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All the news for Monday 25 November 2019

2019 FIH Pro League (Men)

Weekend fixtures

22 Feb 2019     ARG v GER (RR)     0 - 0 (Match cancelled due to weather)
24 Feb 2019     ARG v NED (RR)     4 - 3

Unofficial Pool standings

The FIH inexplicably and confusingly use a system not used in any other sports League in the World, of making the Percentage more important than Points until the end of the League when they will revert to Points only. Fieldhockey.com prefers to use the conventional Points and so the Unofficial Pool Standings on this site are reflected in this manner.

FIH Match Centre

2019 FIH Pro League (Women)

Weekend fixtures

22 Feb 2019     ARG v GER (RR)     2 - 2 (4 - 3 SO)
23 Feb 2019     CHN v GBR (RR)     2 - 2 (2 - 3 SO)
24 Feb 2019     ARG v NED (RR)     1 - 2

Unofficial pool standings

The FIH inexplicably and confusingly use a system not used in any other sports League in the World, of making the Percentage more important than Points until the end of the League when they will revert to Points only. Fieldhockey.com prefers to use the conventional Points and so the Unofficial Pool Standings on this site are reflected in this manner.

FIH Match Centre

Los Leones beat Netherlands men whilst Oranje women overcome Las Leonas in Buenos Aires



A capacity crowd of 3500 flocked to the Cenard National High Performance Center in Buenos Aires to witness four of the best teams in world hockey take to the field, with Argentina’s men and women playing host to the dazzling Dutch sides on Match Day 16 of the inaugural FIH Pro League.

In the men’s match, Argentina trailed three times against the Netherlands before emerging 4-3 winners thanks to double strikes from Matias Paredes and Lucas Vila, giving Los Leones their first win of the FIH Pro League to climb up to fifth - now one place behind the Dutch - in the men’s standings. It was better news for the Netherlands women, who moved top of the women’s standings after a battling 2-1 win against the home favourites, with Frederique Matla and Pien Sanders both finding the target.

The men’s match saw action at both ends of the field as Olympic and Pan American champions Argentina (FIH World Ranking: 4) aimed to get a positive result against the Dutch (WR:3) European champions and World Cup silver medalists. Los Leones - who were left frustrated on Friday (22 February) when a thunderstorm in Buenos Aires resulted in the cancellation of their FIH Pro League match against Germany - were arguably the better team until the eighth minute when Bjorn Kellerman showed persistence and skill to work his way along the Argentinean back line before moving past goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi and firing into an unguarded goal.

It was a lead that lasted just five minutes thanks to a wonderful deflection from 37-year-old striker Matias Paredes, who touched home a Juan Lopez’s cross with his back to goal to beat unsighted Dutch goalkeeper Sam van der Ven. However, the Dutch were soon back in front thanks to a penalty stroke from Jeroen Hertzberger, who made no mistake after Mirco Pruijser was fouled to put the Netherlands 2-1 ahead at quarter time.


A score-less second quarter was followed by an Argentine equaliser just 30 seconds into the third period; Paredes claiming his second of the match with a striker’s finish a split-second after Van der Ven dived to his right to deny Argentina attacker Lucas Vila. However, another Hertzberger goal - this time firing a penalty corner into the bottom left corner - restored the Dutch advantage at 3-2.

Argentina dominated the latter stages of the third period and continued to put the Dutch defence under intense pressure throughout the fourth quarter. With Dutch shot-stopper Van der Ven making numerous world class saves, the home side having a goal disallowed by an umpire video referral and nine unconverted penalty corner attempts, it seemed that it was not going to be Argentina’s day. However, their luck finally changed thanks to two late goals from star man Vila, the first of which survived a video referral before the brilliant Argentine fired a penalty corner rebound into the roof of the Netherlands net to give the home side a valuable, richly deserved win on home soil.

Speaking after the match, Mathias Paredes said: “It was an incredible match, with all these people supporting us. It was an incredible day of hockey and we are really happy with the win. We were playing against the Netherlands who are a great team and they always put pressure on us, but I think we had many chances. Maybe not too many during the first half, but in the final quarter we scored and that's why it was 4-3 for us.”

It was a special day for Argentina stalwarts Juan Vivaldi and Agustin Mazzilli, who earned their respective 250th and 200th caps in the victory, while former player and Olympic gold medallist Juan Gilardi was given a career award in recognition of his international retirement.

There were also some acknowledgements for Argentinean athletes ahead of the women’s match against the Dutch world champions. Maria Granatto was given a warm round of applause on the occasion of her 100th international appearance for Las Leonas, while Lucina von der Heyde was presented with her FIH Young Player of the Year 2018 award by Pan-American Hockey Federation (PAHF) President Alberto ‘Coco’ Budeisky.

Von der Heyde was not the only winner from the recent Hockey Stars Awards 2018 present in Buenos Aires, with Player of the Year Eva de Goede and Coach of the Year Alyson Annan being key components in a Netherlands team that had arrived in Argentina determined to claim all three points.

The Netherlands (WR:1) dominated much of the opening period but found themselves behind against Argentina (WR:4) thanks to a stunning penalty corner effort from Silvina d’Elia, who produced an instinctive open-handed slap-shot to follow up her own initial strike to find the bottom corner and send the home fans wild.

The Dutch levelled the scores in the second quarter when Frederique Matla punished a defensive error from Von der Heyde, intercepting an attempted cross-field pass to race into the circle and slide the ball under the body of Argentina goalkeeper Belen Succi.

The third quarter was dominated almost from start to finish by Argentina but, despite hitting the frame of the goal from a penalty corner, it was the Dutch visitors who took a 2-1 lead into the fourth quarter. Pien Sanders was the scorer, lifting the ball over the onrushing Succi after being set up perfectly by Matla’s penalty corner pass.

