canada



The Green Machine started the second match of the series with the same intent and vigour as they finished the first. Gareth Watkins had the first real chance of the game as he found himself 1 on 1 with the keeper, but his shot drew a good save. Watkins again drew a save and the subsequent penalty corner routine was saved as the first quarter finished 0-0. The second quarter saw Canada find their rhythm and the Green Machine were pushed back into their own 25. Carr, who continues to impress, produced a superb diving save and the ever-present Gormley was on hand to deal with the loose ball.

4 minutes into the second half, and against the run of play, Canada got the score-board ticking to make it 1-0. Amid a flurry of penalty corner’s and green cards for Canada, Shane O’Donoghue pinged the ball off the post as the Green Machine hunted for an equaliser. Kyle Good fired the ball just over the crossbar and with 30 seconds to go Ireland won another PC. The experienced Cockram took his chance and scored to earn Ireland a 1-1 draw.

Ireland 1 (Cockram)
Canada 1

Squad: Carr, M Bell, Gleghorne, Loughrey, Gormley, L Cole, J Bell, Shimmins, O’Donoghue, Carlisle, Robson, S Cole, Cockram, Good, Watt, Sothern, Watkins.

14th January 16.00 Ireland 2 v 0 Canada
16th January 14.00 Ireland 1 v 1 Canada
17th January 14.00 Ireland v Spain
18th January 18.00 Ireland v South Africa
20th January 18.00 Ireland v Canada
21st January 16.00 Ireland v Canada
23rd January 12.00 Ireland v Belgium
24th January 12.00 Ireland v Belgium

Irish Hockey Association media release



Green Army Denied In Final Minutes as Spain Prevail 2-1

Spain enjoyed the majority of possession in the 1st quarter but a noticeable change from yesterday’s encounter saw no shots struck at McFerran and only a single circle entry by the Red Sticks. Evans was the first of the Irish to cause Spain some trouble as she drove determinedly into the corner and along the base line before crossing on the reverse but the ball was cleared before the danger could develop. Loose passes and interceptions were again the order of the day but the Green Army looked the more dangerous in the final 25 with both Duke and O’Flanagan powering into the circle more than once. The deadlock was broken when Frazer dragged low and right, out of reach of the diving keeper, from a PC routine. Tice, showing composure and experience beyond her years, wound the clock down in the corner, ensuring the Green Army went into half time 1-0 up.

The third quarter saw plenty an aerial thrown into the Valencia sky but very few chances for either side. Mullan’s shot from a PC was saved, and Smithwick and O’Byrne combined well to prevent a goal at the other end. The physicality of the encounter increased as time wore on and Shirley McCay was the unlucky recipient of a fierce ball to her leg and she played no further part in the action. The Irish defence was forced to regroup without McCay, the most capped female Irish athlete, but Spain took advantage and Magaz beat her marker to deflect the ball goal-ward at the back post. As the game looked set to finish up a draw, thanks to a superb reaction save by Smithwick, the Spanish earned another PC that Riera dispatched low into the right corner in the 57th minute.

The Green Army showed improvements in many areas but will be looking to step up another gear again for Monday’s encounter at 11:30am (GMT).

Ireland 1 (M Frazer)
Spain 2 ( Magaz, Riera)

Squad: McFerran (GK), O’Bryne, Tice, McCay, Wilson, M Frazer (Captain), Pinder, Daly, Duke, Beatty, Brown, Smithwick (GK), O’Flanagan, Evans, Watkins, G Frazer, Mullan, Meeke. 

Match Details (All times GMT):

January 15th Ireland 0 vs 3 Spain 17.30.
January 16th Ireland 1 vs 2 Spain 18.00.
January 18th Ireland vs Spain 11.30
January 19th Ireland vs Spain 11.30

Irish Hockey Association media release



Flawless Strathmore Scorpions outclass JKUAT in varsity derby

By BRIAN YONGA


Strathmore University's Judy Adhiambo (left) is challenged by Bancy Wawira of Vikings during their national ladies hockey league match at City park hockey stadium on January 10, 2016. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |   NATION MEDIA GROUP

Strathmore University's Scorpions on Saturday thrashed Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) 6-0 in a Kenya Hockey Union women’s National League match at City Park Stadium, Nairobi.

Two goals each from skipper Carol Njoki and Angela Mayaka set the university side on their way before further strikes from Ruth Adhiambo and Mitchell Achieng gave Scorpions the bragging rights in the derby.

The win delighted Scorpions coach Meshack Senge who called on his team to continue with their consistency till the end of the season.

“It is our second successive win and we are pleased with how we have started this year. We now need to build on this result,” Senge said.

“The early goal allowed us to settle into the match and I thought we played some brilliant hockey noting the number of players we are missing.”

In the absence of the team’s top scorer Gilly Okumu, Senge handed starts to new signings Cassandra Dacha and Mitchell Achieng. Defender Angela Mayaka opened the scoring for last season’s runners up after finishing off Njoki’s penalty corner in the seventh minute.

Scorpions pressed home their advantage and doubled their lead in the 20th minute when Mayaka returned the favour to set up Njoki whose first–time shot inside the JKUAT penalty circle sailed past keeper Emmah Aroni.

Scorpions pressed forward in search of more goals and were rewarded, hitting two goals in two minutes to extend their lead. Achieng justified her selection by sounding the boards with a deflected shot before Mayaka got her second of the game, finishing off another penalty corner as her team took a 4-0 lead at the break.

JKUAT improved on restart, launching several attacks of their own but the Scorpions’ defence marshalled by Mayaka and Elizabeth Ngombo stood firm.
Ruth Adhiambo made it five for the home side after 50 minutes through another field goal, her first for the club.

COMPLETED THE DOUBLE

There was still time for Njoki to add a final goal after she was set up by Kenya international Yvonne Karanja.

Scorpions won the first leg encounter 9-0 last year.

“We gave them too much room to play and were a bit timid and casual in possession.

“We also need to utilise the chances we create,” JKUAT coach Hassan Chepkos said.

Daily Nation



Pahang Thunderbolt put down marker in junior hockey league


by Aftar Singh

KUALA LUMPUR: The Pahang Sports School-MSP-Thunderbolt have sent out an early warning to show that they mean business in Division One of the TNB-Malaysian Junior Hockey League.

The Sports School registered the biggest win on the opening day of the Under-19 league by hammering Nur Insafi 11-1 at the Sungai Petani Hockey Stadium on Friday.

And the Pahang outfit are now all fired up to inflict another beating to Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS)-Thunderbolt at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Sunday.

BJSS also got off to good start on Friday – outplaying last year’s league and overall runners-up Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) 6-1.

But the way the Pahang Sports School have stepped up to the plate this year is impressive, considering that they were only promoted to Division One last year after finishing runners-up in Division Two in 2014.

Last year, they finished fourth in both the league and overall competition.

“My players are all motivated after the big win ... they have vowed to give another good performance against BJSS, to whom we lost 2-1 in a friendly recently,” said Pahang Sports School coach Mohd Sufian Mohd.

“I’m confident my players will rise to the occasion to collect full points again.”

BJSS team manager K. Rajan knows he can expect a close fight from the Pahang side.

“I’m impressed with their scoring ability ... it’s not easy to score 11 goals in a match,” said the former National Juniors coach.

Defending champions Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI)-Thunderbolt, who outplayed SSTMI Juniors 7-1 on Friday, should have no problem beating SMK Bentara Luar in Batu Pahat.

The Star of Malaysia

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