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News 09 November 2014

All the news for Sunday 9 November 2014


India take the lead

Kookaburras go down to India 1-0 in third Perth test



The third test proved to be one of the Kookaburras' toughest matches in the series so far, finding themselves unable to convert their attacking opportunities, resulting in a close 1-0 defeat by India Saturday night.

Crowds flocked into the stadium at Curtin University, to watch the world number one hockey team, the Kookaburras take on Commonwealth Games rivals India for the third time this week.

Neither team were able to break the nil-all deadlock coming into the third quarter, with the match showcasing fast pace and strong defensive structures.

Teamwork and skill paid dividends for India, who saw an opportunity and ran with it. Sunil Sowmarpet and Akashdeep Singh worked a well-executed goal in the 34th minute, giving India the 1-0 advantage.

The Kookaburras chance to level scores with India came in the fourth quarter, when Glenn Simpson found Jake Whetton well positioned in front of the goals, pushing the ball marginally wide and out of Whetton’s reach. 

Speaking after the match to Kookaburras head coach Graham Reid about the team’s performance tonight, he commented, “there are a few things that we have been working on, in which we were able to pull off tonight like moving the ball quicker however, when you are down to ten men, it makes it difficult to catch up.”

“India is one of the strongest teams, and our guys are understanding that.”

“I feel the debutants are now starting to get a feel of how fast international players are, especially when they are up against one of the quickest teams.”

Discussing improvements made by the Kookaburras coming off the back of their previous test on Wednesday night, after narrowly going down to India 2-1, Reid added, “there was nothing specific tactically. We know the way India are going to play, and for us it was just about keeping the ball moving quickly.”

“India dominated the midfield, which makes it extremely difficult to set up our attacks, this is something we need to keep working on coming into the final test Sunday.”

The final test in Perth will be played against India on Sunday night, allowing the Kookaburras a final chance to trial players including recent debutants before the Kookaburras depart for the 2014 Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar, India next month.

‘We are going to want to get a consolidated effort by the team Sunday night, and full 15 minute periods of sustained pressure. Moving the ball quickly and some decent opportunities at goal will be crucial.”

Trialling new blood throughout the test series in preparation for the prestigious international tournament, senior Kookaburra Eddie Ockenden believes it has been a positive decision in bringing new faces into the training squad.

“It’s fantastic to have so many new guys come into the team, and I think they are doing such a great job. It’s great for our group to have them coming through, and they are doing a lot better than what I was doing in my first couple of games.”

Settling the nerves and finding his feet, recent debutant Matthew Dawson has been pleased with his progress so far.

“It’s been pretty good so far, the boys are accommodating and I’m finding myself pretty comfortable out on the field. It’s always nice to get the first test out of the way, and now with the nerves settling, hopefully I get another match tomorrow.”
 
The final match of the series takes place on Sunday at 7pm AWST (10pm AEDT). The match will be shown live on the Hockey Australia YouTube channel.

KOOKABURRAS: (0) 0

INDIA: (0) 1
Sunil Sowmarpet 34 (FG)

Kookaburras squad v India
Name (Hometown, State) Caps/Goals
Started
Daniel Beale (Brisbane, QLD) 37/7
Kiel Brown (Toowoomba, QLD) 154/4
Andrew Charter (GK) (Canberra, ACT) 78/0
Matthew Dawson (Central Coast, NSW) 3/0
Tim Deavin (Launceston, TAS) 93/4
Matt Gohdes (Rockhampton, QLD) 103/31
Jeremy Hayward (Darwin, NT) 20/7
Eddie Ockenden (Hobart, TAS) 224/56
Tristan White (Wollongong, NSW) 37/3
Dylan Wotherspoon (Mulwillumbah, QLD) 3/0
Aran Zalewski (Margaret River, WA) 46/4

Used Substitute
Chris Ciriello (Melbourne, VIC) 148/95
Tom Craig (Sydney, NSW) 2/0
Jeremy Edwards (Hobart, TAS) 5/1
Leon Hayward (GK) (Darwin, NT) 2/0
Flynn Ogilvie (Woonona, NSW) 3/0
Glenn Simpson (Melbourne, VIC) 111/21
Jake Whetton (Brisbane, QLD) 71/30

Hockey Australia media release



India's day at Perth yet again

Stand-in Captain Rupinder Pal Singh, for whom today was the 100th international match, made it memorable for him and the country, leading India to a narrow but thrilling 1-0 victory at Perth in the third AusTest

Regular captain Sardar Singh was not played today because of fever.