The Netherlands hit the post and had a goal ruled out by a video referral in a fourth quarter that saw Argentina continue their fight for an equaliser until the very end. However, Sanders’ strike proved decisive as the Netherlands took a 2-1 win to move to the top of the standings.


“It was not an easy game, it never is against Argentina, especially here [in Argentina]”, said Player of the Match Lidewij Welten. “I think we did very well, especially in the first half, and we should have scored more goals. We always knew they would try to come back, they keep fighting until the last minute, which is why we actually should have scored more goals in the beginning. The second half was a bit messy, but we defended really well, especially at penalty corners.”


The FIH Pro League action continues on next weekend with Australia hosting Spain men and USA women in Sydney while the Netherlands head to Changzhou to face China.

FIH Pro League

24 February - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Result: Men’s Match 14

Argentina 4, Netherlands 3
Player of the Match: Ignacio Ortiz (ARG)


Result: Women’s Match 16
Argentina 1, Netherlands 2
Player of the Match: Lidewij Welten (NED)

#FIHProLeague

Official FIH Pro League Site

Kookaburras Excited By ’Unreal’ FIH Pro League Crowds

Ben Somerford



Kookaburras defender Matt Dawson cannot wait to return to his home state to play in the FIH Pro League against Spain on Saturday 2 March.

The Kookaburras and the Hockeyroos will travel to Sydney on Thursday, before playing Spain and the USA on Saturday (3pm AEDT, 5pm AEDT respectively) at Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre.

Dawson hasn’t played for his country in Sydney since the 2017 Oceania Cup which the Kookaburras won over New Zealand.

“We don’t get to play international Hockey in Australia very much,” Dawson said.

“This Pro League is being able to take it home to multiple states so that’s unreal.

“Being to play in New South Wales in front of family and friends is exciting. Hopefully we can put on a show.”

FIH Pro League matches in Australia have drawn big crowds so far, including a sell-out in Melbourne and almost 5,000 fans in Perth for the last double-header against Great Britain.

Dawson is hoping the Sydney public will get out and fill up Sydney Olympic Park for the double-header, as well as the 16-17 March matches against Argentina and New Zealand.

“It’s pretty unreal. The fact that Sydney gets three games is pretty special,” he said.

“Hopefully the fans can roll in for both of those weekends. We can put on a show and they’ll come back.”

Both squads enjoyed a weekend off, allowing them to refresh after a busy start to the FIH Pro League.

“Obviously it’s been a pretty tough start to the Pro League, with back-to-back games then one every weekend from then on,” Dawson said.

“It’s been nice to be able to have an easy week and refresh ready for a big back-end for our home games.”

Upcoming opponents Spain have started the Pro League with two shootout wins over World Cup finalists Belgium and Netherlands, along with a high-scoring defeat to Britain.

Dawson said the Kookaburras were wary about the Spanish, who they’ve not faced since the quarter-final stage of the 2017 World League Final.

“It’s going to be tough,” he said.

“They’re in good form, scoring a lot of goals. It’s always going to be tough playing against them.

“We’re hoping for a big crowd in Sydney being the home state. We’re looking forward to lots of people being out there showing lots of support.”

The Sydney matches are made possible thanks to the support of Destination NSW.

Saturday 2 March 2019 – Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre
Kookaburras v Spain – 3pm,
Hockeyroos v USA - 5pm
Gates open - 2pm

*All times AWST

Click here to buy tickets from $30 for adults & $10 for children

Hockey Australia media release

HA Congratulates Anna Flanagan Following Hockeyroos Retirement

Ben Somerford



Hockey Australia today congratulates Anna Flanagan who has announced her retirement from international hockey effective immediately.

Canberra-born defender Flanagan enjoyed a successful career with Australia, having debuted as an 18-year-old against Korea Republic in Perth in March 2010.

Flanagan, who retires aged 27, earned 171 caps and scored 34 goals for the Hockeyroos. She last represented Australia in November 2016.

She retires as a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medal winner (2010, 2014) and former Olympian, having represented Australia at the 2012 London Olympics.

She also won a World Cup silver medal in 2014, where she finished as runner-up for top scorer with six goals, and Champions Trophy silver medal in 2014.

She was voted the FIH Young Player of the Year in 2013 and is a two-time Oceania Cup winner (2013, 2015).

“I am honoured to have had the opportunity to play for the Hockeyroos and represent Australia,” Flanagan said.

“Having missed selection in the Hockeyroos squad for the past two years, it is now time for me to move on and concentrate on building my career away from Hockey.

“It is never an easy decision to retire from elite sport and I have found making this decision very challenging.

“However, I retire with many wonderful memories, friendships and achievements of which I am very proud.

“I would especially like to thank my Manager Daniel O'Loughlin and my sponsors, the ACT Academy of Sport, the NSW Institute of Sport, my family and last but not least my fans for all the support they have provided me throughout the highs and lows of my journey with the Hockeyroos.

“I now look forward to continue to support the younger generation of female Hockey players to reach their dreams whether that be at club, state or international levels.

“I wish Hockey Australia and the Hockeyroos all the very best in the coming years leading into and out of the Tokyo Olympic Games.”

Hockey Australia High Performance Director Toni Cumpston thanked Flanagan for her contribution and wished her well for her future outside of Hockey.

“On behalf of HA, I congratulate Anna on a distinguished international career, where she has achieved many great things on the international stage,” Cumpston said.

“She should be very proud of everything she has achieved as we at Hockey Australia are.

“We would like to wish her all the very best for the future and know she’ll be as successful outside Hockey as she has been within the game.”

Hockey Australia media release

Hockey New Zealand release shock review findings into Black Sticks Women's bullying claims

In late August 2018, the Hockey Players Association presented Hockey New Zealand with confidential and anonymised concerns raised on behalf of the Black Sticks' current and past players. The concerns raised were about a negative environment in the Black Sticks Women's team, under then head coach Mark Hager.

