News 21 June 2014
All the news for Saturday 21 June 2014
Scotland win the first match in Ireland series
Nikki Kidd celebrating her goal taken by Ian Buchan
A thrilling win for Scotland women in an end to end match with the Scots edging a 3-1 win over Ireland on Friday night.
Both teams came out with full force, with a penalty corner to Scotland saw Aileen Davis slipping the ball to the far post for Nikki Lloyd to tap it in over Ireland keeper Sargents head to open the score sheet, 1-0 to Scotland.
It wasn’t long till Ireland fought back a goal with captain Megan Frazer taking a fantastic straight shot across keeper Amy Gibson into the near post making it all level at 1-1.
This didn’t stop Scotland as two minutes later Davis made a super run down the left to put a ball across the goal for Nikki Kidd to throw herself at the ball to tap in it past the keeper giving Scotland the lead 2-1.
Scotland kept the attacks coming but the Irish defence stayed strong denying any more goals, with a penalty corner awarded to Scotland in the dying minutes before half time forcing Sargent to make a great diving save to deny any more goals for the Scots.
Both teams came out into the second half hungry for a goal, with end to end play throughout the second half it was only a matter of time before one side scored. After some great play and attacks from both sides Kidd got her second of the match from a penalty corner hitting a straight strike to the keepers bottom left to give Scotland a 3-1 win.
Captain Linda Clement having a shot on goal taken by Ian Buchan
Scotland women play Ireland again on Sunday at 1pm at Glasgow Green, free entry to all and expect another thriller of a game!
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Ireland 1 - 3 Scotland (w) Match 1 in Glasgow
Ireland’s Green Army sponsored by Electric Ireland took on Scotland tonight in the first of two test matches taking place in Glasgow this weekend, losing out 3-1 in a match that ensued in end to end fashion.
Scotland opened the match showing early scoring intent with a penalty corner in the first minute but Ireland stood the test. Scotland converted their chance finally in the 8th minute from a counter attack when Davis slipped the ball to Lloyd who tapped over the keeper to make it 1-0.
Ireland’s captain Megan Frazer leveled the sides in the 25th minute with a straight shot past Gibson in goals but the deadlock only lasted three minutes before Nikki Kidd showed form with a sliding goal making it 2-1 before half time.
Ireland came out strong in the second half pressing early on but to no avail. Scotland had a good chance in the 41st minute when Bunce and Ward combined but Ireland’s defence held strong.
Scotland made it 3-1 with a Nikki Kidd straight strike from a penalty corner and Ireland had a final chance to draw one back with a penalty corner of their own on the final whistle but a great strike from Emma Smyth could not find its way past Gibson’s glove who did very well to save the excellent Smyth effort.
Ireland won’t have long to wait for an opportunity to right the score line they take on Scotland again on Sunday at 1pm in Glasgow.
“We displayed a huge amount of effort, work rate & desire throughout the match. Players were running hard and chasing back for 70 minutes.”
“What was lacking was a structure to our game and our basic skills let us down. This resulted in significant turnover and an inability to create attacking pressure. I am sure that over the next two days we will see improvement in both areas. Scotland did look strong after a decent block of full time training and played some good hockey during the match.
Smith went onto pay dues to Keeper Davis “Congratulations to Stella Davis for making her debut and even better she made 3 excellent saves in the 2nd half.”
Ireland (1) M Frazer 25m op
Scotland (2) N Lloyd 8m op; N Kidd 28m op; 69m pc
Ireland Starting XI:
C.Sargent, E.Smyth, A.Speers, S.McCay, M.Frazer, V.Surgeoner, A.McFerran GK, A.OFlanagan, D.Duke, K.Dillon, Y.OByrne
Irish Hockey Association media release
WNC Crossovers Set Stage for Tomorrow’s Championship Matches
LANCASTER, Pa. – After a day of rest, squads at the 2014 US Women’s National Championship resumed competition in a round of crossover play. Today’s matches set the stage for tomorrow’s final games. Coming into the matches, Pool B’s Freedom sat atop the leaderboard with a total of nine points and 13 goals while Pool A’s U21 team was close behind with seven points and 10 goals.
The Patriots and White took to the pitch for the first match up of the day. The Patriot’s Katie Gerzabek(Springfield, Pa.) opened up the playing field first with a goal in the 16th minute. Five minutes later, a frenzy in front of White’s cage yielded a Patriot corner. Gerzbek stepped up to the sweet spot on the pitch and notched another tally for the Patriots. Not to go down easily, White’s Casey Di Nardo (Virginia Beach Va.) found the back of the net at the 30 minute mark to make the score 2-1 heading into halftime. With much back and forth play in the second half, White was unable to even the score and the Patriots took home 2-1 victory.
