News for 04 September 2016
All the news for Sunday 4 September 2016
Emphatic win for IOC; Railways stuns Army XI
S Thyagarajan
With a display that fitted the description as emphatic, the defending champion, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), began its campaign overwhelming the home team, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu (HUTN) by a convincing margin of five goals to one in a Pool A tie of the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Friday.
The Tamil Nadu team which made a quite an impression in its opening match against Air India on Thursday simply caved in to the pressure and positional play of the reigning champion.
It was only a matter of minutes before the IOC forwards could enlarge their area of dominance.
Olympian Raghunath triggered the goal spree with a perfect penalty corner drive in the second minute to hoist the lead, which swelled to 3-0 before the match was quarter of an hour old. And half-time IOC led 4-0.
There was little doubt that the local team consisting of a goodly number of youngsters was flabbergasted by the professional efficiency of the players in the rival team. Quite a few in IOC had worn the national colors in the recent A Rio Olympics.
A semblance of a fight back was visible from Tamil Nadu in the second session and that fetched it a goal when Hassan Basha netted midway through.
What turned out to be a surprise of the day was the authoritative show by Indian Railways against the runner up of last year, the Army XI in Pool B.
The 4-1 margin surprised quite a few but the dominance of the Railways was absolute, thanks to the good work of Yusuf in the mid-field. After Amit Rohidas sounded the boards from a penalty corner, the Army team retaliated with the equalizer by Jonny Jasortia also from a penalty corner.
But the Railways maintained a tight grip over the proceedings to forge ahead in the second half through Talwinder Singh and enlarged the margin when Affan Yusuf and JP Kush netted leaving the Army team baffled by the outcome.
Air India, which shared points with HUTN in the opening match in Pool A, shrugged off its lethargy to record a 3-0 victory over Mumbai Hockey Association. Leading 1-0 at half time from a goal by Arjun Sharma, Air India played a steady game to add two more to the tally to total four points from two matches.
The results:
Pool A: IOC 5 (V.R.Raghunath, Sanjay, Prabhjot Singh 2 Deepak Thakur) beat HUTN 1 (Hassan Basha).
Air India 3 (Arjun Sharma, Joga Singh, Osaf-ur-Rehman) beat Mumbai HA 0.
Pool B: Indian Railways 4 (Amit Rohidas, Talwinder Singh, Affan Yousuf, J.P. Kush) beat Army XI 1 (Jonny Jasrotia)
Fieldhockey.com
PSB beats Indian Railways
K. Keerthivasan
DIVING EFFORT: Karnataka goalkeeper Jagdeep Dayal stops ONGC's Manu Machmaiam's shot at the target in Chennai on Saturday. Photo: M. Vedhan
Engrossing in large measure and mediocre in parts, the 90th All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament here on Saturday provided contrasting performances from teams, both seasoned and young.
Jagwanth Singh’s hat-trick enabled ONGC blunt a youthful Karnataka 6-3 while Punjab & Sind Bank had the measure of National champion Indian Railways 2-1 in Pool-B matches.
Later, BPCL submerged Mumbai in a late blitzkrieg of goals to win 5-1 in a Pool-A tie.
Karnataka flattered to deceive in its match against ONGC after promising so much in the match with PSB the other day.
The first 20 minutes belonged to Karnataka. It was a treat to watch the team compete with zest and harmony.
The forwards were quite quick on the counter-attacks and the interceptions by the defence inside the circle were of top class.
Honnur Swamy’s pushed a high ball into the net to give the lead for Karnataka. Not to be undone,
ONGC immediately nullified the advantage through Preetinder Singh whose scoop shot found the roof of the net.
Jagwanth Singh, the hat-trick man, was alacrity personified, and rightfully he turned out to be the star of the day. His speed and razor sharp deflection paved the way for his team’s triumph.
First, he deflected home a powerful drive from Gurjinder Singh. And Gurjinder again weaved his way from the right to pass it to Jagwanth who pushed it home. Karnataka’s back was broken in the first half; a shock it couldn’t recover from in the second session. ONGC was happy to rub it in with three more goals.