The review was commissioned in September last year, after allegations of a negative team environment first publicly emerged.

Hager, a former Australian international, accidentally sent an email to the entire team, naming and shaming individual players for their performance and effort, after finishing 11th at the women's World Cup.

Three months earlier, they had won gold at the Commonwealth Games.

The comprehensive review has now shown that of the 33 players interviewed, 24 players reported 'serious concerns' about the environment within the team.

The majority player view of a negative environment had been experienced for at least the last two years. This included the players' view that this was not helping them reach their full potential, and was impeding the success of the team.

A small number of players and HPA representatives interviewed reported they had been informally raising concerns with HNZ about the Black Sticks environment for several years but particularly after the Rio Olympics in 2016.

HNZ had not responded previously to informal concerns raised about the Black Sticks environment, for several reasons - including the fact that they had not previously received any formal complaints of bullying behaviour.

According to the findings, HNZ also held the view that concerns raised by HPA, on behalf of unnamed players, could not be acted upon unless there was a formal complaint by a named player, believing that informal reporting of any negative behaviours only involved "a few players who were unhappy with non-selection...".

Hockey New Zealand revealed 65 interviews were conducted in the review, including with that 33 past and present players, and 58 documents reviewed. These include confidential submissions and policies.

The majority of players interviewed have been in the team in recent years and represented at least half of the total number of squad members for each of the past three years.

Key recommendations made in the review include working better with Players Association, the engagement of HR, the clarification of roles and a better health and welfare programme.

Hockey New Zealand chair Mike Bignell apologised to the affected players.

"The failings resulted in unacceptable outcomes for some of our players and consequently the broader management team. It should never have got to this point and the fact that is has is something Hockey New Zealand is deeply sorry for and unequivocally apologises to all those who have had a poor experience in the environment," Bignell said.

Hager resigned as Black Sticks women's head coach in January, to take up a similar role with the Great Britain and England women's teams.

The New Zealand Herald

Review into Black Sticks women light on details, players association frustrated

Andrew Voerman


Hockey New Zealand chairman Mike Bignell apologised to the players for the organisation's failings. BRETT PHIBBS/PHOTOSPORT

Hockey New Zealand has kept details of a damning review into the Black Sticks women's team environment under former coach Mark Hager close to its chest, frustrating the chair of the players association.

Lawyer Maria Dew found 24 of the 33 current and past players she interviewed had serious concerns about what she called a "negative environment," a group that includes "18 players who are well capped".

She also found Hockey NZ had not done enough to respond to concerns when previously raised and to ensure player welfare was adequately considered. Details of specific issues and examples of players' concerns were not made public.

Players association chair Heath Mills said that while he and the players had seen a redacted version of Dew's report, they would have preferred to see her full findings.

"We strongly believe the only way the group will heal and move forward together is if they start at ground zero with what Maria, the independent reviewer, has discovered, found out, and written."


Former Black Sticks women's coach Mark Hager resigned in January. GETTY IMAGES

At the same time, Mills said he respected and understood the factors Hockey NZ had to take into account, which included legal advice, and was eager for both parties to move forward.

"The team is training now, it's got games coming up, the programme keeps moving on, and we need to do all that we can to build a stronger relationship with them and get this programme stronger than it has been."

Hockey NZ chairman Mike Bignell apologised to the playing group on Monday and said the organisation was "deeply sorry" that the situation had got to this point.

The information released by his organisation was sparse compared to that released by NZ Football and High Performance Sport NZ when they conducted reviews focused on player welfare last year - the latter with regard to Cycling NZ - and Bignell hid behind a desire to protect confidentiality when asked why.


Hockey players association chair Heath Mills wishes players could have seen a fuller version of the review into their team environment. BRETT PHIBBS/PHOTOSPORT

"I can't speak for those other views. The important thing for us in this review, as was stated from the very first moment, was around having a confidential process for all those participants. We today do not know who has gone forward and spoken as part of that process and we need to make sure that stays in place."

Hager resigned as the Black Sticks coach in mid-January to take up the same role with Great Britain and England's women's teams, at a time when he had seen a draft copy of Dew's review.

The review was instigated at the urging of the players association last September, after concerns about it how it was operating under Hager emerged in the media.

Those reports followed the revelation that Hager had sent an email critical of some players to the whole team, rather than a fellow member of management, during their World Cup campaign in July, which ended in a disappointing 11th-place finish.

Seven former players issued a statement at the time rejecting the notion that there was a "negative environment" under Hager. One of those players, Katie Glynn, is currently an assistant coach of the team, something Hockey NZ chief executive Ian Francis didn't see to be an issue.

At the time of Hager's departure, Francis was fulsome in his praise of the results the team had achieved under him, while board member Shane Collins said Hockey NZ was "extremely disappointed to lose one of the world's top coaches" and that "Mark and his coaching staff have continued to have the support of the board and management".

On Monday, Francis said he stood by his comments about the team's results, while Collins avoided the question of whether she stood by her comments.

"This review was around the Black Sticks environment," she said. "It would not be appropriate for us to comment on anything in relation to an individual."

Collins' response was echoed by Bignell, who preferred to focus on the systemic failings Dew had identified.

"The important issue here is this wasn't an employment investigation - this was a review of the programme. What's clear out of that is, yes, there were some serious concerns, and the real failing for us is that when people had concerns, there was a lack of trust in the system for them to be able to raise them in real time and when you can't raise those in real time, things cascade and this is why we're here today."

Bignell said the Hockey NZ board backed its staff, including Francis, to learn the lessons they needed to from the review.

Former assistant Sean Dancer has been coaching Black Sticks women since Hager's departure, with a permanent replacement expected to be appointed next month.

