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Al the news for Sunday 23 July 2017

Ireland snatch ticket to Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018


Ireland men secured their World Cup ticket on Saturday. Copyright: FIH / Getty Images

Johannesburg, South Africa: Ireland's Green Machine are now certain of a place at next year's Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, having beaten New Zealand's Black Sticks 1-0 in the 5-6 classification match on the penultimate day of action at the Hockey World League Semi-Final in South Africa.

The team coached by Craig Fulton started well before enduring a huge amount of pressure from the New Zealanders, with Ireland's defence making numerous telling saves to keep their opponents off the score-sheet. Ireland scored what proved to be the winner in the 49th minute, with Alan Sothern chipping into the goal after an excellent save from Black Sticks shot-stopper Devon Manchester. The Irish defence held firm in the latter stages, ensuring that Ireland's men will compete in their first World Cup since 1990.

"I'm over the moon", said Ireland captain Jonny Bell after the match. "The shift that the guys put in out there was absolutely fantastic. It wasn't the best hockey but that doesn't really matter because we've reached the World Cup. I'm delighted."

The women's 5-6 classification match was won by South Africa, ended their home tournament on a high with a 2-1 triumph over Japan’s Cherry Blossoms. Although both teams entered the contest knowing that their place at next year’s Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 was already assured, the two sides gave it everything in a bid to finish as high in the standings as possible.

A big crowd witnessed the home team’s final performance in this event and they were not to be disappointed, with South Africa opening up a 2-0 lead in the second quarter thanks to a Lilian du Plessis’ penalty stroke and a well worked field goal from Tarry Glasby. Yuri Nagai dragged Japan back into to the contest just after half time, but South Africa saw out the win.

In the 7-8 classification matches, the women of Ireland scored twice in the final quarter to defeat India 2-1 in a highly entertaining and dramatic contest. Gurjit Kaur put India ahead with a penalty corner rocket at the end of the first quarter, while Ireland looked set to go even further behind when goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran was sent to the sin bin for bringing down an Indian attacker.

Remarkably, reserve goalkeeper Grace O’Flanagan came off the bench to save the subsequent penalty stroke with her first touch, denying India’s Rani with wonderful stick save. The two crucial blows struck by the Green Army came just a minute apart, with captain Katie Mullan producing a wonderful penalty corner deflection before Lizzy Colvin smashed home a glorious winner from the top of the circle. The result enhances Irish hopes of qualifying for next year’s World Cup, although this is dependant on outcomes of the upcoming Continental Championships.

France triumphed 3-0 against Egypt in the men’s 7-8 play-off, boosting their own hopes of taking a place at the World Cup should results at those Continental Championships go their way. Team captain Victor Charlet put his side ahead with a sixth minute penalty corner drag-flick but had to wait until the end of the third quarter before doubling their advantage, with Hugo Genestet scoring from the penalty spot. Blaise Roseau scored the third and final goal of the match with a crisp backhand effort, ensuring that France ended their competition on a winning note.

“We were very happy with the victory against Egypt, who are a very tough side”, said France’s Victor Charlet after the match. “We hope that this has given us a chance to play in the World Cup, but we will have to wait and see.”

Sunday 23rd July is finals day, with both the men’s and the women’s competitions drawing to a close. The 3-4 classification matches kick off proceedings with England’s women taking on Argentina at 11:00 South Africa Standard Time (UTC +2), with the men’s 3-4 meeting between Australia and Spain getting underway at 13:15. USA and Germany will take to the field for the women’s final at 15:30, before Belgium and Germany contest the men’s final at 18:00.

Hockey World League Semi-Finals - Johannesburg, South Africa

Saturday 22nd July 2017
Women’s 7-8: India 1, Ireland 2

Women’s 5-6: Japan 1, South Africa 2

Men’s 7-8: Egypt 0, France 3
Men’s 5-6: New Zealand 0, Ireland 1

Fixtures and timings
All times South Africa Standard Time (UTC +2)

Sunday 23rd July 2017

11:00: England v Argentina (Women 3/4)
13:15: Australia v Spain (Men 3/4)
15:30: USA v Germany (Women Final)
18:00: Belgium v Germany (Men Final)

Classification Men
1:
2:
3: Australia
4: Spain
5: Ireland
6: New Zealand
7: France
8: Egypt
9: South Africa
10: Japan

Classification Women
1:
2:
3: England
4: Argentina
5: South Africa
6: Japan
7: Ireland
8: India
9: Chile
10: Poland

FIH site

Green Machine Secure World Cup Place



The Green Machine have booked their place at the 2018 World Cup in India with a 1-0 victory over New Zealand.

It was a cagey affair throughout with the sides exchanging early chances, Chris Cargo and Alan Sothern linking up smartly for the Irish. Both sides seemed happy to hold onto possession and wait for the gaps to appear with Ireland winning the first of the penalty corners, but Richard Joyce was alert to Shane O’Donoghue’s drag. Joyce was again called on to make an important interception as Neal Glassey fired a pass into the circle to the waiting Matthew Nelson. Eugene Magee slipped awkwardly, rolling his ankle, and didn’t return to the game, meaning the Irish bent was down 2 players given Johnny McKee’s fractured collarbone earlier in the tournament. The first real chance for New Zealand fell to Hugo Inglis who’s reverse shot ricocheted off the crossbar while moments later John Jackson, rock solid throughout, made an important deflection from a PC. Neither keeper had much to do in the opening half and the superb defensive efforts by both sides was mirrored in the stats that showed nothing between them.

New Zealand began to tip the stats in their favour in the second half and David Harte was called into action with a fine double save. Harte was certainly the busier of the two keepers in the final 30 minutes but New Zealand just lacked that final clinical touch. The tight nature of the game suggested one moment of magic would be enough and Alan Sothern was on hand to produce just that for Ireland. In the 49th minute he pounced on a rebounded save and flicked the ball over Devon Manchester, who had replaced Joyce had half time. New Zealand put Shea McAleese on as kicking back and won two further penalty corners but the precision just wasn’t there and the Irish defence calmly cleared their lines.

A huge defensive effort from the Green Machine combined with Sothern’s goal seals their spot at the 2018 World Cup in India.

Head coach Craig Fulton said “It was a tight game and it could have gone either way. It was a win built on character and defence basically won us that game. We wanted to come away with qualification and that’s really pleasing from tonight, it was a great squad effort”.

Hockey World League Semi Finals Johannesburg

Ireland 1 (Sothern)
New Zealand 0

Ireland: D Harte, J Jackson, M Bell, C Cargo, M Nelson, A Sothern, E Magee, S O’Donoghue, P Gleghorne, C Harte, S Cole

Subs: J Carr, J Bell (Captain), N Glassey, S Murray, J Duncan, S Loughrey, J McKee (Injured)

New Zealand: N Haig, N Ross, R Joyce, N Woods, B Tarrant (Captain), A Panchia, S McAleese, S Jenness, H Inglis, G Muir, H Phillips

Subs: D Brydon, S Lane, M Child, J Panchia, D Manchester, K Russell, L Mitai Wells

Irish Hockey Association media release

Vantage Black Sticks finish sixth overall


Photo: FIH/Getty Images

The Vantage Black Sticks Men have finished sixth overall at the Hockey World League Semi Final in Johannesburg after being edged 1-0 by Ireland in their classification playoff.

It was a tight contest which saw both sides locked in a goalless stalemate for most of the game before Ireland delivered the winning strike with a 49th minute field goal from Alan Sothern.