PSB produced a strong display after a lacklustre performance the other day. Against Railways, it was PSB which dominated throughout.
Marking the Railway’s linkman Affan Yousuf was half the job done for PSB. Moreover, Yousuf appeared lacklustre and couldn’t make much with the few chances he got. Gaganpeet Singh opened the account for PSB with near-perfect strike off a penalty corner.
There were several raids from captain Ramandeep Singh and Satbir Singh that gave jitters to the ‘keeper Jagraj Singh. Railways fought back through Amit Rohidas whose grounder off a penalty corner in the second session found the target.
Jaskaran Singh netted the winning goal for PSB with a stunning backhander on-the-run and the team’s forwards continued to send shivers down the spines of the Railways defence.
Even fact, Railways was luck to lose by a small margin.
The results:
Pool-A: BPCL 5 (Amir Khan 14, Gurpreet Singh 21, Tushar Khandekar 55 & 69, S.V. Sunil 70) bt Mumbai HA 1 (Anup Valmiki 11).
Pool-B: ONGC 6 (Preetinder Singh 16, Mandeep Antil 57, Jagwanth Singh 21, 27, 60, Gurvinder Singh 67) bt Karnataka 3 (Honnur Swamy 15, Abhishek 40 & 68).
PSB 2 (Gaganpeet Singh 16, Jaskaran Singh 28) bt Indian Railways 1 (Amit Rohidas 48).
The Hindu
Hockey revolution off to a flier
Drakensberg Dragons' Chad Cainross
SOUTH African hockey took its first step to a sustainable future with a competitive, not to mention entertaining, day’s play in the inaugural Premier Hockey League (PHL) at the Randburg Astro yesterday(Sat).
The PHL, SA’s first franchise-based tournament (12 franchises, six men’s and six women’s put together by draft system), is — with help from the ministry of sport and recreation — meant to strengthen domestic hockey. Yesterday, in stifling heat, the hockey delivered was as hot, intensity filled as it was skilful for teams who would only have seriously started training together this week.
This being the first day of a tournament which will be held every weekend this month (Saturdays and Sundays), it was difficult to point out front runners — form-wise — as some of the teams only start playing today. But the Mapungubwe Mambas, Blyde River Bunters, Maropeng Cavemen, Wineland Wings and the SA Under-21 men’s side, the Golden Gate Gladiators, laid down markers as teams to watch at least until the end of today’s fixtures.
Most impressive of the men’s teams were the aptly Mambas and the Cavemen, who beat the Addo Elephants 3-2 and the Drakensberg Dragons 2-1 respectively.
Having pushed off the first ever PHL match, the Mambas also scored its first goal, as early as the fourth minute through Brandon Panther in what was to prove a dominant first half for them.
Ross Hetem doubled their lead in the 22nd minute to give them what looked a comfortable 2-0 lead at halftime. The Elephants, who were not outclassed but missed chances and saw final passes go awry in the final 25m, burgled a goal back when Damian Kimfley bundled the ball into the back of the net in the third quarter.
This setup a nervy final quarter where the Elephants were the aggressors in finding the equaliser, through Ignatius Malgraaff, only for the Mambas to strike back with nine minutes left in the game.
Having failed to keep the Elephants at arm’s length, the Mambas dug deep and scored the winner, with Hetem scoring his second reverse-sticks around keeper Chad Burrheim.
The Cavemen, resplendent in orange, got themselves out of an ultra-competitive game by being clinical when presented with their chances, through a Cameron McKay tap-in and a penalty stroke by Lance Louw, and proceeded to protect their lead.
National team player Clinton Panther’s run had wreaked havoc for McKay’s goal, and the goal was celebrated by surrounding the latter in making a “fire”, caveman-style. By the time Mo Mea put the Dragons on the board it was too late to add a second to take the match into extra time.
The first women’s match produced something of an upset in that looking at who was coaching the vanquished Orange River Rafters, the legendary Pietie Coetzee-Turner, and some of the players on their roster (like national goalkeeper Sanani Mangisa et al), many would have jumped to the conclusion they were the better team on paper. But national team captain Nicolene Terblanche and her Blyde River Bunters blunted that theory.
