News for 19 December 2008
Friday, 19 December 2008 09:21 | 
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All the News for Friday 19 December 2008
India cruise into the semis, Malaysia beat Thailand
SEREMBAN: India booked the last semi-final berth in the women’s Junior Asia Cup when they trounced Taiwan 10-0 at the Seremban II Hockey Stadium here yesterday.
In tomorrow’s semi-finals, India will meet defending champions China in while South Korea will face Japan.
The winners of the two semi-finals will gain automatic berths to the Junior World Cup as Asia’s representatives. The semi-final losers will play off against each other with the winner earning the third spot available for the Finals in Boston next year.
Malaysia ended the preliminary round with a 10-0 win over Thailand.
Group A: China 9 Pakistan 0, Malaysia 10 Thailand 0.
Group B: Taiwan 0 India 10.
The Star of Malaysia
China thrash Pakistan
DEFENDING champions China topped Group A of the Women's Junior Asia Cup when they hammered Pakistan 9-0 at the Seremban Two Hockey Stadium in Negri Sembilan yesterday.
China's goals were scored by Bo Xiaoli (seventh and 45th minutes), Zheng Qiuling (52nd and 63rd), Wang Mengyu (25th), Yang Qi (32nd), Deng Ning Ning (39th), Su Sinan (46th) and Huang Ting (54th).
China will square off with India, who whipped Taiwan 10-0 yesterday, in their semi-final match tomorrow.
The other semi-final pits South Korea and Japan.
Meanwhile, Malaysia notched their second straight win by thrashing Thailand 10-0.
They will meet Taiwan in the fifth and eight playoff tomorrow.
RESULTS -- Group A: China 9 Pakistan 0, Malaysia 10 Thailand 0; Group B: India 10 Taiwan 0.
Today -- Semi-finals: China v India (Pitch 1, 4pm), South Korea v Japan (Pitch 1, 6.30pm).
5th-8th placing: Malaysia v Taiwan (Pitch 2, 3.30pm), Singapore v Pakistan (Pitch 2, 6pm).
New Straits Times
China Beat Pakistan Juniors by nine goals to nil.
Lahore, December 18: China Women Hockey Team Beat Pakistan Juniors by nine goals to nil in the last pool match of Junior Women Asia Cup Hockey Tournament in Malaysia, here on Thursday.
According to the information received from Malaysia, at the end of the first half China was leading by 4-0. Coach Pakistan Team Muhammad Akhlaq said that Pakistan team played well against the strong team of the tournament (China), and the defense of Pakistan team played their role to restrict them to nine goals. “Pakistan women team will move ahead to a glorious future with the support of PHF and the Government to be one of the best women’s team of the hockey world”. He concluded.
Pakistan will now face Singapore in the classification match on December 20th. If Pakistan managed the victory then the team will play for the 5th and 6th position match.
Pakistan Hockey Federation media release
Tough game for GB Junior women
The second warm up game in Barcelona was a tough affair for the GB Youth women’s team. Egara fielded a very strong team including one player who had played the previous night against the GB Youth men’s side.
All in all the speed and physical fitness of the boys team proved too much and Egara ran out comfortable winners scoring regularly.
The early signs were not promising and despite GB retaining the ball well for the first two minutes Egara scored with their first opportunity. A few minutes later the score was doubled through an outstanding strike by Egara’s Spanish U21 forward that rattled the underside of the crossbar with a strike past Maddie Hinch from 8 yards out. GB had periods of possession and at times retained the ball well however Egara were able to steal the ball and pressurise the GB team into errors all over the pitch. Sarah Page nearly scored from a penalty corner after 21 minutes however by half time the score was 5-0.
In the second half GB looked more threatening in attack and carved some good chances to get on the scoresheet. Sophie Robinson went close with a reverse stick strike after six second half minutes and Sophie Bray had a good opportunity a minute later after excellent work on the right wing from Katie Long. In the meantime though Egara continued to score on the break and stretch the lead.