Mills said the players association didn't see any need for any immediate changes to be made to the team's management, with their next match on March 8 as part of the Pro League.

"We're comfortable at the moment, but we want to work with Hockey New Zealand to ensure that always remains the case."


The Black Sticks are currently playing in the Pro League, with their next match on March 8. JOHN DAVIDSON/PHOTOSPORT

Dew's recommendations include:

* establishing a role which will have oversight of the welfare of the Black Sticks women and be an extra communications channel

* start the process to recruit a permanent head coach

* the appointment of an HR professional to advise the board, and sit on the people and culture committee

* develop a workplace code of conduct

* schedule opportunities for players to educate themselves on a HR policies, among them health and safety, well-being, discrimination, bullying and harassment

Stuff

Owen Glenn takes aim at Hockey New Zealand after Black Sticks review

By Alex Chapman


Owen Glenn has hit out at Hockey New Zealand. Photo / Getty

Sir Owen Glenn has slammed the independent review into the negative culture and claims of bullying within the Black Sticks women's hockey team as "cowardice".

The six month independent review conducted by Maria Dew QC found serious failings by Hockey New Zealand. The review revealed that of the 33 players interviewed, 24 players reported 'serious concerns' about the environment within the team.

The majority player view of a negative environment had been experienced for at least the last two years, with players arguing that the environment wasn't helping them reach their full potential, and was impeding the success of the team.

Glenn, who the Herald revealed froze the $1 million he had committed to the women's Black Sticks because of dissatisfaction with the sport's governance, continues to stand by now-departed coach Mark Hager, who he has been a vocal supporter of.

Hager resigned last month to take over as coach of the British and English teams leading to the Tokyo Olympics. His decade-long Black Sticks tenure culminated in a maiden gold medal at April's Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Hager also took the team to two Olympic fourths, two World League finals and a Champions Trophy bronze.

But he has been at the centre of the review, and believing he could no longer be himself, left the role, something Glenn was not pleased about.

"He is a good coach - I saw a lot of his coaching all over the world. No complaints, all the good players are supporting him. Who are the ones who aren't? This is cowardice, absolute cowardice," Glenn told Newstalk ZB's Larry Williams.

A small number of players and Hockey Players Association representatives interviewed reported they had been informally raising concerns with HNZ about the Black Sticks environment for several years, but particularly after the Rio Olympics in 2016.

But HNZ chairman Mike Bignell was unable to define what constitutes a negative environment in today's press conference.

"It is a very broad term. And Maria has been very careful around the confidentiality of who spoke to her. The report doesn't have significant or specific examples, as that is not what the purpose of the review was. We still don't know who came forward, or what was said."

The lack of information stems to the players as well. They were this morning presented with the same three and a half page summary which is publicly available.

By comparison, the independent review into Cycling New Zealand was 83 pages.

"The process has always been about confidentiality, and that's what we have maintained throughout," said Bignell.

Those three and a half pages are far less than what Glenn has seen, however.

"I saw the amended copy. Probably 30 to 40 pages. But it has huge gaps in it," Glenn said.

"Everything that could have been contentious has been deleted. And it looks like a lawyer has gone over it with a fine tooth comb.

"Where's the justice in that? Where's the fair play in that? Someone has to question this. Nobody wants to take responsibility.

"I want the hockey board to be taken to task."

The lack of transparency and releasing of information is an area the New Zealand Hockey Players Association also has an issue with.

"That's where we have a different position to Hockey New Zealand, which we've conveyed to them," said Players Association boss Heath Mills. "We do believe that anyone who has participated in the review, past or present players, have really gone out on a limb to do so. And they should have access to the review and outcomes of it."

Mills added "We strongly believe the only way the players will heal and move forward, is if they start at zero with what Maria has found and written. Hockey NZ run the sport, and they've got other considerations they need to think about, which we respect and understand. So we need to work with them to get this relationship and environment better than it has been."

Bignell vehemently denies HNZ are hiding information from its players or the public.

"There's nothing to cover up. Confidentiality is fundamental."

Glenn maintains his stance over his funding, setting some demands that Hockey New Zealand need to meet to earn the money.

"They've got conditions from me. I want this thing to be investigated, and I think an independent person should investigate it." Glenn said.

"There needs to be a fair assessment of whether [Hager] deserves any compensation. I want an investigation into the Players Association's role, and I want the hockey board to be taken to task by a competent person who will make an assessment of whether they performed their duties.

"They appointed the coach, and they said they stood by him, but I don't think they stood by him."

The New Zealand Herald

'Cowardice': Sir Owen Glenn still fuming at NZ Hockey following departure of Mark Hager


Sir Owen Glenn is still fuming about the circumstances that led to Black Sticks womens' coach Mark Hager leaving NZ Hockey.

Sir Owen Glenn has accused Hockey New Zealand of cowardice, raising serious doubts as to whether he will resume his financial support of the Black Sticks women's programme.

An investigation into the Black Sticks environment by lawyer Maria Dew found that 24 of the 33 players she had interviewed had serious concerns about what she labelled "a negative environment," but the summary that was released publicly on Monday contained no specific examples.

Glenn told Newstalk ZB he had seen a redacted version of Dew's review but said "it has huge gaps in it. Everything that could have been contentious has been deleted. And it looks like a lawyer has gone over it with a fine tooth comb".

"Where's the justice in that? Where's the fair play in that? Someone has to question this. Nobody wants to take responsibility. I want the hockey board to be taken to task."

It emerged last week that Glenn had frozen $2 million of funding he had pledged to the team for 2019 and 2020, following the resignation of coach Mark Hager in January after more than a decade in the role. Hager has since accepted a position as coach of the Great Britain women's team.

Hager was praised by co-captains Stacey Michelsen and Sam Charlton at the time pf his resignation, and Glenn was also fulsome in his support.