They came back from Simone Gouws’ wonder solo strike to score two quick goals in two minutes via Bianca Wood and Lauren Nina, also in the third quarter, to secure the win.
One of the initiatives the tournament seeks to achieve is to help the South African Hockey Association’s men and women’s under-21 sides with their preparations for their world cups in India (December) and Chile (November) respectively.
To that end the women’s under-21 team, entered in the guise of the Namaqualand Daisies, found they may have some more work to do after wilting to a 4-0 defeat by the Wineland Wings.
The Wings were too experienced and too composed, scoring in both halves through Heather McEwan and Belinda Mentoor (twice) and Ilse Davids.
The Daisies’ men’s counterparts, the Golden Gate Gladiators, proved to be pups with bite by leading the ill-disciplined (two yellow cards) Garden Route Gazelles up the proverbial garden path with a hard-fought 1-0 win.
The goal was courtesy of the head-banded Ryan Julius, who beat Gazelles goalkeeper Richard Curtis reverse sticks on the stroke of halftime before the youngsters defended for their lives for a popular win.
SAHA Premier League Hockey media release
PHL teams donate to SA U21 tour fund
Competition may be fierce on the field at the Premier Hockey League (PHL), but the spirit of the game has shone through on the opening day of the Premier Hockey League at the Randburg Astro as the other 10 teams have all decided to donate 50% of their player of the match prize money to the SA U21 men’s and women’s teams’ FIH Junior World Cup (JWC) tour fund.
The Department of Sport and Recreation are providing R5000 for every player of the match award through the four weekends of the tournament, with the SA U21s putting whatever money they win from that towards the expenses of the men’s team travelling to India and the women to Chile.
But the other 10 teams have agreed to donate 50% of their winnings too, meaning the tour fund should be boosted by R125 000.
The U21 men play their world cup from December 8-18 in Lucknow, while the women’s tournament is in Santiago from November 24 to December 4.
Emile Smith, the South African Hockey Association’s Head of High Performance, was ecstatic that all the franchise players had decided to make such a magnanimous gesture.
“This speaks to the quality of the athletes in our sport and their singular mindset that understands that the future of our game is in the youth, and they understand the difficulties we have sometimes in terms of circumstances in those structures.
“I’m sure this wonderful gesture will contribute enormously to both the sustainability and the performance of our national U21 squads,” Smith, a two-time Olympian, said.
The national women’s U21 team, under the guidance of coach Patrick Tshutshani, are playing under the guise of the Lip Ice Namaqualand Daisies and open their PHL campaign at 4pm on Saturday against the Private Property Wineland Wings, while the junior men, playing as the Private Property Golden Gate Gladiators, take on the Schick Garden Route Gazelles at 6pm.
SAHA Premier League Hockey media release
NHL teams mark intentions in opening round
Photo: www.photosport.nz
Teams have shown their hands following the opening round of the Ford National Hockey League around the country.
In the Men’s draw, the Canterbury Cavaliers powered to a 3-1 win over defending champions Capital Cobras. Sam Lane, Richard Bain and David Bryon all found the back of the net to fuel the Cav, while the Cobras could manage a lone goal through captain Dane Lett.
The Central Mavericks made their intentions clear with a big 4-1 result over Midlands guided by a hat-trick from Martin Atkinson. Oscar Stewart added Central’s third goal while Nick Ross scored for Midlands.
North Harbour overcame Auckland 4-3 in a shoot-out after the score was deadlocked 1-1 at the end of regulation time following goals from Rob Reckers (Harbour) and Ben Poole (Auckland).
In Women’s results, the Canterbury Cats recorded a dominant 4-2 result against Capital thanks to a double from Cassandra Reid.
Midlands ran rampant 5-1 over the Central Mysticks thanks to a double from Kim Tanner and additional goals through Kate Kernaghan, Natasha FitzSimons and Oriwa Hepi.
Auckland and North Harbour was drawn 1-1 at fulltime, taking the game to a shoot-out. The result is currently under protest and yet to be determined.
