News for 29 May 2017
All the news for Monday 29 May 2017
Scotland men fall short away to the Netherlands
Scotland men went down 4-1 to world number four ranked Netherlands in Amsterdam as part of the build-up for the World League semi-final in London next month.
It was a first half that could have been better for the Blue Sticks as the host side went 3-0 ahead at the interval, but Head Coach Derek Forsyth was pleased with his side’s second half efforts away from home against a top-class side.
The third quarter saw a revival in the Scots performance and the score was pulled back to 3-1. The goal emanated from a flowing move by several players which opened up the Dutch defence and it was finished off when Kenny Bain swept the ball into the roof of the net.
The Scots followed up with a couple of other chances to pull the score back, Wei Adams hit the post from a penalty corner strike, and then Nicky Parkes came close with a reverse stick shot that brought out the best in the Dutch goalkeeper.
In the final quarter the Scots lost a fourth goal to complete the scoring.
Forsyth said: "We made a poor start to the game but there was a definite step up in performance in the second half. We scored a good goal and the Dutch were restricted to much fewer chances in the second period, unfortunately we lost a soft goal in the final quarter."
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Scotland control but Wales take the victory
SCOTLAND 0-1 WALES 
Scotland had most of the possession and most of the pressure, but it was Wales that won the second test match with a single strike to go two up in the three match series.
The score line might in fact have been increased but for two fantastic penalty saves by Scottish goalkeeper Amy Gibson on her return to Scotland duty after a couple of years.
The Scots’ only chance in the first quarter came from a penetrating run by Millie Brown, she swept past a couple of defender and drove into the circle, but her high shot was batted away by the goalkeeper.
Amy Gibson
The home side had a lot of pressure in the second quarter but failed to convert into goals. At their first penalty corner an intricate routine set up Kareena Cuthbert but her final shot was blocked. Not long after a bouncing through ball entered the Welsh circle but it was missed by Heather Lang.
Despite all the home possession it was Wales who should have taken the lead in the third quarter, Cuthbert illegally stopped the ball on the line, but Joanne Westwood`s effort from the spot was easily blocked by Gibson.
Into the final quarter a promising move was started by Heather Howie but Sarah Robertson`s eventual shot went wide of the target.
But it was Wales who got their noses in front at a set piece, Tina Evans seemed to have plenty of time to fire a low shot into the net.
With six minutes left, for the second time over the weekend coach Gordon Shepherd elected to replace Gibson in goal with an additional outfield player to attempt to rescue the contest.
The gamble seemed to have backfired when Emily Newlands was forced to concede another penalty with an illegal save on the line. Gibson returned temporarily to deal with the spot effort and produced a great save to deny Leah Wilkinson`s high flick.
The Scots continued to press in the closing minutes, at only their second penalty corner the ball was switched back to Sarah Robertson but the Edinburgh University striker only made partial contact with the ball and the chance was lost.
In the end the Welsh defence held out to deny the Scots an equaliser, but the final action of the game was at the other end when the Welsh were awarded an overtime penalty corner, but again Gibson was equal to the task.
Photos by Duncan Gray and Mark Pugh
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Indian hockey team heads to Germany for invitational tourney
BENGALURU: Aiming to hit peak form in next month's Hockey World League Semi Final, the Indian team today left for a three-nation invitational tournament in Germany starting June 1.
The 18-member squad, led by Manpreet Singh, left from the Kempegowda International Airport in the wee hours this morning after a two-week national camp at the Sports Authority of India campus here.
At the tournament in Dusseldorf, India will play two matches each against Germany and Belgium.
"Playing top teams like Germany and Belgium (both Rio Olympic Medalists), will help us a lot ahead of the Hero Hockey World League Semi Final (Men)," stated Manpreet ahead of the departure.
"If we play well against them, we will gain a lot of confidence and it will give us a little more time to make minor changes in our game and iron out any mistake. We will be able to assess our performance and get ready for the bigger challenge in London," he added.
Right after the invitational tournament, the team will arrive in London on June 9 for the Hero Hockey World League Semi Final (Men) where it will play practice matches against Olympic Gold Medalists Argentina and Great Britain.
"We always take practice matches seriously because doing well in a practice match means gaining the required momentum for the start of the tournament. We will also get the feel of the pitch to get a good sense of how to take penalty corners." said the 24-year-old Manpreet.
India will play their first match against Scotland (June 15), followed by Canada (June 17), Pakistan (June 18) and the Netherlands (June 20) in the pool stage.
"We cannot single out any one team as a tough team to beat because every team will play their best considering this is a prestigious tournament and also a World Cup qualifier.
"We cannot take any team lightly and our aim will be to start on a winning note and earn those three points," he added.
