News for 16 April 2017
All the news for Sunday 16 April 2017
HC Oranje-Rood delight sell-out crowd as Atletic, Wimbledon and Mannheimer advance
Six different nations will be represented in the KO8 following another cracking day of action in Eindhoven as a sold out, 5,500-strong crowd saw Atlètic Terrassa, Wimbledon, Mannheimer HC and hosts Oranje-Rood advance to the last eight.
Atlètic were the first to advance, beating Lisnagarvey 4-1 with Roc Oliva scoring a hat-trick of penalty corners. He opened the scoring before Sean Murray levelled the game with a smart flick over Marc Calzada’s shoulder.
But a second Oliva drag put the Spanish side back in control in the first quarter and they eventually pulled clear with another corner goal from Marc Bolto and a final Oliva strike.
Wimbledon caused a stir when they had too much in the tank for three-times champion UHC Hamburg 3-1. Phil Roper was the star man, his lovely dummy creating the first goal as he danced away from Nicolas Jacobi before shooting across goal where a defender turned the ball in.
Ben Arnold got the second goal in the second half after Simon Mantell beat a couple of players on the baseline and crossed for 2-0. Julius Schmid gave UHC a lifeline but they were caught without a goalkeeper in the last minute to seal their fate, Roper fittingly scoring the clincher.
The result meant that there will definitely be a new name on the EHL trophy. Oranje-Zwart – the predecessor of HC Oranje Rood – are the only former winner of the title from before their name change.
They kept alive their chances of bringing the Alain Danet trophy back to Eindhoven for a second time when they came from a goal down to beat AH&BC Amsterdam.
Boris Burkhardt’s excellent first goal was counter-acted by a pair of Agustin Mazzilli goals in the 29th minute. He touched home crosses from Rob van der Horst and Bob de Voogd to swap the lead at half-time. Mink van der Weerden powered home a drag-flick for 3-1 before Justin Reid-Ross did the same to reduce the gap but Oranje-Rood held on for a famous win.
It means they will play Atlètic Terrassa in the KO8 on Monday (15.30 CET) with a ticket to the FINAL4 on the line.
Mannheimer completed the KO8 line-up courtesy of Felix Schües winning goal against Club Egara, making it 2-1 with four minutes to go. Guido Barreiros had given the German side the lead early on only for Egara to level the game with nine minutes left via Pau Quemada.
But Schües popped up with the winner in the closing minutes to give Mannheimer their first ever win in the knock-out stages of the EHL. They will play Wimbledon in the KO8 with both sides contesting this stage of the EHL for the first time. They meet on Monday at (13.15 CET).
Easter Sunday sees the start of the KO8 stages with KHC Dragons meeting Racing Club de France with the hosts hoping their can secure a ticket to the FINAL4 where they will be on home turf. For Racing, no French club has ever reached the FINAL4 and this will be a big motivation for their game which gets underway at 12.15 (CET).
The second game sees Germany's leaders Rot-Weiss Koln facing Real Club de Polo, the Spanish champions, in a potential fire-cracker of a game. They take the field at 14.30 (CET).
EHL 2016-2017 KO16 and KO8 match schedule 14-17 April 2017 at HC Oranje-Rood, Eindhoven (NED)
Friday 14 April
M1: Banbridge HC 1 (M Allister) Racing Club de France 1 C Peters-Deutz), Racing win 3-0 on shoot-out
M2: WKS Grunwald Poznan 0 Real Club de Polo 6 (A Casasayas 3, D Alegre 2, A Reyne)
M3: KHC Dragons 2 (T Verheijen, T Briels) Royal Racing Club de Bruxelles 1 (J Truyens)
M4: SV Kampong 1 (Q Caspers) KHTC Rot-Weiss Koln 2 (M Grambusch, J Gomoll)
Saturday 15 April
M5: Atletic Terrassa 4 (R Oliva 3, M Bolto) Lisnagarvey HC 1 (S Murray)
M6: Wimbledon 3 (P Roper 2, B Arnold) UHC Hamburg 1 (J Schmid)
M7: HC Oranje-Rood 3 (A Mazzilli 2, M van der Weerden) AHBC Amsterdam 2 (B Burkhardt, J Reid-Ross)
M8: Mannheimer HC 2 (G Barreiros, F Schües) Club Egara 1 (P Quemada)
Sunday 16 April
M9: 12.15h KHC Dragons vs Racing Club de France
M10: 14.30h Real Club de Polo vs KHTC Rot-Weiss Köln
Monday 17 April
M11: 13.15h Wimbledon vs Mannheimer HC
M12: 15.30h HC Oranje-Rood vs Atletic Terrassa
Event website: http://ehlhockey.tv/
Match schedule: http://ehlhockey.tv/season/20162017/
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Hashtags: #EHL #KO16
Live stream: http://ehlhockey.tv/
Tickets: http://ehlhockey.tv/tickets/
Euro Hockey League media release
Schues gives Mannheimer a maiden EHL knock-out win
Felix Schues’ beautiful low bullet saw Mannheimer HC win their first ever knock-out game, defeating Club Egara 2-1 thanks to his 56th minute strike late on.
