News for 04 September 2015
All the news for Friday 4 September 2015
Hockeyroos named for Korea tests
23 athletes including three debutants named for Perth Korea series
Hockeyroos coach Adam Commens will hand senior international debuts to three young athletes in this weekend’s test series against Korea in Perth with a number of more experienced players missing out.
Following the national women’s training camp, a final Hockeyroos squad of 23 athletes has been named for the series, including newcomers Laura Barden (VIC), Madison Fitzpatrick (QLD) and Stephanie Kershaw (QLD).
Speaking about the newer faces in the squad, Commens said, “Stephanie Kershaw, Laura Barden and Madison Fitzpatrick have all impressed with their performances recently. Steph Kershaw has been outstanding over the past six weeks and has performed in a way that has our group excited about the talent and power she can bring to the front line.
“Laura Barden has progressed well over the last 18 months. Her work rate and her ability to get outcomes in our attacking third have been noticeable in her performances in the training games against Korea over the past week.
“Madison Fitzpatrick has been earmarked as a high level player for a couple of years now. While she’s an exciting prospect with plenty of potential, and it’s great to see her beginning to realise some of that potential, she’ll need to continue to work hard to force her way into our top team.”
The international matches will offer valuable development opportunities for other young members of the squad, including Savannah Fitzpatrick, Kate Hanna and Renee Taylor who return to the side after making their debuts in Sydney in April.
Commens added, “The camp has been fantastic. It has allowed us to have a good look at all our players, not only the national squad but the development players too. The selection reflects that with three players set to debut.
“We’ve selected a side that feel is capable of winning the tests and that will be our intention. It’s really important that we see how some of the less experienced players perform against a top international team and put themselves in the frame.
“Some of our more established players have not been selected; Georgia Nanscawen, Brooke Peris and Georgie Parker are the most notable.
“To achieve our goal of winning an Olympic gold medal our more experienced players need to add value and play at a higher level.
“On the one hand, it’s fantastic to have younger players stepping up but to be successful we need our older players to step up too. The selectors felt that these three in particular haven’t progressed as expected and need to bring more with their performances if they are to add value to our gold medal bid.”
The matches will offer the Hockeyroos an opportunity to fine-tune the women’s national senior program ahead of the Oceania Cup in New Zealand in October, World League Final in Argentina in December and the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Captain Madonna Blyth, Casey Sablowski and Kellie White will sit out the upcoming matches while they recover from injury.
Hockeyroos v Korea Fixtures, 5-8 September 2015
Saturday 5 September: Hockeyroos v Korea – 14:15pm AWST
Sunday 6 September: Hockeyroos v Korea – 14:15pm AWST
Tuesday 8 September: Hockeyroos v Korea – 17:00pm AWST
Hockeyroos Squad
Athlete (Hometown, State)
Teneal Attard (Mackay, QLD)
Laura Barden (Kew, VIC)
Edwina Bone (Evatt, ACT)
Mathilda Carmichael (Willoughby, NSW)
Jane Claxton (Adelaide, SA)
Kirstin Dwyer (Mackay, QLD)
Madison Fitzpatrick (Cabarita Beach, NSW^)
Savannah Fitzpatrick (Cabarita Beach, NSW^)
Anna Flanagan (Canberra, ACT)
Kate Hanna (Constitution Hill, NSW)
Kate Jenner (Tamworth, NSW)
Jodie Kenny (Wamuran, QLD)
Stephanie Kershaw (Townsville, QLD)
Rachael Lynch (Melbourne, VIC)
Karri McMahon (Berri, SA)
Georgina Morgan (Armidale, NSW)
Gabrielle Nance (Kingscliff, NSW*)
Ashleigh Nelson (Wagin, WA)
Kathryn Slattery (South Stirling, WA)
Emily Smith (Crookwell, NSW)
Renee Taylor (Everton Park, QLD)
Ashlee Wells (Morwell, VIC)
Mariah Williams (Parkes, NSW)
NOTE: The above athletes have come through the academies and institutes of sport in their home states and territories with the exception of the following:
^Madison and Savannah Fitzpatrick are scholarship holders at the Queensland Academy of Sport
*Gabrielle Nance is a graduate scholar of the South Australia Sports Institute
Please note: The Korea matches will not be livestreamed by Hockey Australia, however, live tweeting of the matches will be available via the @Hockeyroos Twitter account. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Hockey Australia media release
It's Northerns vs Southerns and WP vs SA U21 in semi-finals
JONATHAN COOK in Pretoria
Action from the Southerns vs Tuffy Western Province game. Photo: Sean Burke
After five days of intense hockey in Pools A and B, the semi-finalists were decided at the SA Men’s Interprovincial Tournament on Tuks Astro in Pretoria Thursday.