Round 2 of the tournament will be played across various venues across the country tomorrow before all teams converge on Whangarei for finals week from 10-17 September.
The 2016 Ford National Hockey League is proudly supported by the Whangarei District Council and Trillian Trust.
FORD NHL ROUND 1 RESULTS – MEN
Canterbury Cavaliers 3: (Sam Lane, Richard Bain, David Brydon)
Capital Cobras 1: (Dane Lett)
Central Mavericks 4: (Martin Atkinson 3, Oscar Stewart)
Midlands 1: (Nick Ross)
North Harbour 1: (Rob Reckers)
Auckland 1: (Ben Poole)
North Harbour won shoot-out 4-3
BYE: Northland
FORD NHL ROUND 1 RESULTS - WOMEN
Canterbury Cats 4: (Cassandra Reid 2, Joie Leigh, Jackie Eden)
Capital 2: (Charlotte Eastman, Katherine van Woerkom)
Midlands 5: (Kim Tanner 2, Kate Kernaghan, Natasha FitzSimons, Oriwa Hepi)
Central Mysticks 1: (Michaela Curtis)
North Harbour 1
Auckland 1
Match result currently under protest
BYE: Northland
Hockey New Zealand Media release
Harbour Men secure top spot after Round 2
Photo: www.photosport.nz
The North Harbour Men were in dominant form in Round 2 as they cruised past Northland 7-0 in front of their home crowd at North Harbour Hockey Stadium.
Robbie Capizzi scored a hat-trick while Black Sticks squad member Cory Bennet scooped a double from penalty corner flicks. James Coughlan and Rob Reckers also added to the score sheet for Harbour, who are sitting pretty at the top of the table on six points.
The Central Mavericks continued their good form in the tournament so far with a 3-2 shoot-out win over defending champions Capital Cobras. Dylan Thomas and Martin Atkinson netted for Central and Phil Roper and Stephen Jenness scored for Capital to take the game to fulltime level at 2-2.
Midlands overcame Auckland 3-2 in what proved to be a tight battle in Taupo. After goals from Adriaan Stolk and Joseph Lyons for Midlands, and Sam Jimmieson and Daniel Panchia for Auckland, it was Leo Mitai-Wells who delivered the winning blow in the 45th minute.
In Women’s results, Midlands now sit top of the table on six points after a 3-1 shoot-out result over defending champions Auckland. Arnica Palmer scored for Auckland while Anna Wetherall netted for Auckland to see the game finish level 1-1 at fulltime.
Capital secured their first points of the tournament with a 3-0 shoot-out win against the Central Mysticks. The game went blow for blow with Caitlin Procter, Katherin van Woerkom and Kelsey Linton striking for Capital and Torrie Robinson scoring a double for Central with another from Annie McNaughtan.
The North Harbour Women were untroubled as they defeated last year’s runners up Northland 2-0 thanks to goals from Steph Dickins and Ella Hyatt-Brown.
With the opening two rounds of the tournament now complete, all teams are set to converge on Whangarei ITM Hockey Centre for finals week from 10-17 September.
The 2016 Ford National Hockey League is proudly supported by the Whangarei District Council and Trillian Trust.
FORD NHL ROUND 2 RESULTS – MEN
Central Mavericks 2: (Dylan Thomas, Martin Atkinson)
Capital Cobras 2: (Phil Roper, Stephen Jenness)
Central won shoot-out 3-2
North Harbour 7: (Robbie Capizzi 3, Cory Bennett 2, James Coughlan, Rob Reckers)
Northland 0
Midlands 3: (Adriaan Stolk, Joseph Lyons, Leo Mitai-Wells)
Auckland 2: (Sam Jimmieson, Daniel Panchia)
BYE: Canterbury Cavaliers
FORD NHL ROUND 2 RESULTS - WOMEN
Capital 3: (Caitlin Procter, Katherin van Woerkom, Kelsey Linton)
Central Mysticks 3: (Tori Robinson 2, Annie McNaughtan)
Capital won shoot-out 3-0
North Harbour 2: (Steph Dickins, Ella Hyatt-Brown)
Northland 0
Midlands 1: (Arnica Palmer)
Auckland 1: (Anna Wetherall)
Midlands won shoot-out 3-1
BYE: Canterbury Cats
Hockey New Zealand Media release
Canterbury off to a flying start
Michaela Curtis. Photo / Photosport
Canterbury off to a flying start Canterbury enjoyed dual successes in the opening round of the National Hockey League, with their men recording a 3-1 win over defending champions Capital and their women seeing off the same opponents 4-2.
