News 16 April 2014
All the news for Wednesday 16 April 2014
Ireland lose out 3-1 in first of a triple header against India
Ireland played India in the first of a triple header taking place at UCD this week, as the National side continue preparations for the upcoming Champions Challenge I.
Ireland opened early when captain Megan Frazer scored early in the 4th minute after a well worked routine. The home side enjoyed a number of first half opportunities but failed to further extend their lead and stayed in front with just a 1-0 win at the break as India struggled to get a foothold on the game.
India turned things around in the 37th minute when Poonam Rani scored off the post from a penalty corner to draw the sides level at 1-1. Ireland had a good chance again in the 45th minute with another penalty corner but the visitors relieved the pressure clearing after an Irish mis-hit. India gained in confidence putting the Green Army under pressure and capitalised on their efforts in the 61st minute and again in the 67th minute to close it out with a 3-1 win.
Ireland will have another chance when they face Indian two more times this week - Thursday at 7.30pm and Friday at 6.30pm all in UCD (tickets available on gate 5Euro and School Children are free)
Ireland 1 (1) Megan Frazer 4m pc
India 3 (0) Rani Poonam 37m pc; Rani Ritu 61m op; Sunita Lakra 68m pc
India Series – 15th -18th April – 3 Matches UCD
Emily Beatty (UCD)
Chloe Brown (Ards)
Naomi Carroll (Catholic Institute)
Nicci Daly (Holcombe HC / Loreto)
Deirdre Duke (UCD)
Nikki Evans (UCD)
Megan Frazer – Captain (Holcombe HC / Ballymoney)
Emma Gray – GK (Hermes)
Michelle Harvey (Leuven / Pegasus)
Shirley McCay (Old Alex)
Ayeisha McFerran – GK (Randalstown)
Ali Meeke (Loreto)
Katie Mullan (UCD)
Anna O'Flanagan (UCD)
Audrey O'Flynn (Hermes)
Gillian Pinder (UCD)
Cliodhna Sargent - Vice Captain (Cork Harlequins)
Chloe Watkins (Club De Campo / UCD)
India Test Schedule
Thursday 17th April Ireland v India 19.30 (UCD)
Friday 18th April Ireland v India 18.30 (UCD)
Irish Hockey Association media release
India play 3-3 draw against Dutch club
NEW DELHI: The Indian team put up a tough fight in its second build-up game of the Europe Tour as it played out a 3-3 draw against Dutch side HGC Hockey Club at The Netherlands.
The tour is in preparation for the FIH Men's World Cup 2014, scheduled to be held at The Hague, Netherlands from May 31 to June 15, 2014.
HGC Hockey Club scored the opener in the 6th minute and doubled the lead in the 24th to go 2-0 into half-time yesterday.
The Indian side fought back remarkably in the second half as it restricted HGC Hockey Club from doing any further damage.
Drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh then converted a penalty corner in the 50th minute, shortly followed by a field goal in the 56th minute through Nikkin Thimmaiah.
VR Raghunath's successful penalty corner in the 63rd minute swept away the lead form HGC Hockey Club by 3-2.
The final strike came in from HGC Hockey Club in the 64th minute, which levelled the scores at 3-3 till time.
India's defence and goalkeeper P R Sreejesh proved their ability to be at par, as HGC Hockey Club got 10 penalty corner opportunities out of which they managed to convert just two.
The Times of India
Scotland Women squad announced for Champions Challenge tournament in Glasgow
With the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games less than 100 days away, Scotland Senior Women face a crucial test of their ambitions when they compete as the host nation in the FIH Champions Challenge at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre from 27 April-4 May.
Scotland Senior Women Head Coach Gordon Shepherd has selected a squad of eighteen players for the tournament. The Scots are drawn in Pool A against Belgium, India and Korea, while Pool B features Ireland, South Africa, Spain and USA.
Scotland Senior Women
The FIH Champions Challenge features teams ranked 8-16 in the FIH World Rankings and the winner of the tournament will be promoted to the FIH Champions Trophy .
