News for 04 April 2016
All the news for Monday 4 April 2016
Senior and junior women each drop second match of respective tournaments
Shaheed Devji
PHOTO: Canada’s Karli Johansen (left) and Amanda Woodcroft (right) chase the Japanese ball carrier at the 2016 Hawke’s Bay Cup (Courtesy: Hawke’s Bay Festival)
After Canada’s senior and junior Women’s National Teams opened the Hawke’s Bay Cup in New Zealand and Junior Women’s Pan American Championships in Trinidad and Tobago respectively with wins, both teams lost their second matches on the weekend.
Senior women lose 6-2 to Japan despite second straight solid effort
The 19th ranked seniors, who were coming off a monumental win over the 9th ranked Koreans – their first win over Korea in 29 years – took on Japan in their second game.
The Canadians started well and kept the game close with the 10th ranked Japanese through the first half.
“I felt we played very well in the first quarter and deep into the second, controlling the tempo of the game,” says Women’s National Team head coach Ian Rutledge. Japan where very clinical – scoring of the first three chances to take a 3-0 lead into the half, which obviously swung the momentum into the half time break.”
As they did in their opening match, the Canadian women continued to battle hard in the second half, despite Japan adding two more goals in the third quarter.
The tenacity was pleasing to Rutledge and paid off for the women in the fourth quarter, when Danielle Hennig scored on a smooth dragflick to the top corner in the 46th minute, and Amanda Woodcroft added another in the 58th.
“Overall to have a one loss and one win into the rest day is not a bad position,” Rutledge adds. “More importantly for the majority the girls are playing some very good hockey.”
The Women’s National Team takes on the world’s 3rd ranked team, Australia, at 2:00pm local time on Wednesday (7pm PT/10pm ET on Tuesday in Canada).
Watch the game live at http://hockeynz.co.nz/video
Junior women drop 5-1 decision to United States
Junior Women's National Team. April 2, 2016 vs USA, 5-1 loss. 2016 Junior Women's Pan American Championships. Photo: Lorena Angus
In the Junior Women’s Pan American Championship, Canada’s Junior Women’s National Team was looking for their second straights win, after beating Mexico 4-0 in game one.
“The girls came out firing today and I thought controlled the first half against the U.S.,” says Junior Women’s National Team head coach Steph Andrews. “We managed to turn them over in our front half and create some good opportunities.”
The United States scored first in the seventeenth minute, but Canada answered back with a goal of its own a minute later. It was Nikki Woodcroft, finding the back of the net.
The game remained tied until the 33rd minute when the U.S. pulled ahead. It was Gabrielle Major with her second of the game. The States added another before half-time to go up 3-1.
Despite their best efforts, that gap was too much for the Canadians to bridge and two second half goals by the U.S. solidified the victory for the States and handed Canada its first loss of the tournament.
The Canadians will face Trinidad and Tobago at 4:00pm local time (1:00pm PT/4:00pm ET) on Wednesday in the teams’ final round robin match.
The game can be watched live here.
Field Hockey Canada media release
Junior women to face Uruguay in quarterfinal after successful pool stage
Shaheed Devji
PHOTO: April 3 – Shannon Pereira scored a goal in Canada’s 4-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago at the 2016 Juinor Women’s Pan American Championships (By Lorena Angus)
Canada’s junior women finished round robin play of the 2016 Junior Women’s Pan American Championships with a convincing 4-0 win over host Trindad and Tobago Sunday in Tacarigua.
With the win, the women finish second in Pool B with six points and will face Uruguay, the third place team from Pool A, in one of the tournament’s quarterfinals on Tuesday (8:30am PT/11:30am ET). The game can be watched live on wisports.tv.
In Sunday’s match against Trinidad and Tobago, the Canadians controlled play from the onset, pressuring early and being rewarded with the game’s first goal from Shannon Pereira in the ninth minute.
“We stuck to our game plan and I thought it was a really good team effort,” says defender Katarina Angus, who served as team captain for Sunday’s match. “We had some really good chances up front and we had some really great passages of play.”
Lindsay Cole scored Canada’s second goal of the match, in the 26th minute, giving Canada the 2-0 lead at half-time.
“The goals definitely helped to keep the momentum going throughout the whole 70 minutes,” Cole say. “We need to work on that as a team; to keep playing the entire game.”
Against Trindad, the game plan worked well, with Canada controlling play through the entire game, adding goals in the 40th and 51st minutes from Ellie Cookson and Alexis de Armond.
Another strong team effort and convincing victory bodes well for Canada as they head into the quarter final against Urugay, who only managed one win throughout the round robin, but scored 10 goals in their three games.
