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All the news for Sunday 1 May 2011

Black Sticks Men beat Malaysia Under 21's 6 - 0

by Keith Rowley, Manager, Black Sticks Men

Ipoh: Inspired by a vintage display from Gareth Brooks, the Black Sticks Men got their preparations for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup off to a convincing start with a commanding 6-0 victory over a talented Malaysia Under 21 team in their first practice match at the main stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia on Saturday 30 April 2011.

The Black Sticks used the practice match to get rid of their jet lag and ease their way into their preparations for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, a seven nations tournament involving the hosts Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Korea, Great Britain and current world champions Australia which begins on 5 May.

Against the Malaysia Under 21 team, the Black Sticks took a deserved lead in the ninth minute when Gareth Brooks, returning to the team for the first time since the Beijing Olympics, neatly deflected a cross from Stephen Jenness low into the corner of the net to break the deadlock.

The Under 21’s fought back and won a 14th minute penalty corner but Black Sticks keeper Kyle Pontifex saved comfortably. The Black Sticks increased their lead in the 21st minute when Jenness was fouled in the circle at the team’s first penalty corner and captain Dean Couzins confidently converted the resultant penalty stroke to put the Black Sticks 2-0 up.

In the second half, the Black Sticks took control of the game and dominated play. Marcus Child added the third in the 37th minute when he burst into the circle and his reverse stick cross was deflected into the net for a fortuitous goal.

Wellington’s Stephen Jenness provided the goal of the game though in the 42nd minute when he finished superbly to put the Black Sticks 4-0 up. Marcus Child dribbled through the midfield and released David Green down the left flank and his accurate pass was cleverly deflected first time by Ben Collier into the path of striker Stephen Jenness who unleashed an unstoppable shot high into the top corner of the net.

Penalty corner expert Andy Hayward made it 5-0 in the 44th minute when he converted the Black Sticks’ second corner and North Harbour’s Shay Neal sealed the victory with the sixth when he slotted home after a Ben Collier pass.

Tomorrow (Sunday 1 May 2011), the Black Sticks continue their build-up with their second practice match, this time against the Malaysia Men’s team, start 5.30pm Malaysian time. On Tuesday 3 May, the Black Sticks play their final practice match against India.

Hockey New Zealand Media release

Pakistan leave for Malaysia today

Staff Report

LAHORE: Pakistani hockey team leave for Malaysia today (Sunday) to participate in 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament. The seven-nation event will be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from May 5-15, with world champions Australia, Britain, India, Malaysia, New Zealand and South Korea in attendance.

Pakistan will play the opening match of the tournament against New Zealand on May 5. Pakistan would play his match with archrivals India on May 11. Final of the event would be played on 15th May. Pakistan, three times Olympic and four times world champions, have shown a return to form internationally since winning the Asian Games title last year after they hired Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel in June 2010. Pakistan won the Azlan Shah event in 1987 and 1991.

Meanwhile, newly-appointed captain of Pakistan hockey team Muhammad Imran has expressed great pleasure on leading the side in the upcoming tournament.

Imran said that he was really grateful to the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) and selection committee for showing their confidence in him to lead the team. He said that he had good relations with the seniors and he was hopeful that seniors would support him in the field.

He added that he had no pressure being a captain as his first and foremost priority was to play for Pakistan. Imran said that their main target was to prepare for Olympics 2012. “We are going to play with five major teams in Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament whereas our important game would be against the archrivals India and we will try our level best to win it.”

Squad: Mohammad Imran (captain), Shakil Abassi (vice captain), Imran Shah, Imran Khan, Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Tauseeq, Fareed Ahmed, Mohammad Rashid, Waqas Sharif, Haseem Khan, Mohammad Rizwan Ali, Mohammad Zubair, Mohammad Umar Bhutta, Kashif Shah, Rehan Butt, Waqas Akbar

The Daily Times

Pakistan hockey squad off to Malaysia

By Our Sports Reporter

KARACHI: Pakistan’s hockey squad left for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in the wee hours of Sunday to participate in the 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be staged in Ipoh from May 5 to 15.

Pakistan will play their first match of the tournament against New Zealand on May 5 followed by matches against Korea (May 6), Great Britain (May 8), Australia (May 9), India (May 11) and Malaysia (May 14) before the placing matches on the final day.

Dawn

Fit-again Amin needs to be cleared to feature in Ipoh

By S. RAMAGURU

KUALA LUMPUR: National fullback Mohamed Amin Rahim has recovered from his leg injury but he faces an anxious two-day wait to find out if he will get to feature in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which begins on Thursday in Ipoh.