Who would play whom in the semi-finals was decided in the 30th and last game of the Pool stage, this after Tuffy Western Province beat Southern Gauteng 3-2 in which the latter stages of the match played out amidst a thunderous downpour.
That outcome sees Pool B winners WP meeting Pool A runners-up South Africa U21 at 4pm Friday with host province Northern Gauteng Blues - victors in Pool A - up against Pool B runners-up Southern Gauteng at 6pm.
In Pool B, the situation was straightforward. The outcome of the Southern Gauteng versus Western Province match determined who would finish first and second in the Pool.
Going into Thursday’s fifth and final round of Pool A matches, however, two of Northern Blues, SA U21, KZN Raiders and defending champs Western Province Peninsula were in with a chance of making Friday’s semi-finals.
In the 12.45pm match, the SA U21 team – playing by invitation to aid their preparation for Junior World Cup qualification – simply had to beat underdogs KZN Inland, and win they did - but just. And one Inland effort that hit the post might have changed everything.
It looked to be a walk in the park when this match exploded into life in the first 12 seconds, SA juniors striker Bili Ntuli finishing off a very slick move with clinical efficiency (1-0).
In the ninth minute KZN Inland’s Satchi Reddy hit the post from a penalty corner and a minute later the Maritzburg-based side equalised through Le-Neal Jackson from another PC (1-1).
Into the second quarter, and three great saves came in quick succession, two by SA U21 keeper Rob McKinley and another on the goalline by Inland defender Lee-Roy Storm.
The end-to-end action deserved tangible reward and in the 21st minute Maritzburg College schoolboy Amkelwe Letuka glanced in a pinpoint pass by captain Gavin Jelley from a penalty corner (2-1).
McKinley saved once more as Inland continued to breach the SA juniors’ defensive screen. The lads from the KZN capital were not to be denied and four minutes from half-time (26th) Damien Kimfley finished off a cross from the left in style (3-1).
After a bout of pressure in the strike zone by the SA U21 forwards, Inland broke out and Letuka called McKinley into action once again.
Turning around with a 3-1 half-time lead, Inland had the advantage in buckets but too many errors meant they had to tighten up at the back, although the same could be said of the SA juniors.
Four minutes after the changeover (34th) Jelley made it 4-1 to Inland. SA U21 pulled one back almost immediately (35th min) after a good finish by Ryan Crowe (4-2).
And on the cusp of the third quarter’s close (35th minute) Crowe scored his second (4-3) to leave SA U21 going into the last 15 minutes needing at least two goals without reply in order to advance to the semi-finals.
An Inland PC opportunity came and went, but in the final outcome it was the SA juniors who finished the stronger with fields goals by Stephen McManus (52nd) and Matt de Sousa three minutes from full-time (57th) to seal the lads in green and gold’s semi-final berth.
With the SA juniors now qualified for the last four, the other key clash to determine the remaining semi-final berth from Pool A saw Northern Blues needing to beat WP Peninsula, this after KZN Raiders had beaten KZN Mynahs an emphatic 9-1 in the match before.
The Raiders’ win meant that with a goal difference advantage of eight over Northerns, a draw would not be enough for the home province.
Northerns duly beat WP Peninsula 1-0 with a great finish by Richard Pautz in the 16th minute, but they made heavy weather of it.
The host province’s fans will be hoping for a more accurate performance come Friday’s second semi-final against Southern Gauteng at 6pm.
Thursday’s late game saw WP beat Southerns by the odd goal in five in a hot-tempered match, the 3-2 win coming after a 3-1 scoreline at half-time.
Keenan Horne, Jason Mulder and Wade Paton netted for WP and Migs da Graca and Lance Louw struck for Southerns.
KZN Raiders, who beat KZN Mynahs 9-1 through goals by Jarryd Jones (2), Greg Last, Jonty Robinson (3), Dan Sibbald (2) and Ryan Wallace, were left to look back at the dropped points in their 2-2 draw with SA U21 and 2-1 defeat by Northern Blues 2-1.
Mynahs, who had little left in the tank after their outstanding effort in drawing 1-1 with the SA juniors the day before, got on the scoresheet via Dale van der Merwe’s field goal in the last minute.
The earlier matches in Pool B saw Free State beat a strong-finishing North West 6-3 after leading 4-0 at half-time. The lads from Bloemfontein scored through Michael Baiden (3), Tiaan Weldenhagen and Kurt Hensburg (2) while Gertjie Lamprecht, Ruan de Jong and Stean Naude replied for North West.
Eastern Province recorded their third win with a 5-1 defeat of South Gauteng Wits. The EP goals went to Jason MacLachlan, Cerezo Comerasamy, Lyall Meyer, Dalan Phillips and Natius Malgraff. The SG Wits goal was scored by Jermaine Johnson.
