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News 16 August 2014

All the news for Saturday 16 August 2014


Ireland 1 Spain 2 - Narrow loss for GreenArmy against Spain



IRELAND played Spain in their 2nd match of the Electric Ireland Series at UCD narrowly losing out 2-1 in a game where the Green Army dominated possession and chances in a fantastic display of hockey.

Ireland dominated the first half of the match with open play chances and two penalty corner routines but there was no return for their efforts. Spain defended well batting down in the circle and some pacy running by their number 1 defender thwarting  Audrey O’Flynn’s drag flick attempts to ensure the match was deadlocked at 0-0 at the break.

Ireland started strongly in the second half coming out with speed and strength applying pressure from the off, led by Captain Megan Frazer whose shot just flew wide. Ireland had a great penalty corner chance in the 39th minute but Cliodhna Sargent’s sweep was deflected over the bar by Ali Meeke.

Spain had a fine chance minutes later when Gomez set up for a reverse but Emma Gray in goal saved well. Spain secured their first penalty corner of the match in the 50th minute but Riera’s drag flick was well saved by Emma Gray in goals and Cliodhna Sargent on the line for Ireland.

Spain broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute with a classy goal from Perez who broke from halfway to smash home to make it Ireland 0 Spain 1. Ten minutes later Spain doubled their lead Bonastre this time with the honours with an outstanding reverse stick shot rocketing into the top of the net to go two ahead.

Ireland a minute later had a chance to pull one back as they lined up for another PC but Audrey O’Flynn’s drag was deflected wide by the Spanish defence. Ireland finally secured a much deserved goal Gillian Pinder driving into the circle thumping home to make it 1-2 with just three left on the clock. Ireland ramped up looking for the equaliser but no joy and Spain closed out with a narrow 2-1 win over hosts Ireland.

Series 2 of this Electric Ireland starts tomorrow again with Spain and France at 4pm followed by Ireland and France on Sunday at 4pm in UCD.

Ireland 1 (0) Gillian Pinder 67m fg
Spain 2 (0) Beatriz Perez 52 fg; Berta Bonastre 62m fg

Starting XI: Stella David (GK); Cliodhna Sargent; Emma Smyth; Megan Frazer; Naomi Carroll; Aine Connery; Audrey O’Flynn; Nicci Daly;  Anna O’Flanagan; Kate Dillon; Alison Meeke

Reserves:  Emma Gray GK; Chloe Brown; Hannah Matthews; Katie Mullan; Gillian Pinder; Emily Beatty, Deidre Duke.

Series 2

    Saturday August 16th Spain v France 16.00
    Sunday August 17th Ireland v France 16.00
    Monday August 18 Ireland v Spain 19.00

Series 3

    Tuesday August 19th Spain v France 19.00
    Wednesday August 20 Ireland v France 19.00
    Thursday August 21 Ireland v Spain 19.00

Series 4

    Friday August 22 Spain v France 17.00
    Saturday August 23 Ireland v France 15.00
    Sunday August 24th Ireland v Spain 15.00

Irish Hockey Association media release



Southern Gauteng set to defend title

JONATHAN COOK


Strikers Lilian du Plessis (left) and Bernie Coston are among a stellar cast of SA players who will be defending Southern Gauteng's national title in Pietermaritzburg this week. Plate Pictures

THERE will be plenty to play for when the SA Interprovincial Women’s Hockey Tournament takes place in Pietermaritzburg this coming week.

For the first time in a while the Investec South Africa women’s hockey team players are required to play IPT, which is a massive ask considering the scarcely believable commitment they have made to the national cause this year.

Players have been away from studies and work for the best part of six months of 2014 so far and it has places an enormous strain on their career aspirations outside hockey. However, with the rest of the top 12 nations almost exclusively full-time athletes it is the only way to stay the pace at world level.

The national selectors also have to see what those promising provincial players just outside the national team loop fare alongside more illustrious team-mates who have tackled the best in the world in recent times.