Courage and Red were the next teams onto the field. Red got off to a quick start, breaking onto the scoreboard in the 2nd minute off of a goal by Kim Young (Sydney, N.Y.). Both teams battled through the midfield for the remainder of the first half, going into the break 1-0 in favor of Red. Courage fought to even the score throughout the second half while Red looked for a cushion in the form of a second goal, but neither team was able to hit the backboards. The final whistle signaled a 1-0 Red victory over Courage.
U21 and the Eagles faced off for bragging rights and the chance to compete in the championship game. A tightly-contested first half saw much back and forth action throughout the entire game. Neither team was able to break through strong defensive lines and the halftime report read 0-0. The second half was much of the same play, with offensive attacks thwarted and many defensive saves. In the 67th minute, the Eagles made it onto the scoreboard when Megan Anstotz (Audubon, N.J) connected with the back of the net. U21 was unable to tie up the match and the Eagles earned the three points and a spot in tomorrow’s championship match.
Freedom and Blue finished up the day’s matches, fighting for a spot in the finals. Freedom’s Ali Ahern(Getzville, N.Y.) struck first in the 12th minute to put them up 1-0. Just two minutes later, Allison Evans(Macungie, Pa.) tallied another score for Freedom. At the 26 minute mark, Ahern notched another goal for Freedom to head into halftime 3-0. Blue came out fighting in the second half, making strong offensive runs into Freedom’s circle but were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities. Caitlin Van Sickle(Wilmington, Del.) finished a penalty corner in the 66th minute to seal the score for Freedom and end the match 4-0. The victory sends Freedom into the championship match.
USFHA media release
100th FUNdamental Field Hockey Program: Rochester Youth Field Hockey
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Newly appointed USA Field Hockey Regional Development Manager, Victoria Warzeski, along with the Rochester Youth Field Hockey program have earned the 100th FUNdamental Field Hockey equipment pack of 2014 The program, which provides a free curriculum, sticks, balls and cones, is USA Field Hockey’s flagship initiative to continue to grow the game across the country. Thanks to the Fundamental Field Hockey program sponsor Harrow Sports, thousands of boys and girls have been exposed to the sport since the program’s inception in 2012.
“In order to build a sturdy, long lasting structure, you need to start with a solid base; then build up,” says Warzeski. “Coaches in the Rochester, N.Y. area feel this is no different than when trying to build a fruitful field hockey program.”
It’s no secret that feeder programs are essential for the overall strength of an athletic program. When athletes begin playing field hockey as late as the modified level, 7th and 8th grades, it affects the potential strength of the sport at the junior varsity and varsity levels. Coaches in Rochester recognize this and have been working hard to improve field hockey in their area by establishing Rochester Youth Field Hockey (RYFH).
“Rochester Youth Field Hockey is a conglomerate of area coaches dedicated to the growth of youth field hockey in the Rochester area,” says Sean Metz, President of RYFH and Varsity Field Hockey Coach at Brighton High School. “These youth programs will serve as the foundation for creating stronger scholastic and club field hockey endeavors in the future.”
The focus of RYFH is to cultivate the sport at the youth level by providing athletes, who range in age from K-6th grades, the opportunity to participate in clinics, tournaments and leagues led by different coaches in the area. The mission of the program is not school-based, it is more utilitarian in nature, meaning that coaches from different districts will be taking off their “school hats” while working towards growing the game in the Rochester area.
"Not only are the coaches excited to start teaching and coaching youth players, they are invested in helping the Rochester area be more competitive at the higher levels,” says Kara Carpenter, Marketing Director for RYFH and Varsity Field Hockey Coach for Mendon High School.
Receiving the FUNdamental Field Hockey equipment grant through USA Field Hockey is a huge asset for this program and will allow even more young athletes to participate. Providing the equipment allows kids to come out and experience the sport we all love. For more information on FUNdamental Field Hockey and how it can help grow the game in your community, click here.
USFHA media release
Euro Hockey League 2014/15 – A Fresh Start Brings A New Format
The Boards of EHL and EHF announce a new format for the 8th EHL Season. They are committed to continuing to develop EHL as the best Club competition in the World!
This season there will only be one Round 1, featuring four groups of three Clubs playing in Barcelona in October. The 12 top ranked teams will receive a bye into the KO16. The KO 16 and Final 4 will be combined again at Easter this season due to the proximity of the World league 3 and the traditional Final 4 date of Whitsun. This move, combined with only one Round 1 allows players to combine their National team and Club commitments. The following seasons will revert to KO16 at Easter and Final 4 at Whitsun.
A new format and some new faces are already confirmed for the 2014/15 season with Belgium's Daring and Ireland's Monkstown set to make tournament debuts. The updated EHL rankings list sees Spanish clubs as the big winners in the latest national standings that determine how many entries each country receives. The performances of Real Club de Polo and Club de Campo, reaching the KO8, were good enough to increase their quota of entrants to three teams.
