News 08 September 2014
All the news for Monday 8 September 2014
Belarus men & France women claim HWL glory in Czech Republic
Hockey World League Round 1 - Hradec Králové (Men & Women)
Photo: Frank Uijlenbroek
Belarus men and France women have emerged victorious at the Hockey World League Round 1 event in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.
Belarus were in sparkling form in the men’s competition, as the team ranked 37th in the world finished top of the pile ahead of the host nation and Ukraine, who are higher ranked at 20th and 24th respectively.
The Belarusians started the tournament with a comprehensive 5-2 thrashing of Slovakia on Tuesday (2nd September) before producing a remarkable performance to stun home favourites Czech Republic 3-2 on Thursday thanks in part to two open play strikes from Ivan Lutsevich.
A 5-0 win against Lithuania was followed by a shoot-out triumph over Ukraine (1-1 (3-1 SO)), guaranteeing their place in Round 2 of the Hockey World League and taking their first major step on the road to qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Czech Republic finished the tournament in second place, with Ukraine, Slovakia and Lithuania in third, fourth and fifth respectively. Ukrainian penalty corner expert Viacheslav Paziuk finished top scorer, finding the net on eight occasions including a four goal haul against Lithuania. To see results and statistics from the men’s tournament in Hradec Králové, click here.
In the women’s competition, top seeds France opened their campaign by battling to a shoot-out victory over hosts Czech Republic (4-4 (1-2 SO) before recording solid wins against Austria (2-0) and Turkey (5-1) to ensure that their place in the second phase of the Hockey World League is assured.
France finished the tournament with seven points, one clear of second placed Austria and two ahead of Czech Republic. Turkey finished bottom of the table with zero points.
‘Les Bleues' team captain Apolline Rogeau top scored for her team with three goals, all of which came from open play, netting one against the hosts before grabbing a double against Turkey. Rogeau finished the competition as joint top scorer, alongside Adela Bizova of Czech Republic. To see all the results and info from the women’s competition in Hradec Králové, click here.
The winning teams at all of the Hockey World League Round 1 events are guaranteed a place in Round 2 of the Hockey World League, where they will be joined by a number of the highest-placed finishers from the Round 1 tournaments. Round 2 will also see the introduction of the teams placed from 12 to 19 in the FIH World Rankings with the sides ranked 1 to 11 starting their journey in Round 3, where tickets for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as well as qualification for the Finals tournament are up for grabs.
FIH site
Azerbaijan upset the odds in Oman
Hockey World League Round 1 - Muscat, Oman (Men)
Azerbaijan have upset the FIH World Rankings by taking a first place finish at the Hockey World League Round 1 tournament in Muscat.
The team ranked 34th in the world finished top of the pile ahead of host nation Oman (FIH World Ranking: 23), Iran (unranked) and Thailand (WR: 58) to seal their place in Round 2 of the Hockey World League and keep the dream of achieving qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games very much alive.
Azerbaijan started their campaign with a 3-3 draw against hugely impressive HWL debutants Iran on Friday (5 September), with the Iranians taking an extra point from the match thanks to a 0-3 win in the shoot-out. Despite the Azerbaijanis bouncing back with a superb 2-1 win over higher-ranked Oman on Saturday (6 September), it was the Iranians who went into the final day of action at the top of the table thanks to a comprehensive 7-0 triumph against Thailand.
The first match of the day on Sunday (7 September) saw Azerbaijan storm to a 12-0 win over Thailand, a result which moved the Azerbaijanis into top spot in the league table and subsequently piled the pressure on Iran, who needed to defeat the hosts in the final match of the competition to take the title. It would have been a truly remarkable achievement for the unranked outsiders, but on this occasion they were to be denied.
Oman claimed all three points thanks to a 24th minute penalty corner goal from Basim Khatar Rajab, goving them a 1-0 win and ending Iranian hopes of a stunning upset. However, there can be not doubt that Iran have provided plenty of evidence that they are growing force and will go away depart Muscat knowing that they are capable of powering up the rankings table over the coming years.
Azerbaijan finished top of the table with seven points, one clear of Oman and two ahead of Iran. Thailand finished bottom of the table with zero points. Azerbaijan’s Ali Ghazanfar finished top of the scorers charts with five goals, netting four penalty corners and a field goal for his country. Ghazanfar was on target in all three matches, scoring two against both Iran and Thailand with his field goal coming against Oman. For full tournament information including results, pool standings and scorers charts, click here.
The winning teams at all of the Hockey World League Round 1 events are guaranteed a place in Round 2 of the Hockey World League, where they will be joined by a number of the highest-placed finishers from the Round 1 tournaments. Round 2 will also see the introduction of the teams placed from 12 to 19 in the FIH World Rankings with the sides ranked 1 to 11 starting their journey in Round 3, where tickets for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as well as qualification for the Finals tournament are up for grabs.
