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All the news for Tuesday 30 May 2017

Late winner sees Scotland beaten by Wales


Scotland w Wales Fiona Burnet's goal

A late strike by Danni Jordan was the difference as Wales beat Scotland 2-1 in another close match in Glasgow.

Scotland enjoyed good possession in the opening stages of the match but neither side created any clear openings to take an early lead. In an early raid on the Welsh defence, Fiona Bruce made some good headway down the left for Scotland but her pass into the D was well blocked by the Wales rear guard.

Then Scotland’s Fiona  and Katie Robertson combined to put the ball into the Welsh net but the whistle had already been blown, and the game remained goalless at the end of the first quarter.

Into the second quarter and Wales’ Xenna Hughes thundered the ball into the Scottish D causing a deflection that forced Nikki Cochrane into a diving save at her left post.



Then Wales’ Sarah Jones went on a charging run into the Scotland D, and forced another good save from Cochrane at her near post to keep the scores level.

It was Scotland who opened the scoring and the goal came when Fiona Burnet dived at full stretch to force the ball over the line after good work by Emily Newlands and Sarah Jamieson to create the opportunity.

The Scots thought they’d scored a second soon after, but Becky Merchant had her goal disallowed.

Wales battled back and equalised through Elouise Laity to make it 1-1. Sarah Jones played a long ball for Richards to chase, and Richards ran through on goal then slid the ball past Cochrane to equalise. 1-1.

Just after the restart Wales survived a trio of Scotland penalty corners. First Robyn Collins came close with a low effort, saved by the diving Welsh goalkeeper. Moments later and Collins again was denied another low strike saved by goalkeeper’s legs. The third penalty corner saw a battle for the ball just shy of the Welsh goal line with the threat eventually repelled to keep the result at 1-1.



Scotland continued to exert pressure and Kate Holmes was next to be denied by the goalkeeper – a reverse stick shot into her leg guards saw the Scots thwarted.

The end of the third quarter had the Scots piling on the pressure but unable to penetrate the Welsh rear guard.

Into the final quarter and Wales looked dangerous from a penalty corner routine, the eventual effort deflecting of a Scotland stick and wide.



Good build up down the left between Heather Howie and Lucy Lanigan led to a pass for Bruce in the D, but it was well defended at the near post to deny a clean connection in front of goal.

Wales made it 2-1 through Danni Jordan with just over a minute to play to snatch the victory. She swung a low shot into the bottom left corner to give her side the lead.

Photos by Duncan Gray and Mark Pugh

Scottish Hockey Union media release

Gimnasia y Esgrima A and LA Tigers in the money at the 46th Cal Cup

By Jawwad Qamar


A very jubilant 2017 Cal Cup Women’s Champions Gimnasia y Esgrima A - photo by Ned Dawson

Four long days of non-stop field hockey came to an end with two exciting finals in front of a capacity crowd in the beautiful setting of Moorpark College on Memorial Day at the 46th California Cup. In the Women’s Super Division final, Gimnasia y Esgrima A from Argentina beat the local favorites Jolie Pitts 3-1, denying them a fourth Cal Cup title while the LA Tigers edged out Team Adidas HFS 2-1 for their third men’s title and the $7,500 prize money.

Camila Mas gave Gimnasia y Esgrima A 1-0 lead on a penalty corner in the 5th minute. However, Krystal Forgesson, one of three kiwi imports, tied the score at 1-1 in the same minute for Jolie Pitts on a beautiful field goal. After evenly played first two periods, the ladies from Argentina took control in the 3rd period as Jazmin Carregal made it 2-1 in the 38th minute on a penalty corner. Team Captain Geraldine Pisani put the game away in the 4th period as she made it 3-1 on a penalty stroke in the 49 minute, giving her tournament leading 8 goals and the Ross Rutledge Award that comes with it.

For third place, the Olympic Club beat Gimnasia y Esgrima B 2-0 in a shootout after a 2-2 tie in regulation.