Polo will be joined next year by Club Egara who return to the EHL for the first time since 2009/10 and Atletic Terrassa who last appeared in the 2012/13 season. England is the side to see their number of entrants reduced following their trio of clubs elimination in the KO16 this season. East Grinstead, though, return to the competition alongside Beeston.
The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany's quotas remain at three clubs. Poland, Russia and France remain with two entrants while Scotland and Austria keep their single entry.
Ireland and Italy, however, are back in the fold having missed out last season, taking the place of Belarus and Wales in the top 12 nations' list.
Nations Ranking
(1-4): Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Spain – 3 teams
(5-8): England, Poland, Russia and France – 2 teams
(9-12) Scotland, Ireland, Austria and Italy – 1 team
Dates and Format
The competition will be played in the following structure and on the following dates:
12 teams will receive a bye into KO16 (The first 2 Clubs from Nations ranked 1-4 and the first Club from Nations ranked 5-8 have a bye to Round 2 (KO16)).
Round 1: 12 teams play in 4 pools of 3 in Barcelona 10th – 12th October 2014 (Pau Negre Stadium, Montjuich). Pool winners qualify for Round 2.
Round 2: 16 teams allocated as specified above to play knockout match at Easter 2015 – Tuesday 31 March and Wednesday 1st April. Winners qualify for Round 3.
Round 3: 8 teams to play knock out match at Easter 2015 – Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd April. Winners qualify for Round 4.
Round 4: Semi-finals on Sunday 5th April 2015
Round 5: Final and 3/4 Place match Monday 6th April 2015
- The draw for Round 1 will take place during the summer.
- The draw for Rounds 2-5 will take place shortly after completion of the Round 1 tournament.
- Clubs will no longer receive a grant towards the cost of EHL anymore.
Marijke Fleuren, President of the EHF said: “The EHL is one of the core Tournaments on the EHF yearly calendar, for the players, coaches and spectators. We have had to make some tough decisions in order to ensure the future of this prized event. We know that Clubs find that EHL qualification can open the door to new talented players and potential sponsors, so we ask now that the clubs take ownership of the cost of participation in EHL.
"We expect the new format to provide very competitive matches in Round 1. We also are aware that players face a lot of demands from Club and country and by giving the top 12 teams a bye to KO16 this frees up some much needed time for them. We are looking forward to another very exciting EHL Season.”
Details of qualifying teams and entry information for the EuroHockey Club Trophy and Challenges will be posted on www.ehlhockey.tv in the coming days.
Euro Hockey League media release
Hockey has to grow beyond known bastions
s2h Team
The Netherlands’ third tryst with World Cups, that too twice with men and women double, is a grand gesture. However what entices the entire hockey world is its conscious attempt to enlarge the scope of the event at The Hague.
The objective doesn’t seem to stop with successful conduct of the games, for which no doubts whatsoever exists --the Dutch has a record of immaculate organization of mega events -- but now the thrust is to involve and entice as many as sections of society as possible so that its profile grow beyond known base of stake holders.
Hockey being a family sport, and amateur in character, it is struck at a level if one views it in a global perspective. Even where the sports is well entrenched, like in the Western Europe and South Eastern Asia, most chroniclers would agree, the sport draws its sustenance and survival due to particular history, culture and secluded passion of sport rather than its inherent potential of innovation, marketability and ability to embrace new generation.
The excellent outdoor advertising in particular The Hague event has undertaken, as it is visible on every part of the city, speaks the administrators’ eager to spread the game. Its more so against the fact that the tickets for the Kycenora stadium had already been a sold out, and the required levels of sponsorships have come about long ago.
Still the idea of publicising the event is a must, which is exactly what the Dutch has been doing.
Hockey has to grow beyond known bastions, and reach to new frontiers.
Hockey is one of the oldest member of the Olympic family, but that won’t ensure and endure its place in future. It had a cat’s escape recently. Unless various forms of hockey strike a responsive chord with the populace, hockey cannot survive for long.
The present World Cup is hosted on a football stadium on standby basis sends the message as to where we are. Even when India – where the sport is categorized as its National Game -- hosted the World Cup in the early 80s, it was on a cricket stadium.
The message, whether one likes it or not, is that the profile of hockey doesn't match its history, and is low. It is the situation even in the countries where it counts. Unless and until series of competitions that are worth marketable, watchable on television, and will trickle down to kinder garden kids levels, no effort should be spared by the hockey administrators.
Even The Hague, despite making significant progress on all frontiers, may at best set a bench mark for other hockey nations, but still will fall short in comparison to other emerging sports. While The KNHB deserves all acclaims, it’s a long way to go for the sport before it becomes a sport that counts in the television world, first factor for any successful sports.
Note: This article of mine was written on the request of editor, World Cup Daily, and published on the issue dated 1st June.
