News for 21 March 2016
All the news for Monday 21 March 2016
Racing and Dragons confirm playoff place
Racing Club de Bruxelles and Dragons both copper-fastened their place in the Belgian Audi Hockey League playoffs with the former beating Herakles 8-1 while the latter drew 2-2 with the WatDucks.
For Racing, Tom Boon scored six times with other efforts coming from Augustin Meurmans and Andrin Rickli. Speaking afterwards to the HockeyBelgium website, he says the aims is now to keep a “cool head” and arrive at the playoffs in their best shape and form, continuing to gain in confidence.
For the Ducks and Dragons, Romain Pennelle and Shane O’Donoghue exchanged goals before the Irishman put the Antwerp side ahead. John-John Dohmen equalised, however, in the 55th minute for the draw.
Two late goals from Max Plennevaux saw Royal Leopold continue their unbeaten form in the Belgian league as they nabbed a 3-2 win over Braxgata.
They trailed 2-1 at half-time before Plennevaux struck two classy goals in the 56th and 58th minutes to win the game.
KHC Leuven’s form continues to improve and they are now up to seventh place following a 3-2 win over Beerschot with Pau Quemada the main man, scoring two corners and one stroke in the victory.
La Gantoise scored a 3-1 win over Daring while Antwerp beat Pingouin 3-2 in the relegation battle.
Euro Hockey League media release
Amsterdam boosted back to top ahead of KO16
Amsterdam got a big boost ahead of next weekend’s EHL KO16 as they recorded a 3-2 win over Oranje Zwart on Sunday, a result that returns them to the top of the table.
Short corner goals from Justin Reid-Ross and Mirco Pruyser helped them to a 2-1 lead at half-time in Eindhoven before Reid-Ross extended the lead further in the 41st minute. Jelle Galema got one back but they could not fightback to level.
The news then came through that the other title rivals HGC lost 4-3 to bottom side Schaerweijde, a result that gives Amsterdam a three point lead at the top of the table.
Goals from Thijn Knetemann – completing his hat trick – and Heath Simpson in the closing five minutes saw the Zeist side stun HGC.
It widens the chase for the playoff places with Bloemendaal in fourth raising their interests with a 4-0 win over Hurley while Kampong are in fifth courtesy of a 4-0 win at Pinoke.
Rotterdam picked up six points over the weekend, beating Voordaan and Den Bosch.
Euro Hockey League media release
Monkstown Claim Senior Cup Victory
Monkstown snatched the Irish Senior Cup title from Lisnagarvey’s grasp as Jonny Bruton’s last ditch goal and Gareth Watkins’ nerveless penalty stroke saw the Dubliners prevail at Belfield.
They trailed their Ulster rival with 90 seconds remaining before Bruton grabbed a scrappy equaliser and, in sudden death, they won the shoot-out 6-5.
It was their second title in four years while Garvey, the competition’s most decorated side, will see their relative drought extend for another year having now won since 2005.
Daniel Buser had Garvey in front just two minutes into the tie when he saw left one-on-one with David Fitzgerald. His first shot was blocked but fell back perfectly for him to fire home at the second time of asking.
From there, the tie was end to end with the Ulster side creating the guts of the big chances while David Cole produced some crucial interventions.
Town got back on terms in contentious fashion. It was a lovely move with Jonny Bruton feeding Andrew Ward down the right baseline and his cross was turned in by Davy Carson at close quarters.
The debate, though, centred on whether the half-time hooter was blown before or after the key touch. Indeed, it was over two minutes into the half-time break before the goal was reflected on the scoreboard after a discussion between the two on-field umpires confirmed the outcome.
The second half again saw Garvey creating a series of openings with Paul Gleghorne, Mikey Watt and Andy Williamson denied at the last. They went ahead via Watt in the 55th minute when Sean Murray hared away from the cover before picking out the forward to touch in, the ball just about clearing the line.
But Monkstown were not done. They forced a series of penalty corners and the third drag from Lee Cole was fumbled as far as Jonny Bruton who gleefully scored for 2-2 with 90 seconds remaining.