Central's men also made clear their intentions with a 4-1 win over Midlands while North Harbour overcame Auckland in a shootout after the scores were locked at a goal apiece.
The women's fixture between the same opponents saw the same outcome, though the result is currently under protest and yet to be confirmed.
Elsewhere in the women's field, Midlands ran rampant to notch a 5-1 win over Central.
Meanwhile, the next crop of hockey talent were crowned, with St Paul's and Villa Maria College taking the boys' and girls' titles at their respective secondary school tournaments.
The New Zealand Herald
Capital's hockey title defence on shaky ground after winless opening weekend
Mark Geenty
Central's Hayden Phillips beats Capital goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex for the visitors' first goal of the penalty shootout. MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ
The hook that holds up the Challenge Shield on the wall of Wellington's National Hockey Stadium pavilion appeared to loosen considerably on a wet Sunday afternoon.
Capital's men's team returned from finals day last year with the beautifully carved 109-year-old wooden shield but it might not be on display much longer after a winless opening weekend of their title defence.
Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Canterbury in Christchurch was followed by a 'losing draw' at home to neighbours Central, who won 3-2 in a penalty shootout and shot to the top of the National Hockey League table after Capital's Olympian Stephen Jenness had levelled the scores 2-2 with six seconds on the clock.
It's despair for Central as goalkeeper Dom Dixon is beaten by a penalty stroke from Stephen Jenness with six seconds left, but the visitors had the last laugh in a shootout. MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ
It might seem hasty to write a team off after two matches but this revamped NHL rewards fast starters and penalises late bloomers. With the men's competition reduced by one to seven teams, organisers decided on a straight final between the top-two sides after round robin play rather than the top-four semifinals of previous years.
With just four matches remaining, starting with Auckland in Whangarei next Sunday, Capital will need to be exceptional from here after collecting one of a possible eight points from opening weekend.
Capital's Jared Jones looks to be in complete control during their National Hockey League match against Central in Wellington. MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ
"We're disappointed. We would have liked at least one win, knowing that you need to be top-two to make the final," new coach Scott Falconer said.
"It's a lot harder and pretty cut throat [this year]. We realise it's a pretty tight competition and there's been a couple of upsets. It's not over and our next couple of games are really important to get a couple of wins then we'll see where we are."
The absence of Capital's international strikers Blair Hilton and Jacob Smith - both taking up opportunities in Europe - was keenly felt.
It's anyone's ball after a high speed collision between Capital's Stephen Jenness, left, and Central's Krishan Gajadhar. MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ
Capital created few goalscoring chances and after a scoreless first half, Central took the lead against the run of play when Dylan Thomas slipped his marker and rattled in a reverse stick shot.
With 10 minutes left, Capital came to life and their impressive British import Phil Roper followed up a Central save to equalise. The visitors looked to have clinched all four points when Martin Atkinson deflected a shot in with 1min 45sec remaining before one final Capital raid drew a stroke which Jenness fired into the top corner to force a shootout.
Jenness and Roper got theirs for Capital but Ollie Logan, Dane Lett and Benedict van Woerkom were saved by Central's goalkeeper Aaron Ball. Atkinson was again the cool head for Central as he got one past Capital's veteran stopper Kyle Pontifex who got a piece of the shot but not enough as it trickled over the line.
"It's a new year and we can't expect things just to happen for us," Falconer said. "We had enough possession but we're just not as effective with the ball at the moment. Today we didn't do enough with the ball and when you concede a goal against the run of play it makes it challenging to get back into the game."
