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All the news for Sunday 17 March 2019

2019 FIH Pro League (Men) - 17 March

Black Sticks women secure massive win over Australia



The Black Sticks women have put together an incredible performance on both ends of the field as they have secured an important 3-1 win over Australia in Sydney. The match was a tough contest which saw the kiwi women clinical from their set pieces as they scored 2 penalty corner goals.

The Australian and New Zealand women lined up for what promised to be a tight affair between two evenly matched sides. Australia were backing up from a tough 1-0 loss the previous evening to the Argentina women.

The Black Sticks Women started the match in the ascendency and went close early in the match with some great play along the baseline. The Australian defence was saved when the ball clanged off the post keeping the score tied at nil all. Australia managed to absorb the early pressure as the kiwi women continued to play some constructive attacking hockey. Australia went close themselves on a couple of chances late in the first quarter as the ball went sailing past the back post and the diving attacker wasn’t able to get the touch to put the ball in the back of the goal. Australia nearly scored the first goal of the match when they put the ball in the goal. The New Zealand side referred the decision which was overturned as the Australian attacker has interfered with Grace O’Hanlon being able to make an attempt at stopping the goal. At the end of the first quarter neither side was able to break the deadlock and we were tied at nil all.

The New Zealand women went incredibly close at the start of the second quarter, however the Australian side managed to scramble for a goal line save. Not allowing the Australian side to clear their line the kiwi women found an Australian foot to earn their first penalty corner of the match. Olivia Merry continued her rich vein of goal scoring form as her sweep shot went into the back of the net touching an Australian defenders stick on the way past. Grace O’Hanlon stepped up with some massive saves late in the second quarter when the Australian side was on a quick breakaway. O’Hanlon showed some amazing agility to keep the ball away from the goal. Australia earner their first penalty corner of the match when a ball in just clipped a kiwi defenders’ foot in the circle. The New Zealand post runner deflected the Australian shot wide of the goal. The Black Sticks earned another penalty corner when Stacey Michelsen found an Australian foot in the circle. The kiwi women looked to use a creative variation however the Australian defence proved up to the challenge. At the half time break the Black Sticks women were leading 1-0.

The New Zealand team started the second half in the best way possible when the Australian team struggled to clear the ball out of the circle and turned the ball over to Olivia Merry who pushed the shot past the Australian goalkeeper and into the side of the goal. The Australian team looked to get themselves back into the match and pushed hard putting the kiwi defence under pressure. They were rewarded midway through the quarter when they found a New Zealand foot for a penalty corner. Stacey Michelsen ran down the Australian drag flick to keep the New Zealand lead at two. As the quarter wound down both sides looked to be enterprising but were struggling to get a clear shot off leaving us at the end of three quarters with a score of 2-0.

The New Zealand side started the last quarter with a disadvantage for the first 5 minutes with Holly Pearson being sent off after her challenge was deemed a yellow card worthy foul. Australia looked to utilise their extra player advantage by holding possession and looking for gaps in the Black Sticks defence. Australia touched a crash ball into the circle past t Sally Rutherford who had no chance to save the lightning deflection. Midway through the final quarter Stacey Michelsen managed to find an Australian foot earning the Black Sticks women their fourth penalty corner of the evening. Olivia Merry’s shot deflected up off an Australian stick and Amy Robinson pushed in the loose ball to return the kiwi lead to two goals. As time wound down the Australian side looked to be creative in their attack trying to get the needed two goals to get themselves back on level pegging. In the end the Black Sticks women dug deep and held on to secure the important win.

Vantage Black SticksWomen 3 (Olivia Merry 17, 32 min, Amy Robinson 52 min) Australia 1 (Savannah Fitzpatrick 48 min). HT: 1-0. 

Hockey New Zealand Media release

Squeaky Clean Kookaburras Towel Up Trans-Tasman Rivals

Alexie Beovich



The Kookaburras have made it five wins in a row for the FIH Pro League, crushing Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand 5-1 in poor conditions on Sunday afternoon at Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre.

Australia had four individual goal scorers in Tom Wickham (12’, 32’), Jeremy Hayward (14’), Jack Welch (27’) and Daniel Beale (38’), while New Zealand managed just a single goal through Hayden Phillips (15’).