It capped a speedy, end-to-end tussle as Mannheim became the second German side to reach the KO8. In total, there will be six different nations in the KO8, the most there has ever been in the 10 seasons of the EHL.
Guido Barreiros got Mannheim up and running with a close range finish after Florian Woesch broke down the right baseline and fed the ball across through a forest of sticks.
Quico Cortes needed to be alert to make some great stops during this phase, keeping out the rampaging Luca Muller. Andreas Spack needed to stay on his toes to keep out Guillem Fustagueras’s deflection.
Edu Arbos saw another powerful shot go just wide as Egara raised their tempo in the second half. They got level with nine minutes to go when Pau Quemada fired home a low drag-flick.
But Mannheimer settled and, once a suspension was served, they summoned a late attack from which Schues was found on the left side of the circle and he produced his rocket across the bows of Quico Cortes.
They now go on to meet English champions Wimbledon on Monday in the KO8 at 13.15 CET in HC Oranje Rood.
Euro Hockey League media release
Mazzilli magic fires Oranje-Rood into the KO8
Agustin Mazzilli’s pairs of goals in the 29th minute saw HC Oranje Rood delight a capacity home crowd of 5,500 fans as they beat AH&BC Amsterdam 3-2 to advance to the KO8.
Amsterdam drew first blood when Boris Burkhardt got a shot off from the right hand of the circle and it had the speed to beat Pimin Blaak from a tight angle.
Oranje-Rood – and Mazzilli in particular – swapped the lead around, though, in devastating fashion with two goals in the 29th minute. The first was a touch to Rob van der Horst’s right wing cross following a lovely piece of skill.
The second was the last leg of a brilliant end-to-end move, starting with a tackle inside their own circle. From there, Oranje-Rood worked the ball all the way up to Bob de Voogd who crossed from the left side on his backhand for Mazzilli to score yet again.
Mink van der Weerden saw a series of first half penalty corners blocked down by the Amsterdam defence but he powered through a third goal for the Eindhoven club with a drag-flick.
Justin Reid-Ross replied in kind with a thunderous drag for 3-2 in the 44th minute to get Amsterdam back in the running and his side fought hard for the equalising goal with Mirco Pruyser and Billy Bakker spurning chances as Oranje-Rood set up a date with Atletic Terrassa on Monday at 15.30 (CET).
Euro Hockey League media release
Roper inspires Wimbledon to famous win over UHC
A Phil Roper-inspired Wimbledon advanced to the KO8 for the first time as they beat UHC Hamburg 3-1, putting them through to the last eight on Monday.
He was the star man in a fine performance that saw them go ahead in the 14th minute and they never looked back after that. Roper was the instigator of that goal with a lovely body-feint that sent Nico Jacobi sprawling before shooting toward goal on his backhand. The cross was turned in by a defender.
The English champions continued to attack in the second quarter and then went 2-0 early in the second half. Ben Arnold got the next goal, finishing off after some gorgeous work on the left baseline by Simon Mantell, beating a couple of players with a delicate lift over a stick.
Julius Schmid got one back with a delicate touch to a crash ball with 11 minutes to go and they had a couple of corners in the closing stages to get level. But Wimbledon closed out the game well, especially after Moritz Fuerste took over the goalkeeping duties.
He made a big save but powerless to stop the third goal go in with 15 seconds to go with Roper the deserving man to get on the end of the move.
Euro Hockey League media release
Atletic Terrassa confidently through to the KO8
Atletic Terrassa made it through to the EHL KO8 for the second successive season with a confident win over Irish champions Lisnagarvey in the first tie of day two in Eindhoven.
Roc Oliva’s first quarter goals made a big impact, firing them into a sixth minute lead to break the deadlock. Sean Murray equalised soon after when he spotted a gap over Marc Calzada’s shoulder to flick in a powerful shot.