After a barren first two quarters of play, the match came alive in the third, with the visitors finally breaking the shackles, which left the Kookaburras stunned.

In the 37th minute SV Sunil did not make any mistake from a beautiful pass from Akashdeep Singh in the circle.

The goal saw the Indians raising their game notches better, and becoming more aggressive in their attack.

They ensured good possession, while not letting down the pressure on the opponent’s defense.

At the end of the 3rd quarter India apparently looked a better side.

It was not an easy task for the hosts to score as the Indian boys were performing on the field. They had their own moments, but the Indian defenders skilfully tackled the Kookaburra attacks. Tight India did not concede any last minutes goals as was feared and with the 1-0 score India now leads the AusTest 2-1.

The fourth and final test will take place 1630 HRS (IST) today (Sunday, the 9th Nov)

Stick2Hockey.com



Resurgent India stun Australia 1-0, take 2-1 lead in four-match hockey series


SV Sunil (right) dribbles past an Australian defender. Getty Images

The Indian men's hockey team seems to have put behind the nightmarish 4-0 opening match defeat against Australia, as the Terry Walsh coached side produced another upset against the home side, this time winning 1-0.

The win gives India a surprise 2-1 lead in the four-match series, which has all but poised them, to pull off a historic series swoop over a strong Australian side.

India skipper, Sardar Singh, was missing in action from this game, and the role of captain was played out by Rupinder Pal Singh, who incidentally also marked his 100th international match for the country.

SV Sunil, who had scored in the previous game, struck once again, as he gave India the lead, early on in the third quarter, post his fine one-two move with Akashdeep Singh.

Sunil looked in pristine touch throughout the game, as he made the Australian defence crumble, with his pace and trickery, and if not for some solid defending from the home side, India could have scored even more.

The home side were later a man down, when Eddie Ockenden was sent off for a rough tackle on Manpreet Singh.

Despite a horde of penalty corner chances later on, neither team could convert it into something substantial, which meant that the score remained 1-0 till the end of the final hooter.

The fourth and final test match will be played at Perth on November 9.

DNA



Sunil shines as India beat Australia 1-0 in third hockey test

PERTH: SV Sunil struck the only goal of the match in the third quarter as India stun Australia 1-0 in the third hockey test to take a 2-1 lead in the four-match series on Saturday.

Rupinder Pal Singh, who played his 100th international match on Saturday, led the Indian side in the absence of regular skipper Sardar Singh.

The Indian boys kept troubling the Aussie defenders but were unable to net the goal in the first quarter. The second quarter was also barren.

Coming into the third quarter, it was India who broke the shackles and scored the opening goal which left the Kookaburras stunned. In the 34th minute SV Sunil netted the ball from a beautiful pass from Akashdeep Singh.

The Indian played more aggressive after that. They not only ensured good possession but even kept the pressure on the opponent's defense.

The Australians found it extremely difficult to penetrate into Indian defense. The last quarter saw the Indian defenders skillfully tackling the opponents whenever the Kookaburras attacked their D.

The fourth and final match of series will be played on Sunday.

The Times of India



Rupinder Pal Singh completes 100 matches for India

PERTH: Indian defender Rupinder Pal Singh achieved his 100th international cap on Saturday when India took on Australia in the third of the four-match hockey Test series.

Congratulating Rupinder, Hockey India (HI) secretary general Md. Mushtaque Ahmad said, "I am extremely delighted at the way this young man has been playing all this while and the manner in which he has been progressing consistently.

"HI takes utmost pride in congratulating Rupinder on his accomplishment of 100 international caps. I wish him all the best for the remaining matches of the tournament and hope to see more of similar high quality performances from him in times to come."

Playing as a fullback, Rupinder is known to be one of the best drag flickers who made his international debut in May 2010 and has 37 international goals to his credit.

The Times of India



Another win for Future Black Sticks in Stratford



The Future Black Sticks Women have comfortably won the series against the India Juniors, with another two games still to play at the TET Multisports Centre in Stratford.

Having notched up two earlier wins and a draw, the Kiwis won 3-2 today thanks to goals from Siobhan Nuzum, Tessa Jopp and Felicity Reidy.

"It wasn’t pretty - it was a harder, scrappier game - but we got the result in the end," said head coach Jude Menezes.

Having played the first three games in 35 minute halves, the coaches agreed that the final three games would be played in the new FIH format of 15 minute quarters.