In the Men’s Super Division final, LA Tigers beat Team Adidas HFS 2-1 after Will Holt had given HFS a 0-1 lead in the 33rd minute (3rd period) on a penalty corner. However, Duncan Scott levelled score in the next minute for the Tigers at 1-1. After back to back action in the remainder of 3rd period, Tigers took the 2-1 lead on Paul Singh’s field goal in the 49th minute (4th period).

It was sweet revenge for LA Tigers as Team Adidas HFS had gotten the better of them winning 5-3 in pool B encounter on Saturday.


LA Tigers and Team Adidas HFS  - photo by Jag Reyatt


2017 Cal Cup Champions the LA Tigers with their $7,500 check - photo by Ned Dawson

For men’s third place, JDH Montauk Sharks beat the Bulldogs 3-2 after taking a three goal lead on scores by Stephane Vehrle-Smith, Dave Bartram and Jamie Dwyer. Binh Hoang and Patrick Cota finally struck for the Bulldogs in the dying minutes to make the score respectable.

Congratulations to 2017 Cal Cup Tournament Committee and everyone involved for once again doing a superb job hosting this excellent international field hockey tournament.

The 46th edition of one of the oldest and largest the field hockey tournaments in the world, more popularly known as the Cal Cup, featured 130 teams from Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, and the USA, consisting of over 2,200 athletes competing in 14 divisions ranging from Mixed Under-8 to Men/Women Super Divisions at four different locations including the main venue, Moorpark College.

This year Cal Cup received a big boost by the appearance of a number of players from down under. Notably among them were the Australian great Jamie Dwyer and Gemma McCaw of the Black Sticks. One of the highlights of this year’s event was the free clinic held by Dwyer for all, especially the kids.


The Aussie legend with his new fans in California  Photos: Ned Dawson

In addition to $7,500 top prize in each Super Division, all players in the top three teams of each division received Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals.

For a complete list of all 2017 Cal Cup winners and final standings, please visit www.calcup.com.

Fieldhockey.com Exclusive

Indian hockey team embarks on trilateral series in Germany before World Hockey League Semis


File image of the Indian Hockey team in action. AP

Bangalore: Aiming to hit peak form in next month's Hockey World League semi-final, the Indian team on Monday left for a three-nation invitational tournament in Germany starting 1 June.

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 in Bangalore.

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 9 June 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 (15 June), followed by Canada (17 June), Pakistan (18 June) and the Netherlands (20 June) 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.

Firstpost

Facing Belgium, Germany good preparation before HWL Semi-Final: Manpreet Singh

BENGALURU: India hockey team captain Manpreet Singh said playing against 2016 Olympic medal winning teams Belgium and Germany in the Three Nations Invitational Tournament, will give them ample opportunity to assess themselves ahead of next month's crucial Hero Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-Final.

The 18-member squad departed for Dusseldorf, Germany from the Kempegowda International Airport here in the wee hours of Monday. They had a two-week national camp at the Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru campus as part of their preparations. The three-nation tournament will begin on June 1.

"Playing top teams like Germany and Belgium will help us a lot ahead of the Hero Hockey World League Semi Final. 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," stated skipper Manpreet ahead of the departure, according to a release.

"We will be able to assess our performance and get ready for the bigger challenge in London."

Right after the Dusseldorf meet, the team will arrive in London on June 9 for the HWL Semi-Final where they will play practice matches against Olympic gold medallists Argentina and Britain before the start of the tournament.

"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." expressed the 24-year-old.

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

Stats Speak: An uphill task to beat mighty Germany and Belgium


B.G.Joshi (Sehore-Bhopal, India)

India will play two matches each against Germany and Belgium in Dusseldorf before the World Cup Qualifier. On turf hockey India fails to win back to back versus mighty Germany. Resurgent from Johannesburg Champions Challenge (2011) Belgium have upper hand against India.  Highlights of recent matches of India against these giants and all statistical updates are given below:

2014: Hockey World League-New Delhi, IND 5-GER 4
India got penalty corner when 20 seconds remains on clock. Hooter sounds, penalty corner was well taken, Rupinderpal Singh scored the winning goal.