Amin tore a ligament in his right knee during training for Tenaga Nasional in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) last month. He was told that it would take at least six weeks for the injury to heal.

The 31-year-old, however, has made swift progress and resumed training recently.

But national coach Tai Beng Hai prefers to wait for the team doctors to give full clearance before picking the defender for duty.

“We will know in a couple of days if Amin can play in the tournament.

“He is the only one from the list of 25 players who is doubtful for the Ipoh meet,” said Beng Hai.

The squad have moved their training base to Ipoh and will play New Zealand in a friendly at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium today.

Beng Hai confirmed that the friendly could well be the last stage for the players to try and earn a spot in the final 18.

The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is the first tournament for the national team since their silver-medal winning effort in the Guangzhou Asian Games last year.

It is also the start of the final phase of preparations for their Road to London programme. Their target is the Olympic qualifiers early next month.

The Star of Malaysia

South Africa U21 Hockey IPTs: KZN Inland teams up against it

JONATHAN COOK

THE South Africa Under-21 Interprovincial Hockey Tournaments (IPT) for men and women take place from Sunday to next Saturday in Durban and Cape Town respectively and the competition is sure to be extremely tough.

Durban's KZN Coastal squads will be looking to come away with medals from at least one of the IPTs, but for the Pietermaritzburg-based KZN Inland teams it won't be easy.

Compared to hockey's heavyweight provinces who are usually in the medals, Inland has among the lowest numbers of players to choose from and at U21 level it has been a battle of late to field competitive sides, particularly due to the fact that the region's strong schoolboys and reasonably competitive schoolgirls are usually not able to take time off school, while the few who are allowed – such as ace Maritzburg College goalscorer Grant Glutz - are in the SA U19 sides at the IPT.

It is a far cry from the golden years – for the U21 men at least – when Inland boasted a power-packed side that included as many as five SA Junior World Cup representatives. Five or six years ago, the Inland men won the SA U21 interprovincial title but as recently as last year in Potchefstroom it was a different story, a side sorely lacking in depth barely surviving against the big guns.

This year might be a bit better, though, as the side named for Durban has a core of experienced players in senior Inland representatives in goalkeepers Rohn Barron and Andrew Watson, defender Robin Jones, and fellow back four exponents Matthew Redmead and Travis Hardnick.


KZN Inland U21 women's coach Devon van der Merwe. Photo: VAN ZYL NAUDE

The big question, though, is whether highly promising yet inexperienced new coach Jethro Eustice – himself barely out of the U21 ranks but a senior provincial player nevertheless – can gel the lesser names around his three or four senior campaigners to the degree where this Inland squad can contend for a middle-ranking final placing at least.

The inexperienced Inland U21 women in Cape Town have a major battle on their hands to be competitive. For the likes of the promising Roslyn Flint and Kirsty Camons it will be their first taste of hockey this level, but in goalkeeper Megan Woodburn, Ilse Gordon, Dionne van Heerden and Nadia Stella they do have players with senior IPT experience to draw from.

Coach Devon van der Merwe, though, does have the fresh insight gained from his time spent with SA senior head coach Giles Bonnet in his favour and is himself a player with a wealth of provincial playing experience.

It's likely going to be a rough ride for both Inland sides, but the knowledge they bring out of their respective tournaments will be invaluable as their hockey careers go forward.

KZN INLAND TEAMS

U21 Women: Megan Woodburn, Kirsten Camons, Zamambo Mkhize, Confidence Mashau, Ashton Botes, Roslyn Flint, Shannon Watkins, Sarah Holland, Lana Kruger, Carmen Grobler, Kim Savings, Samantha Scott, Ilse Gordon, Dionne van Heerden, Nadia Stella, Vanda Papenfus. Coach: Devon van der Merwe. Manager: Wendy Manuel.

U21 Men: Rohn Barron, Matthew Redmead, Zipho Mhlongo, Robin Jones, James du Plessis, Michael Esteves, MX Ngcobo, Cameron Redmead, Sinalo Sidinana, Ndumiso Mncwango, Njabulo Zondi, Solomuzi Daniel, Sean Donaldson, Matthew Pace, Mzamo Cele, Travis Hardnick, Andrew Watson. Coach: Jethro Eustice. Managers: Ian Griffiths, Mario Campbell.
* This article first appeared in The Witness.