The Times of India
Jolie Pitts to face Gimnasia y Esgrima A in Cal Cup 46th women’s final while LA Tigers take on Team Adidas HFS for men’s title
By Jawwad Qamar
The 46th edition of Cal Cup is set for two exciting finals on Memorial Day at Moorpark College. Last year’s winners Jolie Pitts will be going for their fourth Cal Cup women’s crown taking on Gimnasia y Esgrima A, while last year’s finalist, Team Adidas HFS will face the LA Tigers for men’s title.
In women’s first semifinal on Sunday, all it took was a sixth minute penalty corner goal by Daphne Voormolen to move Jolie Pitts pass the Olympic Club into tomorrow’s final to play for $7,500 prize money.
In the all Argentinean second semifinal between Gimnasia y Esgrima teams, captain Geraldine Pisani of Gimnasia y Esgrima A scored in each half on penalty corners for a comfortable 2-1 victory over Gimnasia y Esgrima B. Valentina Greco finally put one in for Gimnasia y Esgrima B with 5 minutes left in the game.
Gimnasia y Esgrima A against Gimnasia y Esgrima B in semifinal on Sunday at Cal Cup 2017 Photo: Ned Dawson
In the men’s first semifinal, LA Tigers easily beat the Bulldogs 3-1 on goals by Paul Singh, Duncan Scott and Brandon Pereira after the Bulldogs had taken an early lead on a goal by Colin Scally.
It was also a comfortable 3-1 victory for Team Adidas HFS over JDH Montauk Sharks in the second semifinal as Jarred Martin struck for two goals in the second half and Will Holt added one on a penalty corner. Jamie Dwyer, the Aussie legend everyone has been coming to see, finally got the Sharks on the scoreboard in the 40 minute mark but it took a penalty stroke to do it.
Tomorrow’s final between the LA Tigers and Team Adidas HFS will be a repeat of pool B play when in an exciting encounter HFS won 5-3. Earlier today the Tigers beat the Kings 4-3, in the most thrilling match of the tournament, to qualify for the semifinals, thanks to the penalty corner strike by Jags Gill in the 44th minute after the teams were deadlocked at 3-3.
Pool A had an exciting finish of it’s in own in the last match between the Sharks and BAFHA Elite and it took a beauty of a goal by Dwyer to break the 1-1 tie in the 41st minute and send the Sharks to the semifinals.
Brandon Karess of LA Tigers making a stick save on Bulldogs Pat Cota’s attempt on Sunday at Cal Cup 2017 - photo by Ned Dawson
Monday’s matches
Women Final
Jolie Pitts vs Gimnasia y Esgrima A 1:15 PM
Men Final
LA Tigers vs Team Adidas HFS 2:25 PM
For results, schedules and directions to the venues, please visit www.calcup.com.
Fieldhockey.com Exclusive
Mannheimer dethrone Rot-Weiss as German champions
Mannheimer HC dethroned Rot-Weiss Köln courtesy of s dramatic 3-2 final win to see them claim the German outdoor title for the first time in their history.
After going behind to a Christophr Rühr penalty stroke, Mannheim bounced back to build a 3-1 lead with goals from Tomas Prochazka, Luca Müller and Timm Haase.
Tom Grambusch pulled a goal back from a corner in the closing five minutes and they had four more corner chances in a final frenzy of attacks. But Mannheim kept them all out to cling on to their narrow 3-2 lead and secure the title.
Speaking afterwards, the champions’ coach Michael McCann said: "We knew that we had not played well against Mülheim yesterday [in their semi-final win via a shoot-out] and were happy to have made it through to the final.
“Today, it was clear to us that we had to stop Köln’s attacks from the first minute to have a chance and it worked out.
“We lost Guido Barreiros after five minutes because of an injury and Gonzalo Peillat had no luck today with his corners but if you find other guys who will run down the line of a corner or block shots off the line to balance that for the team, then you will be the best team in Germany!”
For Rot-Weiss coach André Henning, he said: "We have to acknowledge that MHC put an incredibly strong defensive strategy together. On the other hand, we defended below par in the first half and Mannheim took advantage.
“At 3-1 down, we played well. There, we were the better team and had enough chances to get at least one corner goal. In the end, we were not on it for the whole final and did not deserve it.
“I hope this defeat was a shot in the arm at the right time before the FINAL4 of the EHL next week!”
Euro Hockey League media release
Police outwit Gladiators at City Park
By BRIAN YONGA
Samuel Wokila of Kenya Police (right) attempts to control the ball under the watchful eye of Francis Kariuki of Strathmore University during their Kenya Hockey Union Premier League match at City Park Hockey stadium on May 28, 2017. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Kenya Police on Sunday maintained their perfect start to the season after a hard fought 1-0 win over champions Strathmore University Gladiators in a Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) men’s Premier League match at City Park Stadium, Nairobi.