Capital's women were at least on the right side of a shootout, collecting two points from their 'winning draw' against Central in Sunday's early game. After a scoreless final quarter the teams ended level 3-3 before Capital won the shootout 3-0.
Felicity Reidy, Brigette Mossman and Ani Roberts did the job for the hosts while their goalkeeper Rachel Lilley was the star, saving efforts from Tori Robinson, Casey-Mae Waddell and Michaela Curtis.
Capital lost their women's opener 4-2 to Canterbury in Christchurch so ended with weekend with two competition points, while Central had a solitary point after losing 5-1 to Midlands who lead after two rounds.
RESULTS
Men, round two: Central 2 (Dylan Thomas, Martin Atkinson) Capital 2 (Phil Roper, Stephen Jenness). Central won shootout 3-2.
Women, round two: Capital 3 (Caitlin Procter, Katherin van Woerkom, Kelsey Linton) Central 3 (Tori Robinson 2, Annie McNaughtan). Capital won shootout 3-0.
The Dominion Post
Canterbury Cavaliers and Cats make perfect start to national hockey league in Christchurch
ROBERT VAN ROYEN
Goalkeeper Rachel Lilley saves a Capital attempt during Canterbury's 4-2 opening round National Hockey League victory at Christchurch's Marist Park on Saturday. JOSEPH JOHNSON/FAIRFAX NZ
Canterbury has made the perfect start to the national hockey league with both their men's and women's teams topping Capital in Christchurch.
The Cavaliers beat the men's defending champions 3-1 in perfect conditions at Marist Park, while the Cats also won their match by two goals, 4-2.
Canterbury's Phoebe Steele takes a shot during the opening round National Hockey League match with Capital at Marist Park in Christchurch on Saturday. JOSEPH JOHNSON/FAIRFAX NZ
Coached by Andrew Hastie, the Cavaliers dominated possession and territory throughout the match, and had enough chances to put the game to bed earlier than they did.
They made the perfect start by earning two penalty corners within the first four minutes, the second expertly rifled into the back of the net by Sam Lane.
Despite creating plenty of chances through the remainder of the first two quarters, the red and blacks couldn't net a second, and suffered a setback when Dominic Newman was forced off in the second quarter with concussion.
Newman hit the deck attempting to deflect a bullet cross by Lane into the net, but landed awkwardly and was helped off the turf.
Richard Bain doubled Canterbury's lead a few minutes into the third quarter, when he fired home past Kyle Pontifex from an acute angle.
The Cobras got on the board a few minutes later when they were awarded their first penalty corner, as co-captain Dane Lett slammed the ball past goalie George Enersen.
But as they had done for the majority of the match, Canterbury controlled possession and territory and refused to bend at the back.
David Brydon made it 3-1 to Canterbury with nine minutes left on the clock, when a ball fell to him inside the penalty circle. He had time to compose himself, before blasting it high into the back of the net.
After claiming four points from the only match his team will play at home, Hastie said his team's work rate and defence were the main positives.
"We talked a lot about work rate and playing right to the end," he said. "That's what we did today, we know there are areas of improvement, but at the same time we had some good areas of play and we got the four points."
However, with plenty of chances not being taken inside the circle, Hastie said executing and finishing off moves was something his team would work on ahead of the tournament week in Whangarei from September 10-17.
In the earlier game, Cassandra Reid scored two second quarter goals to help the Cats knock over Capital women.
Reid's brace, a sixth minute Joie Leigh goal, and a superb Jackie Eden goal early in the second quarter, saw Canterbury to a healthy 4-1 lead at halftime.
But they weren't able to add to their halftime tally in the second spell as Capital stiffened defensively and stopped gifting the home side possession.
Capital's Katherine van Woerkom scored a fantastic individual goal to pull her team to within 4-2 late in the third quarter, after she dispossessed Emily Maguire at the back, glided into the circle and scored from range.
But her side couldn't find the two extra goals they needed to force penalties, and instead left the Garden City with nothing to show for their effort.
Cats assistant coach Sue Innes praised her team's "great passing" and combinations, but said they needed to improve their structure.