SA Hockey World

Day One of the EHL Promotion Tournament

Sutton Coldfield took the honours in their all-Midlands battle with Olton that got the EHL Promotion Tournament underway. Charlene Mason gave Sutton a 19th minute 1-0 lead when she scored with a corner deflection and they took the lead into half time. Olton equalised on 43 minutes when Emma McCabe fired home after a corner had not been cleared however Sutton regained the initiative through the evergreen Jane Sixsmith on 50 minutes. Her deflection was brilliantly saved by Olton keeper Amanda Ferebee but Sixsmith followed up to help the ball over the line. Only three minutes later Sarah Mills put Sutton 3-1 up a lead they held comfortably to the final whistle.

There was a dramatic finish in the second women’s game of the day which saw Sevenoaks beat Buckingham 3-2. Buckingham took the lead on 23 minutes when Lauren Thomas picked up a rebound at a corner and shot home. However seven minutes later it was all square as Heather Batten finished off a good Sevenoaks move to make the game 1-1 at half time. Sevenoaks pressure told in the second half as Sophie Crosley crashed home a corner on 56 minutes and they held on to the lead until Buckingham broke away and forced a corner that Leanne Grimsley converted. In a final twist Sevenoaks won a corner with just over a minute left and a second Crosley piledriver earned them all three points.

Southgate’s corners proved decisive in the first mens match against Durham University with three conversions and a fourth from a breakdown helping them to a 4-0 win. Johannes Kloess opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a roofed drag flick. Seven minutes later at the next corner with eyes on Kloess, it was Ed Miller who scored to make it 2-0. Kloess scored a third early in the second half and when a 59th drag flick was well saved by Durham keeper James Cachia the ball was fired back into the D and Adam Wilson scored with a deft close range deflection. 4-0 was a harsh score line on Durham who created chances from open play but were undone by Southgate’s set pieces.

It was a game of two halves in the last game of the day with Exeter University running out winners 3-1 against Canterbury. Ian Haley took advantage of some hesitancy in the Canterbury defence to score from close range on eight minutes and Tom Carson made it two soon afterwards. Exeter were on top for the rest of the half but didn’t convert this into a goal until early in the second when James Royce scored . After this Canterbury raised their game and forced a series of penalty corners but couldn’t get past Tom Millington in the Exeter goal who was in fine form. Michael Farrer finally got them on the scoresheet from a corner on 52 minutes but despite further pressure Exeter stood firm to earn the three points.

Both the Mens’s and Women’s tournaments feature four teams playing in a round robin format with the top two in each earning Premier Division status for 2011-12.

If you can't get to Cannock then follow the results here or on Twitter

Match schedule

Sun 1 May
1100 Women Sutton Coldfield v Sevenoaks
1300 Women Buckingham v Olton & WW
1500 Men Southgate v Canterbury
1700 Men Univ of Exeter v Durham Univ
Mon 2 May
1100 Women Buckingham v Sutton Coldfield
1100 Women Sevenoaks v Olton & WW
1330 Men Univ of Exeter v Southgate
1330 Men Canterbury v Durham Univ

England Hockey Board Media release

Browne, Pierre beaten in playoff opener

The England-based duo of T&T hockey players, Kwandwane Browne and Mickel Pierre and their Canterbury club made a bad start to their quest to avoid demotion to the lower English Hockey League, yesterday. This after Canterbury, which finished second from bottom in the Premier Division, suffered a 3-1 loss to the University of Exeter on the opening day of the promotional playoffs. Ian Haley put Exeter ahead after only eight minutes while Tom Carson (tenth) and James Royce (39th) extended the lead to 3-0 before Michael Farrer pulled back a goal for Canterbury in the 52nd minute.

The Trinidad Guardian

Dames finally taste victory

Nigel Simon


Gary Griffith…scored three times for QPCC.

Former champions, Notre Dame ended its four-match losing streak to start the season in the T&T Hockey Board Men’s Championship Division with a 4–1 whipping of host Paradise at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Training Field, Bacolet, yesterday. Selwyn King got the visitors off to the perfect start when he got the opener in the 11th minute, but six minutes later England-based Alan Henderson drew Paradise level. Paradise’s joy was short-lived though as Tobias Ottley restored the Dames lead in the 23rd minute and 11 minutes later, Nigel Alexis made it 3–1 to go into the interval.

Six minutes before the end of the contest, Danil Trancoso completed the triumph for the Dames, their first of the season. Last night, joint table leaders, Paragon was expected to get its biggest test of the season when it came up against defending champions, Petrotrin. Paragon went into the match with 13 points from five matches, the same as Queen’s Park which has a better goal-difference, while Petrotrin is third with maximum nine points from three matches. Today, Petrotrin and Queen’s Park will also lock horns in a key Men’s Championship Division encounter, from 7.45 pm.

Today’s matches:

National Hockey Centre, Tacarigua:

Boys’ Under-19:

QPCC vs Shape, 2.45 pm.