Head Coach Craig Parnham said afterwards, “As the scoreline reflects, the opposition were very strong however there were some positive aspects to the way we played and we are looking forward to Australia.”
Takara Haines and Georgie Twigg both missed the game through illness.
Great Britain return to the UK for Christmas before travelling to Australia on Thursday 1 January for the preparation camp ahead of the Australian Youth Olympic Festival. GB Youth men take on Spain U21 on Thursday morning.
CLUB EGARA U18 (B) 11 (5)
Unknown 2
Unknown 8
Unknown 18
Unknown 31
Unknown 34
Unknown 38
Unknown 53
Unknown 56
Unknown 59
Unknown 67
Unknown 68
GB YOUTH (W) 0 (0)
SQUAD
Started
Sophie Bray (England & University of Birmingham)
Susie Gilbert (England & University of Birmingham)
Jenny Hall (England & Canterbury)
Maddie Hinch (England & Loughborough University)
Dilly Newton (England & Clifton)
Sarah Page (England & University of Birmingham)
Harriet Pearce (England & Clifton)
Lauren Turner (England & Leicester)
Becky Ward (Scotland & Dundee Wanderers)
Hollie Webb (England & Cannock)
Nicky White (England & Loughborough University)
Substitutes
Laura Bartlett (Scotland & Milne Craig Western)
Amy Gibson (Scotland & GHK)
Katie Long (England & Leicester)
Sophie Robinson (Wales & Leicester)
Laura Unsworth (England & Loughborough University)
Did Not Play
Takara Haines (England & Trojans)
Georgie Twigg (England & Clifton)
Great Britain Hockey media release
Muller Announces Squads for New Year Canadian Visit.
Irelands Womens National Hockey Coach, Muller, has announced a squad of 31 to play in a series of five games against Canada early in the New Year. Both the Senior and Ireland A teams will be tested against Canada who are currently ranked 20th in the world.
The last time Ireland fronted up to Canada was in May at the Olympic Qualifiers in Victoria where they secured two victories over the side, 2-0 and 2-1 respectively.
Commenting on the impending series Muller said The matches against Canada are great chance for us to play an extended group of 31 players against international opposition. It is especially a great opportunity for many of the young players in the Ireland "A" team to play against an international team. These matches give us the chance to further our tactical development across the extended squad and allows for us to compare players competing for positions. We will be settling on both the senior national and the Ireland "A" squads after these matches.
Muller who has announced the squad for each of the five games will clearly be keeping an eye on all players as he looks to refine his squad in order to continue preparations for both the Champions Challenge II and the EuroHockey Nations Championship taking place in 2009.
MON 12 JAN 2009 (IRELAND "A" v CANADA)
2.00pm; UCD
Niamh Atcheler HERMES
Lizzie Colvin - LORETO
Zara Delaney LORETO
Nicola Evans HERMES
Roisin Flinn UCD
Megan Frazer BALLYMONEY
Emma Gray HERMES
Michelle Harvey PEGASUS
Anna O' Flanagan HERMES
Audrey O'Flynn UCC
Julia O'Halloran UCC
Melanie Ryan C OF I
Cliodhna Sargent CORK HARLEQUINS
Niamh Small LORETO
Helen Stevenson RAILWAY UNION
Chloe Watkins HERMES
TUE 13 JAN 2009 (IRELAND "A" v CANADA)
2.00pm; UCD
Niamh Atcheler HERMES
Lauren Barr BALLYMONEY
Lizzie Colvin LORETO
Zara Delaney LORETO
Katherine Elkin RANDALSTOWN
Nicola Evans HERMES
Emma Gray HERMES
Liz McInerney - UCD
Rachel Mulligan ARMAGH
Anna O' Flanagan HERMES
Audrey O'Flynn UCC