"I thought we managed the quarters okay – there’s a definite change in tempo and it’s a learning experience for players. It’s something that we will try to manage better and improve ahead of the final two games," said Menezes.

In today’s game, Nuzum scored first through a penalty corner flick, with Jopp and Reidy giving the Kiwis a 3-1 lead by the end of the third quarter. India pegged one back through a penalty corner conversion with around 10 minutes left in the game, but the Kiwis held onto their lead to take the win.

Menezes has stressed that although the series has been won, there is still a lot to play for.

"We want to win every game we play and this group I believe is improving all the time. I keep reminding myself that they are young and it does take time to build understanding among players - considering we haven’t spent much time together, they are playing really well. They are giving it 100%, and we can’t ask for more than that," said Menezes.

Kate McCaw and captain Cass Reid both played half games today to try and manage injury niggles.

"It has given us a chance to get more players onto the field – everyone is getting game time and nobody is out of the series injured which is good."

Although the next game is not till 3pm on Wednesday (TET Multisports Centre, Stratford), the Future Black Sticks have a big couple of days ahead with fitness testing.

Tomorrow the team will be tested over 1,600m and on Tuesday they are scheduled to do a speed and yoyo test.

Hockey New Zealand Media release



Leaders Surbiton beat Buckingham


Surbiton players celebrate Abi Robinson’s goal v Clifton earlier in the season. Credit Peter Smith

Surbiton kept their lead at the top of the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division with a convincing 5-0 defeat of Buckingham.

Buckingham had hoped to give their season the kick it needed but fell behind after 16 minutes when Georgie Twigg found the net.

Surbiton dominated from then on with Giselle Ansley and Rebecca Herbert scoring a brace each.

Holcombe maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 4-1 result on the road at Reading. Lucy Wood hit a brace and Lauren Osborn and Laura Unsworth also got their names on the sheet.

Canterbury ensured that kept the pressure on at the top with a narrow 1-0 victory over University of Birmingham.

The only goal of the game came in the 53rd minute with Mel Clewlow sweeping home from a penalty corner.

Clifton have only lost one game this season and are third on goal difference a 1-0 defeat of Bowdon Hightown. Jo Leigh scored the lone goal, cracking home in the 43rd minute.

Leicester took their third win of the season against a struggling Beeston side who slumped to their eighth straight defeat. Rachel Mack opened the scoring for Leicester on three minutes before Liz George made it 2-0 on 24 minutes.

Investec Women’s Conference West

It was first versus second in the Investec Conference West and Slough underlined their dominance as leaders with a 2-0 win against Swansea City.

Slough have a perfect record this season, winning all eight of their games and Melanie Ball and Jess Brooker both found the net to seal another three points.

Third-placed Trojans faced Olton and West Warwickshire and the score was 1-1 when the game was abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch.

Gloucester City drew 2-2 with Bristol Firebrands thanks to two goals from Zoe Burford.

Investec Women’s Conference North

Brooklands Poynton and Wakefield are both on 17 points at the top of the Investec Women’s Hockey League Conference North and they continue to push each other after both winning comfortably.

Cat Horn was on target twice as Wakefield beat Loughborough Students 4-1 and Jess Berry, Helen Turner and Cat Savage scored the goals for Brooklands as they beat bottom of the table Cannock 3-0. University of Durham were also convincing winners, beating Kendal 3-0.

Liverpool Sefton got the better of Sutton Coldfield, beating their hosts 3-2. Ben Rhydding’s Laura Smith was their only scorer in their game against Whitley and Tynemouth.

Investec Women’s Conference East

Sophie Bray hit a hat-trick as East Grinstead made short work of Bedford in a 5-1 win. Zoe Burrell and Lucy Brown were also on target.

St Albans are level on points with East Grinstead but remain second on goal difference. They faced Horsham and recorded a 1-0 win courtesy of a Christina Horn strike.

A Kate Hornsby double led Sevenoaks to a 2-1 win over Harleston Magpies after they had fallen behind early on. It was their fourth win of the campaign. Wimbledon and Chelmsford played out a 1-1 draw with a goal in each half.

Investec Women’s Hockey League (Saturday, November 8 2014):

Investec Women's Premier Division: Beeston 0, Leicester 2; University of Birmingham 0, Canterbury 1; Reading 1, Holcombe 4; Bowdon Hightown 0, Clifton 1; Surbiton 5, Buckingham 0.