FIH site
Home favourites Bangladesh storm into HWL Round 2
Hockey World League Round 1 - Dhaka, Bangladesh (Men)
Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka & Hong Kong to reach Round 2 of the Hockey World League. (Photo: FIH)
Bangledesh men justified their pre-tournament favourites tag with a dominant display in the Hockey World League Round 1 event in Dhaka.
The host nation and world number 32 recorded victories over tournament rivals Sri Lanka (FIH World Ranking: 40) and Hong Kong (WR: 46) to seal a safe passage through to Round 2 and maintain their own hopes of achieving qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Bangladesh were given a stern test in their opening match (5th September) when they went toe-to-toe with Sri Lanka. The home team took an early lead from Hasan Jubair (4’) before Sri Lanka’s Sadaruwan Priyalanka (13’) restored parity with a penalty corner. However, goals in the 22nd and 27th minutes from Krishno-Kumar Das and Khorshadur Rahman gave Bangladesh what proved to be an unassailable lead, with Priyalanka netting his second of the game four minutes from time to make the final score 3-2.
Bangladesh confirmed the tournament victory by recording a comfortable 3-1 win over Hong Kong (7th September) thanks to a hat-trick from Hasan Jubair, goals which ensured that he finished top of the scoring charts in Dhaka.
Sri Lanka were also winners over Hong Kong, cruising to a 6-1 win thanks to goals from Dhammika Ranasinga (2), Prasanna Dissanayaka, Sadaruwan Pritalanka, Lakshan Nanayakkara and Mohomad Mulafar on 6 September. The result ensured that Sri Lanka finished second in the table, with Hong Kong third.
To see results and statistics from the men’s tournament in Dhaka, click here.
The winning teams at all of the Hockey World League Round 1 events are guaranteed a place in Round 2 of the Hockey World League, where they will be joined by a number of the highest-placed finishers from the Round 1 tournaments. Round 2 will also see the introduction of the teams placed from 12 to 19 in the FIH World Rankings with the sides ranked 1 to 11 starting their journey in Round 3, where tickets for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as well as qualification for the Finals tournament are up for grabs.
FIH site
Kenya men's hockey team loses to giants Egypt
By Christopher Ofwoko Musumba
Tanzania Mary Sempinda(l) and Kenya Anita Agunda when they played World League round one at Citypark, Nairobi. Kenya won 22-0. PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE
Namasake also made sure their names were on the score sheet with a goal each as the curtains fell on the three-day event.
Women's Coach William Oketch told Feverpich his team had finally achieved their round two objective. He thanked the girls for their hard work which had borne fruit.
"The girls were brilliant in both matches. We won by a solitary goal against Ghana because they were very tough. This victory against Tanzania has crowned it all," he said.
Oketch was keen to point out that the work had just begun and it was not going to be a walk in the park in round two, which will be staged in Montevideo, Uruguay.
"We don't have time to party as league two is not far from now. It will not be easy as we meet better-ranked teams and other round one winners. We need to get down to business and begin preparing now."
Captain Betsy Ommala said they will prepare well for league and keep their winning mentality in order to triumph in Montevideo, Uruguay.
"I am delighted that round one is behind us now. The our focus now shifts to round two where we will meet stronger teams, which means we have to up our game, but we will not be intimidated by their rankings," she said.
In the men's match, Kenya's hopes of making it to the second round went up in smoke as they fell 2-1 to Egypt. The Kenyan men played more of a defensive game, failing to attack and score goals. Egypt will compete for the second time at the FIH World League second round, having emerged the tournament champions.
They beat Ghana 4-3 in the inaugural World League round one matches in 2012 to proceed to the second round that was played in Russia.
The Kenyan men were pinned in their own half as the Pharaohs controlled the match. Captain Sayed Amr was the man of the match, leading from the front and scoring a brace to grab the men's ticket to Cape Town, South Africa.
Amr scored his first three minutes before the breather and added the winning goal in the 43rd minute.
Brian Saina scored the consolation goal for the hosts in the 56th minute. Men's national team coach Meshack Senge said the team did not utilise well the chances they got.
"We wasted our chances while Egypt seized every opportunity to score," he said.
Earlier, the Ghana men team beat Tanzania 13-0.
The Standard Online
Kenya sail through: Women's team hits Tanzania 22-0, secures ticket to hockey World League Round 2
By Elizabeth Mburugu
Kenya women National team celebrate after they beat Ghana in the World League round one at Citypark, Nairobi. ON 06/09/14 PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE
Kenyan girls booked their league two sport with a resounding 22-0 victory against neighbours Tanzania. They needed a victory of any kind as they had already ousted bitter rival Ghana 1-0 in their opening match bettering their chances of qualifying.
Pauline Naise was superb hitting the board six times in a one sided encounter as the Kenyan queens embarked on their road to the Rio 2016 Olympics. Tanzania were no match for their hosts as they struggled in their own half for the entire match.