In the second-tier B Section, SA Country Districts beat Namibia 6-4 while Eastern Gauteng beat Northern Cape 7-4.
RESULTS
A Section: Free State 6 North West 3; EP 5 SG Wits 1; SA U21 5 KZN Inland 4; KZN Raiders 9 KZN Mynahs 1; Northern Blues 1 WP Pens 0; Tuffy Western Province 3 Southern Gauteng 2.
B Section: SACD 6 Namibia 4; Eastern Gauteng 7 Northern Cape 4.
FINAL A SECTION LOGS
(All played 5. Goal difference, points)
Pool A: Northern Blues 10GD, 12 pts; SA U21 3GD 11 pts; KZN Raiders 17GD, 10 pts; WP Pens 1GD, 6 pts; KZN Inland -7GD, 3 pts; KZN Mynahs -24GD 1 pt.
Pool B: Tuffy WP 28GD, 15 pts; Southern Gauteng 14GD, 12 pts; SG Wits -6GD, 6 pts; EP 2GD, 9 pts; Free State -7GD 3 pts; North West -30GD, 0 pts.
FIXTURES
A Section 08h00 KZN Mynahs vs Free State; 10h00 KZN Inland vs North West; 12h00 WP Peninsula vs EP; 14h00 KZN Raiders vs SG Wits; 16h00 SA U21 vs WP; 18h00 Northern Gauteng Blues vs Southern Gauteng.
B Section 09h15 Namibia vs Eastern Gauteng; 11h00 Northerns B vs Northern Cape.
SA Hockey Association media release
Batu Buruk: KLHC-THT title decider
By Jugjet Singh
KLHC's Ali Shan (middle) on crock list
DOUBLE champions Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) hold home-ground advantage as they go head-on against Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) to decide the Premier Division League champions Friday.
The Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) cruncher will be played at the Batu Buruk Stadium in Kuala Terengganu, and the winner will receive RM70,000 while the fallen RM50,000.
Very little separates both the teams, as THT lead by 24 points after nine matches, while KLHC have 23 points. THT only hold the advantage of having to draw the match to defend their title.
In Round One, KLHC whipped THT 6-2 for the Charity Shield, but THT went on to win the remaining eight matches, while KLHC were held to two draws -- both times by Sapura (3-3 and 4-4).
KLHC are happy with the new flood-lights, but keeping their fingers crossed that their Pakistan play-maker Ali Shan will be ready for today's match.
"Ali Shan has been among our key players this season but he picked up an ankle injury last weekend. It is still painful, and everything is being done to get him match-ready. Hopefully he will be able to play in this title-decider," said KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
Dharmaraj is also happy that the flood-lights have been repaired: "Last season when we played at Batu Buruk, the lighting was bad but it has been repaired and now even if there is a rain-delay, the match can be completed and the title presented to the winner."
The coach and his players have placed the 6-2 victory on the back-burner.
"That is history, tomorrow (today) I expect a very tough match, as THT will also have the crowd support to back their quest. if my players can minimise mistakes, I believe the title will tilt our way," said Dharmaraj.
THT coach Sarjit Singh believed his side will be the under dogs, after being whipped in the Charity Shield.
"The target in Round Two is to win all our home matches and we have achieved that. So, my players will treat this match as just another home fixture to win, and with less pressure on them, we will try and defend our title.
The Batu Buruk Stadium has a capacity of 2,000 but Sarjit believes 1,000 more will occupy the standing space to cheer on the home side.
FRIDAY: Premier Division (Round Two): UniKL v Sapura (6pm, Pitch II), Terengganu Hockey Team v Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (Batu Buruk, 8pm), Maybank v Tenaga (8pm, Pitch II).
Division One: Group A -- MBI v TNB Thunderbolts (Azlan Shah, 7pm), Masum-USM v MSN-THT (KLHA, 5pm).
Group B: SSTMI v UniKL Young Guns (SSTMI, 5pm), Nur Insafi v PKS-KPM (Sungai Petani, 5pm), Politeknik v UiTM (Taman Daya, 5pm).
Women: Group A -- The Cops v Politeknik (5pm, Pitch I); Group B: Manjung v KL Sukma (Azlan Shah, 5pm).
SATURDAY: Division One: Group A -- MBI v BJSS (Azlan Shah, 5pm); Women's Group B: MSN Kedah v KL Sukma (Padang Serai, 5pm).
SUNDAY: Division One Group A: TNB Thunderbolts v MSN-THT (SSTMI, 5pm), MSSP-YP-SSP v Masum-USM (Kuantan, 5pm).