Investec Women's Conference West: Gloucester City 2, Bristol Firebrands 2; Olton and West Warwickshire 1, Trojans 1 (abandoned due to waterlogged pitch on 65 minutes); Oxford Hawks 0, Isca 0; Slough 2, Swansea City 0; Stourport L, Cheltenham L.

Investec Women's Conference North: Brooklands Poynton 3, Cannock 0; Kendal 0, University of Durham 3; Loughborough Students 1, Wakefield 4; Ben Rhydding 1, Whitley Bay and Tynemouth 0; Sutton Coldfield 2, Liverpool Sefton 3.

Investec Women's Conference East: Bedford 1, East Grinstead 5; Harleston Magpies 1, Sevenoaks 2; Horsham 0, St Albans 1; Wimbledon 1, Chelmsford 1; Ipswich L, Maidenhead L.

England Hockey Board Media release



Indian Oil take on PSB in final

Jalandhar - Last year’s runners-up Indian Oil beat Punjab XI (Pakistan) 4-2 to set up a revenge clash against defending champions Punjab and Sind Bank in the 31st Surjit Hockey Tournament here today.

The bank team beat Army XI 3-2 in a tough fight to enter the final for the 16th time.

PSB went ahead in the 6th minute when Vikramjit Singh converted a penalty corner. Just at the stroke of halftime, Bachittar Singh cracked in a fierce strike from the top of the circle to equalise. In the 47th minute, Army goalkeeper PT Rao gave away a penalty stroke, which Vikramjit converted to complete his brace.

In the 58th minute, Jaskaran Singh gave his team a two-goal cushion. In the 62nd minute, Arumugam converted a penalty corner to reduce the margin.

The Tribune



Just what THT needed

By Jugjet Singh


Terengganu Hockey Team's Firhan Ashaari (centre) and Balkit Singh vie with Maybank players in their match at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Friday. THT won 4-3

TERENGGANU Hockey Team (THT) coach Sarjit Singh believes his players received a timely wake-up call from Maybank before their big game against defending champions Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) in the Malaysia Hockey League Premier Division today.

THT were 2-3 down at one point, before they turned the tables on Maybank and won 4-3.

“The Maybank wake up call was timely, and I think it is what we needed before playing KLHC. Maybank showed us what can happen if we take our foot off the pedal, and we can’t afford anymore lapses, especially against KLHC as we aim to wrest the title from them by keeping a clean record in the first round,” said Sarjit.

THT were a jaded side, despite fielding five South Koreans for the first time in the MHL, and were saved by the bungling Maybank forwards who missed at least three sitters.

“Maybank played very well and I think that they, at least, deserved one point from the match, but we can’t afford to have the same attitude against KLHC,”” said Sarjit.

KLHC have a match in hand as their Sapura encounter on Friday was washed away by rain.

Tenaga Nasional, the only all-local outfit in the MHL, will face Sapura today and skipper Madzli Ikmar said: “Although our management asked us to hire foreign talent, our coaching set-up declined because we believe in helping our local talent grow.

“It is sad to see some budding talent not playing in the MHL, as their spots have been taken over by foreign imports.

“We have many youth in this current team, and I believe in three years, we will be at our very best... better than teams which rely on imports,” said Madzli, a former international.

Tenaga, with three points after three matches, will meet undefeated Sapura today.

TODAY: Maybank v UniKL (6pm, Pitch I), KLHC v Terengganu HT (6pm, Pitch II), Tenaga v Sapura (8pm, Pitch II).

New Straits Times



A clash to ‘decide’ Malaysia Hockey League champs

By S. Ramaguru


KLHC's M. Sukri Abdul Mutalib (left) fights for the ball with TNB's Muhammad Shahril Saabah during the MHL Charity Shield match at the Bukit Jalil Hockey Stadium last week. - Filepic

KUALA LUMPUR: One has dominated the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) for the last eight years. The other is playing in only their second season and regarded as pretenders to the throne.

Sunday’s mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash between defending champions Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) and Terengganu is crucial with the winner getting an early advantage in the battle for the league’s Premier Division title.

KLHC have been league champions for the last eight years and double champions for four years. But they will go into this match as underdogs.

Terengganu are a completely different outfit this season. They have formed a formidable side to earn the favourites tag. The East Coast team have several national players and five top-notch South Korean stars. And they have won all three matches, scoring an impressive 13 goals to lead the six-team league on nine points.

But are they really championship material?

KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj certainly thinks so.

“Frankly, Terengganu are a much superior team with the kind of players they have hired this year. This is the best team ever assembled in the MHL.