A third-minute strike from Samuel Wokila gave the law enforcers the three points and their 10th successive win of the season, equalling Butali’s record set in the 2014/15 season.
The defeat completed a miserable weekend for the champions, who lost 5-2 to Wazalendo on Saturday.
The students remain eighth on eight points but are now 22 points behind Police who top the log on 30 points after the win. At the Greensteds grounds, Nakuru, Butali Sugar dropped two points after they rallied from behind to force a 1-1 draw with Nakuru Athletic Club as USIU settled for a goalless draw with Wazalendo at City Park in another top flight men's encounter.
In the women’s Premier League, Mombasa Sports Club recorded their first win of the season after a 2-0 win over Multimedia University as Vikings hit Kenyatta University (KU) Titans 2-1 in another encounter. 
Brenda Omaido of Kenyatta University Titans (left) in action against Caroline Okoth of Vikings during their Kenya Hockey Union Premier League match at City Park Hockey stadium on May 28, 2017. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |NATION MEDIA GROUP
Police, who lost to the Strathmore 3-2 in last season’s semi-finals, came into the match on the back of nine straight wins, their best start to a league season.
And they went ahead with their first chance of the game as Wokila slammed home Brian Saina’s penalty corner to hand the 2013 champions the perfect start.
The goal shocked the students, who had yet to settle the match, and were still smarting from Saturday’s heavy loss to Wazalendo.
The early goal saw Police dictate play and they continued to pour forward in search of more goals, with Amos Barkibir and Calvins Kanu troubling the Strathmore defence with their pace.
The duo combined to create another chance for Wokila, but Strathmore keeper Simon Odhiambo, who started ahead of Peter Okinda, did well to keep the ball out.
Police were unable to add to their advantage despite creating more chances.
“We should have won by a wider margin but we are glad we got the three points. We got tired in the last two quarters but I am satisfied with the result,” Police stand-in coach Patrick Mugambi said.
His Strathmore counterpart Meshack Senge was pleased with his team’s fighting spirit despite the loss.
“A much improved performance from the lads but we still have work to do in order to get back to winning ways,” Senge said.
In Nakuru, the hosts went ahead in the 11th minute through Dolcan Mugaisi’s field goal.
Butali however hit back in the second quarter with Billy Mollah scrambling home the equaliser. Butali were let down by poor finishing and the homeside held out for the point.
The result saw Butali miss the chance to topple Greensharks from second spot in the table and the lakeside club remain third on 19 points.
Daily Nation
Butali Warriors share spoils with hosts Nakuru
By Elizabeth Mburugu
Kenya Butali Sugar Barnebus Odhiambo when they played Eastern during Africa Cup Championship at City Park. ON 11/01/2017 PHOTO; JENIPHER WACHIE
Hockey giants Butali Sugar Warriors dropped two crucial points after they drew 1-1 against Nakuru yesterday at Greensted School.
At City Park, Kenya Police edged defending champions Strathmore University Gladiators 1-0, their fourth loss this season.
The draw dashed Butali’s hopes of moving second and are now third with 19 points, one less than Greensharks. The 2015 champions found themselves trailing after 11 minutes as Dolcan Mugaisi put the hosts in the lead.
Warriors began hunting for an equaliser with utmost urgency and their efforts bore fruit 11 minutes later through Billy Mollah.
The two were the only goals of the match as both teams failed to break each other’s defence and settled for a 1-1 draw at full time.
The match was delayed for a while before the first whistle and Butali team manager Kamal Sembi said that could have had a negative impact on his players.
“We got to the pitch and there were no officials.
“At some point, we were not even sure if the match would be played and I think the confusion and the unexpected delay might have had a toll on my players,” Sembi said.
In Nairobi, a third-minute Samuel Wokila penalty corner goal was enough to give the 2013 holders their 10th league win.
The victory boost the law enforcers’ campaign to reclaim the trophy that has eluded them for the past three seasons.
Police captain Brian Saina was contented with the three points.
“Winning against Strathmore has not been easy for us and it has always been by a small margin. We lost to them last season when it mattered most and I’m glad we got it right this time round,” Saina said.
Despite the loss, Strathmore coach Meshack Senge said his players showed some improvement.
“They played better than they did in our last match and it is a good thing.”
In the women’s contest, Mombasa Sports Club (MSC) registered their first points of the weekend following their 2-0 victory over Multimedia University.
Laura Kagendo and Iha Kasichana scored for MSC, who drew 1-1 against University of Nairobi.