Julia O'Halloran UCC
Melanie Ryan C OF I
Cliodhna Sargent CORK HARLEQUINS
Helen Stevenson RAILWAY UNION
Chloe Watkins HERMES
FRI 16 JAN 2009 (IRELAND v CANADA)
2.00pm; UCD
Emma Clarke ULSTER ELKS
Lizzie Colvin LORETO
Katherine Elkin RANDALSTOWN
Roisin Flinn UCD
Mary Goode BRAY
Michelle Harvey PEGASUS
Louisa Healy LORETO
Lisa Jacob UCD
Shirley McCay ULSTER ELKS
Jenny McDonough BELFAST HARLEQUINS
Cathy McKean LORETO
Hollie Moffett UCC
Niamh Small LORETO
Cliodhna Sargent CORK HARLEQUINS
Nikki Symmons LORETO
SAT 17 JAN (IRELAND v CANADA)
2.30pm; UCD
Lauren Barr BALLYMONEY
Emma Clarke ULSTER ELKS
Lizzie Colvin LORETO
Megan Frazer BALLYMONEY
Mary Goode BRAY
Michelle Harvey LORETO
Louisa Healy LORETO
Lisa Jacob UCD
Shirley McCay ULSTER ELKS
Jenny McDonough BELFAST HARLEQUINS
Cathy McKean LORETO
Bridget McKeever BALLYMONEY
Rachel Mulligan ARMAGH
Ciara O'Brien CHELMSFORD
Alex Speers PEGASUS
Nikki Symmons LORETO
SUN 18 JAN (IRELAND v CANADA)
2.00pm; UCD
Emma Clarke ULSTER ELKS
Roisin Flinn UCD
Mary Goode BRAY
Michelle Harvey PEGASUS
Louisa Healy LORETO
Lisa Jacob UCD
Shirley McCay ULSTER ELKS
Jenny McDonough BELFAST HARLEQUINS
Cathy McKean LORETO
Bridget McKeever BALLYMONEY
Hollie Moffett UCC
Ciara O'Brien CHELMSMFORD
Niamh Small LORETO
Alex Speers PEGASUS
Nikki Symmons LORETO
Unavailable for selection:
Emma Stewart ARMAGH
Eimear Cregan CORK HARLEQUINS
Stephanie Quinn ARMAGH
Match Schedule
January 2009, National Hockey Stadium, UCD, Dublin
Monday 12th Ireland A v Canada 2.00
Tuesday 13th Ireland A v Canada 2.00
Friday 16th Ireland v Canada 2.00
Saturday 17th Ireland v Canada 2.30
Sunday 18th Ireland v Canada 2.00
Irish Hockey Association media release
Hockey Highlights - All the Irish Action this weekend,
While most hockey teams are putting their feet up and warming up for festivities the top flight teams are still hard at work competing in their final league game before they break for Christmas.
Ulster men offer up a full schedule this weekend. Defending champions Cookstown will hope to see out 2008 in style as they face arch rivals Lisnagarvey twice in six days over the festive period, in the Podium 4 Sport Kirk Cup Final on December 26th and this Saturday in the Podium 4 Sport Premier League, both games at the Hillsborough venue. Cookstown are at full strength with only long term absentee Godfrey Irwin missing while Garvey also select from a full squad.
Second placed Annadale have injury doubts over captain Jonny Quigley who has resumed light training after injury and Peter Caruth who sustained a hand injury in last weeks encounter with Cookstown while definitely missing are Andy McGimpsey (hamstring) and Aaron Mills (work commitments). Unbeaten Banbridge are the visitors to UUJ and they welcome back Ross McCandless from suspension while Stephen Dowds, Stephen Forbes and Drew Carlisle are all available after missing last week through illness. Their only doubt surrounds Matthew Smyth who has a back injury.
Mossley, buoyed by last weeks vital win over Raphoe, welcome Instonians to The Glade. The home side add Ryan McCrea to their squad having missed the Rahpoe game through suspension while Instonians welcome back Julian Lewis and Mark Wainwright. In the remaining fixture, Bangor meet Raphoe at Ballykillaire. The Seasiders are without the injured Simon Irvine and the holidaying Michael Manogue and both Gareth Morton and Dave McClune are doubtful starters. Raphoe are unchanged from last week.