The heavy rain didn’t seem to effect the Kookaburras who were clean with the ball and accurate with their passes in the field

The dominant Kookaburras peppered the goals all day, creating 19 shots from 29 circle entries and converted on 20 per cent of their penalty corner opportunities.

Matthew Swann was awarded Player of the Match for his impressive play in the back half.

The win pushes Australia to top of the FIH Pro League standings while New Zealand remain in last place.

In a mark of respect to those affected by the terrible events in Christchurch on Friday, both sides came together and linked arms during a moments silence before the match.

The Kookaburras next match is an ANZAC Day clash against New Zealand in Auckland.

Wickham opened the scoring for Australia getting on the end of a fantastic circle entry from Jake Whetton who wrong-footed multiple New Zealand defenders for the assist in the 11th minute of the match.

Moments later Hayward hit the scoreboard, rocketing a dragflick past New Zealand keeper Richard Joyce and bringing his tally of goals for the weekend to three.

Phillips reduced the Blacksticks' deficit as the first term came to a close, smashing a tomahawk into the backboard off of a penalty corner deflection.

Australia's next goal came late in the second quarter when Whetton once again passed to a teammate after finessing a circle entry, he found Welch open in front of goals who was able to power the shot through for the Kookaburras' third goal.

The third term started as just as the second had ended, Australia was pushing the attack and it only took 90 seconds for them to hit the scoreboard again.

Wickham nailed his second goal for the day, delivering an off-balance shot through New Zealand keeper George Enersen's legs.

In the 38th minute of the match, Daniel Beale stole possession off a New Zealand error and pushed his way into the attacking circle before delivering a powerful stroke past Enersen for Australia's fifth goal.

Tyler Lovell was impressive in the final term, blocking a number of the Blacksticks' penalty corner chances.

Australia 5 (Wickham 12', 32', Hayward 14', Welch 27', Beale 38')
New Zealand 1 (Phillips 15’)

Hockey Australia media release

Australian attacking onslaught proves to much for Black Sticks Men



A clinical Australian attack has put 5 goals on the Black Sticks Men in a tough loss against a disciplined and highly skilled Australian Men’s side. The Black Sticks started the match confidently as they looked to earn their first win of the FIH Pro League. Australia withstood a number of chances from the Black Sticks Men throughout the contest to put their attack in a strong position in the match.

Coach Darren Smith commented after the performance “Australia played the match with a lot of control. We had a number of significant opportunities ourselves in the match including having 6 penalty corners. If we had been able to take some of those opportunities, then the match result could have been a lot different”.

Black Sticks Captain Arun Panchia commented “We had to try some different things tonight, but Australia was up what we could throw at them tonight”.

The Black Sticks Men lined up on a rainy Sydney day for an important match against the second placed Australia Men. The New Zealand side which was missing a few key players would be looking to bounce back from their tough loss the previous week to Argentina. 

Australia started the game confidently looking to play the ball around the back of the field to open up the wide channels and put the kiwi defence under a lot of pressure. The New Zealand team earned the first penalty corner of the match when Aidan Sarikaya was able to find an Australian foot in the defensive circle. Australia ran down the Nic Woods flick to keep the score at nil all. Both squads were looking to hold possession and play the ball from side to side to open up potential gaps in the opposition defensive line. Late in the first quarter the Australian side was able to string some passes in the circle together and flick the ball past Richard Joyce for the first goal of the match. Almost instantly after Australia scored their first goal, they earned themselves a penalty corner. Jeremy Hayward stepped in and flicked a low hard shot which beat the New Zealand defence to put Australia ahead 2-0. Late in the first quarter the New Zealand earned themselves a penalty corner. Cory Bennett’s initial drag flick was saved, Hayden Phillips found the rebound on the end of his stick and he slotted home a forehand shot to get a goal back for the New Zealand team.