But Oliva put in a carbon-copy drag for 2-1 with 13 minutes on the clock. From there, Atletic always looked the more composed side on the ball, showing a more technical side to their game, but Garvey defended well with 19-year-old goalkeeper James Milliken making some key interventions.
In the third quarter, they began to make more of the play with Neal Glassey and Murray driving them on. They had a goal disallowed by an umpire’s referral from a corner before Atletic finally killed off the game just before the 45th minute.
Olive completed the victory with his third drag-flick of the game with time running out for a 4-1 success. They will play either HC Oranje-Rood or AH&BC Amsterdam in the KO8 on Monday.
Euro Hockey League media release
Wimbledon reach EHL KO8 after win over Hamburg
Phil Roper of Wimbledon. Credit hockeyimages.co.uk
Wimbledon booked their place in Monday’s quarter final with a confident 3-1 win over Hamburg in the Euro Hockey League in Eindhoven on Easter Saturday.
Two goals from man of the match Phil Roper (pictured) and one from Ben Arnold helped Wimbledon take victory over a German side who took some whittling down.
Roper struck first after 14 minutes for Wimbledon. He took the ball into the D and down the left. The Hamburg goalkeeper rushed out, but Roper took the ball round him and to the byline. His reverse stick shot was heading into the net, with defender Swiatek getting the final touch.
There was no further score until early in the second half when Ben Arnold doubled their lead. Simon Mantell was causing problems for the defence in the left corner, and when his marker went to ground he cut in, crossing quickly and accurately for Arnold to deflect home.
With Wimbledon down to ten men following a yellow card for Peter Friend, Hamburg hit back with an open play goal from Julius Schmid. A cross from Max Kapaun from outside the D received the slightest of edges from Schmid, the ball finding the bottom right corner of the goal.
But Wimbledon stuck to the game plan and restored their two-goal lead when Roper secured his second goal on the hour mark as a desperate Hamburg had a kicking back on the field.
Wimbledon broke from half way, Henry Weir bringing the ball down with a deft touch which caught the kicking back wrong-footed, and as he slipped it left Roper with an easy tap in from the left to seal the win.
“Our defence was key,” said Roper afterwards. “It’s always hard playing a German team, they’re so organised and like to be really patient and find the gaps. But our pressing was spot on, we did our research and that gave us the ability to play good attacking hockey when we won the ball.
“Winning the league has meant we’ve learned how to win ugly and win well this year, which has given us a really good stepping stone to come into the EHL and see what we can do.”
Wimbledon will be in action again on Easter Monday at 12.15pm GMT, playing the winner of Saturday evening’s Mannheimer versus Egara clash.
“We will do our research again ahead of Monday’s match and come and put in another good shift and see how we go,” added Roper.
Wimbledon 3 (1)
UHC Hamburg 1 (0)
England Hockey Board Media release
Man of the Match Roper inspires upset
By Mike Haymonds
PHIL ROPER was the Man of the Match with two goals as England League winners Wimbledon upset the form book with a 3-1 win over three-time champions UHC Hamburg at the Euro Hockey League KO16 in Eindhoven.
Wimbledon’s progress into KO8, the quarter-final stage, on their second appearance at the EHL, was the best performance by an English club since Reading in 2013 and banished the memory of last year’s 3-1 defeat by Amsterdam at the KO16 stage.
After Holcombe’s failure to progress after a 2-1 loss to last season’s eventual EHL champions the Dutch club Kampong in the first round in October a Wimbledon win was needed to ensure that two English clubs play in next season’s competition. As league champions Wimbledon had already booked one place with the second being decided at next weekend’s domestic Final Four play-offs in the Olympic Park.
Against UHC Wimbledon’s flowing hockey kept them generally in control while the Germans never captured their usual rhythm, lost their shape and continued to make uncharacteristic mistakes. Their captain Moritz Furste ploughed a lone furrow, taking the game to their opponents, but he had little effective support from his team-mates.
A contender to rival Roper as Man of the Match was Wimbledon’s goalkeeper James Bailey who played a major part in successfully defending Hamburg’s six penalty corners and making a series of other saves.
The first quarter was evenly contested before Roper struck on 14 minutes, collecting a pass from Henry Weir, rounding the keeper and shooting from an acute angle for German defender Jonas Swiatek to deflect the ball in off the crossbar.
Ben Arnold doubled the lead in the 35th minute from close range after Simon Mantell’s dribble along the back line set up the chance.