Tracy Karanja scored a hatrick in her international debut, Captain Betsy Ommalla, Jacqueline jow, Margaret Rotich, Lilian Aura and Anita Agunda all scored a brace. Terry Juma, Flavia Mutiva and Glennis Namasake also made sure their names were on the score sheet scoring a goal each as curtains fell on the three day event.
Women's Coach William Oketch told Feverpich his team had finally achieved their league two objective and also lauding the girls for their hard work which had bore fruit. "The girls were brilliant for bioth matches we won by a solitary goal against Ghana because they were very tough, this victory against Tanzania has crowned it all," he said.
He was keen to point out that the work had just began as it was not going to be a walk in the park in league two. "We don't have time to party as league two is not far from now, it will not be easy as we meet better ranked teams and other league one winners, we need to get down to business and begin preparing."
Captain Ommala said they will prepare well for league to and keep their winning mentality in order to triumph in Montevideo, Uruguay. "Am delighted that league one is behind us now, our focus now shifts to league two where we will meet stronger teams which means we have to up our game, but we will not be intimidate by their rankings," she said.
Meanwhile Ghana beat Tanzania 13-0 to redeem themselves and go back home heads high. The West Africans lost 3-2 to Egypt the 4-2 in a shoot-out against hosts Kenya after the match had ended in a 1-1 dram in regular time.
The Standard Online
Auckland Men climb standings after late stunner
Auckland's Ryan Archibald, courtesy Ned Dawson
The Auckland Men have rocketed to joint second on the table after snatching a late 3-2 win over Central in Round 5 of the Ford National Hockey League.
After trailing for most of the game, Auckland stunned the Mavericks with two goals in the 58th minute to steal the victory.
Both sides traded blows with Steve Davison and Ryan Cosgrove scoring for Central, and Marcus Child for Auckland to leave a score line that looked headed to go the Mavericks’ way.
But Australian import Jamie Dwyer scored a field goal just two minutes from fulltime to draw level before Ryan Archibald hit home the winner just seconds later from a penalty corner deflection.
The result sees Auckland joint second along with the Southern Dogs on 14 points, behind Midlands who are clear front runners on 17 points after cruising past Capital 3-0.
Midlands were in control from start to finish with goals coming from Matt Rees-Gibbs and captain Richard Petherick, who hit home two penalty strokes.
The Canterbury Cavaliers got their campaign back on track with a regulation 3-1 win over Northland with goals from Richard Bain, Trevor Garrett and Nick Budgeon. Mark Thorne scored a consolation goal for the Northlanders on the stroke of fulltime.
North Harbour and the Southern Dogs went to a shoot-out after a 0-0 stalemate, with Southern taking away two points with a 3-2 result to leave them well in semi finals contention.
In the women’s draw, Northland’s four game winning streak ended with a 2-2 draw against the Southern Storm although they came through to win the shoot-out 3-1.
Southern played a strong defensive game and were in front 2-1 in the second half after goals from Paige Lane and Alana Rose-Miller. Northland’s Jodie Nichol and Jess Macalister found the back of the goal to take the game to a shoot-out.
The shoot-out win means Northland remain on top of the table of 18 points, two clear of Auckland who secured four points with a 2-1 win over the Canterbury Cats.
Canterbury were first to score through captain Pippa Hayward before Auckland responded with two unanswered goals from Krystal Forgesson and Su Arn Kwek to snatch the four points.
Midlands secured their second successive penalty shoot-out win, overcoming Capital 6-5 after the game was level 2-2 at the end of regulation time. Frederique De Klijn and Madeleine Simmonds scored for Capital, while Stacey MacDonald and Renee Ashton were on the score sheet for Midlands.
In the final women’s game of the round, North Harbour battled to a 3-2 penalty shoot-out win against the Central Mysticks after a 1-1 draw at fulltime.
Tomorrow is a rest day at the Ford NHL before the action gets back underway on Wednesday from 11.30am with the Auckland and Capital men battling it out.
CLICK HERE for the full draw, results, standings and goal scorers
FORD NHL RESULTS – MONDAY 8 SEPTEMBER
MEN
Canterbury Cavaliers 3: (Richard Bain, Trevor Garrett, Nick Budgeon)
Northland 1: (Mark Thorne)
Auckland 3: (Marcus Child, Jamie Dwyer, Ryan Archibald)
Central Mavericks 2: (Steve Davison, Ryan Cosgrove)
North Harbour 0
Southern Dogs 0
Southern won shoot-out 3-2
Midlands 3: (Richard Petherick 2, Matt Rees-Gibbs)
Capital 0
WOMEN
Auckland 2: (Krystal Forgesson, Su Arn Kwek)
Canterbury Cats 1: (Pippa Hayward)
Capital 2: (Frederique De Klijn, Madeleine Simmonds)
Midlands 2: (Stacey MacDonald, Renee Ashton)
Midlands won shoot-out 6-5
Northland 2: (Jodie Nichol, Jess Macalister)
Southern Storm 2: (Paige Lane, Alana Rose-Miller)
Northland won shoot-out 3-1
North Harbour 1: (Amie Judge)
Central Mysticks 1: (Michaela Curtis)
North Harbour won shoot-out 3-2
Hockey New Zealand Media release
Midlands top hockey league thanks to hard core
By David Leggat
Auckland's women got their K Cup campaign moving with wins over defending champions Midlands 2-0 - goals from Sam Harrison and Krystal Forgesson - and 2-1 over North Harbour. Photo / File
A strong spine has helped Midlands make a rousing start to the men's Challenge Shield in the national hockey league.