Australia started the second quarter in the best possible fashion when they managed to find a Black Sticks foot on a crash ball into the circle. Richard Joyce was able to scramble and make some crucial saves for the New Zealand side to keep the score at 2-1. Australia continued to use their midfield to initiate some quick breaks against the New Zealand team. Lachlan Sharpe created some space dancing through several kiwi defenders and put his shot off the cross bar as the Black Sticks survived the Australian onslaught. With eight minutes to go in the first half Australia was relentless as they created several goal scoring opportunities, the New Zealand defence was up to the task ensuring that the score remained 2-1. Late in the second quarter on the back of some Hayden Phillips creative dribbling the Black Sticks earned a penalty corner. Off the subsequent penalty corner Shea McAleeses deflection sailed just wide of the goal. Australia bounced instantly back from the kiwi pressure when an unmarked Jack Welch rocketed a shot past Richard Joyce to put Australia in the lead 3-1. The kiwi side went into the half time sheds needing a big second half push to get themselves back into the contest.

Opening the second half Australia played the ball wide and found an open player in the circle who slapped the ball between George Enersen’s legs to increase Australias lead 4-1. New Zealand managed to earn a penalty corner when young striker Mac Wilcox spun in the circle finding an Australian foot. The subsequent penalty corner saw a break down at the top of the circle and the kiwi side was unable to get a good shot off. Daniel Beale put pressure on Shea McAleese and picked his pocket for a one on one with the goal keeper that he managed to convert on the tomahawke past George Enersen. As the quarter wore on both sides were looking to construct opportunities but neither side was able to capitalise and the score at the end of three quarters was 5-1.

Australia started the fourth quarter finding a New Zealand foot in the circle earning themselves the first penalty corner of the final quarter. George Enersen made a fantastic stick save off Jeremy Haywards drag flick from the penalty corner. The Australian side continued to control the match playing with a lot of possession and territory and continue to have the Black Sticks team under significant pressure. George Enersen was proving to be a rock in goal in the final quarter for the Black Sticks as he looked to keep the Australian side from increasing their lead. With two minutes to go in the quarter the Black Sticks earned another penalty corner after Australia was unable to keep the ball down. Australian goalkeeper Tyler Lovell stands up tall and pulls off a routine glove save. The Black Sticks could not find their way back into the match and ended up falling to the Australian team 5-1.

Vantage Black Sticks 1 (Hayden Phillips 14 min) Australia 5 (Tom Wickham 12, 32 min, Jeremy Hayward 14 min, Jack Welch 25 min, Daniel Beale 38 min). HT: 1-3.

Hockey New Zealand Media release

Victories for Kookaburras and Las Leonas in Sydney



It was a day of mixed results for the national teams of Australia in the FIH Pro League, as Argentina’s men's and women’s sides took to the field at the Sydney’s iconic Olympic Park Hockey Centre on Saturday (16 March).

Australia’s men survived an impressive Argentinean fight-back to claim their fourth successive victory in the FIH Pro League, running out 3-2 winners against the current Olympic champions to strengthen their hold on second position in the standings. The Kookaburras have claimed 72.2 percent of the points available from their matches so far, marginally less than the 75 percent of current table-toppers Belgium but with a superior points tally.

However, a solitary goal from 2017 FIH Player of the Year Delfina Merino proved to be the difference as Argentina’s women claimed a 1-0 triumph over the hosts. The result of the contest - a re-match of the Sydney 2000 gold medal game, where Australia took the Olympic title with a 3-1 victory in this very stadium - sees Las Leonas move ahead of the Hockeyroos into second place in the standings, with Australia dropping to third.

The men’s match got proceedings underway in Sydney, with Australia (FIH World Ranking: 2) displaying the confidence attained from three successive victories by opening up a 2-0 advantage over Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallists Argentina (WR: 4) in the first quarter. Jeremy Hayward scored both of the goals, sending penalty corner efforts to the left and right of veteran Leones goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi.

Argentina improved in the second quarter but it was the Kookaburra who added to their lead, with Blake Govers both winning and emphatically converting another penalty corner to put the home favourites into a comfortable 3-0 lead at half time.

Los Leones were superb after the half time break, with Juan Catan blazing a glorious chance high and wide before Maico Casella’s fine penalty corner drag-flick reduced the deficit to 3-1 going into the final quarter. Catan atoned for his earlier miss with a terrific penalty corner effort, sending his drag-flick to the right of goalkeeper Andrew Charter and put Argentina within touching distance of their opponents at 3-2.