"He is a good coach - I saw a lot of his coaching all over the world. No complaints, all the good players are supporting him. Who are the ones who aren't? This is cowardice, absolute cowardice," Glenn told Newstalk ZB.

Hager wasn't mentioned in the summary of Dew's findings, nor in any of the statements made by Hockey NZ officials present at the release - chairman Mike Bignell, fellow board member Shane Collins, and chief executive Ian Francis - despite having coached the team and overseen its environment since December 2008.


Former Black Sticks womens' coach Mark Hager is now in charge of the Great Britain team. GETTY IMAGES

"The important issue here is this wasn't an employment investigation - this was a review of the programme," said Bignell.

"What's clear out of that is, yes, there were some serious concerns, and the real failing for us is that when people had concerns, there was a lack of trust in the system for them to be able to raise them in real time and when you can't raise those in real time, things cascade and this is why we're here today."

Speaking at the release of the review, before Glenn commented publicly, Bignell was optimistic Glenn's concerns could be addressed.

"Sir Owen Glenn has been a great supporter of hockey for a long time and we need to keep talking to and working with him. We're confident that we can help work through any concerns that he continues to have and we're looking forward to being able to ensure that [the funding] is in place."

But Glenn is clearly unhappy about Hager's departure, saying:  "Mark, in my opinion, was constructively dismissed by it being made known to him that there were criticisms. And all these so-called players that have criticised, and nobody has been named - they have all been promised anonymity."

Glenn said that if Hager was good enough to guide the Black Sticks to a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Surfer's Paradise last year, NZ Hockey had a responsibility to stick with the coach. It also ranked with Glenn that Hager has to move to England for a new job, forcing him to be away from his family.

"And nobody in this country cares? Well I care. I went to his farewell party and 34 of the 35 girls who were either in the squad, or in the development squad, attended. All backed him … gave him a present, shed a tear.

"All these people, I gather a lot of them are past players who were dropped because they either weren't good enough in the coach's eyes and didn't train enough.

"That was what he was there for. That is why he is coach. It's his reputation I am fighting for. He was a good guy. He was tough, but he was good."

Glenn's financial support has been crucial in allowing players to cope with the increased demands of the Pro League competition, which began in January and has them playing on a regular basis in New Zealand and overseas until the end of June.

Bignell said Hockey NZ was working with the players association to assess the impact of Glenn's decision to freeze funding.

"We've got a memorandum of understanding which revolves around our contractual terms with the players and we've worked with the players association about how we work through that.

"Sir Owen Glenn was incredibly generous to our players and allowed us to be able to put them in a position which is actually over and above what the contractual arrangement is that we have. He's a tremendous supporter and donor to us and we clearly have to work through that."

Stuff

Namibia excels at SA hockey tourney

by Helge Schütz


The Namibian men and women's teams that excelled at the SA Interprovincial tournament in Pietermartitzburg over the weekend

NAMIBIA excelled at the South African Interprovincial Indoor Hockey Tournament in Pietermaritzburg over the weekend to win a gold and a silver medal.

Namibia's men's team won a silver medal in the Men's A category, while a Namibian Invitational women's team won the gold medal in the Women's B category.

Namibia's men's team competed in the A category against South Africa's top provinces and put in some excellent performances to reach the final.

They breezed through their early group matches, beating Eastern Gauteng 6-2, Eastern Province 8-2 and Mpumalanga 4-1 before being held to a 3-3 draw by the powerful KwaZulu Natal Inland side.

Namibia bounced back with a 7-4 victory against Southern Gauteng, with Brynn Cleak scoring four goals and Liam Hermanus three, to book their place in the semifinals against KwaZulu Natal Raiders, who remained unbeaten throughout the group stages to top their log.

Kwazulu Natal Raiders seemed to be heading for victory after a first half goal by Lungani Gabela, but Brynn Cleak grabbed a last minute equaliser to send the match into a penalty shootout.

Here Namibia immediately took the lead when goalie Richter van Rooyen saved Jarryd Jones' shot and goals by Brynn Cleak, Liam Hermanus and Cody van der Merwe gave them a 3-2 victory and a place in the final against Western Province, who beat KZN Inland 5-3 in the other semifinal.

In the final, WP started on fire and streaked into a 3-0 lead by halftime after goals by Mustaphaa Cassiem, Idrees Abdullah and Dayaan Cassiem.

Namibia staged a great second half recovery to reduce the deficit to 3-2 after goals by Dakota Hansen and Cody van der Merwe. They also had several more short corners as well as a penalty, but Cleak's shot was saved and WP held on for the victory to win the gold medal, while the young Namibians were awarded the silver medal.

The Namibian women's invitational team won the gold medal in the Women's B category after beating North West 3-2 in the final. Two goals in three minutes by Kaela Schimming and Danja Meyer put Namibia 2-0 ahead, but North West opened their account early in the second half with a short corner goal by another Namibian player, Dunelle van Taak, who is currently studying in Potchefstroom.

North West drew level at 2-all following a second short corner goal by Van Taak on 31 minutes, but Danja Meyer restored Namibia's lead with a field goal three minutes later.

That's the way it stayed until the end as Namibia clinched the gold medal with a narrow 3-2 victory.

In the semifinals, Namibia beat Southern Gauteng Witsies 4-2, after the two teams were tied at 2-2 at half time.

Kaela Schimming scored two goals and Danja Meyer and Sunelle Ludwig one goal each for Namibia.

In the group matches, Namibia beat Southern Gauteng 4-0, North West 4-0, KwaZulu Natal Inland 5-1 and Eastern Gauteng 9-1.

The Namibian

ROUND-UP: English Men's Hockey League

Victory over rivals Holcombe on Saturday boosted East Grinstead’s push for a spot in the Men’s Hockey League Premier Division play offs, but defeat to Brooklands MU on Sunday leaves the battle for the play-offs very much still on.