The Canadians are hoping to finish in the top two of the tournament to earn a spot in the 2016 Junior World Cup later this year.
“I’m really excited about our chances,” Angus adds. “I think if we keep working hard and keep putting in a good effort and keep playing like a team like we have, I think we’re going to really like the outcome.”
The winner of the Canada-Uruguay match will go on to face the winner of the Argentina-Mexico quarterfinal.
NOTES:
- Lauren Logush played the first 53 minutes of the match and kept a clean sheet before making way to Robin Fleming.The other quarterfinals on Tuesday include Argentina vs Mexico; Chile vs Trinidad vs Tobago; and the United States vs Barbados
Field Hockey Canada media release
U-21 USWNT Finishes Top of Pool B With Win Over Mexico
TACARIGUA, Trinidad - In their third and final pool play match of the Junior Women's Pan American Championship, the U.S. U-21 Women's National Team had a strong scoring performance to lead them to an 8-0 victory over Mexico. Today's win meant that Team USA finished at the top of Pool B heading into the Quarterfinals on Tuesday, April 5.
The game began with great tempo and tone for Team USA, especially the forward line. Margaux Paolino (Villanova, Pa.) put immediate pressure on Mexico's backfield and came up with a few pesky tackles that started to build momentum. This constant pressure wouldn't go unrewarded as it lead to two early goals. The first came in the 4th minute of play off a nice combination play between the forwards ending in Paolino finishing the ball in the net. The second came in the 6th minute, as Erin Matson (Chadds Ford, Pa.) displayed some smooth elimination skills at the top of the circle and finished with a strong forehand shot to the far post.
After the two quick goals, Team USA hit a bit of a lull and struggled to find successful connections to move forward. Momentum returned in favor of the U-21 USWNT as they earned a penalty corner in the 20th minute. Though the initial shot was saved by Mexico's goalkeeper, Gab Major (Royersford, Pa.) grabbed the rebound out of the air, settled it and smashed it into the corner to make the score USA 3, MEX 0.
Just before the half a nice build-up from the backfield to the front, Major would find herself in a 1v1 situation with Mexico's goalkeeper where with a big pull she would beat the goalkeeper and notch her second goal of the game to make the halftime score USA 4, MEX 0.
Starting off the scoring in the second half in the 38th minute was Nicole Woods (Beverly, Mass.) who got on the score sheet on a tip from a baseline cross. Three minutes after that Sophia Tornetta (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) tipped in a backhand shot from Tara Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.) to add another goal, and just two minute later Ashley Hoffman (Mohnton, Pa.) would convert on a penalty corner drag flick to make the score USA 7, MEX 0.
Second effort defense and dynamic play throughout the central midfield, gave Team USA a little more life in the second half. In the 61st minute, Hoffman would tally another goal to her name on a penalty corner drag flick. To round out the scoring, Matson would score a penalty corner tip into the goal after the final buzzer would sound to make the final score USA 9, MEX 0.
Team USA will play the fourth seed in Pool A, Barbados, on Tuesday, April 5 at 4 p.m. local time.
USFHA media release
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup: Mehmood, Rizwan included in hockey squad
By Nabil Tahir
KARACHI: Senior hockey players Rashid Mehmood and Mohammad Rizwan have been included in the national squad to play in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, commencing from Wednesday in Malaysia.
The senior duo had been excluded from the final 20-member squad due to their unavailability for the trials and the national camp as they were busy playing in a domestic league in the Netherlands.
However, after getting the approval from their clubs to play for the national side, the duo approached the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) and requested to be included in the squad, which the PHF accepted.
The duo will now travel directly from the Netherlands to Malaysia and join the rest of their teammates today.
“We have always been available for the national team. Or first duty is to serve our nation and then the rest,” Mehmood told The Express Tribune from the Netherlands. “We were not contacted by the management before so we had no idea what was happening. The moment we were informed about this we contacted the management at our earliest. We have an agreement with our clubs in the Netherlands that we can leave anytime for national assignment.”
Meanwhile in Malaysia, Pakistan completed their first training session and captain Mohammad Irfan is confident of the team’s chances in the tournament.
“We trained for 30 minutes to acclimatise to conditions here,” said Irfan. “The conditions are in our favour and following a full day of training tomorrow, we will play a practice match with Australia on Tuesday. The players are very comfortable and are ready to give their all.”
The Express Tribune
Hockey team off to Ipoh
KARACHI: Pakistan hockey team left here for Kuala Lumpur in the wee hours of Sunday to compete in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament being held there from April 6 to 16.
Seven nations – Pakistan, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and the hosts Malaysia — will compete for honours in the annual event.