Championship Women:

Magnolias vs Malvern, 6 pm

Championship Men:

QPCC vs Petrotrin, 7.45 pm.

Results

Friday:

Veterans:

Malvern 4 (Anthony Marcano, Albert Marcano, Roger Thompson, Derek Alexander) vs Carib 1 (Neil Ramsammy).

QPCC 4 (Gary Griffith 3, Gary Chin) vs Paragon 1 (Sherbert Mc Kie).

Yesterday:

Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, Tobago:

Championship Men:

Notre Dame 4 (Selwyn King 11th, Tobias Ottley 23rd, Nigel Alexis 34th, Danil Trancoso 64th) vs Paradise 1 (Alan Henderson 17th pen).

Girls’ Under-19:

Notre Dame 2 (Nicole Whiteman 21st, Chantel Clarke 25th) vs Paradise 1 (Nia Berkley).

Boys’ Under-19:

Notre Dame 11 vs Paradise 1 (Keauno Brathwaite)

Fatima 13 (Andrew Vieira 5, Quinn Clarke 4, Jordan Vieira 2, Ishmael Campbell, Jeremy Nieves) vs QPCC 3 (Quinton De La Bastide, Kwesi Francis, Mark Ayen).

Trinity Women:

Malvern 1 (Andrea Jackson) vs Paragon 1 (Maya Gabriel).

Trinity Men:

QPCC 3 (Dominic Young, Gary Chin, Sean Lee Quay) vs Fatima 1 (Tim Ramnarine).

The Trinidad Guardian

MSSP-USM check into semis

By Jugjet Singh

MSSP-USM topped Group A of Division One when they beat Politeknik KPT 3-1 in the Junior Hockey League yesterday.

The win will see them play Group B runners-up Johor in the semi-finals. In the second semi-final, Tunku Besar Secondary School of Tampin, the Group B champions, will play Malacca High School who ended up as runners-up in Group A.

Yesterday, Rafi Razi (10th) and Rahimi Iskandar (31st, 64th) scored for MSSP-USM, while the Politeknik goal was notched by Izzat Syahir in the 24th minute.

"We will be playing a tough side in Malacca High School, but I expect my charges to deliver yet again in the semi-finals, as they have been training as a team for the last two years," said TBSS coach M. Vivekananda.

Vivekananda has now set a target of playing in Division One for his charges.

"We need to win the Division Two title so that we can play in Division One next year.

"I believe my players are ready for action at a higher level next season," said Vivekananda.

The finalists in Division Two will play in the Overall title quarter-finals, with the top six from Division One.

The teams from Division One who have qualified are League champions UniKL, Bandar Penawar Sports School, Bukit Jalil Sports School, BPSS Juniors, BJSS Juniors and Anderson.

RESULTS -- DIVISION ONE: BJSS Juniors 5 Ipoh Juniors 4, Kelantan 1 Pahang 2, Anderson 1 BPSS Juniors 0.

DIVISION TWO (Group A): Politeknik PTK 1 MSSP-USM 3.

Group B: MSSP Juniors 1 MSSWP-KLHC 1

New Straits Times

MSS Penang-USM pip Malacca High School to Group A top spot

By AFTAR SINGH

KUALA LUMPUR: With the Malaysian Junior Hockey League (MJHL) Division One titles all done and dusted, attention turned to the fight for glory in Division Two Group A yesterday.

And it was MSS Penang-USM, who beat Politeknik KPT of Kedah 3-1 at the Alor Setar Hockey Stadium, who emerged Division Two Group A champions.

The Penang team completed their fixtures with 13 points from four wins and a draw. They finished ahead of Malacca High School, who finished with 12 points from four wins and a loss.

Mohd Rahimi Iskandar Baharom was the toast for MSS Penang-USM when he scored a brace in the 31st and 64th minutes. Mohd Rafi Mohd Rozi scored the other goal for the Penang team in the 10th minute.

Politeknik KPT, who are making their debut in the Under-19 competition, got their consolation goal through Mohd Izzat Syahir Mohd Saharom in the 24th minute.

MSS Penang-USM will face Group B runners-up MSN Johor in the semi-finals on May 6 at the Tun Razak Stadium.

Malacca High School, who are making a comeback after one-year lapse, will meet Group B champions Tunku Besar School of Tampin in the other semi-final at the same venue.

The final will be held at the same venue two days later.

The Division Two finalists will join the top six teams from Division One for the knockout stage. They will also be promoted to Division One next year.

The Division One teams who have qualified for the knockout stage are league champions Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS)-Thunderbolt, Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS), BJSS Juniors, Anderson and BPSS Juniors.