Midlands, drawn from the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Thames Valley and Counties areas, lead the table after four of the seven rounds with 13 points, following weekend wins over Canterbury 3-2, and Northland 5-2, yesterday at North Harbour, which will host the rest of the tournament this week.
"We're pretty happy with progress," coach Simon Brill said last night. "Canterbury was a big game for us, they have a strong side and good bunch of national players, so that was a great result.
"Northland was about us going through good processes so we're really happy with eight points from the last two days."
The core of senior players was well supported by rising young talent, Brill said, singling out Nic Woods for a very bright future. Australian international Tim Deavin and captain Richard Petherick, closing in on 100 national caps, offered the wise older heads.
Petherick got two goals yesterday, Leo Mitai-Wells, Jonty Keaney and Woods one each.
Auckland squeezed past North Harbour in a penalty shoot-out on Saturday and backed up with a 2-1 over perennial rivals Canterbury yesterday, Tom Loudon and Jonny Bilkey getting the goals.
Harbour, comfortable winners over Central yesterday, were left to rue that lost shoot-out while Southern made a significant leap late yesterday with their 3-1 win over Capital - goals from Nick Ross, Kim Kingstone and Jason Dungey gave them two wins over the weekend and second spot.
Auckland's women got their K Cup campaign moving with wins over defending champions Midlands 2-0 - goals from Sam Harrison and Krystal Forgesson - and 2-1 over North Harbour, when Harrison and Su Arn Kwek scored, Amie Judge getting Harbour's goal.
Midlands came back with a penalty shoot-out win over Canterbury yesterday but Northland, with two goals from Carli Michelsen and a penalty stroke from Ella Gunson, beat Central to keep their perfect record and sit top of the table.
The New Zealand Herald
Dutch EHL sides triumph on opening weekend
The Netherlands’ three EuroHockey League sides all enjoyed strong opening wins away from home on day one of the Hoofdklasse as Kampong, Oranje Zwart and Bloemendaal all won.
Kampong beat Rotterdam 3-0 with all the goals coming in the first half, Sander de Wijn scoring twice, adding to an early effort from Joost van de Vijfeijken.
OZ, meanwhile, did all their work in the second half against Den Bosch, coming back from a goal down to win 3-1. Jonas Gomoll had put Den Bosch in front but EHL hero Mink van der Weerden equalised from the penalty spot before Rob Reckers and Bob de Voogd turned the tide in the second half in the six minutes after the turnaround.
Bloemendaal’s Belgian connection underpinned their 4-0 win over Pinoké as Simon Gougnard opened their goal-run before Tom Boon scored two corners. Wouter Jolie completed the scoring.
Of Belgium’s EHL clubs, Daring built on their draw a week ago with a 3-2 win over Oree with new arrival Inaki Alvarez adding to goals from brothers Tanguy and Geoffroy Cosyns.
Dragons got their first point of the season with a 3-3 draw with Leuven while the Waterloo Ducks beat Antrwerp 2-1, bouncing back from their heavy defeat to Herakles a week ago.
In France, Jean-Baptiste Pauchet scored a hat trick for Saint Germain as they beat Lyon 5-1 in their first game of the 2014/15 season while Racing Club de France were 1-0 winners over Lille with Christophe Peters-Deutz netting the only goal.
In Ireland, Monkstown’s return to action in the Leinster provincial league ended 1-1 in a battle with former EHL side Glenanne as David Cole levelled for Monkstown after a Stu Ronan goal started the scoring.
Kelburne started their title defence in Scotland with a resounding 11-0 win over Watsonians with hat tricks for Mark Ralph, Douglas Simpson and Lee Morton.
Euro Hockey League media release
Rachwalski - Arminen's multi-tasking maestro
With October’s first round of the 2014/15 EuroHockey League fast approaching, SV Arminen’s player-coach Dariusz Rachwalski is juggling more than most in world hockey.
The Polish captain at last year’s European championships, he is currently attempting to plot the downfall of Scotland’s Kelburne and Spain’s Atletic Terrassa and help the Austrian champions reach the KO16 for the first time.
Making his pre-EHL build-up trickier to plan is Austria’s involvement in the World League Round One in Portugal later this week in their bid for an Olympic place with up to 11 players potentially away from club training.