Discussing his selection of the squad, Shepherd said, “We have a good blend of youth and experience in the squad. It was very difficult to pick the team for Champions Challenge as all the players have been extremely competitive during the early stages of full-time training. I’m happy with the strength of the squad.
“It’s going to be a tough tournament as a lot of the competing teams are using it to prepare for the forthcoming World Cup in the Netherlands. However, we have had excellent preparation going into the tournament and are capable of a strong performance.
“We know that every team is ranked higher than us but we have always performed well in the Champions Challenge over the years, coming third and fourth recently. We always set out to compete against the higher ranked nations and we are aiming for a top four finish.”
The Scots will go into the tournament on the back of three warm-up matches against Wales at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre this weekend.
“Wales will be a fair test in the warm up matches”, said Shepherd. “They are constantly improving and will be competing at Glasgow 2014. Certainly difficult set of matches but I am looking for the team to gel and for solid performances”.
Scotland Senior Women: Nicola Cochrane (Edinburgh University), Vikki Bunce (Dundee Wanderers), Morag McLellan (Clydesdale Western), Alison Bell (Grove Menzieshill), Rebecca Ward (Dundee Wanderers), Catriona Ralph (Clydesdale Western), Sarah Robertson (Edinburgh University), Linda Clement (Captain, Grove Menzieshill), Ailsa Wyllie (Grove Menzieshill), Leigh Fawcett (Grove Menzieshill), Rebecca Merchant (Edinburgh University), Nikki Kidd (Canterbury), Susan McGilveray (Clydesdale Western), Nicola Lloyd (Canterbury), Nicola Skrastin (Clydesdale Western), Emily Maguire (Reading), Aileen Davis (Clifton), Amy Gibson (Old Loughtonians).
Officials: Sarah Wilson (umpire) Barbara Morgan, Anne Wotherspoon (technical officials)
Tickets are still on sale for the FIH Champions Challenge. Guarantee your seat today.
Full competition schedule, team information and stats can be viewed on the FIH Champions Challenge I website
Scotland v Wales, Glasgow National Hockey Centre:
19 April, 2pm
20 April, 2pm
21 April, 12pm
Officials: Maggie Conacher, Alex Walker (umpires) Barbara Morgan, Anne Wotherspoon (technical officials) Aileen Ross (umpire coach)
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Dharmaraj’s men on a double mission
THE Champions Challenge 1 in Kuantan on April 26-May 4 is more than just an exercise of giving coach K. Dharmaraj’s men an additional platform in their preparation for the World Cup.
Fresh from a silver medal, behind World No 1 Australia, in the Azlan Shah Cup, the national players will be on a double mission in Kuantan.
The target is to improve on their fourth placing in the 2001 inaugural tournament in Kuala Lumpur and in Quilmes, Argentina in 2012.
The second is to try and qualify for the 2016 Champions Trophy by winning the gold.
A good performance in Kuantan will also boost the confidence of Dharmaraj’s men for the World Cup in The Hague, Netherlands, on May 31-June 15.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said the stage is set for an explosive showdown in Kuantan featuring two top-10 ranked teams in New Zealand (No 6) and South Korea (No 7); while Malaysia (No 13), Japan (14), Ireland (15), Canada 16), France (17) and Poland (18) will round up the rest of the list.
Tengku Abdullah was speaking after a sponsorship presentation ceremony yesterday in Kuala Lumpur, which was also attended by the Menteri Besar of Pahang, Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob.
Tengku Abdullah thanked the Pahang State Government, Genting Resorts World, Kuantan Municipal Council, Tourism Malaysia, National Sports Council, Kota SAS, Aras Kuasa Sdn Bhd, 100 Plus, Waz Lian Group of Companies, Ahmad Zaki Resources Berhad and Mahkota Golf Country Club for coming on board as sponsors.
New Straits Times
OZ win Dutch title for the second time
Oranje Zwart won the Dutch title for just their second time with back-to-back 3-2 wins over Bloemendaal this weekend to go into the Euro Hockey League, which they will host, in perfect form.