New Zealand created some quality scoring opportunities over the final 10 minutes as they fought for an equaliser but weren’t able to cross the Irish line.

The result sees Ireland secure the final automatic qualification spot up for grabs at the tournament for the 2018 Hockey World Cup in India.

The Black Sticks will now need to go down a different route to qualify for the World Cup with their next opportunity through the Oceania Cup from 11-15 October in Sydney.

Experienced campaigner Shea McAleese marked a huge personal milestone during the match with his 250th test appearance for New Zealand.

VANTAGE BLACK STICKS 0
IRELAND 1: (Alan Sothern)
Halftime: 0-0

Hockey New Zealand Media release

Black Sticks miss automatic Hockey World Cup qualification with loss to Ireland


Hayden Phillips reacts with disappointment as the Black Sticks miss a chance for World Cup qualification. GETTY IMAGES

The Black Sticks men have missed a chance to secure automatic qualification for the 2018 Hockey World Cup after being beaten 1-0 by Ireland in their classification playoff at the Hockey World League semifinal in South Africa.

It was a tight contest which saw both sides locked in a goal-less stalemate for most of the game before Ireland delivered the winning strike with a 49th minute field goal from Alan Sothern.

New Zealand created some quality scoring opportunities over the final 10 minutes as they fought for an equaliser but weren't able to cross the Irish line.


Goalscorer Alan Sothern, centre, celebrates the win with Irish team-mates Stuart Loughrey, left, and Shane O'Donoghue, right. JAN KRUGER/GETTY IMAGES

The result sees Ireland secure the final automatic qualification spot up for grabs at the tournament for the 2018 Hockey World Cup in India.


New Zealand's Kane Russell in action against Ireland. GETTY IMAGES

The Black Sticks, who finished sixth overall, will now need to go down a different route to qualify for the World Cup.

Their next opportunity will be the Oceania Cup, which will be held in Sydney, Australia, in October.

Experienced campaigner Shea McAleese marked a huge personal milestone during the match with his 250th test appearance for New Zealand.

Ireland 1: Alan Sothern goal Black Sticks 0 HT: 0-0

Stuff

Mission accomplished for SA hockey women

by Karien Jonckheere


Lilian du Plessis © Backpagepix

There were some shot nerves by the end of the SA women’s Hockey World League fifth-place playoff match against Japan at the Wits Astro in Johannesburg on Saturday.

But the home side kept their cool to beat the Japanese 2-1 and secure that fifth spot. It’s a result that seemed rather far away when the SA women went down to lowly Chile earlier in the tournament. But the turnaround they produced after that defeat was impressive, as was their final result, considering all the teams that finished above them are ranked well ahead in the world. Also, one of the teams the South Africans beat, the USA, will be playing in Sunday’s final against Germany.

On Saturday, though it was all about Japan, and it was a see-saw battle of two halves. The South African dominated the first two quarters and the Japanese the final two. But it was the SA side that made their possession count.

Two minutes into the second quarter, the South Africans were awarded their fifth penalty corner of the match. The resulting shot hit a Japanese player’s body in the goalmouth so the SA side were awarded the penalty stroke. Lilian du Plessis would have been relieved to see the ball beating Japanese keeper Megumi Kageyama as her stroke shot was far from convincing, but it did the job and South Africa had the 1-0 lead.

Just five minutes later, Shelley Jones worked the ball back into the circle to Tarryn Glasby who slotted in her first goal of the tournament to double the lead.

The Japanese came out firing in the second half though, creating some good chances and putting immense pressure on the South Africans who had gone into defensive mode. It was five minutes into the third quarter that Yuri Nagai had a good run into the circle to set up a shot and just squeaked it into the right corner of goal for 2-1.

That same corner was to produce those heart palpitations in the dying seconds of the game. Desperate for an equaliser that would send the match to a shootout, Japan, who by now also had a kicking back on, smashed the ball into the circle. Two players dived for the deflection right in the goalmouth but somehow the ball contrived to go millimetres wide of the post to give South Africa the win.

“I think my heart was certainly beating faster than normal but I was also trying to keep the poker face as much as I could,” admitted a relieved SA coach, Sheldon Rostron, afterwards. “But it was also good of the girls to dig in deep and make it work.

Thrilled with the fifth-place finish, Rostron added: “I think we can be very proud of how we turned the tournament around for ourselves, especially after one or two early disappointments in the tournament. It’s great testament to the character of the girls and how they’ve made changes as individuals and also collectively as a group. I’m very proud of their performance.”
Setup Timeout Error: Setup took longer than 30 seconds to complete.

Speaking about her goal, Glasby admitted: “I can’t explain it – I just saw it lying in the D and I plucked it in the goal. It was very exciting. I was so glad to get on the scoreboard.

As for the tough second half of the match, the young striker added: “Japan are always going to be tough. They’re a hard-running team so I think some girls might have got tired but we just had to keep pushing through. And at the end it was very nail-biting but we still got the result in the end.”

There were two other matches played at the Wits Astro on Saturday. In the first of those, France’s men’s team defeated Egypt 3-0 to finish the tournament in seventh place and Ireland then beat New Zealand 1-0 for fifth spot.

The finals of both the men’s and women’s tournaments will be played on Sunday. Germany will face the USA in the women’s final at 3.30pm and the German men’s team will play Belgium in their final at 6pm.

Supersport

SA Women finishes 5th at World League

The South African national women’s hockey team finished fifth at the FIH Hockey World League Semi-Finals.

South Africa beat Japan 2-1 in the fifth place play-off match played at the Wits hockey stadium in Johannesburg.

The home team ended the first chukka with a flurry of penalty corners, but could not score despite the opportunities to take the lead early on. Soon after the start of the second chukka South Africa got a penalty stroke after a Japanese player blocked the ball with her body in front of the goal-box. Lillian du Plessis converted the stroke to give SA the lead. It was Du Plessis’ second goal of the tournament.

Tarryn Glasby gave South Africa a two-goal lead in the 23rd minute after a good pass from Shelley Jones. It was Glasby’s first goal of the tournament.

Japan’s only goal of the match came after some five minutes of play in the third chukka. Yuri Nagai hit the back of the goal-box for her team.

In the last few minutes Japan played with a kicking-back for the extra attacking player. They desperately worked for that equaliser but the South African defenders gave them no space to attack.

South Africa is 13th on the world rankings and Japan 11th. By finishing in the top 6 of the tournament the SA women qualified for the 2018 FIH World Cup in London.

The African Championships is later in the year and if the SA Women win that tournament South Africa will be in the Top 10 of the world rankings.

SA Hockey Association media release

Green Army Finish World League On A High



The Green Army came back from 1-0 down against higher ranked India to claim 7th spot at World League, a result that could yet see them qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

India seemed slow out of the blocks and Ireland were only too happy to take advantage with Nikki Evans, Lizzie Colvin and Gill Pinder all sending threatening balls into the circle. Savita played a large role for India as she produced some fine saves from Irish PC’s, the first coming in the 10th minute from Roisin Upton’s drag flick. India slowly grew into the game but their goal still came somewhat against the run of play as Kaur drilled a PC shot into the corner in the 15th minute. Evans was again making a nuisance of herself in the Indian circle and chipped the ball goalward but Savita’s helmet came to the rescue. Katie Mullan, instrumental not just today but throughout the tournament, was drawing defenders and sending passes into the circle at will. India appeared to shake off their earlier lethargy and a potentially game changing moment arose when Ayeisha McFerran received a 10-minute yellow card for charging out of her goal and obstructing the striker. Grace O’Flanagan stepped onto the field and with her first piece of the action saved Rani’s penalty stroke with a superb dive to her right. Not long after, India had a goal disallowed for back stick and Ireland went into the half 1-0 down with the 2 previous big moments perhaps shifting the momentum to the Green Army.