2011: Champions Challenge-Johannesburg, BEL 4- IND 3.
India leads 3-1 till last quarter of the final match. Tomfooling of Indian defence and goalkeeper captain Bharat Chetri allows the Belgians to score the goals. Fourth goal came in 41 seconds before the hooter by Tom Boon of Belgium. In pool match too Belgium drew the match 3-3. The third Belgian goal came 26 sec before hooter when Xavier Rekinger’s reverse drive went in after goalkeeper Chetri had blocked two previous shots on the penalty corners.

India vs. Germany

 India vs. Belgium

 Fieldhockey.com

EHL’s new signature sound elevates identity of world’s best club hockey competition



The Euro Hockey League has introduced a new signature sound to elevate the world’s best club hockey competition to a new level.

Since 2007, 24 of Europe’s leading clubs have been competing each season for the EHL title and the Alain Danet Trophy with millions watching the games worldwide and online as well.

To further strengthen the EHL brand, BLCKBRD Sound Branding has produced a new musical identity for the EHL which made its debut at the KO16. This music will be played preceding and during all EHL matches.

“We are very happy with our own sound. It creates an even bigger EHL experience and really lifts the tournament to the next level”, says Hans-Erik Tuijt, chairman of the Euro Hockey League.

Hockey matches have specific moments that will be supported by the use of music. The music is based on a musical theme of four notes that can be heard throughout the different compositions.

Preceding the match fans will hear the Walk-on theme and Anthem, which have classical elements to enhance the hero-status of the players.

The goal-tune, on the other hand, is modern and energetic. Other tunes are used during a video-referee call and the 40 seconds leading up to a penalty corner.

The sound of the EHL has already been used during the KO16 and KO8 rounds in April in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

The FINAL4 games between Rot-Weiss Köln (Germany), Wimbledon (England), HC Oranje-Rood (Netherlands) and KHC Dragons (Belgium) will be held on June 3 and 4 in Antwerp (Belgium). More information can be found on www.ehlhockey.tv and on www.blckbrd.eu.

** To listen to the new musical identity, click here: https://vimeo.com/217984653

Euro Hockey League media release

Coach Meshack Senge feels the heat

By BRIAN YONGA


Strathmore University coach Meshack Senge. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

Strathmore University Gladiators coach Meshack Senge admits his charges face a real challenge to hold on to their Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) men’s Premier League crown after a dismal performance at the weekend.

The champions lost two matches this weekend - a 5-2 walloping by Wazalendo on Saturday and a 1-0 loss to Kenya Police on Sunday at the City Park Stadium.

The result saw the students drop to 11th place with seven points, a whopping 23 points behind leaders Police after nine matches.

They have won only once all season, lost thrice and drawn four times, a tally that has Senge worried about his team’s chances of retaining the title. His side are just four points off the relegation zone.

“We are definitely not playing like champions and there is a lot of work to be done in order to save our season. We showed a lot of improvement against Police and we need more of that fighting spirit this season,” Senge said on Monday.

The tactician, who led the Madaraka-based side to their third league title last year, has however ruled out conceding the title just yet. “It is difficult but not impossible because anything can happen. We are rebuilding the team and it will take time to get them to last season’s form,” he added.

One team that looks like champions is Kenya Police.

The law enforcers maintained their perfect start to the season after weekend’s win against Strathmore. They are on 30 points, 10 clear of second-placed Greensharks, who were not in action this weekend.

The 2013 champions also equalled Butali Sugar Warriors’ record of 10 straight wins set during the 2014/15 season.

Police skipper Brian Saina attributes their good form to team work and fighting spirit.

“Everyone is playing for each other, the goals are scored by everyone and we have great team spirit. We are taking a game at a time because the league is still long,” Saina said. Butali’s 100 per cent record was ended after they drew 1-1 away to Nakuru Athletic Club.

The draw left Butali in third place with 19 points, though they have played three games less than Police. Wazalendo, who collected four points from their two weekend assignments, are in fourth place with 15 points, with Chase Sailors (10) a place back.

In the women’s Premier League, USIU Spartans ended JKUAT’s unbeaten run after a 2-0 win in their match. The result moved Spartans to second place on 15 points, three behind leaders Telkom Orange.

Daily Nation