Argentina Head Coach German Orozco replaced goalkeeper Vivaldi with an outfield player with four minutes remaining in an bold attempt to snatch a late equaliser, but Australia were calm under pressure, running down the clock to claim all three points from the contest.

“That’s four on the trot now, so we are really happy with that but it was a pretty testing match”, said Australia co-captain Aran Zalewski, who was named Player of the Match. “We got up 3-0 early but Argentina in the second half really fought back and when they got to 3-2 there were some really tense moments. I think we held out really well in the end.”

Argentina Head Coach German Orozco said: “I think Australia were really good in the first two quarters, we didn’t have the ball and were not defending good, but we improved in the third and fourth quarters. We defended more tough and made some combinations for the attackers. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but it was a very good third and fourth quarter.”

Argentina’s women (WR:4) started the day sitting third in the FIH Pro League standings, but knew that a win against Australia (WR:3) would see them leap-frog their opponents into second position. Los Leones got their wish, but it was by the finest of margins in a match that was evenly balanced from start to finish.

Australia’s Rachael Lynch - making her 200th appearance for the Hockeyroos - was forced into action early in the contest by Eugenia Trinchinetti, while at the other end Argentina shot-stopper Belen Succi denied both Savannah Fitzpatrick and Kalindi Commerford in a score-less first quarter.

The game’s only goal arrived midway through the second quarter, with Delfina Merino being in the right place at the right time to fire into an unguarded net from close range. Carla Rebecchi was the creator, attacking the circle from the right before eliminating goalkeeper Lynch with a perfect pass across the face of goal, giving Merino the kind of opportunity that she rarely misses.

Rebecchi almost doubled the Argentinean advantage when she hit the post in a third quarter that Australia arguably had the better of, with Succi making some crucial saves to stop the home side from levelling the scores. The best chances in the fourth and final period fell the way of the Argentines, with Merino and Julieta Jankunas both shooting wide of the target, but it did not affect the final result as Argentina emerged triumphant away from home.

Argentina’s Rosario Luchetti, who was named Player of the Match, said: “We are happy with the result, with the win, but now we have to improve to get more goals, have more [penalty] corners and play better. We have to be more concentrated. In the second half Australia came onto us a lot and we got nervous, so we need to be more concentrated and maybe play easier.”

Australia captain Jodie Kenny said: “It was disappointing to come away with a loss, but there were definitely some positives. We created our chances but we have got to be a bit more thorough, and have to execute up front. Lots of positives and also a few things that we can fix up.”

The FIH Pro League continues on Sunday 17 March with Sydney’s Olympic Park Hockey Centre hosting two Oceania derby matches as Australia’s men and women face New Zealand’s Black Sticks.

FIH Pro League

16 March - Sydney, Australia

Result: Men’s Match 20
Australia 3, Argentina 2
Player of the Match: Aran Zalewski (AUS)

Umpires: Peter Wright (RSA), Raghu Prasad (IND) & Laurine Delforge (BEL - Video)

Result: Women’s Match 22
Australia 0, Argentina 1
Player of the Match: Rosario Luchetti (ARG)

Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL), Liu Xiaoying (CHN) & Peter Wright (RSA - Video)

#FIHProLeague

Official FIH Pro League Site

Argentina Rains On Australia’s Parade

Alexie Beovich/



The Hockeyroos have suffered their second loss of the FIH Pro League, falling 1-0 to Argentina in wet conditions on Saturday night at Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre.

The buzz of Rachael Lynch’s 200th match and Michaela Spano’s debut wasn’t enough to energise the Australians after a gruelling few days of travel.

Despite controlling the pace of the game early Australia quickly began to tire as the match progressed, eventually giving the Argentinians an opportunity to take the lead late in the second quarter.

Argentina’s Captain Delfina Merino was able to breakthrough in the 24th minute of the match.

Rosario Luchetti was named Player of the Match after an impressive performance in front of the packed crowd of 3,129 hockey fans.

“It was a disappointing performance, we weren’t good enough today,” Coach Paul Gaudoin said. 

“Credit to Argentina the 1-0 scoreline hurts but we’ll move on very quickly to New Zealand tomorrow.”

The Hockeyroos are now third in the standings with 14 points, behind Argentina and the Netherlands.

Australia takes on Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand from 5pm AEDT on Saturday in Sydney.