"When the pressure came on a little bit probably just need to be tighter as a group," she said. "We probably got spread out a bit in our structure, so that's something we'll look at."
Stuff
St. Paul’s, Villa Maria take out titles
Photo: BWMedia
St. Paul’s Collegiate and Villa Maria College have taken out this year’s top NZ Secondary School Tournament honours.
St. Paul’s took out their first ever Rankin Cup title in dramatic fashion with a 4-3 win over Wairarapa College, led by a hat-trick from captain Reuben Andrews.
After a see-sawing game, Wairarapa looked headed for glory as they held a 3-2 lead with just one minute on the clock.
But St. Paul’s mounted a terrific comeback and Andrews scored his third goal of the match to equalise and take the game to golden goal extra time. Maks Wyndham-Smith then delivered the winning strike in the last few seconds of 9 vs 9 drop offs.
Rangitoto College took out the bronze medal following a 3-1 result over St. Andrew’s College. Loek van Dijk scored a double while Michael Lambourne added another for North Shore based school Rangitoto.
In the girls’ Federation Cup, Villa Maria grabbed their first championship after downing St. Cuthbert’s 2-1 in golden goal extra time.
The game reached the end of regulation time locked up 1-1, before Jessie Anderson scored the winning goal in 7 vs 7 drop offs.
St. Margaret’s stormed to a third place finish after a 4-2 result against Auckland Diocesan School. Lucy Roberts, Emily Wium, Charlotte Lee and Ivy Gyde all scored to hand St. Margaret’s the bronze medal.
CLICK HERE to watch Rankin Cup and Federation Cup finals and bronze medal games on demand
RANKIN CUP (BOYS)
BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
Rangitoto College 3: (Loek van Dijk 2, Michael Lambourne)
St. Andrew’s College 1: (Lewis Edmond)
GOLD MEDAL MATCH
St. Paul’s Collegiate 4: (Reuben Andrews 3, Maks Wyndham-Smith)
Wairarapa College 3: (Wills Taylor 2, Michael Brewster)
FEDERATION CUP (GIRLS)
BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
St. Margaret’s College 4: (Lucy Roberts, Emily Wium, Charlotte Lee, Ivy Gyde)
Auckland Diocesan School 2: (Rachel McKee, Tayla Parkes)
GOLD MEDAL MATCH
Villa Maria College 2: (Maddie Wotton, Jessie Anderson)
St. Cuthbert’s College 1: (Katie Doar)
Hockey New Zealand Media release
Sapura lead title chase
By Jugjet Singh
Sapura's Joel Samul Van Huizen (left) challenges Tenaga's Nik Aiman Nik Rozemi for the ball during their TNBMHL 2016 Premier League match Friday. Sapura won 2-1.
SAPURA Hockey Club barely lead the Premier Division standings at midway, and coach Yahya Omar knows they can't afford to make any blunders in the remaining five matches.
Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) are biting the heels of Sapura, and it looks like double champions Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) have only an outside chance of defending their League title.
"It has been too long (11 years) since we last won any titles in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) and being at the top after five matces will not mean a thing is we fumble in the second round," said Yahya.
Yahya said its all in the hands of his players now.
"We have a very good team which is capable of winning any match that comes their way, but in the end, all the coaching and training will come to nothing if the players themselves do not have a strong desire to become champions," said Yahya.
Ironically, Sapura start the second round against Tenaga again today.
"All the teams will be pressuring us now that we are top of the standings, so I am glad my boys held on, on Friday. This win is very important for us, especially as Sunday's return leg is also against Tenaga because it raises our confidence," added Yahya who praised Tenaga's fighting spirit.
The other two matches today will also see the same fixtures as Friday, with KLHC playing Maybank and THT against UniKL to kick-start the second round.
In Division One, SSTMI and TNB Thunderbolts lead the charge into the quarter-finals with 12 points each after six matches. And in the women's MHL, SSTMI and Blue Warriors lead the semi-finals cast with 12 and 10 points after five matches.