Rachwalski, though, says there are pros and cons to the situation and his team can benefit his side when the time comes to travel to Barcelona.
“Yes, it does effect our preparations because, when they are missing, it's rather hard to work on tactics,” Rachwalski told EHLHockey.tv. “But it also has a positive impact; they have more trainings and games on a good level and a different coaching view.
“We had to find a compromise and share the time between their preperations and ours without overloading the players. After the World League, we will have one more month to focus just on our goals.”
Asked about the dual role he inhabits, he says that he receives plenty of support to try and manage the workload.
“It gives you extra responsibilites but I really enjoy that role. I guess it's a question of organisation. It's important to have good assistants plus the team needs to understand that it's a bit different system of work.”
It is Arminen’s second trip to the EHL, bowing out in round one after a tough draw last year. They fell 5-0 to Surbiton before Rachwalski scored in a close run 3-1 loss to Real Club de Barcelona, the game only going out of reach in the last seven minutes.
Looking at this year’s draw, Rachwalski says that while his side may be an outside bet to top the group, he is content with how the games have panned out in spite of meeting teams who have both played in the EHL six times before.
“The EHL competition is always of a high level and every team is going there with one goal, to qualify to the next round (so are we!).
“However, it's obvious that it's better not to be in a group with clubs from the biggest hockey nations like Germany or Holland. But it also can be misleading; we are satisfied with the draw but, then again, those are two great clubs with a lot of experience in European competition.
“Last year’s EHL was also the first one for our team and it was a really important experience for us. I think we showed that we can compete on this level. These games are crucial for the development of the team and they helped us on many levels. We have a lot of footage to analyse and we are motivated and focused on our goals.”
Arminen’s panel is a relatively consistent from last year’s crew, only adding a few youngsters from within to the panel, and they are wholly excited about the challenge ahead.
“We are looking forward for the competition. We are motivated to give the best of us in every game and, like every team, our goal is to qualify for the next round. We wish good luck to all the teams in EHL!”
Euro Hockey League media release
Tousiq sets sight on global recognition
By Nabil Tahir
The 21-year-old belongs to a new breed of players in Pakistan who possess the nation’s traditional skills as well as the speed of modern hockey. PHOTO: facebook.com/tousiq.arshad
KARACHI: Pakistan’s young centre-half Muhammad Tousiq Arshad has set sights on achieving global accolades after being named Asian Player of the Year.
“I have reached my first aim of becoming the best player in Asia, and now I’ve set my eyes on attaining recognition at world level,” Tousiq told The Express Tribune.
“I would love to help Pakistan win all the available tournaments and even though personal records do matter, I want to become a team player and help the greenshirts go back to the glory days.”
Tousiq was announced as Asian Player of the Year by the Asian Hockey Federation in the Congress held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on August 31.
The 21-year-old belongs to a new breed of players in Pakistan who possess the nation’s traditional skills as well as the speed of modern hockey.
The centre-half received the same award in 2010, while he was also declared 2009’s young emerging player and named player of the tournament during the Asian Champions Trophy held in Japan last year.
“Whatever I have been enjoying today is because of the prayers of my parents.It is also due to the hard work of my coach [late Ustad Aslam Roda], who was also my uncle,” said a grateful Tousiq.
Tousiq’s credentials include being the youngest ever Olympian, and at present, he is part of the senior probables for the 2014 Asian Games, being trained under head coach Shahnaz Sheikh.
“I congratulate Tousiq for this special achievement,” said Sheikh.
“Apart from being a skilful centre-half, he has also motivated other players to fight till the final whistle.”
The Express Tribune
Pakistan hockey team to leave for South Korea early
PHF secretary Mujahid wants greenshirts to play practice matches before start of mega event
LAHORE: Pakistan hockey team will depart for South Korea on September 11 to play some practice matches ahead of the Incheon Asian Games. The mega event is starting on September 19. The team tried hard to get an international tour ahead of the Asiad but to no avail. The government, however, decided to send the squad early so that players could get a chance to play some practice matches.
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary general Rana Mujahid Ali said Pakistan had not featured in any international event for last one year. “We tried hard to get an international tour ahead of the Asian Games but due to shortage of funds and visa-related issues, we could not get a chance.” Mujahid further said the national team would try to play friendly matches against the hosts, Bangladesh and Japan.
The greenshirts will defend their title won four years ago in Guangzhou, China. After winning the title, Pakistan performed miserably and failed to qualify for the recently-held World Cup. The 35-year-old fullback Mohammad Imran will lead the team. “It`s a good decision by the PHF and Pakistan Sports Board to send the team to Korea early. We will try to take maximum advantage from it,” head coach Shahnaz Shiekh said.
He said they would play their first match on September 20 against Sri Lanka and the team had sufficient time before this match to acclimatize. He said he was satisfied with the squad picked by the selectors. The PHF has announced an 18-member squad for the event. It will drop two players before squad’s departure to South Korea.