An evenly matched first term saw Australia create a number of scoring opportunities but the Hockeyroos were unable to impact the scoreboard.

Sophie Taylor took a shot from the edge of the circle in the 13th minute of the match but her strike fired wide across the face of goal.

Savannah Fitzpatrick followed up just moments later but her two attempts from directly in front were thwarted by Argentinian goalkeeper Belen Succi.

In a match where 31 circle entries created 15 shot attempts, just one goal found its’ way into the back of the net by way of Merino in the 24th minute of the match.

Merino found herself on the back post with a clear shot on goal off a fantastic assist from Eugenia Trinchinetti.

A band of heavy rain hit the venue in the third term reducing the play to a tight and scrappy contest, but strong efforts from Savannah Fitzpatrick, Jodie Kenny and Lily Brazel created a number of Penalty Corner opportunities.

Australia tried to fight their way back into the match and almost tied things up when Kenny rocketed an on-target dragflick in the 43rd minute, miraculously Succi was able to defend the shot using her back foot on a diving save.

The fourth quarter saw Argentina take control, with 59 per cent of the possession, the visitors were able to pepper the goals.

In a display of fortitude, Jocelyn Bartram stood up to the Argentinian attack, defending six circle entries and three shots

A last gasp effort from Mariah Williams saw the Hockeyroos with a Penalty Corner opportunity to tie up the match but an error from Georgina Morgan saw the chance go begging.

Australia 0
Argentina 1 (Merino 24’)

Hockey Australia media release

U-16 and U-20 Junior USMNT Wrap up Chile Test Series with Strong Growth


Image Taken by Katherine Hennessy

SANTIAGO, Chile – Yesterday, the U.S. U-16 and U-20 Men’s National Teams wrapped up their tour at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago, Chile in their fourth game of the series. The U-16 USMNT fought hard all week and after a scoreless first half, suffered a narrow 2-1 loss to the hosts. Determined to finish strong, the U-20 USMNT recorded their third successive victory against Chile after battling defensively until the very end for a 3-2 win.
 
 “We are content with the progress and results posted this week,” said Rutger Wiese, Junior USMNT Head Coach. “When the series was secured after the third game, we were able to give several younger players experience with the older group while maintaining the standard."
 
“We booked great progress in our playing style and defensive structure over last year,” added Brian Schledorn, Junior USMNT Assistant Coach.
 
“We’re looking to continuing building on the foundation we have laid in the last two years,” said Shannon Taylor, Junior USMNT Assistant Coach.
 
U-16 USMNT 1 – 2 Chile
 
After a week of intense training and games, the U-16 USMNT fought a hard contest and suffered a narrow 2-1 loss to Chile.
 
The first period had momentum favoring Chile with USA's defense adapting and responding. Two breakaway attempts by Tyler Kim (Fredericksburg, Va.) and Lucas Frejenal (Indianapolis, Ind.) were unable to be completed leaving the score deadlocked at zeros at the end of the quarter.
 
In the second frame, USA reorganized and continued to try to create scoring opportunities. Colin Kirkpatrick (Annville, Pa.) dribbled up the left sideline and was able to connect with Jack Hawley (Ventura, Calif.) in the circle who took a shot that was deflected away by Chile’s goalkeeper. USA had some tense moments as Chile earned three penalty corners in the last five minutes of the first half. USA’s defensive unit, led by goalkeeper Russell Smith (Camarillo, Calif.), held strong to keep the score 0-0 heading into halftime.
 
After a scoreless first half, USA faltered when they conceded a field goal at the 35th minute mark. Chile increased their press and was rewarded with three penalty corners in the last two minutes of the frame. Los Varones converted on the final chance to bring the score to 2-0 at the end of the third quarter.
 
Trailing by two goals at the start of the fourth, a determined USA side cut the lead in half when Namit Mangat (Glendale, Ariz.) tucked the ball into the back of the net on a penalty corner conversion. The remainder of the game was hard-fought by both sides but in the end it was Chile who prevailed 2-1.
 
U-20 USMNT 3 – 2 Chile
 
The U-20 USMNT recorded their third victory against Chile in the final of the four-game series. Coming into the final match, both the host nation and USA were determined to finish strong. The opening frame saw both teams playing with discipline and structure. This posed challenges for both sides as neither team was able to capitalize on scoring opportunities as the quarter finished 0-0.
 