Ulster Women offer up a somewhat diminished fixtures list this Saturday when Armagh play hosts to Ballymoney, just four points separate these two with six games each under their belts, Armagh will be keen to take advantage of the home fixture and add three points to lift them out of the bottom three. The second fixture is also a battle at the bottom when 9th placed Knock welcome Lisnagarvey in 7th spot to Balmoral.
Over in Leinster the students are still on a break as they complete their exams giving Monkstown a rest this weekend. Elsewhere Glenanne currently joint top take on seventh placed Railway Union who will be buoyed by their surprise victory over Three Rock Rovers last Saturday. The clash of the weekend will be when Three Rock who have now slipped third place look to establish their winning ways after two defeats last weekend, in the league and IHL, as they take on league leaders Pembroke Wanderers at Grange Road. Fingal who are nipping at the leaders heels currently in fourth place will play Kilkenny who are second from bottom making up the final Leinster Mens fixtures of the weekend.
The Leinster womens league is down to two fixtures on Saturday first off is Loreto who are on form after putting in a superb performance to secure their second IHL win last Sunday, taking on Pembroke Wanderers, Loreto will be keen to close the gap on league leaders Railway Union who currently reside at the top with 25 points. Down the road Railway will be taking on the might of Hermes who will be seeking revenge against Railway for their one nil defeat in the very first match of the season.
Over to Munster who are still offering hockey fans plenty of action this weekend. League leaders Cork C of I, currently on 12 points from 4 matches take on Catholic Institute, while second and third placed Cork Harlequins and Bandon front up this Saturday both will be keen for the points to give them the best start to the second half of the season. Elsewhere, the students UCC currently third from bottom on three will take on Cork Harlequins B who are yet to register any points.
The Munster womens weekend kicks off with Harlequins who are riding high with 6 from 7 wins so far who take on Bandon who will be keen to add to their tally of 5 to put some daylight between their rivals as four of the bottom teams all sit on five points. Next up Ashton will take on fourth placed Catholic Institute while the big game will take place at one between UCC and Cork C of I who are in second and third place respectively with UCC just three points ahead but Cork C of I still have a game in hand to make up the deficit.
ULSTER MEN
Saturday 20th
Mossley v Instonians 2.30p.m.
The Glade
Lisnagarvey v Cookstown 2.30p.m.
Hillsborough
Bangor v Raphoe 2.30p.m.
Ballykillaire
Annadale v Banbridge 2.30p.m.
UUJ
ULSTER WOMEN
Saturday 20th
Armagh v Ballymoney 4.00
Ardmore
Knock v Lisnagarvey 1.00
Balmoral HS
LEINSTER MEN
Saturday 20th
Glenanne v Railway Union 1.00pm
Glenanne Park
YMCA v Corinthians 2.00pm
Claremont Road
Three Rock R v Pembroke W 1.00pm
Grange Road
Fingal v Kilkenny 2.30pm
ALSAA
UCD v Monkstown postponed
LEINSTER WOMEN
Saturday 20th
Loreto v Pembroke W 11.45
Beaufort
Railway Union v Hermes 3.00
Park Ave
MUNSTER MEN
Saturday 20th
Harlequins A v Bandon A 3.00
Harlequin Park
Cath Inst A v C. of I. A 2.30
Rosbrien
Harlequins B v UCC A 4.30
Harlequin Park
MUNSTER WOMEN
Saturday 20th
Ashton v Cath. Inst. 12.30
Ashton
UL v Belvedere TBC
Harlequins v Bandon 12.00
Harlequin Park
UCC v C. of I 1.00
UCC
Irish Hockey Association media release
Amin brimming with confidence
By Ajitpal Singh
TENAGA Nasional's Amin Rahim has regained his form and the penalty corner specialist will be out to destroy Sapura in the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL)-TNB Cup semi-final first leg encounter at the KLHA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur today.
Amin, a national player, has been working extra hard in training to fine-tune his corner conversions. The 28-year-old has so far scored 10 goals, nine from penalty corners, in the tournament.