Southern Gauteng are in defence of their title and the top-tier A Section event involving eight teams kicks off on Tuesday while the 10-team promotion division, the B Section, begins Sunday at Greenfields Turf in Princess Margaret Drive, just opposite the home of PSL side Maritzburg United’s Harry Gwala Stadium.

Southerns head coach, the University of Johannesburg coaching supremo Garreth Ewing, is upbeat about the way his team are approaching IPT.

“It’s a great group to work with,” said Ewing. “They have high expectations of their coach and set a good performance standard for themselves. Plus, they are passionate about Southerns hockey.”

Captain Lisa Deetlefs’ side fields 11 players who have represented their country and it’s a glittering line-up that among other outstanding players includes national captain Marsha Cox, world-respected attacking midfielder Shelley Russell, and leading Commonwealth Games goalscorer in striker Dirkie Chamberlain, who has moved across the Jukskei River after long service at Gauteng arch-rivals Northern Blues,

In Pool A alongside Southerns are fellow semi-final contenders North West as well as outsiders Eastern Province and Witwatersrand (Wits). Topping Pool B are Western Province followed by likely semi-finalist Northern Blues, Border and dark horses KZN Coastal Raiders.

The B Section sides looking to stake their claim for A Section inclusion next year are likely winners Free State who head Pool A, followed in the pool by Mpumalanga, KZN Mynahs, serious contenders Western Province Peninsula and East Gauteng, while Pool B features host province KZN Inland, EP Settlers, SA Country Districts A and SA Country Districts B, as well as Zimbabwe.

Fieldhockey.com



We have the potential to confront India, South Korea at Asiad: Imran

By Kashif Abbasi


Sounding optimistic, Imran, who scored 163 goals in 265 international matches, vowed that his men will deliver their best at Incheon Games. — Photo by AFP

ISLAMABAD: While lamenting the lack of international exposure for Pakistan team during the last year or so, national hockey captain Mohammad Imran on Friday picked India and South Korea as tough opponents at next month’s Asian Games and said his men had the ability to tackle both of them.

The Asian Games are slated to be held from Sept 19 to Oct 4 in Incheon, South Korea.

Sounding optimistic, Imran, who scored 163 goals in 265 international matches, vowed that his men will deliver their best at Incheon Games.

“South Korea and India will give us tough competition but I believe we have the potential to handle them,” Imran said while talking to Dawn on Friday.

The captain is satisfied with the squad selected for the continental extravaganza.

“I’m very much satisfied with the team [selected for the Asian Games]. Except for one newcomer, goalkeeper Amjad Ali, I think it is an experienced side for defending the title we won in Guangzhou four years ago,” the 35-year-old full-back emphasised.

Pakistan hold a rich record in the Asian Games hockey event. Green-shirts have the honour of winning Asiad title as many as eight times. First they clinched it in 1958, then in 1962, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1990 and the last time in 2010 in Guangzhou, China.

The captain, while acknowledging that the squad for the task of defending the Asian Games crown was balanced comprising several seniors, expressed his concern that dearth of foreign tours might leave Pakistan in a disadvantageous position against their opponents in Incheon.

“During the last one year we could not make any foreign tour. On the other hand, almost all Asian teams made several international visits and so the experience those teams gained from those tours will help them in the Asian Games,” he stated.

Responding to a query, Imran reckond there were no out-and-out favourites for the Asian Games title. “It is very difficult to pick any team as hot favourite,” he said, adding Pakistan, India, South Korea and even Malaysia had the potential to clinch the hockey trophy.

He said the green-shirts for the last three months had been training hard for the Asain Games, adding the PHF was trying to send the team to Spain for a few matches prior to the Asian Games.

“If we get the Spain tour it will help us a lot in boosting our confidence,” the Pakistan captain said.

The skipper wants the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) to send the Pakistan squad to Incheon a bit early.

“If our players get themselves adjusted to the weather conditions [in Incheon] we will stand better chance to clinch the trophy. I would request the PHF to send the squad to South Korea at least 10 days before the commencement of the games so that we could play some practice matches there,” he said.