Alex Curtis (London, United Kingdom) opened the scoring for the USA in the second quarter with a solid drag flick off a penalty corner. Momentum remained with USA, and it was just a matter of time before the red, white and blue broke through again to extend the lead to 2-0. The second goal came from a scuffle in front of the goal where Curtis was able to quickly flick it past the Chile’s goalkeeper’s feet.
 
Chile made a dominating start to the third quarter. Two minutes into the second half, an attack on goal by the hosts earned a penalty corner in which they scored to tally one back making it a 2-1 contest. USA looked to reorganize but Chile’s frantic attempts to penetrate the circle led to another penalty corner conversion to level the score, 2-2.
 
The fourth quarter opened with both teams attacking with equal ferocity. USA’s defense was focused and concentrated while the offense repeatedly punched into Chile’s defensive end. USA goalkeeper Phil Schofield (Moorpark, Calif.) saved a penalty corner shot by Chile and USA held their nerves to come up with their own penalty corner after a Chile infraction in the circle. USA’s Christian De Angelis (Doylestown, Pa.) was able to follow up on the initial saved shot with a rebound back into the goal making the score 3-2 in favor of USA.
 
The remaining time after the go-ahead goal was a tightly contested in a high-intensity battle with Chile rifling off shot after shot attempting to get in the circle. For all their press, Chile could not score. In the end it was USA’s tenacious defending that led them to claim the victory.

Up next for the Junior USMNT will be the California Cup in Moorpark, Calif. May 23-27.

USFHA media release

Meulenbroek returns to Kampong line-up to play key part in win over SCHC


©: Frank Uijlenbroek / World Sport Pics

On a Friday night of surprises in the Hoofdklasse, Philip Meulenbroek made an important return to the SV Kampong first team as they edged out near neighbours SCHC 4-3.

He scored twice in the first half in addition to a penalty corner from Martijn Havenga to build a 3-2 lead but they could never fully shake off the Bilthoven club as Thomas Vis equalised with 20 minutes to go.

Bjorn Kellerman popped up with the crucial winner five minutes later to keep Kampong in second place, six points behind leaders Bloemendaal who eased by Klein Zwitserland 4-0.

The top two meet on Sunday at Bloemendaal with Kampong hoping to halve the gap in the chase for the regular season crown.

Below them, HGC were the one side in the top half of the table to record a victory as they moved into third place courtesy of a 4-0 win over HC Tilburg with Steijn van Heijningen, Seve van Ass, Max Plennevaux and Pelle Vos all on the mark.

But AH&BC Amsterdam, Oranje-Rood and Rotterdam all lost to side below them to make for a fascinating set of results.

Amsterdam lost 2-1 at Den Bosch with goals in quick succession from Nicolas Della Torre and Jelle Galema putting them in the clear before Boris Burkhardt’s late effort.

Oranje-Rood lost on the same scoreline at Almere to two Stijn Jolie penalty corners, Mink van der Weerden getting a 66th minute reply.

And Rotterdam fell 3-1 to Pinoke despite a 41st minute penalty stroke from Jeroen Hertzberger as Lukas Sutorius, Pepijn Scheen and Alex Hendrickx made the difference.

Amsterdam face HGC on Sunday in another topper.

Euro Hockey League media release

ROUND-UP: Investec English Women's Hockey League


Surbiton's Sabbie Heesh denies Clifton's Vicky McCabe. Credit Peter Smith

Defending champions Surbiton kept their title hopes on track in the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division, winning 4-1 at Clifton Robinsons, who saw their play-off hopes dented.

Giselle Ansley and Olivia Chilton fired the visitors to a 2-0 lead before Clifton’s Claire Thomas pulled one back. Ansley restored Surbiton’s two-goal cushion before the half with Georgie Twigg adding the fourth and final goal in the 53rd minute.

Beth Bingham scored a 19th minute penalty corner while Leah Wilkinson scored on 37 minutes as leaders Holcombe secured a 2-0 win over hosts Buckingham, who stay fourth.

Bottom of the table Canterbury live to fight another day thanks to a 2-1 victory over third-placed East Grinstead.