Squad: Amjad Butt, Imran Butt, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Tariq, Amir Shahzad, Hamad Shakeel Butt, Mohammad Touseef, Farid Ahmed, Rashid Mahmood, Rizwan Junior, Kashif Shah, Mohammad Waqas, Umar Bhutta, Shahfqat Rasool, Abdul Haseem Khan, Mohammad Dilbar, Shakeel Abbasi and Rizwan Senior.
The Daily Times
Pakistan Green win 4-team hockey series
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Green bagged top position in the 4-team series, after remaining unbeaten in all the league matches played at Naseer Bunda Stadium on Sunday.
Rawalpindi/Islambad Combined XI, who have the services of the Pakistan national team reserve players, claimed second, Army third and Navy remained at the bottom. Pak Green played 3 won 3, Combined XI played 3 won 2 loss 1, Army played 3 won 1 and loss 2, while Navy fail to open their account as they lost all the 3 matches.
In the first match, Army beat Navy 4-2 while in the second match Pakistan Green outplayed Combined XI 4-0. Irfan, Shafqat, Shakeel Abbasi and Umar Bhutta scored a goal each, the match was reduced to 3 quarters due to bad light.
While sharing his views Pakistan hockey team head coach/manager Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh said: “I am satisfied with the outcome of the league. It is true it was not as competitive as we needed, but it is better than nothing. We had requested PHF to arrange international matches, which were very important for the team as team is well-short of international match practice but due to certain reasons, federation remained unsuccessful in providing us with international fixtures, which could cost us dearly in the Asian Games. Now we are left with only one option and that is to leave for Korea by the 10th as a week earlier departure would help us to gain some match practice against Korea, Japan and Bangladesh. If we failed to get this last chance, then we have to completely depend on the training we have taken for the last 3-months,” Shahnaz concluded.
The Nation
Faiz gets green light to train
By S. Ramaguru
National hockey defender Faiz Helmi Jali (left), who was down with a shoulder injury, has been cleared to join the Asian Games training squad. - Filepic
KUALA LUMPUR: National hockey defender Faiz Helmi Jali has been given the green light to start training by the National Sports Institute (ISN).
Faiz injured his shoulder at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last month. He then aggravated the injury last week while training with the national team for the Incheon Asian Games in South Korea from Sept 19-Oct 4.
He then went for an MRI to see the extent of the injury. Luckily for him, the injury was not as bad as feared.
National interim coach A. Arulselvaraj was pleased with the news as Faiz is a vital cog in defence.
“We will name our final 16-man team on Friday. Faiz is a skilful player and we want to give him as much time as possible to get match fit. He has yet to work on his game since his return from Glasgow. Since he has been given the all-clear sign to train, we will push him in training.
“There is ample time for him to gain full fitness,” added Arulselvaraj.
Goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin, the other injured player in the 20-man training squad, is still undergoing treatment. The team will check in for the centralised national camp in Putrajaya on Monday.
At the Asiad, Malaysia are in Group A with South Korea, Singapore, Bangladesh and Japan. They will start their campaign against Singapore on Sept 20. They then play Bangladesh (Sept 21), South Korea (Sept 25) and Japan (Sept 26).
The Star of Malaysia
Champs KLHC play down their chances
By Jugjet Singh
MALAYSIA Hockey League Premier Division double champions Kuala Lumpur HC haveclaimed the underdogs tag, as their hunt for quality players has hit a brick wall.
On the other hand, Terengganu are flushed with local and foreign talents and are the team to beat when the MHL starts on Oct 29.
KLHC, the four-time back-to-back double champions, will open accounts against Tenaga Nasional in the Charity Shield.
“I believe we will face a tough time this year, and it would be difficult to even make the top four as we have lost many players to other teams, and are also finding it difficult to source for foreign players as the Champions Trophy (Dec 13-21 in India) will clash with the MHL.
“Like last year, we are looking for six foreign players, but have yet to sign any due to the clash of dates,” said KLHC team manager George Koshy.
In the Premier Division last season, the seven teams which competed were KL Hockey Club, Tenaga Nasional, Maybank, Sapura, UniKL, Terengganu and MBI-Nur Insafi.
Terengganu, even with top local players, fared badly last season as they ended fifth out of seven teams in the league, and were also demoted to Division Two in the Razak Cup.
However, Terengganu are said to have signed six quality foreign as well as national players to make them the favourites this season.
“Last year, Terengganu have the best local players but were unlucky as they could not gel and play as a team. However, I believe they are ready in their second MHL season, and we can’t hope for them to hit another bad patch and hand us the title,” said Koshy.
The final will be held on Dec 21 to give the national team time to prepare for the World League second round in Singapore on Jan 17-25.