The shoot-out saw the first ten efforts all scored before Stevie Arbutnot miscued his shot horribly. Watkins ran forward to take his effort and showed pure confidence to flick home.
Monkstown 2 (D Carson, J Bruton) Lisnagarvey 2 (D Buser, M Watt), Monkstown win 6-5 on penalty strokes
Monkstown: D Fitzgerald, L Cole. N Dee, G Groves, K Smith, A Ward, G Watkins, J Bruton, D Cole, S Cole, Z de Boe Agnew
Subs: I Horsfield, D Carson, G Sarratt, G Cole, S Hyland, K Good, M Maguire
Lisnagarvey: J Tormey, J Bell, S Arbuthnot, J Lorimer, R Arneill, S Murray, T Cockram, D Buser, N Glassey, M Watt, P Gleghorne
Subs: R Getty, P MacDonnell, A Williamson, P Ritchie, M Nelson, M McNellis, J Milliken
Umpires: R Johnston, K Cholewa
Irish Hockey Association media release
Ulster Elks Win Irish Senior Cup 
Rebecca Davidson’s spectacular diving stop saw Ulster Elks claimed back-to-back Irish Senior Cup titles, tipping Chloe Brown’s sudden death penalty stroke on to the post for a dramatic victory over Ards.
It saw them win in the seventh round of the shoot-out after normal time had ended 1-1 at Belfield.
That it was Brown who was denied was rough justice for one of the tie’s star performers and key figure throughout their unlikely cup run. She had given Ards the lead in the 45th minute with a low penalty corner drag-flick and they held that advantage until just five minutes from the end.
But cometh the hour, cometh Megan Frazer as the Irish captain took control from Elks’ seventh corner, taking the ball on herself and slapping through Ashley Orr’s otherwise impregnable defences.
The Ards’ keeper was later named player of the match, primarily for a spell early in the second half when she thrice denied Jessica McMaster while also keeping out a Megan Frazer penalty stroke.
Indeed, the Jordanstown outfit made the majority of the running with Jordan Page’s right wing overlaps, Anna Kozniuk and Frazer pushing on from midfield and Shirley McCay’s raking passes causing plenty of danger.
But they were rocked when Ards nicked their first corner against the run of play and Brown slammed home. They appeared to be riding out the storm as Elks’ attacks became more ragged later but Dawn Axon won a crucial corner with time running out which Frazer eventually crashed in.
It set up the shoot-out in which the regulation first five efforts ended locked at 4-4; the first round of sudden death saw both strokes converted before McCay roofed her effort.
It left Brown needing to score but Davidson picked out a brilliant save to seal the deal.
Ulster Elks 1 (M Frazer) Ards 1 (C Brown), Ulster Elks win 6-5 on strokes
Ards: A Orr, T MacLeod, N Grundie, K Harvey, A Doyle, S Alexander, H Coey, K McDonald, C Brown, C Adams, A Benson
Subs: E Larmour, S Holdsworth, B Weir, K Bennett, R Barton, H Martin, N McKnight
Ulster Elks: R Davidson, A Kozniuk, D Wilson, K Lammey, M Frazer, R Chambers, R Barry, J McMaster, J Page, V McMaw, S McCay
Subs: D Axon, E O’Leary, H Irwin, R Anderson, C Mitchell, C Smyth, A Brown
Irish Hockey Association media release
David slays Goliath as Chichester make Men’s Cup Final.
Chichester's Jack Lerwill breaks forwards
The Road to Lee Valley took in an unexpected twist this afternoon as Sussex side Chichester Priory Park dumped out much fancied Surbiton with a 1-0 semi-final win to make the final of the Men’s Cup for the first time.
With Chichester struggling at the foot of the West Conference, facing the dreaded relegation playoffs and Surbiton qualified for the Premier Division playoffs in second place; this was a real David vs. Goliath clash. And so it proved.