Dawn
Women's Scottish, District Cup & Plate Finals Round-Up
All photography, Duncan Gray
Glasgow National Hockey Centre was the setting for another dramatic day of hockey as the winners of the Women's Scottish, District Cup & Plate competitions were determined.
We round up the day's action below.
Scottish Cup
A four-goal haul for Edinburgh University's Sam Judge was the star showing as the students defeated Grove Menzieshill to win the Scottish Cup.
A number of early chances fell to Edinburgh University in the opening stages, including opportunities for Maisie Morris and Amy Brodie, but the capital outfit were unable to register the opening goal.
Indeed, it was Grove Menzieshill who thought they had drawn first blood after Sophie Pettegree appeared to deflect Jude McMullen's long-range pass into the net. However, the umpires disallowed the goal, judging that the ball had not been touched by the attacker on the way into the net.
To compound matters for the Taysiders, they found themselves behind sixty seconds later, University's player-coach Sam Judge collecting the ball in the circle to rifle the ball past goalkeeper Cath Rae.
The former Scotland international striker rubbed more salt in Dundonian wounds shortly after, bagging a second goal with another clinical strike to put her side 2-0 to the good.
Nevetheless, Grove Menzieshill responded four minutes before the half-time interval, Louise Carroll scoring direct from a penalty corner to reduce the losing margin to a single goal, which is how the two teams finished the half.
A superb Karin Belch goal put the two teams back on parity in the 48th minute, her brilliant reverse stick shot beating University goalkeeper Nicki Cochrane at the near post.
However, with nine minutes to go, Judge delivered a hammer blow to the Dundee side's chances, engineering herself into position on the left of the circle to execute a pin-point effort into the far corner and collect her hat-trick.
http://www.scottish-hockey.org.uk/media/686644/dsc_4342_498x490.jpg
Four minutes later, Judge capped off a remarkable individual performance, netting her fourth goal from close range to seal a Scottish Cup and League double for Edinburgh University.
Scottish Plate
Bromac Kelburne Ladies fought off a spirited Dundee University side to clinch the Scottish Plate with a 3-1 win.
Scotland youth international Lexi Sabatelli put Kelburne one-up in the 12th minute of the match, smartly cracking the ball past University shot-stopper Rachel Coupland.
University hit back four minutes later though, captain Rebecca Blundell finding space in the circle to whip the ball into the net.
With less than a minute left until the half-time interval, a neat penalty corner set-play from Kelburne led to Laura Carlton scoring her side's second goal, giving them a narrow advantage at the break.
Two minutes after the re-start, Sabatelli notched her second goal of the contest, cracking another shot past Coupland to make it 3-1.
During the remainder of the half, Kelburne had a number of opportunities to extend their lead further, but a combination of narrow misses and a dogged University defence denied them more goals.
But Sabatelli and Carlton's goals were enough to ensure a winning outcome at the final whistle, resulting in another competition win for the club this weekend.
District Cup
Milne Craig Clydesdale Western IV won the District Cup with a 5-2 win over Orkney.
Orkney took the lead early in the match, Ruth Clark finding space in the circle to fire the ball past 'Dale's goalkeeper Shona Jessiman in the sixth minute.
And that's how it stayed until half-time, although both sides had chances to trouble the scorers in what was a closely contested first period.
The Glasgow side started the second period in a stronger fashion, and they were rewarded for their efforts with two goals early in the half.
Ann Menzies was well placed to divert the ball into the net from close range in the 37th minute, before Margery Justice put Clydesdale Western in front for the first time with a penalty corner strike to make it 2-1 in the 42nd minute.
Six minutes later, Sharon Duncan put daylight between the two sides, slotting home Ellen Murray's cross to increase Clydesdale Western's lead to 3-1.
Orkney pulled themselves back into the match in the 54th minute when Charlotte Thomson reduced the lead to one goal, only for Margery Justice to demonstrate her prowess from the penalty corner again shortly after, dispatching the ball into the left corner and restoring the two goal cushion.
Eight minutes from full-time, Jessica Boyle demonstrated her composure to put her side 5-2 up, sweetly striking the ball from the right of the goal past Orkney 'keeper Lynn Cursiter and round off the scoring.
District Plate
East Kilbride were the winners of the District Plate, triumphing 3-0 in a penalty shoot-out after the two sides finished the match level at 2-2.
East Kilbride can consider themselves unlucky not to have broken the deadlock in a goalless first half, a combination of near misses and key saves from University 'keeper Chloe Devlin denying the West District side.
The game's first goal came with the run of play, East Kilbride's Rachel Whittle finishing off from close range in the 45th minute to edge her side in front.