If Malaysia fail to win gold in the Asian Games, where they will battle South Korea, India and Pakistan, the World League is a second chance to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
New Straits Times
Dames close in on repeats
Nigel Simon
Shandy Carib Magnolias’ Tracy Lee, left, tackles Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) I Tigers during their Women’s Open match in the third annual Malvern Sports Club International Hockey 5’s Tournament at the National Hockey Centre, Eastern Regional Sports Complex, Tacarigua, on Saturday. Photo: Anthony Harris
Notre Dame stayed on course to repeat as champions in the Women’s Open and Men’s Open Division of the third annual Malvern Sports Club Invitational Hockey 5’s Tournament when they won all their matches contested on the penultimate day of matches at the National Hockey Centre, Eastern Regional Sports Complex, Tacarigua on Saturday.
In the women’s series, the Dames followed up victories over Courts Malvern (9-2) and Georgetown Cricket Club II (GGC Spice) 11-2 by registering contrasting wins over Shandy Carib Magnolias (8-1) and GCC I Tigers (2-1) to end with maximum 12 points in the five-team table.
It meant they secured a spot in last night’s final against Magnolias.
Magnolias won their three other matches, over GCC Tigers (4-3), GCC Spice (4-1) and Malvern (10-4) for second spot with nine points while Tigers and Malvern, who were third and fourth on the table with six and three points respectively played for third.
The Dames men continued their winning form after losing their opener 3-4 to Petrogon by edging past Courts Malvern 3-2 in extra-time followed by 5-3 and 6-3 triumphs over GCC I and GCC II (Blue Steel) respectively to end with a 4-1 record and 12 points, the same as Petrogon which also booked a place in the title match ahead of their final round-robin fixture with GCC Blue.
Reigning Under-19 champions, Magnolias (girls) and Courts Malvern (boys) were also well placed to hold onto their titles won last year after stellar displays.
Magnolias were in a dominant mood and after battling past rivals Notre Dame 7-6, hammered Paragon 10-0 and Courts Malvern 7-1 for maximum nine points and a spot in the title match ahead of their final league clash with Checkers.
The battle for the second spot in the girls decider was a toss up between Malvern and Paragon.
And in the Under-19 boys, Courts Malvern crushed Notre Dame (6-0), Paragon (14-1) and Queen’s Park (9-0) to end the opening day with nine points, the same as main challenger, Shape, who were equally as impressive in dismantling the Dames (4-0), Paragon (9-1) and Carib (6-1) while falling to Queen’s Park (3-9).
Also in the hunt for a finals’ appearance were the Parkites who also defeated the Dames (5-2) ahead of matches with Paragon and Carib.
Visiting GCC Ol Skool was the lone team to stake a serious claim for a spot in the Veterans final after the first day of matches with three wins from as many outings, against Malvern (9-4), Queen’s Park (5-0) and visitors, Cayman (10-3), while Malvern and the Parkites had six points with the latter having a match left to play.
The tournament which carries more than $20,000 in cash and prizes was expected to conclude last night.
Men’s Open
Courts Malvern 3 vs GCC 1
Notre Dame 3 vs Courts Malvern 2 (ET)
Petrogon 5 vs GCC 1
QPCC 7 vs GCC II (Blue Steel) 2
Notre Dame 5 vs GCC I 3
GCC II (Blue Steel) 4 vs Courts Malvern 3
GCC 1 8 vs GCC II (Blue Steel) 2
Petrogon 9 vs QPCC 3
Notre Dame 6 vs GCC II (Blue Steel) 4
Veterans Division
GCC Ol Skool 5 vs QPCC 0
QPCC 15 vs Notre Dame 2
GCC Ol Skool 9 vs Malvern 4
Malvern 4 vs Cayman 1
QPCC 10 vs Malvern 4
Cayman 6 vs Notre Dame 5
GCC 10 vs Cayman 3
Women
Magnolias 4 vs GCC I Tigers 3
Magnolias 4 vs GCC II Spice 1
GCC I Tigers 7 vs GCC II Spice 1
Notre Dame 8 vs Magnolias 1
Notre Dame 2 vs GCC I Tigers 1
Malvern 6 vs GCC II Spice 3
Magnolias 10 vs Malvern 4
Under-19 Division: Boys
Malvern 9 vs QPCC 0
Shape 4 vs Notre Dame 0
Paragon 4 vs Carib 1
Malvern 6 vs Notre Dame 0
QPCC 9 vs Shape 3
Notre Dame 4 vs Paragon 2
Notre Dame 3 vs Carib 2 (ET)
Shape 9 vs Paragon 1
QPCC 5 vs Notre Dame 2
Shape 6 vs Carib 1
Malvern 14 vs Paragon 1
Girls
Magnolias 7 vs Notre Dame 6
Magnolias 7 vs Malvern 1
Paragon 3 vs Checkers 0
Malvern 4 vs Notre Dame 0
Magnolias 10 vs Paragon 0
Malvern 2 vs Checkers 1
The Trinidad Guardian
New faces shine in Penn field hockey's weekend split
Hoover scores hat trick in blowout win
By Ian Wenik
Penn field hockey’s leading returning scorer from 2013, senior attack Emily Corcoran got her 2014 season off to a good start against Lehigh on Friday. Corcoran scored three goals — all in the second half — as the Quakers rolled, 9-1. Photo by Joshua Ng
As Penn field hockey kicked off its opening homestand, no one knew what exactly they would see from the Red and Blue after an offseason of roster turnover.