Vikings also had a successful outing after they defeated Kenyatta University Titans 2-1.
The Standard Online
Gladiators’ woes continue as they fall to Wazalendo
By Elizabeth Mburugu
Butali Zack Aura(l) and Strathmore Cyril Mandela fight for the ball when they played at City Park during the finals of the premier men 2016 yesterday, on 03/12/2016b PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE
Kenya Hockey Union men’s premier league reigning champions Strathmore University Gladiators’ woes continued as they suffered a humiliating 2-5 defeat to Wazalendo in a match played yesterday at City Park Stadium. The loss reduced the student’s chances of chances of successfully defending their title.
Two goals by Elly Mwanzi and a goal each from Stanley Chege, Peter Mulati and Davis Mulongo and 32 minutes was all Wazalendo needed to secure their fourth victory of the season. A delighted Wazalendo coach Fidhelis Kimanzi said that a good start to the match and quick goals earned them the victory.
Wazalendo began their hunt for goals from the onset with their forward trio of Chege, Nelson Shiraku and Mwanzi surged forward into the Gladiators territory. Chege was on target five minutes into play through a penalty corner conversion to give his their opening goal. The quick goal awakened Strathmore defenders as well as their forwards who intensified the hunt for an equalizer.
After failed attempts from both sides, the first quarter ended with the champions a goal down. Mulati fired past Okinda on the 18th minute with Mulongo making it 3-0 three minutes later. Mwanzi scored his first to half time to give Wazalendo a comfortable 4-0 lead going into the break.
The match was done and dusted on the 32nd minute as Mwanzi completed his brace making it 5-0 for his side. Sure to have bagged maximum points, Wazalendo played defensively for the remaining minutes of the game as Strathmore fought harder in their quest to to avoid an embarrassing day.
Wazalendo took their foot off the pedal in the dying minutes of the game allowing Gladiators to score two quick goals. Cornelius Mambili pulled one back for the students in the 58th minute. Wazalendo goalie Bright Kezengwa failed Festus Onyango’s test seconds to the final whistle to settle for a 5-2 win.
ALSO READ: Hockey: Butali rally from behind to beat Wazalendo at City Park
Strathmore coach Meshack Senge described his team’s performance as a disaster. “We deserved to lose because of our bad display. My players failed to show champions form,” Senge said.
In another men’s encounter, newcomers Technical University of Kenya suffered yet another loss after going down 2-0 to Parkroad Badgers.
The Standard Online
Australian National Hockey Week June 17 - 25
Holly MacNeil
National Hockey Week returns in 2017 and this year will run from June 17 – 25 and includes Olympic Day which takes place annually on June 23.
The aim of the week is to celebrate all aspects of the sport from the players, to volunteers, umpires, coaches and families who give up their time to support their loved ones who are involved in hockey.
Along with celebrating those currently involved, National Hockey Week aims to encourage fans of the sport of all ages, genders and abilities to pick up a hockey stick and give the sport a go.
During the week, we’ll be running competitions, sharing the best hockey stories from around the country and encouraging local clubs to take part through hosting family and friends come and try fun days.
In addition to all of the stories we’ll be running in Australia, our national women’s team the Hockeyroos will be over in Belgium taking part in the World League Semi-Finals from June 21 in order to qualify for the World League Finals and the 2018 World Cup, so we’ll be keeping you updated with all of the action from the games, as well as the behind-the-scenes action in Brussels.
Make sure you keep an eye out on our Facebook and Instagram accounts for your chance to win and to hear all about the fantastic things happening in the hockey community.
If you’re interested in finding your local club and trying your hand at hockey, check out the following link to look at your options: http://www.hockey.org.au/playing
Hockey Australia media release
Beach Hockey Revolution Thrives in Rosario, Argentina
Laura Del Colle
In 2013, Beach Hockey landed in Rosario. After 5 years of consecutive summer tournaments we can say it is here to stay.
Over four hundred players from all over the country have come to enjoy a new hockey experience sorrounded by one of the most spectacular landscapes in Rosario, la Florida beach.
In 2016, alongside other summer and water sports, like kitesurfing, yachting, wakeboarding, kayacking and beach vóley, BEACH HOCKEY was declared summer sport in Rosario by the city Council.
Easier rules, bigger ball, smaller pitch and lots of goals, make BEACH HOCKEY approachable for a wide range of both players and fans.
This year tournament featured teams from under 12 years old to adult, female, male and also mixed categories. Excitement was at it's peak when Giselle Juarez, attacker from "Leonas" team gave a clinic on beach hockey.
As well as fans, an important number of sponsors supported the tournament toghether with the Media that reflected the success of Rosario's new summer activity.
Pan American Hockey Federation media release