Stick2Hockey.com
Can an Asian hockey academy revive the game?
FMT LETTER: V. Thomas via e-mail
0Malaysia’s disastrous outing in the just-concluded mens Hockey World Cup in The Hague, where the team finished last among 12 nations despite large investments of money and other resources, has exposed various shortcomings and problems.
Despite various local competitions, the quality of hockey has not improved much and there are only a limited number of capable players.
Previously the bastion of hockey was in urban areas especially in secondary schools. Most of these schools have lost their hockey fields so no hockey is played there anymore. Instead hockey is now more concentrated in residential schools that have good sports and training facilities. This explains why there are now more Malay youngsters in the national team whereas previously Indians and Eurasians dominated the sport.
A closer look at the team reveals that except for a handful of players, the others are average and may not improve or impress no matter what training is provided. Some lack size and this could be a handicap when facing stronger and taller European players.
Needless to say hockey must be made popular again as a sport of choice for students to enable more skilful and talented players to emerge in larger numbers. Clearly hockey has been in the doldrums for quite some time and needs a big revival.
Sultan Azlan Shah’s recent demise was a big loss in more ways than one. He was a prime mover and a visionary for hockey since the 1980s and he initiated various competitions, programmes, a scholarship scheme as well as enabled hockey to have a major profile in the government and the country. If not for him hockey could have ended up like cricket in Malaysia, which had its heydays in the 1960s and 1970s. The Sultan’s passing must have also emotionally affected the Malaysian team and their administrators during the World Cup.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) too needs to opt for officials who are passionate, competent and interested in addressing the shortcomings and problems associated with Malaysian hockey.
Just because one is a royalty or a corporate figure, a tycoon, a politician or even an ex-player, it is no guarantee that the team can be easily transformed as Malaysian hockey faces many challenges and troubleshooting is needed frequently.
Another revelation of The Hague World Cup was the collective decline of Asian hockey. One time hockey powerhouse Pakistan was not even represented, and India, Malaysia and South Korea performed poorly.
As such there is a need to address this downtrend by initiating an Asian Hockey Academy – sited possibly in Malaysia – where centralised coaching and training can be provided for participating countries.
A covered Astroturf stadium to provide weather-proof training for the participants, top notch international coaches and trainers as well as other facilities and incentives can be provided at an economical cost instead of the countries doing it alone. Combining resources will be a winning formula for Asian teams such as Malaysia, Pakistan, India, Japan, China and South Korea.
Further the International Hockey Federation (FIH) needs to be more sensible as holding the Hockey World Cup so close to the FIFA World Cup led to a total media shut out of the former. The Women’s Hockey World Cup also held at the same time, suffered the same fate. Couldn’t the tournaments be held at a more favourable time?
Free Malaysia Today
Team Scotland player Nicki Skrastin inspires pupils from Clydebank High School
Pupils from Clydebank High School met Commonwealth Games debutant Nicki Skrastin who delivered an action-packed hockey taster session for secondary three pupils.
Nicki, from Helensburgh, studies Geography and Business at the University of Glasgow and is one of 160 athletes across Scotland to receive support from national scholarships Winning Students.
It provides her with funding for equipment and competitions and the academic flexibility required to perform at the highest level in her sport and studies.
The 21-year-old took time out from her Glasgow preparations to meet more than 200 secondary three pupils at the West Dunbartonshire school as part of their own Commonwealth Games-themed week.
After fielding a question and answer session, Nicki then headed for the Sports Hall to demonstrate the techniques and skills to develop in hockey.
Nicki said: “The pupils were really keen and had lots of questions to ask me which was great. I was also really impressed with how they to put the skills they learned during the hockey session into practice in the games.
“The support from Winning Students has been so important for me as it means I can focus fully on my training and competing for Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. With their support and the assistance from my University, I was able to take a year out to focus on selection and now that I’ve done that, I can’t wait to experience my first ever Games.
“I first took up hockey when I was at school and I wasn’t very good, but I’m really competitive so I kept working and improving and now it’s a dream come true to play at a home Commonwealth Games.”
The Winning Students School visits give pupils an opportunity to meet talented student athletes and learn more about future sport and study opportunities.
Mr Hunter, Principal Teacher of Biology & Chemistry, who organised the Commonwealth Games Week, said: “When planning our Commonwealth Week, we knew that maximising participation was always going to be key to achieving our aims. Nicki's visit and inspirational talk proved instrumental in encouraging all pupils to participate in our mini games.
“Pupils asked Nicki some searching questions and signed up for her coaching session in droves and they greatly appreciated the expert tuition they received. Hearing about Winning Students gave us a completely new perspective on further education. The idea that you can be supported to combine study and sporting interests at college or university was new to our pupils and has given many of them food for thought.”
Find out more about the scholarships at www.winningstudents-scotland.ac.uk
Scottish Hockey Union media release