By weekend’s end, the Quakers had reassured their fans that everything was A-ok.
Friday, the Red and Blue overwhelmed Lehigh with six second half goals in a 9-1 triumph, before falling to Bucknell on Sunday in a defensive slugfest, 1-0.
In their season opener against the Mountain Hawks (0-4), the Quakers (1-1) struggled at first to put the ball in the net. Lehigh goalie Julia Ward held firm for the first 21:44 of the first half, scrambling to get in the way of 12 Penn shots.
“It was definitely frustrating,” Penn coach Colleen Fink said on her team’s initial inability to convert. “Once we broke through, I think we obviously were able to continue to capitalize.”
It's Emily Corcoran on the attack again for Penn field hockey
Penn field hockey looks to begin anew after significant roster shakeup
Guest column by Christina Benvenuti | Conquering the cane
And once junior attack Elizabeth Hitti finished into a wide open net off a deflection, the rout was on. Highly touted freshman Alexa Hoover sandwiched her first two career goals around a Lehigh tally soon after, and the Quakers took a 3-1 lead into the half.
The 10-minute break certainly didn’t affect Penn’s momentum, as senior midfield Alex Iqbal redirected a deflected pass past Ward just 78 seconds into the second half. A bigger highlight came a little over three minutes later, as Hoover displayed some nifty stickhandling to control a high pass and score just inside the circle to complete her hat trick.
Hoover’s stellar debut had her coach all smiles after the game.
“I’m encouraged, but I’m not surprised,” Fink said. “She’s a great player ... we’re just happy to add her to the Penn field hockey family.”
Not to be outdone, senior attack Emily Corcoran — Penn’s leading returning scorer — tallied three goals of her own while the Red and Blue cruised.
Scoring was in short supply when Penn squared off against the Bison (2-1) two days later.
The Red and Blue were held without a shot until there were just 21 minutes left in the contest, failing to get into any semblance of an offensive rhythm for much of the afternoon.
“We were playing a little overly cautious,” Fink said. “We had a tough game against them last year where we did not play well [a 2-1 Bucknell win on Sept. 15, 2013] and I think — I don’t know if there was some memory of that — [there was] a little bit of hesitation or reluctance on our end.”
While Penn’s offense was held at bay, the Bison made a fluky play count.
With just over nine minutes gone in the first half, Bucknell senior Liz Wills was able to get her stick on a penalty corner and deflect it past Quakers senior goalie Allison Weisenfels , who was in good position before the redirection.
But that would be all Weisenfels would surrender for the day, as she stood strong in the face of five other Bison shots.
“I think [Weisenfels is] doing a fantastic job,” Fink said. “I mean, she’s a great leader, she’s working her tail off, she’s done an amazing job and we’re very happy for her performance.”
The Quakers showed some signs of life in the second half, but it wouldn’t be enough. Hitti barely missed the net off a penalty corner with 20 minutes to play, while Iqbal’s last-ditch attempt to set up freshman Rachel Huang in a wide position skittered out of bounds in the dying seconds.
But despite the loss, the Red and Blue showed enough over the course of the weekend to assure fans that 2014 would be closer to 2013’s near-Ivy title than 2012’s 9-8 muddle.
The Daily Pennsylvanian
UVa Field Hockey Holds Off Princeton
By Marilyn Payne
The sixth-ranked Virginia field hockey team beat No. 7 Princeton 6-4 Sunday to move to 2-2 on the season.
The Cavaliers lead 4-0 two minutes into the second half before Princeton scored three un answered goals in 13 minutes to make it 4-3 Virginia with 18 minutes to play.
Two penalty corner goals during that final part of the game helped Virginia hold on to its lead and clinch the win as the Tigers scored a fourth goal in the second half to contend.
“It feels awesome to get this victory over Princeton as they are a really good team,” said head coach Michele Madison. “In the second half, Princeton really brought it on and attacked us."
"We weren’t able to get the same kind of pressure we had in the first half. I knew they would come back. Coming off of our two losses where we dominated the opponent in the stats, we kept trying to build our game in the areas we were lacking in order to win a game. We fought hard and were able to close this one out.”
Senior goalkeeper Jenny Johnstone played the entire game in goal for UVa, logging seven saves and improving to 1-1 on the season.
Tara Vittese, Lucy Hyams, Emilia Tapsall, Riley Tata, Maddie DeCerbo and Caleigh Foust each scored a goal for the 'Hoos.
Virginia hosts Miami (Ohio) Tuesday September 9th at 1 p.m.
Newsplex.com