Credit: Getty Images

Sure enough as the second half started Ireland went hunting for the equaliser with Mullan drawing a good save from close range. Ireland were notching up the chances and did well to remain composed when India won 4 PC’s in quick succession. But Ireland went up a gear and it was only a matter of time before one of their opportunities was converted. With their 4th PC, Elena Tice swept the ball to the waiting Mullan who deflected into the goal in the 47th minute. Mullan again leading the charge won her side another PC moments later and Lizzie Colvin drilled the ball into the goal, 2 goals in 2 minutes for the Green Army. The final few minutes saw the tempo increase once more as India chased the game but Ireland never looked troubled as Mullan and Anna O’Flanagan continued to cause the Indian defence issues, while Nicci Daly kept Savita in the game with a late reverse strike.

The come-back win see’s Ireland finish the tournament above their ranking and claim that all important 7th place which could well be enough for a World Cup ticket once the Continental Championships are complete.

Commenting after the game head coach Graham Shaw said “I thought the performance was superb, we just didn’t get results out of the dominance we had in the first half. But this team has shown incredible character to go down to 10 players and have that resilience. We’re over the moon to score 2 great goals. This team deserve it, they work incredibly hard and deserve everything they get”.

The Green Machine play New Zealand in the 5th/6th place playoff at 5pm this evening. 5th place is a guaranteed ticket to the World Cup but 6th place looks highly likely to get the Green Machine there as well. 

Hockey World League Semi Finals Johannesburg

Ireland 2 (Mullan, Colvin)
India 1 (Kaur)

Ireland: K Mullan (Captain), S McCay, E Tice, G Pinder, R Upton, A McFerran, C Watkins, N Daly, A O’Flanagan, Z Wilson, D Duke

Subs: G O’Flanagan, Y O’Byrne, N Evans, E Beatty, S Loughran, L Colvin, H Matthews

India: D Ekka, Monkia, N Pradhan, Savita, V Katariya, N Toppo, A Barla, S Lakra, S Pukhrambam, Rani (Captain), L Minz

Subs:  N Kaur, G Kaur, R Khokhar, R Etimarpu, R Rani, R Yadav, P Dubey

Irish Hockey Association media release

Amazing Grace and final quarter double sees big World Cup boost for Green Army


Ireland celebrate Lizzie Colvin’s winning goal. Pic: FIH/Getty

Katie Mullan and Lizzie Colvin both struck either side of the 48th minute to see Ireland land what could be a crucial 2-1 win over India in the World Cup qualification shake-up.

The turning point, though, came when number one goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran was sent for a ten-minute suspension. Her understudy Grace O’Flanagan’s first act was to save Rani Rampal’s penalty stroke to prevent India going 2-0 up.

“It was some way to come onto the pitch and not how I expected!” O’Flanagan said afterwards. “The girls put in a superb effort throughout the match. I think we dominated throughout and I think we deserved it.”

It earned a seventh place finish for Ireland, one rank above their pre-tournament rating, and crucially puts Graham Shaw’s on the waiting list for a potential ticket to London 2018.

“The performance from the first minute to the last was superb,” Shaw said. “The dominance didn’t show in the first half but this team showed incredible character to go down to ten men and create so many chances. We showed that resilience to keep fighting and eventually getting too great goals.”

His side were feverish in the opening 10 minutes with a high, aggressive press working well. Roisin Upton saw a drag-flick taken off the line by Monika from the pick of the chances.

But the tie quickly turned sour when India awoke from their sleepy start to win a corner against the run of play which Gurjit Kaur planted into the bottom right corner.


Chloe Watkins beats her marker. Pic: FIH/Getty

And it could have been even worse when McFerran misjudged a long overhead, getting to the ball second with Navjot Kaur nicking in. The Irish goalkeeper was sin-binned for 10 minutes with a penalty stroke awarded for good measure.

O’Flanagan came off the bench, though, to heroically save from the spot with her first touch of the tournament, smothering Rani Rampal’s flick. India had a second ruled out on video review after Anupa Barla’s cross was touched in but, when it went upstairs, a faint back-stick from Rampal was shown.

It left them with a lifeline and once back to the full complement, Ireland returned to bossing the tie. O’Flanagan was retained in goal once McFerran’s suspension was complete and saved a couple of corners India won on the counter.

The Asian side were content to try and wind time down but soon started to ship cards with players sent to the sideline for time-wasting. A plethora of chances just beyond their mark but the pressure finally told with Lena Tice firing a ball to the right post where captain Mullan guided home.

The tension seemed to dissipate instantly. Ireland burst forward again the following minute to win a fifth penalty corner which, while initially mis-trapped, Lizzie Colvin slammed home for 2-1.

Having to make the play, India offered little in the closing stages and Ireland saw out the tie in control, the final whistle leading to players mobbing Grace O’Flanagan en masse.

In terms of the World Cup, they must now await the outcome of the continental championships over the next few months but odds are in their favour that Ireland will make the final cut.

“It’s huge. This team deserve it. There is no better group of girls. They work incredibly hard on a small budget; they are part-time, working full-time and so deserve everything they get.”

Hockey World League Semi-final, seventh place playoff
Ireland 2 (K Mullan, L Colvin)
India 1 (G Kaur)

Ireland: A McFerran, K Mullan, S McCay, L Tice, G Pinder, R Upton, C Watkins, N Daly, A O’Flanagan, Z Wilson, D Duke
Subs: Y O’Byrne, N Evans, E Beatty, S Loughran, L Colvin, H Matthews, G O’Flanagan

India: Savita, D Ekka, Monika, N Pradhan, N Toppo, A Barla, S Lakra, S Pukhrambam, Rani, L Minz
Subs: N Kaur, G Kaur, R Kohkoar, R Rani, R Yadav, P Dubey, R Etimarpu

Umpires: K Hudson (NZL), E Eskina (RUS)

The Hook

Indian women finish eighth, lose to Ireland by 1-2

Indian Women’s hockey team lost to Ireland by 1-2 in the 7th and 8th placing match at the Women’s Hockey World League Semi Final in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Though India started the first quarter rather slow compared to Ireland, they shifted gears ten minutes into the game. It was perhaps Ireland winning the first PC of the match that came as a wake-up call for India in the 10th minute which was defended by Monika.

In the 15th minute, India won a PC which was successfully converted by Gurjit Kaur who came up with a well-executed flick firing the ball low to the left giving India a 1-0 lead.

India dominated in the second quarter with improvised circle penetrations. During one such circle entry in the 24th minute, Navjot Kaur was obstructed by Ireland keeper Ayeisha McFerran which resulted in her being sent away with a yellow card for 10 minutes.

India was awarded a penalty stroke; however, nothing came off the opportunity with Ireland’s stand-by goalkeeper Grace O’Flanagan making a great save. India lost another opportunity to double their lead when a goal was disallowed as it came off the back stick of Indian striker Rani in the 28th minute.

Coming into the match after a ten-minute halftime break, India won back-to-back PCs in the 31st minute but unfortunately, they couldn’t convert the chance. India won two more PCs in the 43rd minute but striker Rani’s flick was block away by Ireland goalkeeper O’Flanagan. Though Ireland attackers made brave forays into the circle and attempted shots on goal, India’s goalkeeper Savita was on top of the job to keep the ball out.

Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Ireland leveled the score with a clinical variation in their PC attempt that saw Kathryn Mullan finding a perfect deflection to put it past Savita in the 47th minute.

Ireland further pumped another goal through a PC converted by Lizzie Colvin in the 48th minute to take a 2-1 lead over India. Though India made desperate amends to equal the score, Ireland defence stood strong to win the match.

Stick2Hockey.com

India finishes eighth in Jo’burg

Two goals in the final quarter gives Ireland a comeback win


Coming up trumps: In a match that saw India hold the upper hand for the most part, Ireland stayed in the fight, and surged to victory in the final quarter. 

India went down 2-1 to Ireland and ended up in eighth place in Women’s Hockey World League Semifinal here on Saturday.

Despite having held the upper hand throughout the match, India conceded two goals in the final quarter.

India started the first quarter rather slowly, but shifted the gears 10 minutes into the game. Ireland won the first penalty corner of the match, but Monika though was brilliant at the goal-line to defend the drag-flick with her stick.

That seemed to serve as a wake-up call for India.

In the 15th minute, Gurjit Kaur successfully a penalty corner with a well-executed flick, firing the ball low to the left to give India a 1-0 lead.

There was plenty of entertainment in the second quarter, which India dominated with some improvised circle penetrations.

During one such circle entry in the 24th minute, Navjot Kaur was obstructed by Ireland goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran which resulted in the latter being sent away with a yellow card for 10 minutes, and India was awarded a penalty stroke. However, Ireland’s stand-in goalkeeper Grace O’Flanagan made a great save to thwart India.

India lost another opportunity to double their lead when a goal in the 28th minute was disallowed as it had come off the stick-back of Indian striker Rani.

In the second half, India won back-to-back penalty-corners in the 31st minute. But those were squandered too, as were a couple more in the third quarter. In one instance, Rani’s flick was blocked away by O’Flanagan.

Although Ireland attackers made brave forays into the circle and attempted shots on goal, goalkeeper Savita was on top of her job.

However, less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Ireland levelled the score with a variation on their penalty-corner attempt that saw Kathryn Mullan finding the perfect deflection to put it past Savita.

In the very next minute, Ireland pumped in its second goal through another penalty corner, converted this time by Lizzie Colvin.

India worked hard, but the Irish defence stood strong to see the match through.

The result: Ireland 2 (Kathryn Mullan 47, Lizzie Colvin 48) bt India 1 (Gurjit Kaur 15).

The Hindu

India upstaged by Ireland, finish 8th

Johannesburg: India conceded two goals in as many minutes in the final quarter as they lost 1-2 to Ireland in the 7th/8th placement match of the Womens Hockey World League (HWL) Semi Final on Saturday.

India got the lead in the 15th minute as Gurjit Kaur successfully converted a penalty corner by firing the ball low to the left.

There was plenty of entertainment in the second quarter with India dominating with improvised circle penetrations.

During one such circle entry in the 24th minute, Navjot Kaur was obstructed by Ireland keeper Ayeisha McFerran which resulted in her being sent away with a yellow card for 10 minutes. India were awarded a penalty stroke; however, nothing came off the opportunity with Ireland's stand-by goalkeeper Grace O'Flanagan making a great save.

India lost another opportunity to double their lead when a goal was disallowed as it came off the back stick of Indian striker Rani Rampal in the 28th minute.

Coming into the match after a 10-minute halftime break, India won back-to-back penalty corners in the 31st minute but they couldn't convert the chances.

With India failing to seal the match, Ireland were never out of the match. They struck the equaliser in the 47th minute with a clinical variation in their penalty corner attempt that saw Kathryn Mullan finding a perfect deflection to put it past Savita.

One minute later, Lizzie Colvin gave them the lead through a penalty corner.

Though India made desperate attempts to equalise, the Ireland defence stood strong to win the match.

Firstpost

Indian Women under perform under foreign coaches

K. Arumugam



Indian women have been second or third in their home continent till a decade ago. They always figured among the medals in the Asian Games-Asia Cup domain. Once they were Afro-Asian champions too. Bonus came from Commonwealth Games (Gold and Silver in the 2000s).

It was therefore desired by the administrators to lift the women above the benchmark level. It was felt a bit more international exposure, improvement in fitness levels and home events can accomplish this objective.

Whatever was done to their male counter parts was provided for the girls too. The scale differed but not the approach. Government of India has always been a benefactor of women’s sports, and our girls were no exceptions.

However, Indian women hockey instead of going places, is going down -- and further down. Their inability to beat (or score required goals against) South Africa at home, against whom they hardly lost till then, saw them miss out London Olympic number. Despite being the World Cup bronze medallists, Juniors failed to qualify for the next number.

In Johannesburg recently, the graph fell further low and flat.

Nothing more need to be said: India won just a match out of six.

England, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, USA not to speak of Ireland, have been equals insofar as Indian girls’ recent history is concerned, but India struggle and lose routinely nowadays to these same rivals. It never happened that India will lose to NZ 8-2 as was the case in a recent tour!

The kind of game they played in Johannesburg is logical corollary of such series of below bar performance, a really worry.

They played a defence kind of hockey, with almost stretched them with unforced errors giving enough elbow room for every rival to pierce them.

Never play defensive brand of hockey without proper physique or physics.

Unless extremely fit, unless the basics in give and take are perfect, unless you are mentally tuned to it, unless possessing impeccable skills in PC defence, a team cannot play defensive hockey. Counters are essential but it again entails fast feet, opportunistic eye for goals and a killer instinct.

Watch the Johannesburg matches of India. They were mostly defensive. The third and fourth quarter of the last match is a proof. Indians were content guarding the long goal lead. Indian girls were often seen trying to clear well-knit attacks with slow dribbles and thus losing possession, leading to yield two late goals that sealed their fate (1-2).

Over all, Indians did not excite anybody, they do not have match any winners in their roll. This is a flat team. There is no novelty in their penalty corner drills either. How Rani Ramphal will negotiate – direct hit – is evident from first penalty corner Indian earned to the last! Her record is poor and no alternative plan existed.

Here comes the question of foreign coaches. Many came and gone, all silently. Each one it seemed plotted a step down.

Under Indian coaches our women have had a bench mark as explained in the initial paras. More money and more effort, which saw enrolment of foreign coaches, have failed to even maintain it.

The situation is not encouraging if not alarming.

Stick2Hockey.com

2017 Pan American Cups Program Launched

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Field Hockey is pleased to launch the 2017 Pan American Cups (PAC) online event program. Taking place at Spooky Nook Sports in Lancaster, Pa. from August 4 to August 13, PAC will feature 15 international men’s and women’s teams on a quest for qualification to the 2018 Hockey World Cup.


*Click the above image for the event program

The online program is a resource for field hockey enthusiasts to gather as much information as they can about PAC prior to the start and throughout the tournament. Easily accessible in a desktop and mobile versions, it features some history about PAC, qualification curriculum, feature stories on participating teams and athletes as well as the game schedule, broadcast schedule, sponsors, merchandise information and venue directions. Full team rosters will be added once all participating nations have submitted them.

Tickets to all Pan American Cups games can be purchased through the program under the appropriate section. Packages include single-session (2 morning or 2 afternoon games that day) that start at $18 in Section D, $20 for Section C and $22 for Section B. Youth and Active Duty Military tickets are available for 50% off normal ticket prices. Full Day and Multi-Game Packages are also available.