Goals from Tijn van Groesen and David Condon helped East Grinstead beat Holcombe 2-0 and climb above them in the table, but the West Sussex side were beaten 2-0 at home by Brooklands MU 24 hours later with Thomas Russell and David Flanagan scoring for the away side.

Those results mean there are four teams within three points of the fourth play-off spot, but with five more games still to come everything is still to play for.

Leaders Surbiton condemned Holcombe to another loss on Sunday as they ran out 4-1 winners. Arjan Drayton Chana scored twice while David Goodfield and Hayden Beltz also found the net. Connor Caplan scored Holcombe’s only goal.

Matt Guise Brown was the star of the show for Hampstead & Westminster in their 8-1 win over Sevenoaks.

Guise Brown scored four times for the side level on points with Surbiton. Chris Cargo sealed a double of his own with Jonny Gooch and Rhodri Furlong scored a goal apiece, while Tim Warrington was Sevenoaks’ scorer.

Carson brothers James and George scored for the University of Exeter in a 3-3 home draw with Beeston. Gareth Griffiths, Chris Proctor and Mark Gleghorne put Beeston 3-2 ahead before James Ferguson levelled the scoring only five minutes from time for the hosts.

And goals from Ben Roe and Ed Horler (2) helped Wimbledon clamber their way away from relegation fears with a 3-0 win over Reading on Saturday.

Conference East

A battle of the top two ended with nothing separating the sides – Oxted holding visitors Old Georgians to a 3-3 stalemate in the Conference East.

Timothy Guise-Brown gave Oxted an early lead only for Nick Burns to level three minutes later. The resolve of leaders Old Georgians was put to the test after Martin Scanlon and Chris Webster gave the hosts a 3-1 lead after 52 minutes.

But Old Georgians hit back with Burns added his second of the game on the 65th minute before Nick Cooper struck a minute later to level the match.

Second-bottom Cambridge City had a great weekend at the office – a 5-2 victory over fifth-placed Brighton & Hove. City of Peterborough lost 4-0 to Richmond and are now four points adrift at the bottom following Cambridge’s win.

Canterbury secured a 4-3 win over Old Loughtonians while Southgate matched them with a 1-0 away victory against Teddington.

Conference North

Loughborough Students racked up the largest margin of victory in the Conference North by beating bottom side Alderley Edge 8-1.

The victory was a real team effort with seven different names on the scoreboard.

Thomas Ainsworth netted a hat-trick for leaders Bowdon in their 5-0 drubbing of Preston as University of Durham’s Max van Laak matched his feat in a 6-0 win over hosts Doncaster.

The University of Durham still trail Bowdon by three points at the top of the table.

Sheffield Hallam had to come from behind in their 3-2 away win against Belper. Dan Legg put Belper 2-1 ahead just after the break but goals from Ben Stone and William Hearne downed the Derbyshire side.

Elsewhere, the University of Nottingham kept relative pace with the top two after a 3-1 win at home to Leeds.

Conference West

Havant beat Cardiff & Met 3-1 on Saturday to move top of the Conference West table, and held that position despite a 3-2 loss to Team Bath Buccaneers 24 hours later.

Goals from Ethan Hoddle, Federico Bertoni and Miguel Rodrigues gave Havant the win on Saturday, and despite Bertoni scoring twice on Sunday it wasn’t enough as Team Bath Buccaneers took the win thanks to goals from Stuart Rushmere, Harry Skinner and Ben Stone.

Olton & West Warwickshire could have pushed Havant back down to second with a win on Sunday, but were beaten 4-2 by University of Bristol – Rufus McNaught-Barrington scoring a hat-trick in the upset.

The University of Birmingham could have gone within a point of Havant but also failed to take three points, salvaging a 1-1 draw with second bottom Chichester.

Cardiff & Met put six past Fareham in their second game of the weekend, winning 6-2 while Oxford Hawks beat Isca 6-1.

RESULTS:

SATURDAY

Men’s Premier Division: East Grinstead 2, Holcombe 0; Wimbledon 3, Reading 0.

Men’s Conference West: Havant 3, Cardiff & Met 1.

SUNDAY

Men’s Premier Division: East Grinstead 0, Brooklands MU 2; Hampstead & Westminster 8, Sevenoaks 1; Surbiton 4, Holcombe 1; University of Exeter 3, Beeston 3.

Men’s Conference East: Cambridge City 5, Brighton & Hove 2; Canterbury 4, Old Loughtonians 3; Oxted 3, Old Georgians 3; Richmond 4, City of Peterborough 0; Teddington 0, Southgate 1.

Men’s Conference North: Belper 2, Sheffield Hallam 3; Bowdon 5, Preston 0; Doncaster 0, University of Durham 6; Loughborough Students 8, Alderley Edge 1; University of Nottingham 3, Leeds 1.

Men’s Conference West: Cardiff & Met 6, Fareham 2; Chichester 1, University of Birmingham 1; Havant 2, Team Bath Buccaneers 3; Olton & West Warwickshire 2, University of Bristol 4; Oxford Hawks 6, Isca 1.

England Hockey Board Media release

Irish Mens EYHL Weekend Round Up

The leading three put daylight between themselves and the chasers in the men’s EY Hockey League as Glenanne, Banbridge and Lisnagarvey all recorded fine wins.

The Glens remain top on goal difference as Brad Venter’s single strike in the 63rd minute was enough to see off Pembroke 1-0 at Serpentine Avenue.

Banbridge are level on points with a game in hand following their 4-2 success at YMCA. Their win was built around a first-half blitz of three goals in the first 20 minutes from Zach McClelland, Eugene Magee and Jonny McKee.