Agustina Alvarez struck first for Canterbury, but in-form Sophie Bray pegged them back after 51 minutes. The shock victory and slim hope of survival was secured only four minutes later however as Elizabeth Jenkins found the back of the net.

Canterbury need two wins from two as well as results to go in their favour if they are to survive the drop.

Bowdon Hightown prevailed at the University of Birmingham thanks to a 20th minute penalty corner from Aine Curran.

Hightown’s quest for a play-off berth may be at high odds but mathematically still possible thanks to the 1-0 win.

Elsewhere Slough and Beeston played out a 0-0 draw and with it, ended any hopes of a Beeston play-off appearance with Slough still in the firing line for relegation.

Investec Women’s Conference West

Stourport virtually crowned themselves Investec Conference West champions as they beat bottom side Oxford Hawks 1-0.

The deadlock was broken in the 55th minute by Sarah Parkinson-Mills. The victory for leaves Stourport six points ahead of Gloucester City.

Gloucester City secured a 2-1 win at Swansea City to keep their title hopes alive.

Amy Burton got proceedings off to a flyer for Swansea with a second minute field goal, but two in three minutes gave Gloucester the win.

Isca gave themselves a chance of finishing in the top-six ahead of the league restructure with a 3-0 win over Barnes, as did Trojans who now sit firmly inside the top four thanks to their 2-1 home win against strugglers Exe.

Elsewhere, two goals from India Shakespeare helped Reading climb to fifth, level on points with their weekend opponents Olton & West Warwickshire with a 3-2 win.

Investec Women’s Conference North

Barring an incredible collapse in the last two weeks of the season, Loughborough Students virtually sealed the Investec Conference North title after beating Brooklands-Poynton on Saturday.

Sophie Byrne was the only name on the scoresheet but it was enough to hand the three points to Loughborough – just a point from their next game would confirm them as champions.

Leicester scored five unanswered goals to give them a 6-2 victory over Leeds.

Leicester were 2-1 behind but found the back of the net five times in 12 minutes in the second half – Jodie Connolly hatting a hat-trick with Olive Hepi scoring two of her own.

Elsewhere, the University of Durham beat Timperley 4-0, Ben Rhydding were 3-1 victors away at Fylde while Belper took all three points in a 2-1 win at Sutton Coldfield.

Investec Women’s Conference East

Hampstead & Westminster took a slim 1-0 win over St Albans to retain top spot in the Investec Conference East on Saturday.

Lauren Turner’s strike on 40 minutes was the only goal to separate the two sides, helping Hampstead & Westminster retain their two-point gap at the top of table.

They will hope to continue their form going into the final games with Wimbledon breathing down their back after an emphatic 6-0 conquest of Harleston Magpies.

Megan Crowson added another three goals to her season’s tally, taking her to top scorer in the conference in Cambridge City’s 10-0 beating of Bedford.

Lisa Williamson also tallied up a hat-trick while Maddie Newitt bagged a further two in the win.

Elsewhere, Horsham ran out 4-0 winners over bottom side Ipswich to boost their bid for a top-six spot while Sevenoaks climb to fourth with and virtually cement a top-six spot ahead of next season with a 4-2 triumph of second-bottom Southgate.

RESULTS:

Investec Women’s Hockey League (Saturday, March 16 2019)

Investec Women’s Premier Division: Buckingham 0, Holcombe 2; Canterbury 2, East Grinstead 1; Clifton Robinsons 1, Surbiton 4; Slough 0, Beeston 0; University of Birmingham 0, Bowdon Hightown 1.

Investec Women’s Conference West: Isca 3, Barnes 0; Oxford Hawks 0, Stourport 1; Reading 3, Olton & West Warwicks 2; Swansea City 1, Gloucester City 2; Trojans 2, Exe 1.

Investec Women’s Conference North: Brooklands-Poynton 0, Loughborough Students 1; Fylde 1, Ben Rhydding 3; Leicester 6, Leeds 2; Sutton Coldfield 1, Belper 2; Timperley 0, University of Durham 4.

Investec Women’s Conference East: Cambridge City 10, Bedford 0; Hampstead & Westminster 1, St Albans 0; Horsham 4, Ipswich 0; Sevenoaks 4, Southgate 2; Wimbledon 6, Harleston Magpies 0.