TODAY: Premier Division -- Kuala Lumpur HC v Maybank (KLHA, 6pm), UniKL v Terengganu (KLHA, 8pm), Sapura v Tenaga (Tun Razak, 6pm).
ALAGENDRA CUP Semi-finals: Sept 6: Tenaga Nasional v Terengganu HT (KLHA,6pm), SSTMI v Sapura (SSTMI, 6pm).
PREMIER DIVISION
P W D L F A Pts
SAPURA 5 4 0 1 11 7 12
KLHC 5 3 2 0 14 7 11
THT 5 2 1 2 13 10 7
MAYBANK 5 2 0 3 9 15 6
UNIKL 5 1 1 3 4 9 4
TENAGA 5 0 2 3 10 13 2
Jugjet's World of Field Hockey
Kumar hopes to turn things around after bad start in league
by Aftar Singh
KUALA LUMPUR: This season’s Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) is fast turning into a farce for S. Kumar – the country’s most experienced goalkeeper.
The 37-year-old from Tampin, with 260 international caps, has conceded 13 goals in five matches for Tenaga Nasional team in the Premier Division.
As a result, former champions Tenaga are now rooted at the bottom of the six-team standings with just two points after the first round of matches. They have drawn two matches and lost three.
It’s no wonder then that their immediate target for the second round, which begins on Sunday, is to grab their first win of the season.
Tenaga, who lost to Sapura 2-1 on Friday, will again face league leaders Sapura at the Tun Razak Stadium.
Sapura top the standings with 12 points from four wins and a loss.
Kumar, who had been named the best goalkeeper in the MHL a few times, admitted that he is not having a good season.
“I know I’m the most experienced player in the team and that it’s my duty is to guide the other players. We have a young team and are trying to build a strong team in the next few years,” he said.
“Also, ours is an all-local outfit ... so, it is tough for us to put up a strong challenge against the other teams that are powered by foreign players.
“The first-round matches have been an eye-opener for us. They have allowed us to assess our weaknesses which, we hope, will help us to put up a better performance in the second round,” added Kumar, who was full of praise for his Sapura counterpart Mohd Hairi Abdul Rahman’s good form in the league.
Hairi was instrumental in denying Tenaga their first win on Friday. Tenaga earned eight penalty corners against Sapura, but could only manage to convert one.
That has certainly rang the alarm bells for Sapura coach Yahya Atan.
“Our defence is weak ... we conceded too many penalty corners against Tenaga,” he admitted.
“Tenaga have not won in the league and will definitely be going all out to get the better of us tomorrow.
“We need to play a cautious game because they are very good on the counter. We need to stay sharp if we want to remain unbeaten.”
Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC), who outplayed Maybank 4-1 on Friday, will again start as favourites at home against the Tigers.
Double champions Terengganu will again be expected to get the better of Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) at Tun Razak Stadium. On Friday, the east coast team beat UniKL 3-1.
The Star of Malaysia
Pakistan junior hockey team returns home from Europe
LAHORE: Pakistan's under-21 hockey team returned home here on Saturday after a successful tour of the Netherlands and Spain.
"In Netherlands, they played three matches against prominent clubs besides appearing in the BCE International Tournament featuring Netherlands' EHV Club, Pakistan juniors and two German teams," said a spokesman of the Pakistan Hockey Federation.
"Pakistan colts won all the six matches in the Netherlands. Moving to Spain, Pakistan under-21 played three Test matches against their national junior side. After losing the first Test, Pakistan managed to win the next two to take the series 2-1," he added.
During the European tour, Pakistan juniors scored 41 goals and conceded 14.
Meanwhile, the head coach of the team and former Olympian, Tahir Zaman, expressed satisfaction on the showing of the team
"We had some good matches in the Netherlands but the real test was in Spain, where we played against their national junior side that was also preparing for the Junior World Cup to be held later this year. The boys did well in all the three Tests. They worked hard throughout in all the matches and mostly stuck to the game plan. Quite a few times, the Pakistan juniors recovered after conceding the lead. Providing quality competition is the most important; no camp training could be a substitute for that," concluded former Pakistan hockey captain Tahir.
The Daily Times