Cillian Hynes pulled one back but Magee’s second early in the second half put the game out of reach. Both sides missed penalty strokes before Andrew Jones nicked one at the end for the Y.

Lisnagarvey made it four wins in a row as they beat Three Rock Rovers 2-0 at Comber Road. Matthew Nelson opened the scoring with 23 minutes to go and Troy Chambers made the result safe 10 minutes later as Errol Lutton’s young side continues to make waves.

They sit three points off the leaders and four ahead of Pembroke with a game in hand.

At the bottom, Cork C of I drew 3-3 at Annadale. John Jermyn had built a 2-0 lead for the visitors only for Ryan Burgess, Callum Robson and Adam McAllister to turn things around and create a 3-2 lead. Simon Wolfe’s deflection meant the points were shared.

Cookstown fought back from a 4-2 deficit to earn a draw against Monkstown. Calum Anderson put the Co Tyrone side in front but Monkstown replied to lead 3-1 and then 4-2 via doubles from Davy Carson and Guy Sarratt.

Greg Allen got one back before half-time to make it 4-3. The second half was much quieter but Allen did get on the end of a Keith Black pass to equalise yet again for a 4-4 result which lifts them back above YMCA and out of the relegation playoff place.

EY Hockey League: Annadale 3 (R Burgess, C Robson, A McAllister) Cork C of I 3 (J Jermyn 2, S Wolfe); Cookstown 4 (C Anderson 2, G Allen 2) Monkstown 4 (D Carson 2, G Sarratt 2); Lisnagarvey 2 (M Nelson, T Chambers) Three Rock Rovers 0; Pembroke Wanderers 0 Glenanne 1 (B Venter); YMCA 2 (C Hynes, A Jones) Banbridge 4 (E Magee 2, Z McClelland, J McKee)

Extended reports

Annadale 3 (R Burgess, C Robson, A McAllister) Cork C of I 3 (J Jermyn 2, S Wolfe)

Annadale and Cork C of I shared the spoils from a topsy-turvy battle in Strathearn in which both sides led but could not hold onto the advantage.

The visitors started the better with Simon Wolfe and Jonny Bruton making inroads, winning corners, the second of which John Jermyn dispatched via a deflection. Tony Brophy won the next corner which was upgraded to a stroke; Jermyn again did the honours for 2-0 in the 13thminute. Jermyn was also called on to save a Ryan Burgess drag off the line before the end of the first quarter.

Dale stepped up their game in the second quarter and Burgess did get on the board in the 24th minute from a drag. Three further set-pieces for the hosts went unconverted before half-time but the hosts did go in front when Callum Robson fired home a cracking reverse-stick effort for 2-2.

And the turnaround was complete when Adam McAllister got on the end of a corner move to give Annadale a 3-2 lead with 20 minutes to go. At this stage, the tie had followed the exact same format as the first meeting between the clubs but C of I summoned another leveller with Wolfe getting a delightful deflection from a crash ball for the final word.

Cookstown 4 (C Anderson 2, G Allen 2) Monkstown 4 (D Carson 2, G Sarratt 2)

Cookstown and Monkstown fought out a very enjoyable 4-4 draw in the EY Hockey League at Steelweld Park on Saturday. There were half-chances at either end before Callum Anderson put Cookstown ahead with a seriously good first-time half-volley into the bottom corner.

Monkstown got back into the game in the second quarter, though Cookstown calls for a foot in the build-up to their equaliser went unheeded. Two passes later and Davy Carson steered the ball home with a really classy finish for 1-1.

That drove on Monkstown and only for Dan Crooks' save on the line, Carson would've had a double. The men in blue did edge in front soon afterwards through Guy Sarratt's powerful drag from a penalty corner.

A yellow card for Stu Smyth put Cookstown under pressure, but Ryan Millar did manage to hit the post before Monkstown made their extra man count with Carson forcing the ball home for 3-1. Monkstown were still celebrating when Cookstown made it 3-2, Anderson deflecting Greg Allen's drive past Davy FitzGerald.

Sarratt slotted home a carbon copy of his first with three minutes left until half time, but there was still time for another goal in the second quarter. It went to Cookstown with Allen smashing home with an old-fashioned long handle hit to make it 4-3 at the short whistle.

By comparison, the second period was a relatively boring affair. The first meaningful event came when Ryan Millar scored high into the net for Cookstown from second phase at short corner time. However, the umpire adjudged it to have been the first shot on goal and reversed his decision.

It was a tense match for much of the final quarter with Cookstown pegged back defending. When they did get the chance to counter through Stu Smyth, it drew a green card for Monkstown's Jason Lynch and this gave them the impetus for Greg Allen to deflect home a Keith Black route one ball into the circle. There was a flurry of chances at both ends before the whistle went and the two teams got a share of the points.

YMCA 2 (C Hynes, A Jones) Banbridge 4 (E Magee 2, Z McClelland, J McKee)

Banbridge’s efficiency in the first 20 minutes saw them get by the challenge of YMCA at Wesley and keep pace with Glenanne at the head of the men’s EYHL table.

They raced out of the blocks with Zach McClelland forcing home in the second minute after three Jakim Bernsden saves in quick succession. The goalkeeper also made a block before the second fell nicely for Eugene Magee to fire into the roof. Despite the scoreline, YM were creating chances but not taking them and this was punished again in the 20th minute when Jonny McKee smashed in on his reverse for 3-0.

Cillian Hynes pulled one back from a baseline cross before the break to reduce the arrears to 3-1 at half-time. Magee restored the three-goal gap early in the second half when Bann kept alive a corner routine that had broken down.

Bann did miss a stroke with Bernsden saving well while Gabriel de Grandis and Ross Beattie took a yellow each for an off the ball incident. Hynes was felled for a YM stroke but it was missed too, Thom Ritchie not catching his effort and Luke Roleston saved comfortably.