They won the title for the first time since 2005 and were good value for the result with an impressive performance. Tom Boon had given Bloemendaal a great start in the ninth minute with a vicious shot for a 1-0 lead.
Gabriel Dabanch cancelled that out in 17th minute before Jelle Galema made it 2-1 at half-time following great build-up play from Thomas Briels and Fareed Ahmed.
And Mink van der Weerden killed off any Bloemendaal hopes in the 42nd minute when he shot his side to a 3-1 lead after he ran unchecked before shooting home.
Boon scored one of his side's late corners but it proved just a consolation with three minutes to go as OZ's party started in Eindhoven.
Euro Hockey League media release
EHL ready to rock Eindhoven for KO16
Seconds out, round two is ready to rock as this year's unique Euro Hockey League season takes the stage for its dramatic knock-out phase in Eindhoven at the home of the recently crowned Dutch national champions, Oranje Zwart.
The hosts will sit out day one of the KO16 but there are eight hopefuls taking the pitch from six different countries, all eyeing up a place in Friday's KO8 ties.
First up are Madrid giants Club de Campo and Parisian side St Germain (11.30am, CET). The Spanish side come into the game off the back of a 3-3 draw with SPV Complutense in their local league and are battling hard to try and qualify for next season's Euro Hockey League.
They were frustrated not to score more from their penalty corner chances, however, and the likes of Andres Mir and Alvaro Taracena will aim to succeed in this area against St Germain. Hugo Genestet has been the French club's man to watch in recent weeks, scoring seven times in six games to give them a potent edge.
Game two is the German derby between Harvestehuder THC and Uhlenhorst Mülheim at 2pm (CET). Both sides were unable to enter the EHL on a high as Uhlenhorst fell to a heavy 8-2 loss to Nürnberger HTC on Sunday while Uhlenhorst's tricky season saw them tie 3-3 with Berliner HC.
Harvestehuder won 3-0 the last time the two sides met with goals from Johan Björkman, Xaver Husan and Michael Körper meaning Mülheim will be desperate to win this battle.
EHL regulars Rotterdam begin their week's challenge with a tie against WKS Grunwald Poznan as clear favourites. The Dutch club have come close on so many occasions but last season was a disappointment, bowing out at the KO16 stage.
A 4-1 win over Reading in round one, though, and a run to the Hoofdklasse playoffs means they are still very much a strong force.
WKS Grunwald Poznan have been a fixture in the Euro Hockey League since the first edition of the tournament way back in 2007-2008 but this is their first trip to the KO16 since the third edition of the competition in 2010.
They look in good shape to make it back for next season's EHL as they lead the Polish league by seven points thanks to a 3-0 win last Saturday against KS Polonia Sroda with goals from Karol Majchrzak, Waldemar Rataj and Piotr Kozłowski.
Last on court is the highlight of the day as Dutch side Kampong, who finished top of the regular season table in the Hoofdklasse, take on Belgian runners-up KHC Dragons at 7pm (CET).
Kampong announced themselves on the EHL stage in stunning fashion, recording the biggest win in the history of the competition when they smashed Belarussian club Stroitel Brest 14-0. An impressive 4-2 win over Rot Weiss Köln confirmed their calibre as they topped Pool B in their debut year in this competition.
HC Dragons have earned a reputation as one of Europe’s most feared teams thanks to some absolutely sensational displays over the past three years. They defeated Dutch giants Rotterdam to win the bronze medal in 2011/12 and went a step further last season when they were narrowly defeated by Bloemendaal in the tournament final.
It makes for a stunning end to the first day of what is set to be a top quality week of hockey.
Euro Hockey League media release
English clubs aim for European glory
Reading in the EHL
This week three men’s and one women’s team will be battling it out against the best of Europe in their respective European tournaments in the Netherlands.
The men’s teams - Surbiton, Reading and Beeston - are taking part in the EuroHockey League in Eindhoven on Wednesday 16 April, while Reading’s women’s team is in the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup, taking place in Den Bosch on Friday.