Julius Schmid gave the Germans hope with a 49th minute deflection from Max Kapaun’s run and cross but this was extinguished after Hamburg keeper Nicolas Jacobi was replaced by Furste as kicking back with 2:45 to go. A Wimbledon counter attack ended with Roper running the ball into an open net with 15 seconds remaining.
Roper said: “Our defence was outstanding today. It had to be as the Germans are so well organised.
“We played good, attacking hockey when on the ball and showed we had stepped up our game since last year’s experience.”
On Monday Wimbledon face another German side Mannheimer for a place in the semi-finals in Belgium on 3/4 June.
Daily Express
Tickets launched for FINAL4 in Dragons in June
The Euro Hockey League (EHL) and European Hockey Federation (EHF) are pleased to announce that tickets for the FINAL4 go on sale today via the following link - http://ehlhockey.tv/tickets/.
The final battles to decide the 10th EHL champion will be hosted in Antwerp, Belgium for the first time with KHC Dragons welcoming the best four sides in Europe to their home on June 3 and 4, 2017
The FINAL4 will feature the four sides that win through today's KO8 games in Eindhoven with team from six different countires battling for those FINAL4 places with a new name guaranteed to be on the Alain Danet Trophy.
Day tickets for adults for the FINAL4 cost €25 with a weekend pass €45; youth tickets (age 5-16) are €12.50 per day or €22 for the weekend. Tickets can also be bought at the gate with adult day tickets €30 and youth tickets €15.
EHL chairman Hans-Erik Tuijt said he is delighted that the ticket sales have been launched early, giving all hockey fans the chance to witness history as the tenth winner of the Alain Danet Trophy is crowned the best club team in Europe.
"It is our aim to release the dates, locations and ticket details for the EHL events as early as possible to our hockey fans in Europe,” he said. “This helps our local organisers to provide a memorable hockey experience and fans can plan their journey in time and we hope as many as possible can join us at the FINAL4 in Dragons.”
It will add to the list of excellent events hosted by the Brasschaat club, based in the north of Antwerp, with their famous "D-side" supporters group set to brew up a storm in the stands. In 2015, Dragons welcomed almost 45,000 fans for the World League semi-finals while the club also hosted ROUND1 in October 2011.
The FINAL4 promises to be another memorable weekend in the history of the world’s best club hockey competition.
There are also a small amount of tickets available to purchase on the gate on Sunday, April 16 for the KO8 games while you can also buy tickets for Monday's KO8 games.
Euro Hockey League media release
Three juniors to make debut for India’s senior team
by S. Ramaguru
KUALA LUMPUR: Three players will make their debut for India’s senior national hockey team in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh from April 29-May 6.
The trio – Gurinder Singh, Sumit Kumar and Manpreet Junior – were part of the Indian team who won the Junior World Cup in Lucknow last December.
Three others from that victorious Junior World Cup squad – Harmanpreet Singh, Harjeet Singh and forward Mandeep Singh – are already members of the senior team.
Drag-flicker V.R. Raghunath, however, has been left out of the squad for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
Some other notable names missing from the team this year are Birendra Lakra, Ramandeep Singh, S.K. Uthappa and Nikkin Thimmaiah.
India, who were joint-winners with South Korea in 2010, will be looking to win their sixth title in the series.
The other teams in the fray are hosts Malaysia, defending champions Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Japan.
India have included these newcomers as they are embarking on a four-year plan that will culminate at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
“We need to build a team that will be strong for the big two tournaments ahead – the 2018 World Cup in India and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” explained India coach Roelant Oltmans.
“We need to expose the youngsters now to see how they perform and also assess the other teams.”
India will start their Sultan Azlan Shah campaign against Britain on the opening day.
They then take on New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Malaysia.
The Star of Malaysia
Day 1 success for Scotland U16s in The Hague and Cardiff
Scotland U16 girls’ got off to a great start to the HDM tournament in The Hague winning their first pool game 4-2 against Como Secondary College (Aus). Holly Shepherd scored in first 90 seconds with Kirsten Cannon getting two more in the first half before completing her hat trick in the second half. Scotland’s fitness and pace were evident.
The second pool game was fast and furious. The Scots had most of the possession but could only get one shot on goal in first half vs Nurnberg (De) who were extremely strong in defence. It was 0-0 at half time and the Scots looked like they could snatch the victory but with 10 minutes into second half Nurnberg overloaded Scotland’s defence and scored. It was 2-0 with five mins left and although Scotland had great breaks to the baseline but couldn't break down the defence.
The wet conditions on day 1 in Cardiff did not affect Scotland U16 girls’ as they started the first quarter well. A few chances were narrowly missed at both ends, but it was the Scots who had the momentum at the end of the quarter, despite the score staying 0-0.