Don’t miss out on the biggest field hockey experience in the United States since the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. Purchase tickets now for the 2017 Pan American Cups by clicking the image below.



USFHA media release

Believe that India has what it takes to make a World Cup final in the next 18 months: Hockey coach Roelant Oltmans

Currently, the Indian hockey team is going through a tough phase



India hockey coach Roelant Oltmans today said failures of the past in some major tournaments have not been a deterrent in his quest to make the national team world class.

"After I assumed charge as the Indian coach four years back, I have seen the team improving. The team also have faced failures, but it has not been a deterrent in my quest to make India a world class team," he told PTI in an interview here at Sports Authority of India.

The comment comes as Indian hockey goes through a lean phase. They failed to qualify for Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final in Malaysia and registered just one win in four matches at the Dusseldorf Invitational besides a sixth-place finish at the Hockey World League (HWL) semi-finals in London.

In contrast, 2016 has been a landmark year when the men's team won its maiden Champions Trophy silver medal, which propelled them to No. 5 in the FIH rankings - India's best standing since 2004.

India also won the men's junior World Cup last year.

Oltmans said the Indian team is on track to achieve its goal.

"When I joined in 2013, the very first thing that I told is that it takes six years for any team to become a consistent and world class team. This is the fourth year, and you know how many more years are left, but I hope in next one-and-a- half years we are ready for World Cup Finals," he said.

"We have a plan, we have a vision, and we have ideas about how to achieve them. I am here doing my job, so let me do my job and hope that it pays off," he said.

Replying to a query, Oltmans said India boasts of nine players who have been blooded from the junior world cup squad.

"We already have nine players who played junior world cup. That is quite a number. That means about 30 per cent of our players are coming from junior world cup squad.

"We also keep an eye on players - how they are improving in the development squad, which has been approved by the sports ministry. If somebody is good, then I have to look into him," he added.

Asked how he compares India with Pakistan, Oltmans, a former Pakistan coach, said, "We played Pakistan twice and beat as many times. We are happy about it, but it is not enough to beat one side in a tournament. It does not count. We need to beat other teams as well, and we didn't."

DNA

India hockey coach Roelant Oltmans says failures can't deter quest to turn side world class


File photo of India hockey coach Roelant Oltmans. AFP

Bengaluru: India hockey coach Roelant Oltmans on Saturday said failures of the past in some major tournaments have not been a deterrent in his quest to make the national team world class.

"After I assumed charge as the Indian coach four years back, I have seen the team improving. The team also have faced failures, but it has not been a deterrent in my quest to make India a world class team," he told PTI in an interview at the Sports Authority of India in in Bengaluru.

The comment comes as Indian hockey goes through a lean phase. They failed to qualify for Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final in Malaysia and registered just one win in four matches at the Dusseldorf Invitational besides a sixth-place finish at the Hockey World League (HWL) semi-finals in London.

In contrast, 2016 was a landmark year when the men's team won its maiden Champions Trophy silver medal, which propelled them to No 5 in the FIH rankings - India's best standing since 2004.

India also won the men's Junior World Cup last year.

Oltmans said the Indian team is on track to achieve its goal.

"When I joined in 2013, the very first thing that I told is that it takes six years for any team to become a consistent and world class team. This is the fourth year, and you know how many more years are left, but I hope in next one-and-a-half years we are ready for World Cup finals," he said.

"We have a plan, we have a vision, and we have ideas about how to achieve them. I am here doing my job, so let me do my job and hope that it pays off," he said.

Replying to a query, Oltmans said India boasts of nine players who have been blooded from the Junior World Cup squad.

"We already have nine players who played the Junior World Cup. That is quite a number. That means about 30 percent of our players are coming from Junior World Cup squad.

"We also keep an eye on players - how they are improving in the development squad, which has been approved by the sports ministry. If somebody is good, then I have to look at him," he added.

Asked how he compared India with Pakistan, Oltmans, a former Pakistan coach, said, "We played Pakistan twice and beat (them) as many times. We are happy about it, but it is not enough to beat one side in a tournament. It does not count. We need to beat other teams as well, and we didn't."

Firstpost

Bronze medal for Scotland U21 Men with win over Czech Republic


Aidan McQuade

Scotland U21 Men won the bronze medal at EuroHockey Junior Championship II in St Petersburg with a 4-3 win over the Czech Republic.

Another confident start from the Scots saw them test the Czech defence down the flanks, particularly down the left where it looked like there could be opportunity to cause some problems.

A crash ball into the Scots D found a foot and gave the Czechs and early penalty corner but it was well charged down and Scotland escaped with possession.

The first great chance of the match fell for the Czech Republic. A crash ball into the Scots D broke kindly to a Czech forward who lashed it wildly over the bar and let Scotland off the hook.

When Scotland created their first opportunity of the match they would be much more ruthless. Some nice build-up down the right saw the ball switched to Rob Harwood unmarked at the far post who buried it low against the backboard to make it 1-0.

Czech pressure at the start of the second quarter was rewarded with a penalty corner. It resulted in an equaliser as Lucas Plochy slid the ball low against the backboard to make it 1-1.

More Czech pressure soon followed but Scotland dug deep to weather the storm and took control for the final five minutes of the quarter. They very nearly retook the lead through a penalty corner, but the post man did his job and stopped the drag flick on the line to keep the scores level. Honours even at half time.

The third quarter was very physical with both sides cancelling each other out. That was until the final five minutes where Scotland stepped up their play.

First a reverse stick shot from the top of the D was padded clear by the Czech keeper. Then Callum MacKenzie went on a solo run down the right and passed into the D, but it was well blocked by the goalkeeper.

Scotland then won a penalty corner which saw the post man concede a penalty stroke. Aidan McQuade was calm and composed enough to slot the stroke home to put Scotland 2-1 in front.

Scotland started the final quarter with a swagger, dominating play and looking dangerous. MacKenzie nearly scored but his near post shot was blocked by the goalkeeper’s leg guards

Then Cammy Golden went on a magnificent solo run down the left, he carved the Czechs open and won a penalty corner. It was from the penalty corner that Scotland went 3-1 up - a nice routine was finished low by Murray Collins.

Just a few minutes later and it was 4-1 for Scotland. Another penalty corner was finished off by a Harwood deflection as the Scots were turning on the style in the fourth quarter.

Then the Czech Republic pulled one back. Marek Svaton made it 4-2 with a minute to play when he sent his penalty corner sailing into the top right corner.

In the final second of the match the Czechs were awarded a penalty stroke, which was dispatched with the final hit of the game by Plochy.

A 4-3 victory for Scotland in the end saw the Scots win the bronze medal in the competition with some excellent performances throughout the tournament.

Scotland U21 Men’s Head Coach Graham Moodie said, “We deserved to win today and it’s a great way to finish off the tournament. It’s been a really positive week and we’ve progressed very well – players really stepped up to responsibilities and we scored lots of goal.

“We came so close to reaching the next level and that’s a positive thing to build on. The players are thinking of what could have been but when they reflect on the week they’ll be pleased at what is a real step forward.”

Scottish Hockey Union media release

Scotland U21 women cruise to victory over Poland in their last match of the Euros


Lexi Sabatelli, Scotland

Scotland U21 Women finished off their EuroHockey Junior Championship II campaign with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Poland in the Czech Republic.

Scotland started very strongly and put the Poles to the sword very early in the match. Two goals in the opening quarter put the Scots firmly in the driving seat.

Millie Steiger gave Scotland an early lead with a cool back post finish from a shot by Lexi Sabatelli.