The quarter-finals will be held on May 13, the semi-finals two days later and the final on May 21.

The Star of Malaysia

Hockey nationals after 5 years

By Mihir Vasavda

The much-delayed hockey national championship will finally take place next month in Bhopal after a hiatus of five years, Hockey India (HI) confirmed on Saturday.

This will be the first nationals ever since HI took over from Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) as the sport’s governing body. HI had previously planned to conduct the nationals a couple of times but their attempts failed to materialise. However, keeping in mind the importance of this year - considering that India will be hosting the Olympic qualifiers in February 2012 - HI has finally decided to conduct the nationals from June 10-19 in Bhopal.

Out of the 35 units affiliated to HI, 32 have confirmed participation. “It was imperative to conduct the nationals this year. New probables will be chosen which help us widen the pool of players for the national team,” HI executive director Anupam Ghulati told DNA.

The previous official national championships were held in 2006 in Delhi and Punjab and were conducted by the then governing body IHF. Punjab and Sindh Bank were the champions on that occasion. Ever since IHF was suspended by the Indian Olympic Association in 2008, the national championships have gone for a toss. Between the power struggle between the IHF and HI, the championships were scheduled, rescheduled and cancelled several times.

“We have been playing with more or less the same set of players for the last two-three years. So it is necessary to look out for some new faces who can be tried and tested throughout the year. The champions trophy (in December) and the qualifiers are our main targets and we need a well-balanced side for that. So the championships will surely help,” chief coach Harendra Singh said.

DNA

Annual Result highlights big year of progress for Hockey New Zealand

Hockey New Zealand released its 2010 Annual Report this week and the results are positive both on and off the field – growth in player numbers, a rise in rankings from the Black Sticks, and a healthy surplus – are all indications of a strengthened organisation.

“It has been a big year for hockey in New Zealand and as we reflect back it is pleasing to see the results speak for themselves,” says chief executive Hilary Poole.

Hockey New Zealand achieved a surplus of $56,620 from the core operations of Hockey New Zealand, on total revenues of $4,611,257, with reserves rebuilding but remaining relatively low at $332,849. This compares to a loss for the six months to December 2009 of $234,400.

The newly established Hockey Foundation, a charitable trust set up by Hockey New Zealand to foster the growth and development of the sport throughout New Zealand concluded the year with a capital base of $121,168.

In 2010, there was an increase in summer and winter participation numbers. The number of registered winter players increased 3.8% to 44,507 following three years of little growth, and reliable summer numbers were collected for the first time with 16,888 players registered in the 2009/2010 season.

“This demonstrates that hockey is being played increasingly year round and the roll out of our national participation programmes over the next two years will help this growth continue,” says Poole.

From a high performance perspective, both Black Sticks teams bringing home medals from the 2010 Commonwealth Games and climbing to seventh in the world rankings was a real boost to the programme.

“These were great moments for our national teams, and they will remain etched in hockey’s history and also in the minds of those who watched it in their living room at home,” says Poole.

Furthermore, the Black Sticks Women placed fifth at the Champions Trophy and seventh at the FIH World Cup and the Youth Olympic Women’s Team won a bronze medal at the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympics.

Of major significance was the hockey community working together in 2010 to confirm a five year Whole of Hockey Plan which has given the sport a clear direction and assisted hockey in becoming one of SPARC’s seven targeted sports for growth.

One of the key parts of the hockey strategy is to develop spectacular events and competitions here in New Zealand. In 2010, Hockey New Zealand administered, and Associations hosted, 39 national domestic tournaments for 555 teams and nearly 9,000 athletes, along with two home international series against India and Argentina.

“Our domestic competition structure is strong because we have established tournaments at every level of the game. However, winter congestion and the change of timing of the National Hockey League have presented challenges along with our aim to strengthen the quality of regional competition, so we have instigated a review which will lead to a reset of the calendar in 2012,” says Poole.

Commercially, the public profile of hockey increased in 2010 as well as long term support continuing from commercial partners Lotto, BDO, Tiger Turf, Millennium Hotels, Kookaburra, and Just Hockey.

“We have done a lot of work to reposition hockey and define our commercial properties and we are now actively in the market to build new commercial partnerships,” says Poole.

Investment support from SPARC was substantial, into both the high performance programme and sport development, and hockey continues to be well supported by gaming and community trusts.

The Hockey New Zealand Annual General Meeting was held yesterday (30 April) in Auckland.

LINK TO 2010 HOCKEY NEW ZEALAND ANNUAL REPORT HERE

Hockey New Zealand Media release