When asked why the selection committee hadn’t given chance to emerging newcomers and instead selected seniors for the Asian Games, he said the federation was taking Asiad very seriously.

“In a situation when we have not undertaken any foreign tour for the last one year, when we missed the Commonwealth Games, Europe tour, World Cup and other important events, we need a win to boost our morale.

“Therefore, I think, keeping all this in view, the selection committee picked [some] experienced players [for the Asian Games],” Imran concluded.

Dawn



PIA, NBP to vie for top honours

LAHORE: Defending champions Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) will vie for the top honours in the All-Pakistan NBP Hockey Tournament at the National Hockey Stadium here on Saturday.

The tournament was contested on single league basis and both PIA and NBP emerged as two top teams on the points table.

The match will start at 4pm.

Meanwhile, three more matches were decided on Friday in which Railways thrashed HEC 5-1, NBP defeated Wapda 3-1 and PIA beat Army 3-2.

The Railways and HEC started the match at a fast pace as both teams launched a series of attacks against each other.

HEC, however, scored the first goal in the eighth minute through Kamran Maqsood.

Railways responded strongly when Adeel Latif struck the first goal in the 25th minute.

Aleem made it 2-1 in the 32nd minute. Adeel fired his second goal in the 43rd minute for 3-1 lead, while Rizwan (51st) and Shehryar (60th) hit one goal each to complete the tally.

NBP defeated Wapda 3-1 as Attique (11th), Ayub (35th) and Akhtar Ali (60t) were the scorers.

For Wapda Mohammad Usman scored the solitary goal in the 25th minute.

PIA edged out Army 3-2 with Abu Baker scoring two goals in the 33rd and 39th minute.

Imran Khan (36th) added one goal. For Army, Shahid Ali Khan (52nd) and Muzammal Haq (55th) were the scorers.

Dawn



Rome Olympics hero Waheed finally gets award

By Anwar Zuberi

KARACHI: Celebrated Olympian Abdul Waheed Khan was 25-year-old when Pakistan hockey team scooped their maiden gold at the Rome Olympics in 1960.

Strangely, it took government over five decades, 54-years to be precise, to acknowledge the feat by announcing civilian award, Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, the other day.

The 79-year-old former spearhead is among the three hockey stalwarts of yore — all Rome Olympic gold medallist — full back Munir Dar and centre half Anwar Ahmed Khan (both posthumous) being the other two.

Waheed also had the honour of scoring 17 of the Pakistan’s 33 goals at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games and his record is still intact.

Another record held in his name is that Pakistan completed a hat-trick of titles — Buenos Aires World Cup, inaugural Champions Trophy at Lahore and Asian Games at Bangkok in 1978 under his manager ship.

Waheed, who retired as Assistant Collector of Customs (Preventive) in 1994, also managed victorious Pakistan hockey team in the inaugural Asia Cup at Dhaka in 1985.

Dawn



Terry Walsh: Door not shut for Sandeep, but he ought to work hard for comeback

Suhrid Barua

Indian men’s hockey team’s silver-winning performance at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games has reignited hopes about the sport taking the small, significant strides towards climbing up the performance ladder. The national team raised their game by a several notches in Glasgow after settling for a 9th place finish at the 2014 World Cup in The Hague.

More than India winning the silver, what was of crucial interest was the manner in which the team played after a ‘not-so-happening start ‘to their campaign against Wales. The team really hit the straps in the subsequent matches, beating Scotland 6-2, South Africa 5-2, losing to Australia 2-4 in a well contested game before upsetting higher ranked New Zealand 3-2 in the semifinals before Australia packed too many guns for them. Quite clearly, the team under coach Terry Walsh has shown significant improvement and now exudes promise of taking on any side on the pitch. “The boys have put in the hard yards, and as far as our first game against Wales is concerned it was not as if the team did not play well, just that we did not settle down in the first half but overcome that in the second half. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we are beginning to jell as a unit going into the upcoming Asian Games,” says Terry Walsh in an exclusive interview.