It was 2-0 about five minutes later and it was Rachel Bain who got her first goal of the tournament with another calm back post finish from a penalty corner.

At this stage it looked like Scotland might open up a big gap over the Poles but more goals never came despite the Scottish dominance.

The opening quarter came to a conclusion with Scotland leading 2-0 and looking very comfortable.

The game then settled down and began to look like a tournament last game with little goal scoring threat from open play, although there were a number of unconverted penalty corners for Scotland.

Eventually a third goal would come and it was Lorna Cruickshank who made it 3-0 for Scotland right at the end of the third quarter.

Cruickshank produced a good finish from some interplay between the Scottish forwards and a good final pass by Lexi Sabatelli.

Scotland then cruised to a solid 3-0 victory and end the tournament on a win and a clean sheet.

Scottish Hockey Union media release

Shootout drama sees England U18 Boys lose


England U18 Boys, July 2017

Leading at half time after a strong display, England Under-18 Boys lost out to Germany in a penalty shootout at the Six Nations Tournament in Nottingham on Saturday.

Ben Stevenson’s 17th minute goal from a penalty corner gave England the lead, and they doubled their advantage five minutes later with Harry Bennett scoring from open play.

But on the stroke of half time, Germany pulled a goal back, Masi Pfandt scoring from a penalty corner to give his side hope of a comeback.

Germany exerted good pressure after play resumed, although England also looked dangerous on the attack.

However, it was the Germans who scored next, Laurens Halfmann finding the net from open play on 43 minutes.

England pushed to find a way back into the lead, but were careful not to concede again and the match ended with no further score, forcing the teams into a penalty shootout to decide the winner.

Captain and goalkeeper Oliver Payne made a good save of one of Germany’s shootout attempts, but after that the Germans didn’t miss, while England goals from Ben Stevenson, Tim Nurse and Owen Williamson were not enough to stop Germany winning it by the narrowest of margins.

“The boys bought into the work ethic and showed an improved performance,” said Head Coach Jody Paul. “There is still a bit of room for success in the final third, but overall we are showing good progression.”

Ireland provide the opposition for England Under-18 Boys’ last game of the Six Nations Tournament at the Nottingham Hockey Centre on Sunday at 3pm.

England Under-18 Boys (2) 2
Ben Stevenson 17 (PC)
Harry Bennett 22 (FG)

Germany Under-18 Boys (1) 2
Masi Pfandt 30 (PC)
Laurens Halfmann 43 (FG)

Germany win 4-3 in shootout

England Hockey Board Media release

Shootout victory for England Under-16 Boys


England U16 Boys, July 2017

England Under-16 Boys bagged their first victory of the Six Nations Tournament in style, beating Germany 4-1 in a dramatic penalty shootout at Nottingham Hockey Centre on Saturday afternoon.

A gritty performance saw England hold the Germans at bay, and despite conceding in the first quarter they dug in, stuck to their game plan and hit back with a goal from Fred Newbold with six minutes left to send the game into a penalty shootout.

Louis Wrenn, Alex Pendle, Ellis Robson and Matt Blood all scored, while Germany only managed to score once in the shootout, sparking celebrations among the deserving England side.

“I was very happy that as - not for the first time - we had to come from behind,” said Head Coach Mark Bateman. “We always put a lot of effort into games, so it’s nice to be rewarded with a result.

“We showed excellent grit and determination, especially in the final quarter where people didn’t shy away and everyone was looking to receive the ball in what was a very pressurised situation.”

England Under-16 Boys will complete their Six Nations Tournament fixtures when they take on Ireland at 1.30pm on Sunday at Nottingham Hockey Centre.

“We’re looking forward to our last game,” added Bateman. “Tomorrow will be a very tough challenge, as the Irish are always very well supported.”

England Under-16 Boys (0) 1
Fred Newbold 54 (FG)

Germany Under-16 Boys (1) 1
Benedikt Schwarzhaupt 9 (PC)

England win 4-1 in shootout

England Hockey Board Media release

Dutch defeat for England Under-16 Girls


England U16 girls v Holland, July 22 2017

England Under-16 Girls enjoyed good periods of possession and created several chances as they battled with the Netherlands in the Six Nations Tournament in Spain, but they couldn’t forge a victory and lost out 4-0 after their rivals scored several times in the final 15 minutes.

After the loss in the heat of Terrassa, Head Coach John Bell said: “After a tough first period under pressure England matched the Dutch in terms of possession and circle entry, going into half time just one goal down.

“Both teams struggled to maintain the intensity in the third and fourth quarters, and mistakes by England in defence gave the Netherlands opportunities. But the girls should be proud of the effort they put in.”

The Netherlands got off the mark three minutes into the second quarter with Jip Dicke scoring from open play, but that was to prove the only goal until the 44th minute, when Tess Niessen scored, again from field play.

With the clock ticking down and England still pressing for a goal, the Netherlands capitalised on tired legs with Joy Haarman scoring on 55 minutes, and Maria Steensma adding a fourth with just a few seconds left to play.

The final game of the Six Nations Tournament for England Under-16 Girls sees them take on Belgium on Sunday afternoon.

England Under-16 Girls (0) 0

Netherlands Under-16 Girls (1) 4
Jip Dicke 18 (FG)
Tess Niessen 44 (FG)
Joy Haarman 55 (FG)
Maria Steensma 60 (FG)

England Hockey Board Media release

Telkom 9-0 KU Titans: Champions give students a lesson in hockey

By BRIAN YONGA & TITUS MAERO


Telkom Kenya's Betsy Omalla charges forward with the ball during their Kenya Hockey Union women's Premier League match against Kenyatta University's Titans at City Park Stadium on July 22, 2017. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

Champions Telkom on Saturday thrashed Kenyatta University (KU) Titans 9-0 in a Kenya Hockey Union women’s Premier League match at the City Park Stadium, Nairobi.

In Kakakemga, hosts Western Jaguars stopped visiting Kenya College of Accountancy–University (KCA-U) 2-0 in a tough Men’s Premier League match at Kakamega High School Ground.

Aron Kutwa put the victors ahead in the 43rd minute when he powered home a penalty stroke. Nyerere Ngetich sealed the fate of KCA-U via a field goal in the 49th minute.

At City Park Stadium, Kenya international Audrey Omaido struck a hat-trick for Telkom in the one-sided encounter to take her tally of the season to 18 goals.

Jackline Mwangi and Betsy Omalla scored twice with Maureen Okumu and Lillian Aura scoring one apiece.

Mwangi’s brace took her to 14 goals, second on the scoring charts behind Omaido.

The result saw the 19-time champions end their first leg matches with a 100 percent record. They have also scored 70 goals from 10 matches and are yet to concede a goal so far.

Telkom assistant coach Josephine Ataro stated it would be hard to stop the team from retaining the title.

“It was another vintage display from the team and we totally deserved the three points. We are favourites to claim another title and we want to better this performance in the second half of the season,” Ataro told Nation Sport.

The win saw the league leaders move to 30 points in the table, seven ahead of second placed Strathmore University Scorpions. Third placed USIU Spartans, who are on 22 points, can reduce the deficit to five points if they win against University of Nairobi on Sunday. Jaguars face 2012 winners Sikh Union Nairobi on Sunday in Kakamega seeking to complete a perfect weekend.

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology beat University of Nairobi 1-0 in another women’s Premier League tie.

Ivy Kinyua scored the lone goal in the cagey affair with a minute to play.