England Hockey Board Media release

Hockey delayed again, no turf

by NIGEL SIMON


Chairman of Sport Company of T&T, Douglas Camacho, left, presents Melissa Aguilleira, the "International-Regional Player of the Year" award when the T&T Women's Cricket Association held its awards function in December last year. Adrian Boodan

The T&T Hock­ey Board has been forced to de­lay the sched­uled start of match­es in the lo­cal out­door hock­ey sea­son by at least a week for the lat­est at the Na­tion­al Hock­ey Cen­tre, Tacarigua due to the poor state of the cur­rent play­ing sur­face.

The 2019 sea­son was due to flick-off yes­ter­day with three Trin­i­ty Di­vi­sion match­es (men and women) as well as three Cham­pi­onship Di­vi­sion (men and women), to­geth­er with one Trin­i­ty Di­vi­sion and three Cham­pi­onship Di­vi­sion match­es.

How­ev­er, con­tact­ed yes­ter­day, of­fi­cials of the T&THB stat­ed that the league com­pe­ti­tion will be de­layed by at least a week.

It is be­lieved that the de­lay has been caused by the poor state of the play­ing sur­face, which is in dire need of be­ing re­placed as well as the poor light­ing at the fa­cil­i­ty.

With re­gards to the for­mat of this year's di­vi­sion­al com­pe­ti­tions, the league of­fi­cial said it is the or­gan­i­sa­tion's in­ten­tion to play two rounds of league match­es in each di­vi­sion, how­ev­er, at the same time, there are ac­tiv­i­ties which are out­side the con­trol of the lo­cal board which may ad­verse­ly af­fect the fi­nal for­mat for the sea­son.

Last week, the T&THB opened its sea­son with the an­nu­al Open­ing Day sev­en-a-side com­pe­ti­tion, at the end of which Malvern (men) and Har­vard Check­ers (women) cap­tured their re­spec­tive di­vi­sion­al ti­tles, in al­most pure dark­ness.

Two years ago, hun­dreds of out­door hock­ey play­ers, men and women, did not get the op­por­tu­ni­ty to play in the an­nu­al league sea­son, and last year's com­pe­ti­tion was lim­it­ed to one round of com­pe­ti­tion as they await­ed the pur­chase of an As­tro­Turf mat to re­place the ex­ist­ing one at the Na­tion­al Hock­ey Cen­tre in Tacarigua.

Com­ment­ing on the is­sue, Dou­glas Ca­ma­cho con­firmed that the As­tro­Turf which cost the T&T Gov­ern­ment close to $1,356,000 from Ger­man sup­pli­er Poly­tan, is en route to T&T with its ar­rival date ex­pect­ed to be at the end of April or with­in the first two weeks of May.

He added, "We are now in the process of putting in a place a plan and time frame for the re­lay­ing of the turf when it ar­rives in the coun­try, and at the same time try­ing our best to have lit­tle dis­rup­tion to the se­nior na­tion­al men's hock­ey team prepa­ra­tions for the Pan Amer­i­can Games which comes off in Li­ma, Pe­ru from Ju­ly 29 to Au­gust 20.

In Pe­ru, the T&T men will come up against Cu­ba, Chile and Ar­genti­na and Pool A while Mex­i­co, Cana­da, USA and host Pe­ru are in Pool B.

Ca­ma­cho added, "When the turf ar­rives in T&T, we are try­ing our best to have every­thing in place so that it will spend as lit­tle as much time at the port in the con­tain­ers, but be trans­port­ed to Tacarigua to be laid down as soon as pos­si­ble.

"At the same time, the na­tion­al team will be prepar­ing for the Pan Amer­i­can Games, so maybe dur­ing the time of the lay­ing of the new sur­face, we may try and fa­cil­i­tate the team's prepa­ra­tion by send­ing them on a pre-Pan Am Games tour.

The cur­rent hock­ey for­mat com­pris­es of over 14 teams in the Open Men and Women di­vi­sions, all field­ing teams in the oth­er di­vi­sions such as the Un­der-19s, Trin­i­ty or Sec­ond di­vi­sion and the Vet­er­an di­vi­sion.

The Trinidad Guardian