Whittle's second goal in the 53rd minute was a glorious piece of artistry; embarking on a solo run from the mid-point of the opposition's half, evading the attentions of two defenders with close control, to eventually slip the ball past the on-coming Devlin from a few yards out. A superb effort.
Nevertheless, the students fought their way back into the contest four minutes later, Celia Powell knocking the ball into the right corner of the goal to reduce the deficit to one goal.
Earlier missed chances came back to haunt East Kilbride three minutes from full-time when University's Kirsty Forgie scored direct from a penalty corner strike to secure her side a vital equaliser and take the match to penalties.
East Kilbride held their nerve in the subsequent penalty shoot-out, scoring three of their four penalties, while University were unable to register from any of their attempts.
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Queens University Belfast and Cork C of I Win Irish Junior Cups
Credit: Adrian Boehm
2 goals in the final 3 minutes made for an exciting end to the final. Loreto opted to put in a kicking back with 4 minutes remaining but a Queens breakaway goal gave them a 3-1 lead and the game looked all tied up. But a determined Loreto scored 30 seconds later thanks to O'Keefe. Queens wound down the final minute and were crowned Irish Junior Cup Champions.
QUB 3 (Kerr, Morrow x2)
Loreto 2 (Byrne, O'Keefe)
Credit: Adrian Boehm
The men's final proved a fast and even contest. Maguire in the Monkstown goal was called on to deal with a barrage of Cork shots and ably handled them all. But the goal that the game deserved came thanks to a rocket fired against the backboard by Lynch, this was followed up by another strong shot by Fohrmann leaving Maguire with no chance and sealing the victory.
Cork Church of Ireland 2
Monkstown 0
Irish Hockey Association media release
Double win for Surbiton Boys & Girls U16s
Double win for Surbiton Boys & Girls U16s
Surbiton Boy's & Surbiton Girl's were crowned National U16 Club Champions at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre.
The final day at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre got off to a lightning start in Boys' pool B, with Marlow confirming their place in the final with a robust 4-1 win over Canterbury. Nicholas Winter got the first 2 goals through short corners despite solid defending efforts from Canterbury. Whilst over on the other pitch Guildford and Leek had a nail-biting game to qualify for 3rd/4th place playoff. An early goal from Kieran Smith meant Leek took the lead but Guildford sealed the deal thanks to a 50th minute field goal from Charlie Taylor.
In Boys' Pool A Surbiton were hunting for a win to gain the coveted final place against Neston South Wirral. A final score of 5-2 confirmed it. Neston showed signs of a comeback in the second half with 2 goals from Tom Russell, but the final goal from Hantian Wang for Surbiton confirmed their place in the final. Leicester versus Havant got under way on the other pitch this time Leicester looking for the 3rd/4th play off place. A goal fest victory of 4-0 saw them qualify to meet Guildford in the place playoff.
The Girls' Pool D started with Isca versus Beeston, and an early goal for Isca from Rose Francis looked to be a promising start. With the score 1-1 at half time it was a close game. Final score was 3-1 with a second half goal from Georgina Brownhill securing Beeston’s place in the playoff game. On the main pitch it was a tense game between Stourport and Southgate both needing important wins. Maddy Wray scored in the second half to secure the 2-2 draw and booking Southgate’s place in the final.
Girls' Pool C had a battle at the top for its first game. Surbiton versus Reading – both matched on 6 points going into the game. A brace of goals from Izzy Peter early on put Surbiton into the lead with no look in for Reading from there on, with the final score reading Surbiton 4, Reading 1. Reading’s robust performance on the first day of the tournament had guaranteed them a place in the playoffs already. On the other pitch both Cannock and Leicester were keen to get some important points on the board both looking for their first of the weekend. An early goal from Maeve Macdonald meant that Leicester won 1-0.
The 3rd/4th Playoff game for the boys was intense from the start. With end to end action from both Guildford and Leicester it was a tough game to call. Guildford took the lead early with 2 goals from Josh Powell, but Leicester came fighting back with 3 goals from Rohan Bhuhi, the last on the 35th minute to put them into the lead at half time 3-2. A less eventful second half meant the score remained. Leicester taking 3rd place and Guildford 4th.
The highly anticipated Boys' final meant the clash of Surbiton and Marlow. A game of heart and pride from both teams from the whistle ensured a good game. An early mistake from Marlow meant that Surbiton were awarded a penalty stroke converted by Morgan Males in the first 4 minutes. With some excellent hockey from both sides it was still an evenly balanced match. A couple of break-aways and top corner shots kept Surbiton in the lead with 2 more goals to Males to ease the nerves of the supporters. 4-0 win to Surbiton at full time crowns them U16 Club Final Winners – with Marlow proudly taking 2nd place after a hard fought battle to the end.