The game witnessed few chances between the two sides with all defences on top. However, with a minute to play, Kinyua won a penalty corner. Vivian Tanui dragged the resulting corner and Kinyua blasted the ball past Reginah Kiminya.

JKUAT coach Sammy Oungo was pleased with the result noting praising his charges for their fighting spirit.

“We showed great resilience throughout the match and got rewarded in the end with the goal. It was a smash and grab win,” Oungo said.

In the second tier men’s league, Dedan Kimathi University edged Wazalendo Youth 3-2 at City Park. Sutcliff Usagi fired the students ahead in the sixth minute before Wazalendo levelled in the 37th minute through Kelvin Nzioka.

Dedan reclaimed the lead in the 41st minute as Marvin Baraza sounded the board before adding a second and his team’s third six minutes later.
Wazalendo reduced the deficit in the 54th minute but were unable to complete the comeback.

Daily Nation

2017 National Championships: Day 4

Kori Sidaway


Quebec vs. Ontario Central on Day 3 of the 2017 National Championships

Day 4 saw the 2017 Nationals has hit the halfway mark! The day also marked the start of the U23 Women’s tournament, oversaw the U18’s continue pool play, and the U15 Girls teams battled out their semi-final match ups before heading to the medal rounds in Day 5.

The day started bright and early with an 8 AM game time for the U15 Girls Albertan team who faced Quebec. The first half between the two teams had a fair amount of back and forth play but the scoreboard sat empty until minutes to go when Kiya Gosselin reached for the back of the net. Alberta headed into the second half with the 1-0 lead and made sure to secure it four minutes into the second half with a goal from Hayley Forbes. Katherine Eamon of Alberta pushed the final pin in the game with a goal late in the second half, leaving the score at 3-0 for Alberta.

With the same early start, the U18 Women’s Ontario Select and Alberta squared off on the other pitch. Ontario pushed for an early lead eight minutes in with a goal from Katie Ritter and added to their lead a minute to go in the first half, to go into half time with a 2-0 lead. But, Alberta came back with a vengeance. They unleashed a series of offences led by Holly Richmond and Harsimran Dogra who managed to score two goals each for their team, helping earning their 4-2 win.

Ontario East and the B.C. Royal Lions of the U15 Girls continued play next. The match up was super tight with the Lions initially leading from the middle of the first half, until Ontario answered in the second to tie it up. Late in the game Kenzie Girgis of Ontario East took two back to back green cards but B.C. couldn’t capitalize, leaving the score stuck at 1-1.

In a super high intensity game mid-morning, Ontario and the B.C. Rams made a decidedly exciting game for those who were watching. The B.C. Rams took a couple cards in the first but managed to squeeze in a goal regardless as they capitalized on a short corner call. Ontario answered with it’s own green card, then a goal of their own to leave the first tied at 1. The B.C. Rams came out in the second half fired up, and scored within the first minute back into play. Connor Rutledge led the Rams with two goals before the referees called it a day as time ran out, leaving the score 5-3 for the B.C.

The U18 Women were up next as Ontario East and the B.C. Lions stormed the field. The match-up proved to be solid as the score stayed stagnant in a 0-0 tie until the 50th minute when Bailey Mitchell ripped her stick to hit the back of the net for the Lions. The game ended with a couple of green and yellow cards for both teams, but neither team could find the back to of the net, so B.C. took the win 1-0.

In the last game of the morning the U18 B.C. Lions took on Alberta. The Lions came out with two back to back goals in the 10th and 12 minute from Jason Dhawliwal to give the team a 2-0 lead. Seven minutes later team Alberta found the back of the net from Harjot Dhaliwal on a short corner play. His teammate Gurkirat Sran followed up with another goal four minutes later to tie it up. The B.C. Lions came roaring back with a goal from Jarod Timmins to take back the lead in the 22nd minute giving the Lions a 3-2 lead. The Lions extended their lead in an exciting second half that saw Timmins add another goal to his stats sheet and to send it home, Aiden Doherty hit the back of the net to leave the final score at 5-2 for the Lions.

The U18 B.C. Stags and Ontario Central were next on the docket to begin afternoon play. Although sunny, the rain started to fall as the teams hit the turf to battle it out. The first half proved to be a tight back and forth game with no score until late in the 34th minute when Anna Mollenhauer, daughter of Canadian field hockey legend and Olympian Nancy Mollenhauer, lit up the scoreboard. Ontario Central couldn’t find the back of the net all game and the B.C. Stags ended up taking the game in a 3-0 shutout by the time the final whistle blew.

At this point in the day it was time for the Girls U15 Semi-Final games. The first match-up saw Ontario West pitted against the B.C. Lions in an incredibly exciting, tight game. Ontario West led the scoring with a goal from Ava Murphy off a short corner call. Two minutes later the Lions came charging with team captain Caitlin Miller scoring off their own short corner in the other end. Teammate Ava MacFarlane answered five minutes later to ensure B.C. headed into halftime with a slight 2-1 lead. The second half featured more back and forth play and varied possession. The Lions scored early in the second half with a rocket from Taylor Katsube, but a green card for Brianna Azevedo lead to a goal from Ontario West’s team captain Ella Murphy on a short corner. Ontario stayed down a goal 2-3 for most of the second until Kathryn Ferguson converted a short corner into a goal in the 56th minute. And although some late green cards handed out to Ontario West, B.C. couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity, so sitting at a 3-3 tie, the game went into shootout. Ontario West didn’t miss a shot and took the Semi-Final win in the end and move on to play in the Gold/Silver game.

In lower pool play the Ontario Central and Quebec of the U15 Girls tournament played each other in a tight, relatively clean game that saw a gridlock when it came to hitting the back of the net. Neither team could light up the scoreboard, so as time ran out, the score sat 0-0.

In the last Semi-Final game of the evening, the U15 Girls B.C. Rams and B.C. Stags took each other on in an inter-provincial battle for the chance to play for gold. The first half was back and forth until the Rams broke the 0-0 seal with a goal from Holly Tarves, which was quickly punctuated by another goal from team captain Jenna Buglioni two minutes later. The Rams added to their score in the second to lead 3-0, while play on the field seemed to get rougher. A couple green cards and a yellow were handed out, but neither team were able to convert the advantage into goals. The game finished with the Rams leading 3-0 to face Ontario West in the Final U15 Girls game in Day 5.

As the U15 teams headed to the Championship Social at the Pacific Inn, Surrey, play continued for the rest of the tournament. The U18 Ontario and Quebec Men’s team loaded up on the turf that decidedly was Ontario’s game. The team came out right off the whistle in the first minute two ensure an early lead. Ontario captain Jagpreet Singh scored two goals in the first, with teammate Evan Davidson hitting the back of the net twice as well, to lead the team to a high scoring 6-3 win over Quebec.

The U18 Women were back on the turf as Ontario West challenged the B.C. Rams in Pool A play. Ontario West team captain Katie Lynes capitalized on a short corner chance in the 18th minute and the game stayed like that with back and forth play for the majority of the game until William Mackenzie ripped one into the back of the net off a short corner to ensure a 2-0 lead. Play seemed to disintegrate a little bit from the B.C. Rams, who added up two green cards following the goal, but there was no change in score as Ontario West took the 2-0 win.

The U18 Men played their last game in the evening rolling into 6PM as the B.C. Lions played the B.C Rams. The game started out rough with an assortment of green and yellow cards handed out to the Rams within the first few minutes (with two in the same minute for Connor Rutledge). Nonetheless, the Rams still managed to score the first goal off a short corner from a snipe form Harpreet Benipal. The Lions responded three minutes later with a short corner conversion of their own and the match headed 1-1 into halftime. Connor Rutledge came back out of his carding mistakes in the second to score a goal a couple minutes into the second half, and the time ran out with the 2-1 win for B.C. Rams.