Scotland continued to pressure Wales and were rewarded with a goal in the second quarter by Ellie Stott, a well took reverse finish. Wales did look like they could have scored another but it was the Scots who found the goal, with Jessie Cuthbertson claiming the second. Wales 0 - 2 Scotland at half time.
The third quarter saw the Tartan Ribbons step up and they were rewarded for their efforts. Jessie Cuthbertson scored another after some good attacking play. They held onto this lead for the remainder of the third quarter.
The last quarter the Scots looked comfortable and pressed hard for another goal, then Innes Wilson scored a well struck penalty corner in the final minutes. Final score: Wales 0-4 Scotland
Next up in Cardiff it was the turn of Scotland U16 boys’ to take on Wales under the lights at the Cardiff National Hockey Centre.
Fraser Moran opened the scoring in the 15th minute, just before the end of the first quarter to give the Scots an excellent lead, which they maintained until half time.
In the second half it was Fraser Moran who struck again, he provided a good finish from a penalty corner in the 36th minute to give Scotland a solid 2-0 lead.
It was a solid performance by the Scots as they ran out 2-0 winners in Cardiff. Final score: Wales 0 - 2 Scotland
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Anderson believe they have what it takes to lift MJHL crown
KUALA LUMPUR: Last year’s Division Two champions Anderson Thunderbolt are ready to mix it up with the big boys in Division One this year.
The Perak-based team, who came under TNB’s Thunderbolt programme last year, believe that they have the material to aim for the Malaysian Junior Hockey League (MJHL) title.
They are one of the four teams under the Thunderbolt banner who will start their MJHL campaign today.
The other three who will also see action today are SSTMI, BJSS and Pahang outfit AHP-MSP.
Anderson coach Mohd Nizam Mohd Hashim feels that the experience they gained last year would stand them in good stead.
“A number of my players also featured for various other teams in the Malaysia Hockey League earlier this year.
“I’m sure that the experience will help them guide the team to a better placing this year,” he said.
Anderson will begin their campaign against Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) at their home ground in SMK Gunung Rapat Turf.
Nizam also feels that MBPJ, who have played two matches – and won both – so far, are a team to be reckoned with.
MBPJ defeated Olak-Nurinsafi 2-1 and then trounced BJSS Juniors 7-1.
“They have an experienced side as well and are riding high after two wins. So, we need to be careful as it is our first match,” said Nizam.
“Opening matches are always tough if you lose focus. We have not set any major targets but the first objective is to finish in the top four and qualify for the semi-finals.”
Last year, all four Thunderbolt teams took the top four places in the overall competition.
SSTMI won the League title, BJSS came in second, AGP-MSP third and Anderson fourth. BJSS also won the overall title.
“Naturally we want to improve on that achievement. We will take it one game at a time and work our way up,” said Nizam.
In the other matches involving the Thunderbolt teams today, UniKL will play against BJSS, SSTMI will meet Politeknik Malaysia and the Pahang team will face Olak-Nurinsafi.
The Star of Malaysia
Home and Away League: PHF eyes hosting home matches in England
By Muhammad Yousaf Anjum
Photo Courtesy: SOJCUP
Following in the footsteps of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is also looking for a neutral venue to become a part of the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) new game-changing Home and Away League.
PHF is negotiating with the England Hockey Federation (EHF) to host Pakistan’s home matches in 2019.
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, England, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, China, Italy, USA and Malaysia are interested in becoming part of the FIH Home and Away League, alongside Pakistan, which is scheduled to start in 2019.
“We are trying to avail this opportunity to get a place in the Home and Away League. This will be a massive step in our pursuit to revive hockey in Pakistan. We won’t improve a lot without competing with European teams and this league will give us that opportunity,” PHF Secretary Shahbaz Ahmed Sr told Express News.
He further revealed that initial talks with the EHF have been positive and a decision would be taken on the venues soon.
“The initial talks with the EHF have been extremely positive; Birmingham and Glasgow are the venues offered by the EHF to host Pakistan games. Currently, we are looking at the financial aspects and will make a decision based on that,” he said.
Apart from cities in England, Dubai and Muscat are also options available to the PHF for hosting the games but coaches and players alike are in favour of playing in English conditions.
The PHF received the official invitation from the FIH just a few days ago and while Shahbaz admits that the federation is locked in a race against time to finalise all the issues before the April 30 deadline, he remains confident the PHF will be able to confirm their participation at the event.
The Express Tribune