The celebrated Aussie coach believes the team is looking good to win the Asian Games and book a direct ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics. “No team can be taken for granted be it Korea, Malaysia or Pakistan. We have to be at our best to beat them and win the Asian Games to book our Rio Olympics ticket. The kind of progress the team have made in recent times definitely makes feel optimistic about Asiad-winning chances,” he observes.

India have featured in the Hockey World League, World Cup, Commonwealth Games, with the upcoming Asian Games and the Champions Trophy lined up later this year – effectively meaning the team have played five tournaments in a year. Walsh feels the quality and not the quantity matters more. Look, we are looking to play 45 international games a year – it will not be possible to achieve that this year – you got to remember that playing more tournaments does not make you a world-beater – every tourney has to be adequately spaced out. The gap between the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games was very less like for the Asian Games. We are going to focus on playing quality-stressed matches,” he quips.

The passing, trapping and penalty conversions have shown distinct improvement in the Commonwealth Games, something Walsh acknowledges. “I agree we have improved in these areas, but we need to sustain it and only then we can beat top teams regularly,” he adds.

No talk with Walsh can miss a mention of putting in place a systematic hockey programme at the grassroots level. “I really keen to see how this grassroot level programme shapes up. This is so key towards lifting hockey in a big way. Once India has players from all corners of the country vying for national berths, which of course means professionally-run hockey academies in each state, hockey will be in great health,” he explains.

Drag-flicker Sandeep Singh is currently out of the 33 probables who will be training for the upcoming Incheon Asian Games. Is the India door firmly shut on him? “No door is closed on any player. For now, he is not part of the 33 probables – he has to work hard at the domestic tournaments and the 2015 Hockey India League to merit a place in the national side. Sandeep is a seasoned campaigner and I know being part of the side for so long, he will find their comeback route harder than ever before. If he can show that he deserves a place in the national team, we will have no qualms in picking him,” he says matter-of-factly.

Stick2Hockey.com



Faizal’s hat-trick halts Police

A FAIZAL Saari hat-trick saw Terengganu beat Police 4-1 in Division Two of the 52nd Razak Cup at the Kuantan Stadium yesterday.

National player Faizal, who was dropped from the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, proved his mettle in the second oldest hockey tournament in the country.

Terengganu’s Ahmad Alif opened accounts in the third minute while Faizal scored his hat-trick in the 35th, 59th and 67th minutes.

The Police goal was scored by Mohd Rizal in the 51st minute.

RESULTS — Division Two: Kedah 3 Perlis 2; Police 1 Terengganu 4; Armed Forces 3 Kelantan 1.

FIXTURES — Today: Division Two: Terengganu v Armed Forces (6pm, Pitch I); Kelantan v Kedah (6pm, Pitch II); Perlis v Police (8pm, Pitch I).

Tomorrow: Division One B: Penang v Kuala Lumpur (6pm, Pitch I); Malacca v Johor (6pm, Pitch II).

Division One A: Perak v Pahang (8pm, Pitch I); Selangor v Negri (8pm, Pitch II).

New Straits Times



Hockey player Faizal slapped with show cause letter


Faizal Saari (left) has one week to reply to the show-cause letter issued by the MHC. - Filepic

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) have issued a show cause letter to national forward Faizal Saari for his disparaging statements against the association in the press recently.

MHC secretary general Datuk Johari Abdul Aziz said the show cause letter was sent to Faizal earlier in the week.

“There are two charges against Faizal and both were for making press statements against the MHC. Now, he has one week to reply to the charges,” said Johari.

Faizal had a fall-out with former coach K. Dharmaraj and decided to take a break after the disastrous World Cup in June and declined to play for the national team.

He is the fourth person to be hauled up by the MHC for making statements in the media.

Dharmaraj was hauled up before the recent Glasgow Commonwealth Games. He had replied to the letter and apologised for having made the statement. The matter was then referred to the disciplinary board.

Johari said the board had found Dharmaraj guilty.