Group B: Politeknik v UniKL Young Guns (Taman Daya, 5pm), SSTMI v UiTM (SSTMI, 7pm), Nur Insafi v ATM Airod (Sungai Petani, 5pm).
Women's Group A: The Cops v ATM Pernama (Pitch I, 7pm).
NOTE: National Hockey Stadium Bukit Jalil, unless stated.
Jugjet's World of Field Hockey
Can KLHC get the better of league leaders Terengganu?
By s. Ramaguru
KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) are out to regain their status as the top dogs in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League.
The question is whether the eight-time league champions KLHC can get the better of high-riding Terengganu at the Batu Buruk Hockey Stadium in Kuala Terengganu on Friday?
KLHC were 6-2 victors when they met in the first round but for Friday’s clash the smart money is on Terengganu. The east coast side lead KLHC in the six-team table by a point and should retain the league title if recent form is taken into account.
In addition to their eight league titles (2006-2013), KLHC also won the overall title five times.
As for Terengganu, they are in their third season in the competition but bagged the league and overall crowns last year.
There is little to separate the two star-studded teams.
KLHC have six Pakistanis – Ali Shan, Waseem Ahmad, Mohamed Umar Bhutta, Ahmad Ajaz, Fareed Ahmad and Mohamed Usman – while there are three Argentinians – Jose Leandro Tolini, Pablo Javier Trevisan and Ignicio Quilez – and one Pakistani – Ahmad Shakeel Butt – in the Terengganu side.
The only problem with KLHC is that they are perennial slow starters and only come alive in the last quarter of the match. Terengganu have no such problems, often starting with a bang and scoring enough goals to take them over the line.
The statistics also show the teams are evenly matched in attack and defence.
Terengganu have scored 30 goals and conceded 14 while KLHC have netted 28, also conceding 14.
In Faizal Saari, Terengganu have a consistent goalscorer. He is the top scorer in the division with 12 goals and is set to win the top marksman award for the third season.
Skipper Mohamed Razie Rahim is KLHC’s top goal-getter. The penalty corner specialist, the topscorer award winner in 2011, has seven goals to his credit.
Coach K. Dharmaraj is confident KLHC will rise to the occasion to snatch the title.
“We knew from the start of the season, it will come down to this game to settle the title issue. We beat them in the opening game, but Terengganu have grown from strength to strength since then. We have got to take the fight to them and also make fewer mistakes. It’s not going be easy at all,” said Dharmaraj.
Despite having home ground advantage and needing just a draw to emerge champions, Terengganu defender Azlan Misron cautioned against taking KLHC for granted.
“It’s never easy playing KLHC. They have the experience and players to trouble us. They also have the psychological edge of beating us in the first game,” said Azlan.
“But we’ve recovered from that loss. Now we want revenge as well as to be the No. 1 team in the country. I think the team that can score and hold their defence well will come out winners,” he added.
There is also an extra incentive for Terengganu to win in front of their home fans as the trophy presentation will be held after the match.
The other two matches Friday hold little significance to the league standings with third-placed Sapura taking on bottom side Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and fourth-placed Tenaga Nasional facing fifth-placed Maybank.
The Star of Malaysia
Introducing hockey to township schools
Nokulunga Ngobese
Enzo and "Energy" Ntshangase (front, middle) with some of the children he is coaching.
WHILE hockey remains a predominantly white sport in South Africa, a Sobantu fitness trainer and hockey coach, Enzo “Energy” Ntshangase, is on a mission to introduce hockey to township schools by training Foundation phase pupils.
The founder of Easy Coaching, a NPO which focuses on physical wellness, coaches young girls between the ages of nine and 13 at Russell Junior Primary and Khwezi Primary schools.
Growing up in a township, Ntshangase said he has always been passionate about physical training and although fascinated by hockey, he never got the opportunity because of limited resources.
In 2013 he received training at the Southern Hockey Club in Randburg.
“I have always been intrigued by hockey because it is a left-hand game played on the right. Introducing it to young girls helps them improve their eye-hand co-ordination. When I teach them, I teach them using the language of mathematics and science as we speak about forces and all the technical jargon.
“Since it is also played on an artificial surface it also sharpens their mindas it requires concentration.”
Ntshangase said his main motive is to produce district hockey players, especially girls, because not all sport codes can accommodate them.
“I want to sharpen their mind and expose them to different sport codes since they also get to play at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.”
While his dream is to see hockey introduced to other township and rural schools under uMgungundlovu district, his main concern is that there are no proper facilities in these schools that can be used to nurture talent.
Khwezi Primary principal, Duduzamaswazi Mchunu, said they appreciate the initiative and they have applied for funding from the national lottery for the upgrade of the school ground, which has been approved
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