“Surbiton are the second best side in the country at the moment so we were massive underdogs, but we really wanted to prove to people that getting this far wasn’t a fluke.” said Chichester captain Kieran Henn. “We defended really well as we knew we’d have to. They had a lot of chances and a lot of penalty corners but we produced an outstanding team display.”
A 24th minute goal from Tom McCarthy, a beautiful backhand strike after a turnover in midfield made the difference between the two sides, but as well as McCarthy’s thunderbolt, Henn reserved special praise for the defence and goalkeeper Macieja “Magic” Pacanowskiego.
“Magic is an outstanding goalkeeper. Whenever we concede a penalty corner he lights up because he knows it’s a chance for him to excel. We all rally round him and his performance definitely spurred us on. Our post men picked some as well, I think they had about 16 penalty corners but we saw them off.”
Henn, one of a number of players to come through the ranks at Chichester admitted that Chi’s struggles in the league alongside their brilliant cup run had made this season “weird” but having won five out of their last six and having defeated Surbiton to reach the cup final they have good momentum going into what the skipper described as “three cup finals.”
“If we were to stay up via the playoffs and then win the cup I think I would retire! It’d be an amazing feeling. No one expected us to get this far and now we get to play against another great side in a great stadium. We have three cup finals coming up and I can’t wait for all of them!” he adds "We're not getting carried away. Of course we're enjoying this achievement but we'll be back to training on Tuesday and concentrating on our next task, which is to stay up."
Waiting for Chichester in the final are another Premier Division outfit Beeston. The Bees, who have won the competition four times, saw off a spirited display from City of Peterborough in the other semi final. A double from Richard Lawrence in the space of two second-half minutes as well as goals from Mohan Gandhi, Mark Wadsley and Hamish Imrie gave Beeston a 5-1 win. Peterborough’s consolation came from Robbie Muir in the 69th minute.
The last of Beeston’s cup final wins came in the 2011-12 season and they will be hoping to make it a fifth cup win this time around. Chichester however will be raring to go and claim another Premier Division scalp, their third of this magical cup run to go alongside Hampstead and Westminster and Surbiton.
England Hockey Board Media release
Grove Menzieshill and Edinburgh University through to Scottish Cup Final
Grove Menzieshill and Edinburgh University have set up a Scottish Cup Final clash after both teams advanced from their semi-final ties against Dundee Wanderers and Western Wildcats.
Bromac Kelburne and Dundee University will contest the women's Plate final.
Women's Scottish Cup
Grove Menzieshill advanced to the Women's Scottish Cup Final after a 3-1 win over city rivals Dundee Wanderers.
Sarah Jameson opened the scoring in the fourth minute, finishing past Wanderers' goalkeeper Carmin Dow just in front of goal.
However, Vikki Bunce had Wanderers back on level terms in the 43rd minute, flashing a fierce drive into the corner to make it 1-1.
But two goals in two minutes extinguished Wanderers' hopes of a final appearance; Leigh Fawcett's drive from a penalty corner set-play took a deflection on the way to nestling in the bottom corner, before Jude McMullan put Grove Menzieshill 3-1 up.
In the second semi-final, Edinburgh University required two goals late in the second half to eventually break down at determined Western Wildcats.
Wildcats took an early lead when Alex Stuart finished from close range.
However, Maisie Morris put the students back on parity after a well worked penalty corner routine.
A resilient Wildcats' rearguard was broken down when Becky Dru's penalty corner strike hit the back of the goal-board.
Amy Brodie's well taken shot minutes from full-time sealed the University's passage to the final.
Women's Scottish Plate
Dundee University won a thriller of a match against Milne Craig Clydesdale Western II to reach the Scottish Plate final.
The match see-sawed back and forth for the entire match; Megan Donaldson opened the scoring for the students, only to be pegged back by Gill Green's field goal.
Again, the university went in front through Jenny White, but Helen Walker pulled Clydesdale Western back on level terms.
Jessica Smyth put Dundee University 3-2 up, only for Julie Lonergan to equalise.