"I was struggling with my conversion rate and it proved costly for my team in the MHL. I did not have the confidence then but after scoring two goals in my team's 5-3 aggregate quarter-final win over National Juniors, I feel I have regained my touch," said Amin yesterday.
Tenaga beat Sapura 3-1 on aggregate in last year's TNB Cup semi-finals en route to winning the title.
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if the Sapura players will be ready for the first leg encounter after having lost five days of training when competing in last week's Asia Indoor Championships in Ipoh.
They only returned from Ipoh on Sunday, and coach K. Enbaraj has been working hard to revert his players from indoor to field hockey training since.
In the other semi-final, Ernst & Young, who have 17 national players in their squad, are the overwhelming favourites against Maybank.
Today's fixtures (S-finals, 1st leg): Maybank v Ernst & Young (Seremban 2 Stadium, 5pm), Tenaga Nasional v Sapura (KLHA Stadium, Pantai, 8pm).
New Straits Times
Junior hockey team on right track: Coach
NEW DELHI: India's junior hockey team is on the right track with a never-say-die attitude and the ability to handle pressure being the main strengths, according to coach AK Bansal who said the "exceptional performance" in Argentina augurs well for the country's hockey future.
Under Bansal, the junior national team has displayed impressive performance this year in the international circuit, first the Junior Asia Cup triumph in Hyderabad which booked their place in next year's Junior World Cup in Malaysia and Singapore and the most recent was a 1-0 victory over World Champions Argentina in a four-match Test series.
In their Argentina sojourn, the junior team also defeated Netherlands in one-off Test and coach Bansal feels what acted in his boys favour is the ability to handle pressure.
"The boys played exceptionally well. It was a good exposure trip. Unlike, earlier teams they never gave up till the last minute which bore fruit," Bansal said.
"In the last game against Argentina, we were trailing but the boys didn't give up and got the equaliser. Even, they displayed the same attitude during the Asia Cup which was crucial to our success," he said.
Before embarking on the tour, the coach hoped that the series will give India a chance to learn the tricks and trade of power hockey, but he was astonished to see his boys giving the mighty Argentines a run for their money.
"Intially, I thought it will be tough for the boys to cope up with the speed and power of Argentina. I thought they might get exhausted but they were upto the task," Bansal said.
"They played with same speed and intensity in all the matches. It was wonderful to see the level of their fitness. The turf there was very fast but it didn't make any difference either," he said.
What is more satisfying for Bansal was that not in a single game in the entire series the Indian colts were on the backfoot.
"If you look at the matches, we initiated the scoring and took the lead in all the five matches. We were never in the backfoot.
"We scored not only from penalty corners but also field goals which is very satisfying," he said.
Bansal was also delighted to see some fringe players come to the fore in the series.
"I gave a chance to all the 20 players of the squad and had a good look at them. I always believed that Diwakar has now established his place in the team. Like always, he was exceptional but apart from him Jay Karan, Danish Mujtaba, Virender Lakra are the finds of the tour," he said.
The junior team's next venture is a four-nation tournament in Australia from January 14.
The Times of India
Easy win for Warangal
Hyderabad: Warangal District Hockey Association XI scored a comfortable, 4-0 win over Royal Hockey Club in the inaugural match of the first Vamshi Krishna memorial invitation hockey tournament here.
Captain and centre-forward Sharath Babu struck twice in the first-half and in the second session left-in Shiva Krishna and right-in Srinivas scored once each for the winners.
M. Srinivas, sarpanch of Inapur (Warangal district) presented Rs. 5,000 cash prize to the district team for winning the first match as a special incentive. Satheesh of Warangal was declared as the ‘best player’ of the match.
In another match, Andhra Pradesh Police defeated Young Turks 4-1 after leading 1-0 at the break.
For the winner, the scorers were Arun, Ajay Babu (2) and Srinivas Rao while for the losers T.N. Sudhir reduced the margin. Ajay Babu of Police was adjudged ‘best player’.
Earlier, former Olympian Edwards Alloysius inaugurated the tournament.
The Hindu