“It’s now up to the MHC and his employers (National Sports Council) to take whatever action they deem fit,” added Johari.

Last week, Dharmaraj was replaced as national coach of the senior team by A. Arulselvaraj for next month’s Incheon Asian Games in South Korea.

Dharmaraj took over the national team in January following South African Paul Revington’s resignation. He was in charge of the team at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, Champions Challenge 1, World Cup and Commonwealth Games. But poor performances and player-power forced the MHC to replace him.

Johari also confirmed that two senior MHC officials were issued with show cause letters.

“They are vice-presidents Manjit Majid Abdullah and Datuk Nur Azmie Ahmad. We will forward their replies to the disciplinary board to decide on the next course of action,” said Johari.

The Star of Malaysia



Promoted Selangor aim to finish in top four

By S. Ramaguru

KUALA LUMPUR: After languishing in Division Two of the Razak Cup hockey tournament for the last six years, Selangor are aiming for a top-four finish in Division One this year.

Selangor were demoted to Division Two in 2007 after finishing last in Division One. They managed to make the final in 2009, 2011 and 2012 but failed to win the title.

Last year, they finally gained promotion when they defeated Armed Forces 3-1 in the Division Two final.

Selangor are in Group A with defending champions Perak, Pahang and Negri Sembilan.

“Our main objective is to keep our place in Division One. We will try to finish in the top two of the group to qualify for the semi-finals,” said Selangor coach Nasir Maidin.

The team will be led by former international S. Bubalan. He has several experienced players – Mohamed Amerullah Aziz, Faizal Daud, Mohamed Redza Maadun and Mohamed Noor Faeez Ibrahim – to help him guide the younger set of players. Selangor also have two experienced goalkeepers in Mohamed Fairus Wanazir and Saiful Azhar Afandi.

“We do not have any current national players in our ranks.

Most of the players are from our Sukma squad. We are building this team for the future.

“The good thing is that most of the players have experience playing in the Malaysia Hockey League. We hope to take one match at a time and progress from there,” he added.

The Division One tournament starts on Sunday and Selangor open their campaign against Negri.

Three Division Two matches were played on the opening day on Friday with former Division One champions Terengganu whipping Police 4-1.

National striker Faizal Saari was the hero, scoring in the 35th, 59th and 67th minutes.

Ahmad Alif Nazaruddin scored the other goal in the third minute.

Police netted their consolation goal in the 51st minute through Mohamed Rizal Haniffa.

The Star of Malaysia



Malaysia aim to retain Asian schools hockey title

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will be aiming to retain the Asian Schools Under-18 hockey title when the tournament gets under way at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh on Saturday.

Seven teams will take part in the fourth edition of the tournament.

Malaysia emerged as champions when they hosted the tournament in 2006. In the first edition in Macau in 1998, Malaysia finished runners-up after losing to China in the final. At the next tournament in New Delhi in 2001, Malaysia were third with India emerging champions.

Malaysia, coached by Wan Roslan Wan Abdul Rahman, head Group A with Macau and Indonesia while Group B has Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong.

The Star of Malaysia



Ambitious Malaysians

Ambitious. That is the best way to describe the efforts of a large number of Malaysian Hockey Confederation officials who are vying for positions in the Asian Hockey Confederation.

The AHF elections are scheduled for August 31 in Kuala Lumpur.

The MHC president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah will be vying for the post of President. He is expected to be challenged by Pakistan"s Qasim Zia who is also on the FIH Executive Board.

Dato Nur Azmi Ahmad will contest the Vice President position. There are four posts up for grabs but one is reserved for a lady.

The front runners for the VP position is Berikzay Seksembav of Kazakhstan and Thailand's Chaiyapak Siriwat. But it is learnt that India's Narinder Bhatra will not seek re-election and neither will Japan's M.Ueda due to the age regulation of 70 being imposed.

While another strong contender will come from the East Asian region comprising of Japan, China and South Korea .
A total of five Vice Presidents will be elected.