The Girls' 3rd/4th Playoff game was a tale of 2 halves. A half time score of Reading leading 3-2 was thanks to the double goal from Abbie Dixon to put them in the lead going into the second half with confidence. What was unexpected was the comeback of all comebacks from Beeston. A total of 3 goals in the game, 2 in the second half from Georgina Brownhill put them into the lead. A late goal from Reading by Captain Olivia Lee-Smith gave hope for a late charge but time ran out, sealing 3rd place Beeston won 6-4.
On the other pitch the Girls' final was well under way with both teams willing to give everything to take home the coveted trophy. Hard defending from the off for Southgate didn’t put them off charging for the goal at every opportunity but eventually Surbiton got past. Izzy Petter started with the 1st of her 6 goals to put Surbiton into the lead. The 2nd half was a similar story but Southgate held their own and held their heads high to limit a smaller score than the first half and got 1 back from Zoe Ramsey. Surbiton eventually took the win 7-1 and took the title of U16 Club Champions 2016 to make the double with the boys.
A great weekend of hockey had by all with fantastic skill, sportsmanship and atmosphere on display. Well done who all who took part.
England Hockey Board Media release
The day the Olympic dream came true for the New Zealand hockey team
JOSEPH ROMANOS
Kiwi 1976 hockey heroes Trevor Manning, left, Greg Dayman and Alan McIntyre at the launch of Striking Gold by Suzanne McFadden in Christchurch. John Kirk-Anderson
OPINION: The 1976 New Zealand men's hockey team are back in the news, 40 years after their fairytale Olympic triumph in Montreal.
Auckland journalist Suzanne McFadden has written Striking Gold, about that unlikely gold medal journey. It's a superb book.
McFadden has spoken to every player in that team (except Paul Ackerley, who died in 2011) and has moulded their stories around New Zealand's march through the tournament.
Alan Chesney raises his arms in triumph while his teammates grin with delight as they celebrate their gold medal victory. SUPPLIED
July 30, 1976, when they beat Australia 1-0 in the final, was a landmark day for New Zealand sport.
In the main stadium, crack New Zealand runners Dick Quax and Rod Dixon were gunned down in the home straight of the 5000 metres final by the Finn, Lasse Viren. Quax won silver, Dixon was a heartbreaking fourth.
Attention then swung to the hockey final.
These days top sport is well signalled and there aren't many "bolters" – shock gold medallists.
The hockey men fitted that category. New Zealand had not made the Olympic semifinals previously and haven't since. But 1976 was their year.
The stars aligned for them. They were experienced - only four of the squad had not been to an Olympics.
Coach Ross Gillespie got two distinct factions – the Aucklanders and Cantabrians – to gel seamlessly.
New Zealand men's hockey has always had a family feel to it – the Maisters, Borrens, Inesons, Archibalds and so on. There were even two Patels in the 1976 team, though Ramesh and Mohan were not related.
Montreal was the first Olympic hockey tournament played on an artificial surface, which levelled the playing field, so to speak.
Things fell the New Zealanders' way. They earned 1-1 draws with defending champions West Germany and with Spain, beat lowly Belgium 2-1 and were walloped 5-2 by Pakistan, which should have ended their medal chances.
But the Belgians upset Spain, so New Zealand and Spain played off for a semifinal spot. New Zealand squeezed home in the third period of extra time.
In the semifinal, New Zealand played well to edge out the Netherlands, again in the third period of extra time. And the Australians eliminated the dangerous Pakistanis in the other semi.
Australia began the final heavy favourites – typically, they even brought champagne for the after-match celebration.
But the superfit New Zealanders were too good. Tony Ineson scored from a penalty corner and goalie Trevor Manning made a heroic save 13 minutes from fulltime, having his kneecap smashed for his troubles.
New Zealand scored nine goals and conceded nine at the Olympics. Their ratio was bettered by five of the next six teams, but New Zealand scored their goals when it mattered.
Later there was controversy when New Zealanders Neil McLeod and Les Wilson were not awarded medals. They had not taken the field during the tournament. That rule has been changed - they'd have golds now.
In 1996, when I was running the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, we had a big induction luncheon at Eden Park. The hockey team decided it would double as their 20-year reunion.
They gathered around a big table to the side and had a great day.
When others drifted off in mid-afternoon, they stayed on and on. They had plenty of beer available, obviously revelled in each other's company and had golden memories to share.
Two decades after the gold medal, their team spirit still shone through.
No wonder they were such a force in Montreal.
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