However, the game was eventually put to bed by University's Louise in the 65th minute.
Bromac Kelburne eased past Division 1 rivals GHK with a 4-0 win in the second plate semi-final.
Two goals from Laura Carlton either side of half-time, added to strikes from Maddie Cleat and Drew Berry gave the Paisley side a comfortable win.
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Mombasa Club suffers Shark attack at City Park
By Elizabeth Mburugu
Green Sharks vs Parkroad Green Sharks player Anthony Nyakuri (airborne) as Parkroad Andrew Kamau hits the ball when they played premier league at City Park. ON 19/07/15 PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE
Green Sharks defeated Mombasa Sports Club (MSC) 3-0 in a Kenyan men's hockey premier league match yesterday at City Park.
The Mombasa club arrived in Nairobi in search of their first league win. But after 80 minutes of top hockey play, their search still continues. The closest MSC came to winning their first match was when they led 2-1 against Parklands in their first weekend. But as they started to celebrate their first win, the inevitable happened; they drew 2-2.
Substitute John Wachira starred for Sharks, scoring in each half to bag a brace, while Victor Osiche scored the third goal. Sharks coach Nixon Nyangaga said his side wants to have a good finish and they are working towards that goal.
"The league is at a very crucial stage and for us to finish in a good position, we need to take our chances and grab all points available. My players are working hard, but I must admit the league has been very competitive and we need to keep fighting so as to achieve our goal."
Both teams began the match in hunt of early goals with MSC cautiously guarding their territory in a quest to keep goal hungry Sharks at bay. However, the tight defence could not stop Sharks' penetration as Chris Wokila's seventh minute strike went wide. As they thwarted several attacks from Sharks, MSC kept the faith of winning their first victory after 22 outings.
After numerous failed attempts, their efforts finally bore fruit as Wachira converted a penalty corner in the 20th minute to give Sharks a 1-0 lead. The goal awakened MSC's players' desire for a goal as they pressed forward. Brian Karimi could have restored parity in the 23rd minute, but his shot was stopped by Sharks' goalkeeper Ely Asura.
The match gained momentum with both sides hastening the pace in hunt for goals. However, Sharks proved the stronger side.
The Standard Online
Terengganu deny Selangor for maiden 1MAS hockey title
by S. Ramaguru
Terengganu players and officials celebrate their victory in the 1MAS-Milo Under 16 hockey tournament. - IBRAHIM MOHTAR / The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Terengganu came from the brink of losing to win their maiden 1MAS-Milo Under-16 hockey title when the beat Selangor in a penalty shootout.
Both teams were tied 1-1 in regulation time and the east coast side clinched the shootout 2-0 at the KL Hockey Stadium on Sunday.
Selangor’s Mohamad Syabil Aizam Mohamad Noor opened accounts in the 30th minute through a field attempt and were on course to lift the title they last won in 2014.
But Terengganu earned a penalty corner in the very last minute and their top scorer Mohamad Akhimullah Anuar made no mistake with the drag flick.
In the shootout, Terengganu scored through Wan Ahmad Akif Salihin Wan Manzrul and Kemerol Harith Daniel while Selangor failed to convert their four attempts.
Terengganu coach Mohamed Fitri Harun was confident of bagging the title as they had a strong team.
“The players have been groomed over the last three years. They have been playing together for some time and many of them featured in the MJHL,” said Mohamed Fitri.
“We were not unduly worried when Selangor took the lead. Our plan was to hit them hard on the counters and the last penalty corner did the trick.”
Selangor were hoping to make it a grand double as their girls won the title in a penalty shootout earlier.
They defeated Penang 3-1 in the shootout for their second title. The match ended 2-2 in regulation time.
Selangor coach Azman Ali said their well-balanced team was the key to victory.
“A number of my players had taken part in the MJHL and were well prepared for this tournament. At least 12 of them will be available next year and that is a good sign,” he said.
Kuala Lumpur took third place when they beat Malacca 3-0.
The Star of Malaysia