Prof Dr.S. Shamala, Manjit Majid and Dato Abd Rahim Md Arif are three candidates who are eying a seat on the AHF council. Shamsla and Rahim are incumbents in the 12 member elected council.

The irony is that most of the Malaysian candidates hardly have done anything for the betterment of hockey in the country but that has not stopped them from trying to eye a bigger role in Asian Hockey.

Perak has not held their AGM for the past four years and thus Rahim should spend time sorting out the mess in his state rather then going for another term.

Azmi should have opted for a council seat as there is a pact between some of the incumbents and thus Shamala would be a better candidate as she could win easily the women's vice presidents eat.

Malaysian Hockey blogspot



Whitelock and Couzins take top honours at Awards Dinner



Black Sticks Women’s captain Kayla Whitelock and recently retired men’s captain Dean Couzins took the top honours last night winning the Hockey New Zealand 2014 Player of the Year Award for their respective teams.

The awards were announced at the Craigs Investment Partners Junior Black Sticks Gala Dinner held at The Langham in Auckland, a fundraiser for the national junior programme and a chance to celebrate the country’s best hockey players and umpires.

Former Black Stick Mandy Barker presented the Under-21 Men’s Player of the Year Award to Southern’s Kane Russell while the women’s equivalent went to Canterbury’s Sophie Cocks.

Couzins and Whitelock were also recognised by Hockey New Zealand’s chairman Dean Ellwood for reaching key milestones within the last year – Couzins surpassing 300 test caps and Whitelock for playing more than 200 internationals.  

Although not in attendance last night, Emily Naylor was recognised for reaching 250 internationals and becoming New Zealand’s most capped female player in April this year. Simon Child, Shea McAleese and Krystal Forgesson were also acknowledged for playing their 200th test cap.

A new award category was introduced this year - the Gatorade People’s Choice Award – which gave hockey fans the chance to vote on their favourite male and female Black Stick during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. The inaugural winners of the award were Capital’s Anita Punt and Auckland’s Simon Child.

The umpires were recognised for their 2013 season, Simon Taylor and Amber Church taking out the top honours and Nick Saunders and Joanne Cumming receiving the Most Promising Umpire Awards.

Awardees:
2014 Men’s Player of the Year – Former Black Sticks captain, Dean Couzins, Auckland
2014 Women’s Player of the Year – Black Sticks captain Kayla Whitelock, Central
2014 U21 Men’s Player of the Year – Kane Russell, Southern
2014 U21 Women’s Player of the Year – Sophie Cocks, Southern

2013 Male Umpire of the Year – Simon Taylor
2013 Female Umpire of the Year – Amber Church
2013 Most Promising Male Umpire of the Year – Nick Saunders
2013 Most Promising Female Umpire of the Year – Joanne Cumming

NB. As of next year, the umpire awards will fall in line with the Player Awards – recognising those who have performed with excellence during the 2014/2015 season.  

Hockey New Zealand Media release



Hong Kong Lose-out in Women’s Junior AHF Cup Qualifier

By Bill Cox


All eyes on the ball as a high ball presents itself to a Chinese Taipei attacker in front of the Hong Kong goal—but the chance was not converted. Chinese Taipei won the closely contested match 1-0. (Bill Cox/Epoch Times)

Singapore women’s hockey juniors beat Hong Kong (10 -0 ) in a must-win head to head match to move them into the Final of the 4th Women’s Junior AHF Cup at King’s Park Hockey Stadium on Tuesday Aug 5 2014.

This was a crucial match for Hong Kong and Singapore as the two top teams of this 3-team “Qualifier” competition gain a place in the 7th Women’s Junior AHF Cup 2015 to join the six teams that are already pre-qualified—China, Japan, South Korea, India, Malaysia and Thailand.

Although narrowly losing to Chinese Taipei in their initial Grid match Singapore played superbly well to beat Hong Kong and set up a second meeting with Chinese Taipei in the 1, 2 Playoff.

Earlier in the tournament, Chinese Taipei eased into the final of the 4th Women’s Junior AHF Cup with two straight wins over Singapore and Hong Kong.