Up first for the men is Reading at 10.30 (UK time), and they’re up against Real Club de Polo from Barcelona. The Spanish team won both of their previous pool games with three goals each time, so they’ll be expected to give Reading a run for their money. Reading are more than up to the challenge though – they’ve been in enough European matches to know what they need to beat the best of Europe.
Next in the schedule is Beeston at 15.30, facing the Waterloo Ducks from Belgium. Three of the Belgian team’s top players retired earlier this month, so it’ll be interesting to see whether Beeston can capitalise on their change in line-up to make their way through to the next stage of the tournament. They’ll be flying high after their victory at the NOW: Pension Men’s Hockey League finals weekend, and they’ll surely be hoping to continue their good fortunes on Wednesday, but it'll be an interesting match as the Waterloo Ducks also just won their own domestic finals.
The last match of the day features Surbiton at 18.00 facing home favourites MHC Oranje Zwart. The Dutch team are hosting the tournament so they’ll be the team with the biggest crowd behind them, but after Surbiton made it to third place at the finals weekend the English side know they’ve got what it takes to see them through to the next round - over the next few days the men’s teams will be whittled down further through the KO8 and FINAL 4 tournaments, all held in Eindhoven and culminating on Sunday 20 April.
The women’s tournament begins on Friday 18 April with England’s sole representatives Reading hoping for European glory on the pitch at 11.00. They’re facing Uhlenhorster, one of the oldest hockey clubs in Germany, and with 2012 Olympic goalkeeper Yvonne Frank between the posts and several other Olympians in their roster they’ll certainly keep Reading on their toes. However, Reading have proved that domestically they’re one of the best high-scorers, and they’ll be planning to carry that over to Europe.
To find out more, keep track and watch the games, head over to the EuroHockey League website for the men and the EuroHockey Champions Cup 2014 competition website for the women.
England Hockey Board Media release
Railway Union Head To Europe - Club Champions Cup
by Helen Johnston
Railway will represent Ireland at the Eurohockey Club Champions Cup (W) in Den Bosch, Holland over Easter. It is the first time an Irish women's club team will have competed at this elite level with the 8 top European club.
Railway have a tough opening assignment facing the hosts HC s'Hertogenbosch at 17.00 on Friday. HC s'Hertogenbosch have just won the Dutch women's league and contain the Dutch captain, midfielder Maartije Paumen.
Railway are sending a strong squad to the competition, captained by Irish international Emma Smyth. They welcome back cricket internationals Isobel and Cecelia Joyce, along with Kate McKenna, who will strengthen the squad. All the players, with the exception of Ruth Clifford who replaces the unavailable Julia O'Halloran, have European club experience, having played in the Eurohockey Club Trophy competition in Antwerp last May.
Schoolgirl Sarah Hawkshaw has played a central role in midfield this season, and along with the evergreen Sinead Dooley and Emma Smyth will hope to make an impact in midfield. The versatile international Kate Dillon has been one of the main sources of goals this season and will be hoping she can score in Den Bosch, along with strikers Alex Speers, Jean McDonnell, Kate Lloyd and the speedy Zara Delany. Emer Lucey is likely to be kept busy marshalling the defence. The team is coached by Nasir Munir, who has previous experience in European club competition with Glenanne men.
The format of the tournament is such that Railway will play three games. The winner of their first game will play the winner of the match between the German side Berliner and the Spanish side Real Sociedad de Futbal SAD and the loser will play the loser of this match. The play off matches will take place on Easter Monday. The other teams in the competition are the Dutch side Amsterdam who play the Azerbaijan champions Atasport, and Reading from England who play Uhlenhorster from Germany.
Railway have a large contingent of supporters going to the competition, including the Railway U14 team coached by Una McCarthy. The U14s, including starlet Michelle Carey, will play Junior Dutch teams as well as supporting the players who have been coaching them all season.