“There is nothing for us to lose as the pressure is on them. And I am sure the winning team tomorrow will have a better chance of winning the title,” said Dharmaraj, whose side are second on six points from two matches.

Besides eyeing the title, revenge is certainly on Terengganu’s mind.

Said team manager Mohamed Sabri Salleh: “Our aim this year is to win the two titles (league and overall) and to beat KLHC. We lost to them badly (5-0 and 4-1) last season. We want to redeem ourselves and to show we are an improved side.

“This year, every team who play us are determined to get a result. KLHC are no different.”

Terengganu, however, will not have international defender Engku Abdul Malek for Sunday’s showdown due to injury. But they are not worried following the arrival of the five South Koreans last week.

In Friday’s 4-3 win over Maybank, penalty corner specialist Jang Jong-hyun scored a hat-trick in the 4-3 win.

Sabri said they did not play well against Maybank.

“It takes time for the Koreans to gel with the local players. It was the players’ individual skills that helped us beat Maybank. We are going to improve from match to match. We hope our performance will be better tomorrow against KLHC,” he added.

The Star of Malaysia



U-14 hockey: It’s a Pahang-Penang final

By S. Ramaguru

KUALA LUMPUR: Pahang and Penang will battle it out for the boys’ crown in the 1MAS-MHC-Milo Under-14 hockey championships at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Both teams took contrasting routes to the final with 10-man Pahang edging Kelantan 3-2 while Penang beat Sabah 6-4 on Saturday.

Sunday’s final will be their second meeting in the championships. Earlier in the group stage, Pahang beat Penang 4-1.

Pahang were forced to play 44 minutes with 10 men on Saturday after Mohamed Adil Adha was sent off for a blatant foul in the 26th minute. Kelantan were leading then after a second-minute field goal by Mohamed Adam Daniel.

Pahang, however, managed to draw level in the 41st minute through Mohamed Arif Syafie. It did not last long as Asrul Hisyam scored in the 43rd minute for Kelantan to regain the lead.

Mohamed Arif then made it 2-2 for Pahang in the 50th minute and Mohamed Azizan Azlan found the winner in the 59th minute.

Said Pahang coach Mohamed Sufian: “We made a nervous start because all our players were playing in the semi-finals of a tournament for the first time. I have to give credit to my players for coming back twice to win the match.”

In the girls’ category, Sabah will play unbeaten Kuala Lumpur in the final. Sabah defeated Malacca 5-2 in the semi finals while Kuala Lumpur edged Kedah 1-0.

Reaching the final is a great achievement for us. Now we hope to create history by winning the title.”

In the other semi-final, Mohamed Amirul was the hero for Penang as he scored four goals to take his tally to 15 goals. He was on target in the 28th, 38th, 44th and 53rd minutes. The other scorers were Mohamed Alif Farahan (sixth) and Izzuan Ismail (10).

Sabah’s Muhajir Abdu Rauf netted a hat-trick with goals in the 13th, 52nd and 68th minutes. Mohamed Saifuddin contributed the other goal in the 42nd minute.

The Star of Malaysia



Field Hockey Topped at Harvard in Regular Season Finale


Courtesy: Columbia University Athletics/Gene Boyars

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Columbia field hockey team fell at Harvard, 4-1, Saturday to snap its six-game winning streak. Coupled with a Princeton win, the Lions finished tied for second in the Ivy League standings at 5-2.

Columbia overall posted a 12-5 mark, tying the second most wins in program history.

Both teams played it close to the vest in the early stages, but the Crimson used a nice passing sequence in the 18th minute to take the early lead.

A long stretch pass went to Elizabeth Jacobson down the right side of the field. Jacobson worked her way to the center and shoveled a pass on the left wing to Marissa Balleza who blasted a shot top-shelf into the net for her seventh of the season.

Balleza made it 2-0 in the 24th minute, finding just enough space to get off a one-timer from close range. With the half winding down, Jacobson scooped up a loose ball off a rebound on the near left side and tapped it home.

The Lions had one last chance to get on the board in the first half, but Zoe Blake’s shot was stopped by Issy Davis and Harvard took the 3-0 cushion into the break.

Balleza capped the hat trick early in the second half to extend the lead to four.

Columbia finally got on the board in the 59th minute. Off a penalty corner, Lauren Skudalski deflected in a Zoe Blake shot for her second of the year, but the Crimson held firm defensively down the stretch to preserve the win.

The Crimson held a 14-12 edge in shots on the game. The Lions out cornered Harvard, 9-2.

Columbia University Athletics

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