The U23 Women kicked off their tournament late in the evening with the B.C. Rams taking on Alberta in a high scoring shootout that saw the B.C. Rams take the win 7-0. Caitlyn Anson lead her team in scoring with a hat trick, with teammate Brianna Ricker close behind with two goals of her own.

The last game of the evening saw a more closely matched game between U23 Women’s Ontario team and the B.C. Lions. While the B.C. Lions came out early with two goals in the first. They were unable to hold onto their lead as Ontario built momentum with two goals from Alison Lee to lead the team to a 3-2 win.

While the U23 tournament played on, the Championship Social hit it off for the U15 and U18 teams at the Pacific Inn, Surrey. A banquet style dinner, speeches, and the best 11 players of the U15 Boys and Girls tournament were announced, with Griffon backpacks from the Field Hockey Shack given to the winners in each division.

Congratulations to all 2017 U15 Boys and Girls Tournament 11 winners!

For photographs of the event and the rest of Day 4 head over to our Facebook page.

For the full tournament schedule, click here.

Field Hockey Canada media release

Tumilty anticipates tough ask for Banbridge in Barcelona


© Frank Uijlenbroek

Banbridge coach Mark Tumilty says it will be a “tough ask” to repeat their superb performances in ROUND1 of the EHL when they managed to win a group featuring Royal Leopold and Saint Germain.

The Irish club hosted the event in front of large local crowds but this time are on the road to Barcelona from October 6-8 in Pool C where they will meet Polish ever-present EHL side WKS Grunwald Poznan and a mighty Racing Club de Bruxelles.

Reacting to the draw, Tumilty told the EHL website: “It is a tough draw with Racing an excellent side with plenty of EHL experience. The Polish team will also provide a good test as they also have plenty of EHL experience. I look forward to seeing how our team has progressed from last year.

“It will be a very tough ask to repeat what we achieved last year on our own turf. However, I feel if we can play to our full potential we have an opportunity to progress.”

Indeed, it will be hard to match their run to the KO16, especially with the need for a new central defensive partnership. Matthew Bell – the star last year – is moving to Crefelder in Germany while Kyle Marshall is on the way to Beeston in England.

In addition, they are waiting on the fitness of Johnny McKee who picked up a nasty shoulder injury during the Hockey World League in Johannesburg against Spain this week.

“In addition, Jake Rowe is not available as he is going to America on a golf scholarship. We have added [Irish underage internationals] Alex Tinney and Zach McClelland to the squad over the summer.

“I am delighted that these guys wanted to join our club and I feel that both can develop their games playing with the current squad. I would still like to add another defender to the squad but have been unable to do so to date.”

Euro Hockey League media release

Hockey Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh — The unstoppable forward


Hockey Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh

With Pakistan’s obsession with cricket these days, the national sport hockey has been relegated to the background in recent years due to the team’s poor showing in major events and favoutism and nepotism reigning unhindered in the Pakistan Hockey Federation. Pakistan hockey remained up in the clouds for more than three decades. Pakistan won Olympic gold thrice, World Cup four times, Asia Cup thrice, Asian Games gold record eight times, Asian Champions Trophy gold twice, FIH Champions Trophy gold thrice and remained unbeatable at regional level for many years. Pakistan hockey produced many legends who took the game to new heights. Shahnaz Sheikh, arguably, is among the top 10 Pakistan hockey players of all time. Born in Sialkot on March 21, 1949, Shahnaz, a forward, played between 1969 and 1978. He was capped 68 times and scored 45 goals for the Pakistan national hockey team. He won silver in 1972 and bronze in 1976 Olympics. Shahnaz won the 1971 World Cup and was runner-up in 1975 and won again in 1978. Shahnaz was one of the most skilled hockey players that Pakistan has produced. At the same time, Shahnaz was also an explosive player who stood tall among his contemporaries and would have easily walked into any field hockey side in the world.

Having been given a feminine name, that was the only soft thing about him as he was a marauder on the left wing, and played an ‘inner’ to Samiullah Khan during the later part of his career. He ran shivers down the spines of opposition defences with his tremendous ball control and situational awareness. To opposing teams, he was a nemesis, virtually unstoppable on his day and more than a handful on several other occasions.

In the early 1970s, he was the most acrobatic Pakistan forward and by the mid 1970s, he had become such a force that his absence from the field through injury was a major cause of the Green shirts’ narrowly losing two high-profile matches: the 1975 Hockey World Cup final against India at Kuala Lumpur and the 1976 Montreal Olympics against Australia in the semis. On both occasions, Pakistan went down 2-1 in controversial circumstances. Shahnaz also had a ‘good hockey head’ over his shoulders. One lasting impression of him was his rather brief stint as coach of the Pakistan junior team, in which Pakistan won the Junior Asia Cup. He also remained coach for the Singapore hockey team from 1980-82. Shahnaz served as Pakistan national team coach twice but stepped down after disappointing performance by the national team. He received the Pride of Performance Award in 1990 from the President of Pakistan.

The Daily Times

COAS assures support to hockey federation

Revival of lost glory, Army to provide security to foreign teams: Khokhar

Mohsin Ali



Islamabad - President of Pakistan Hockey Federation Brig (R) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar called on the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Qamar Javed Bajwa at GHQ the other day.

While talking exclusively to The Nation on Saturday, Brig (R) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar termed his meeting with General Bajwa as highly fruitful, and promised that with the support of Pakistan Army, international hockey will revive in Pakistan very soon.

He further said, besides discussing issues related to hockey, General Bajwa assured army’s all out support for providing security to visiting international teams, players and he also assured that army stands with the hockey federation to revive national game in the country.

He also assured of providing Security for proposed International Hockey League, which would be held in Lahore in October, November this year, Khokhar said.

Khokhar added, “We are already negotiating with different international players and would reveal details about the league very soon,” he further said. “World XI, comprising of former hockey greats from Australia, Germany, Netherlands and other top hockey playing nations will visit Pakistan to play a match against our Olympians and Pakistan hockey team, Shahbaz Senior and other former greats from Pakistan will be seen in action, the match is proposed in September in Rawalpindi Army Ground or Karachi, we will soon finalise the details.”

He further said that General Bajwa congratulated Pakistan hockey team upon their direct entry into next year’s World Cup which is to be held in India.

He hoped that team will perform well and bring laurels for country like they did in the past.

Khokhar added, “I would visit Lahore and finalise details about our future plans regarding revival of international hockey, I can easily say, my meeting with COAS was highly fruitful, he is a sports-loving person and wants hockey and other sports to flourish in Pakistan.”

He said the support of Pakistan Army means a lot for Pakistan Hockey Federation, it will help the federation to convince the international teams and players to come and play in Pakistan without any fear. “Overall security of Pakistan is very much improved with the sacrifices of Army and government and the day is not far when full-fledge international sports would return to Pakistan and our playing fields will be packed with local crowd and youth will witness top class hockey players and other international sporting stars performing in front of them,” Khokhar added.

Revival of international hockey, World Xi visit and International Hockey League will help the federation in attracting youth towards playing hockey again.

“We need fresh blood, we have made decision in the best interest of hockey in general and country in particular and hopefully the boys’ will perform to the best of their abilities and carry forward the mission of winning back the lost glory,” Brig Khokhar concluded.

The Nation