Schedule:
Friday 18th April: 9.30 M1 Amsterdam v Atasport 12.00 M2 Reading v Uhlenhorster 14.30 M3 Berliner v Real Sociedad de Futbal SAD 17.00 M4 Railway Union v HC 's-Hertogenbosch
Saturday 19th April: 14.30 M5 LM1 v LM2 17.00 M6 LM3 v LM4
Sunday 20th April: 14.30 M7 WM1 v WM2 17.00 M8 WM3 v WM4
Monday 21st April: 9.30 7/8 LM5 v LM6 12.00 5/6 WM5 v WM6 14.30 3/4 LM7 v LM8 17.00 Final WM7 v WM8
Railway Team: Grace O'Flangan (GK), Isobel Joyce, Kate Dillon, Kate Lloyd, Zara Delany, Holly Jenkinson, Kate McKenna, Jean McDonnell, Cecelia Joyce, Ruth Clifford, Emma Smyth (C), Emer Lucey, Rachel Barnett (GK), Eimear Dolan, Alex Speers, Sarah Hawkshaw, Sinead Dooley, Orla Fox. Coach: Nasir Munir. Manager: Ruth Anne Kilty. Physio: Fiona Connolly. Assistant Coach: Hannah de Burgh Whyte.
EUROPEAN CLUB COMPETITIONS
Women’s Club Champions Trophy: June 7th – Loreto
Men’s Club Challenge 1: June 7th – Banbridge (Rakovnik, Czech Republic)
Men’s Club Trophy: June 7th – Monkstown (Cagliari, Italy)
Women’s Euro Hockey League: 19th / 20th April – Railway Union
Irish Hockey Association media release
Shahnaz, Manzoor Junior likely to get head coach, chief selector
Mohammad Yaqoob
LAHORE: Former senior Olympians Shahnaz Sheikh and Manzoor Junior are most likely to be appointed as national team head coach and chief selector, respectively, during the 27th Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Executive Board meeting scheduled to be held here on Wednesday.
President PHF Akhtar Rasool Chaudhary will preside over the meeting.
Dawn has learnt on authority that both Shahnaz and Manzoor Junior have expressed willingness to accept the posts of head coach and chief selector.
Also, four Olympians namely Islahuddin Siddiqui, Shahbaz Senior, Akhtar-ul-Islam and Shahnaz, too will be inducted into the PHF Executive Board to accept the hitherto annoyed former Olympians’ demand of raising the number of former Olympians from two to four at the Executive Board.
The former senior Olympians were not happy with the previous PHF set-up headed by Qasim Zia and Asif Bajwa and had showed their resentment from time to time in this regard. However, as Akhtar took over last year he started a campaign to bring the annoyed Olympians into the PHF fold.
Akhtar’s endeavours bore fruits when Shahnaz, Islahuddin, Shahbaz and many others expressed willingness to work under Akhtar-led PHF.
Notwithstanding, prominent Olympian namely Samiullah Khan is still opposing PHF policies and has decided against joining the country’s hockey governing body.
Sources said that Shahnaz has been inducted into the Executive Board which will also recommend his name for the post of head coach too. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether Shahnaz will continue as member of the Executive Board after being given the task of head coach.
Considering declining standard of hockey in the country, it will be a great challenge for the senior Olympians to deliver even if they get free hand from the PHF president in team affairs.
“Akhtar, wanting national team revamp to bring back all lost glories, is ready to give free hands to his new team if the new officials promise future team successes,” claimed the sources.
“In fact, Shahnaz will not get a poor side since they are defending champions at the Asian Games besides holding the Asian Champions Trophy title,” the sources further said.
“Shahnaz’s job is to make the national team world beaters,” another PHF official told Dawn on condition of anonymity.
“They all are capable of lifting the national team because they have a vast experience of international hockey and hopefully with better coordination with the PHF president they will achieve their goals,” he claimed.
Nevertheless, PHF’s main problem is to generate money as the federal government is not ready to grant funds to the hockey federation adopting the stance that first the PHF management must show accounts of the grants taken by the previous PHF set-up during Pakistan People’s Party government.
The PPP government showing generosity showered around Rs1 billion on the PHF during the last five years but the incumbent government is not ready to give any respect to the national game until it gets account of the previous funds given.
Dawn