Ritchie, David Rae, Aaron Bailey and McKee all spent time in the sin-bin before Andrew Jones got one back for YM in the closing minutes to make it 4-2.

Lisnagarvey 2 (M Nelson, T Chambers) Three Rock Rovers 0

Lisnagarvey continued their excellent run of form, making it four wins in succession as they got the better of Three Rock Rovers in a well contested battle at Comber Road.

It was very tight for the first quarter with Daniel Nelson drawing a brilliant save from Jamie Carr while Jody Hosking went close at the far end before the sides traded penalty corners.

Matthew Nelson broke the deadlock in the 47th minute with a goal from play. Rovers pushed on but could not get their corner machine into full gear with James Milliken saving twice.

Garvey, meanwhile, were more incisive and they got their clinching goal with 13 minutes to go with teenager Troy Chambers making it 2-0. The result lifts Lisnagarvey up to 22 points, keeping them just three points off the pace set by Banbridge and Glenanne.

Pembroke Wanderers 0 Glenanne 1 (B Venter)

Brad Venter’s 63rd minute goal was all that separated Glenanne and Pembroke as the visitors recorded their seventh win of the campaign, leading the men’s EYHL on goal difference.

In truth, the Glens had more than enough chances to put this game to bed much earlier but their penalty corner team misfired with nine set pieces going without return as Simon Thornton repelled chances from Jerome Saeys – who impressed throughout the tie – and Shannon Boucher.

Pembroke were dangerous on the counter and did force Iain Walker into a couple of strong saves while Stephen Brownlow took one off the line.

The goal came when Pembroke misplaced a pass over the left sideline which Sam O’Connor took quickly, flipping it into the D at knee-height where Venter batted in first time and they shut the game down from there.

Irish Hockey Association media release

Hafifihafiz hopes cautious game plan will do the trick against UniKL

By T. Avineshwaran


Hafifihafiz Hanafi

PETALING JAYA: Bring on Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL). Maybank forward Hafi­fihafiz Hanafi insists their two earlier defeats to the Malaysian Hockey League champions will have no bearing on their TNB Cup semi-final first-leg clash tomorrow.

Maybank lost 1-5 and 1-2 to UniKL in their league fixtures.

Hafifihafiz said Maybank had nothing to lose in the two-leg semi-finals but would need a cautious game plan to pull through.

“The players must hold UniKL and be efficient in their counter attacks. We know UniKL’s quality and also the strength of their foreign players,” said Hafifihafiz.

“If we’re not compact in defence against them, they’ll surely find a way to punish us. I’ve told all the players to play as a unit and make life tough for UniKL.

“We’re the underdogs but anything can happen. We’ll be playing eight quarters and we must be smart with our game.”

The 32-year-old Hafifihafiz has scored 13 goals in the league and is expected to increase his goal tally against UniKL.

However, the former national forward said he can do even better and wants to improve his finishing.

“As a former international, I know I can do much better.”

Hafifihafiz, who played for Malaysia in the 2014 World Cup, is the second highest scorer in the MHL.

National and UniKL drag-flicker Razie Abd Rahim is the third highest scorer with 11 goals – eight of them from penalty corners.

Terengganu’s Jang Jong-hyun, the top scorer in the MHL in 2017, is currently the top scorer with 15 goals.

The Star of Malaysia

Punjab-A win Pakistan's U-19 Hockey Championship

ISLAMABAD (OU Punjab-A annexed the Inter-Provincial U-19 Hockey Championship 2019 title after thumping Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 6-4 in the final played here at Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh Hockey Stadium Rawalpindi on Sunday.

Rana Waheed and Ali Aziz scored two goals each for the champions, while one goal each was scored by Umair Satter and Rizwan Ali. From KP, Usman Khan scored two goals while Asad and Roman hit one goal apiece. Earlier Punjab B secured third position by thrashing KP-B by 5-1. Abdullah scored a brace while Faizan, Ibrar Ahmed and Usman Bashir converted one goal each for the winning side. Ismail scored the consolation goal for the losers.

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Shahbaz Ahmed Senior graced the concluding day as chief guest and gave away trophies. PHF Finance Secretary Akhlaq Usmani, Sindh Hockey Association Secretary M Ramzan Jamali and others were also present on the occasion. As many as 14 teams took part in the championship. Four teams from Punjab, two each from Gilgit/Baltistan, Sindh and KP while one each from Islamabad, Fata, Balochistan and Azad Jamu Kashmir.

The Nation

Hockey’s loss may be football’s gain

Former National coach Harendra eyes sport switch

Uthra Ganesan


Harendra Singh. Photo Credit: Vivek Bendre

With Hockey India not interested in availing his services any further and having received an official release from his duties from SAI, former National men's coach Harendra Singh has now decided to shift focus to football, something that he has been planning for a while now.

Harendra, a self-confessed football fanatic, has already spoken to Football Delhi president Shaji Prabhakaran and is likely to participate in a coaching course for AIFF's D Licence — the first step — sometime next month.

“I feel it is the best time for me to look elsewhere. Knowledge is power and nothing learnt ever goes waste. It is very common in Europe for coaches and personnel to move between hockey and football since the two games are very similar in terms of tactics, but it doesn't happen in India,” Harendra confirmed on Sunday.

Germany is a prime example of it with national hockey coaches Bernhard Peters and Markus Weise moving to football. Former India coach Dutchman Roelant Oltmans was also the technical director of football back home before returning to hockey.

Harendra has also spoken to Pradip Dutta, the only FIFA certified conditioning instructor from India and an Elite instructor with the AFC, regarding his plans. “I would love it if it happens in Delhi, but I am willing to travel anywhere in the country for the course as and when it happens. But I am clear I want to start at the bottom. Simply because I have been the national coach in hockey doesn't mean I can jump to the top in another sport.”

The Hindu