In their first match of the tournament Chinese Taipei beat Singapore 2-1 on Saturday Aug 2 and followed this up with a narrow 1-0 victory over Hong Kong in their second Grid match on Sunday Aug 3.

Chinese Taipei started strongly in their first match on Saturday Aug 2 against Singapore scoring in the 8th and 22nd minutes of the match. Singapore hit back and pressed hard in the second half, but Chinese Taipei held out until the last minute of the match when Singapore scored with a well hit shot from the edge of the circle reducing the deficit to 2-1.

In their game against Hong Kong on Sunday Aug 3, Chinese Taipei did not play so well, making many errors in stopping, passing and controlling the ball. Hong Kong put up a strong performance outplaying the visitors in nearly all departments of the game keeping good shape throughout the match, passing and penetrating well into the Chinese Taipei half, but were off target with their goal attempts. Chinese Taipei played better towards the end of the game and scored the single goal of the match with 13 minutes left on the clock.

After this initial match Hong Kong Coach Mark Kake was please with the way the team had performed, but was cautious on future predictions.

“We played well, but we are still not clinical enough in front of goal, we should have been 2 or 3 goals up. I thought we did enough to get at least a draw if not a win,” said Kake to the Epoch Times.

“It was a confidence boost, but I still want to see if they can go up to the next level and let’s see how they perform the next game. I don’t want it to be a one game wonder.

“It is a must win match against Singapore. It is going to be tough, but the girls have got to get up for it to reach the final,” Kake concluded.

The Epoch Times



Tough battle expected at schools hockey meet

Rashneel Kumar


Meleane Narruhn of St Joseph's Secondary School attacks against Natabua High School. SJSS won by 1-0. Picture: JONE LUVENITOGA

TOUGH battle is expected in the knockout stage of the Tuckers Ice Cream Secondary Schools Hockey Championship today at the National Hockey Centre in Suva.

The pool games in the under-16 and U19 boys and girls divisions went on until late yesterday with no clear favourites in each of the grades.

However, Saint Joseph's Secondary School and St Thomas High School maintained a stronghold on the U16 girls' standings when this edition went to press last night.

St Thomas and Marist Brothers High School have been doing well in the U16 boys' grade.

In the U19 girls, Adi Cakobau School and Levuka Public School are on track while Marist Brothers, Natabua High School and St John's College were leading the battle for the semi-final spot in the U19 boys.

Fiji Secondary School's Hockey Association executive Makelesi Mawi said three more pool games would be played this morning before the top four in each grade was determined.

"The competition so far was quite close and this is shown in the results of the games," said Mawi, who is also the Fiji Secondary School's Hockey Association Lautoka branch vice-president.

"We expect a tougher competition in the finals and maybe we will have to resort to sudden death play to determine the winners."

Mawi said after the completion of the secondary schools competition, Suva, Levuka and Lautoka would battle it out in the district finals later today.

Lautoka is the defending champions in the boys and girls grade.

Results

Under 16 Girls

SJSS 4 Ballantine Memorial School 1, Saint Thomas High School 0 Levuka Public School 0, SJSS 3 Natabua 0, Saint John 0 Levuka Public 0, ACS 6 Natabua 0

Under 16 Boys

Levuka Public School 1 Tilak High School 0, Cathedral High School 0 Saint Thomas 4, Marist 0 Tilak 0, Cathedral 1 Saint John 1, Marist 1 Natabua 0

Under 19 Girls

Saint John 0 Natabua High School 0, Adi Cakobau School 2 Swami Vivekananda College 0, SJSS 0 Saint John 0, SVC 2 SSKMC 0, SJSS 1 Natabua 0

Under 19 Boys

Marist 0 Levuka 0, Levuka Public 0 Tilak 0, Gospel 0 Natabua 1, Saint John 1 Gospel 0, Cathedral 1 Gospel, Natabua 1 Gospel 0, Marist 0 SVC 0

The Fiji Times

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