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News for 02 April 2018

All the news for Monday 2 April 2018


De Kerpel and Herakles enjoy craziest moment in their history


©: Frank Uijlenbroek/world Sport Pics

Herakles’ fairytale story in the EHL continues as they won a dramatic shoot-out against Real Club de Polo to advance to the FINAL4, winning out in sudden death.

For Nico de Kerpel, he got to score the winner, bouncing back from the depths of despair of missing in the final round of the regulation series to score in the third round of sudden death, eventually winning it 7-6.

“This is crazy," de Kerpel said of the moment, one which he got to celebrate with the fans of the club he has been part of since he was four years old. "It’s the craziest thing that’s happened to me for our club. I hope we are going to have a lot of support because a lot of ours were on holiday so we will have even more and we will make it one hell of a holiday!”

Normal time had ended 1-1 with both sides nailing penalty corners, Borja Llorens scoring his second of the weekend before Amaury Keusters followed up to equalise in the second half.

In the early stages, Polo looked the more likely to get up and running with a series of backhand shots that either went over or were saved by Amaury Timmermans, keeping the scoreboard blank at the break.

The deadlock was broken seconds into the second half with Llorens firing in from the left angle for a great opener. Timmermans then was required to keep out an excellent Max Plennevaux shot with his knee.

But Herakles kept on pressing forward and got their reward in the 40th minute when Keusters was in the right place to flick into the net.

That meant a shoot-out in which Herakles had the early advantage when Timmermans saved brilliantly with his stick but it ended at 4-4 when de Kerpel’s shot rolled onto the post.

Two more rounds were scored before Llorenc Piera scuffed a shot wide and de Kerpel had his chance to win it, flipping to his reverse and firing home.

“I was really down after the first shoot-out," de Kerpel added. "The guys asked if I wanted to take a second one and I told them if they missed, I would go up and take my chance the second time. I was so happy I got a second chance because it's not something you get everyday."

His coach Darren Bisley reflected on the tie: “Tight game, the guys executed the shoot-outs really really well, unlucky to miss one and they handled the pressure amazingly. They are classy players, all five of them, and took their moments. The captain, after missing one, stood up after missing one which shows his class.

“It was up to the players who felt it and Nico jumped forward. His whole career he has been waiting for a moment like this. He probably missed the first one on purpose so he could score the winner!

“You saw what it meant to the crowd itself, to our club. We will put on a massive show in the FINAL4.”

Euro Hockey League media release



Kampong through to EHL FINAL4 for second time in three seasons


©: Frank Uijlenbroek/world Sport Pics

SV Kampong were the first side to make it through to the EHL FINAL4 as they got the better of Royal Racing Club de Bruxelles in a dramatic and controversial tie.

The 2016 champions won out 4-1 with a key moment being when Quirijn Caspers got the opening field goal. Racing looked set to clear the ball but it bounced off umpire Marcin Grochal and straight into the gleeful path of Caspers who had the simplest job to touch it over the line.

Up to that point, Racing had the slight upper hand with Tommy Willems seeing his shot incredibly cleared off the line in the third minute. Then came that unique goal in the ninth minute that put Racing on the back foot.

They did halve the deficit in the ninth minute from a powerful Conor Harte drag-flick, beating his twin brother David, to make it 2-1.

But the game was ultimately settled when Bjorn Kellerman got off a shot from the top of the circle to pick out the bottom corner in the 28th minute for a 4-1 lead.

Racing had corner chances and openings to reduce the gap but Kampong stayed out of range for all of the second half, making it through to the FINAL4 for the second time in three seasons.

Speaking afterwards, David and Conor Harte reacted to their personal battle, the Irish twins meeting each other in opposition for a rare occasion.

“Everyone was making a bit more of a fuss of it than we were,” David said. “We are both professional players. It’s a nice story for journalists – it’s not often you have twin brothers playing against each other on this stage and at this level. There was a smile on her face when we crossed over before the match and leaving it.

Conor added ruefully: “At least we knew one Harte was going off the pitch in the semi-final. It’s better than last year when we both went out one after the other in the KO16.

As for the freak goal that gave Kampong the lead, Conor said: “When it’s not your day, it’s not your day.

“We weren’t clinical enough in the circle, got in there enough, probably more than Kampong. They were more clinical and the soft goals conceded. We had our chances.”

Euro Hockey League media release



Atletic and Dinamo earn Spain and Russia extra ranking points


©: Frank Uijlenbroek/world Sport Pics

Atletic Terrassa and Dinamo Kazan won their EHL ranking matches against Holcombe and Rot-Weiss Koln respectively, winning out 8-4 and 10-8 in high scoring ties.

For Atletic, they were ahead within just 45 seconds when Marc Salles slapped home a Roc Oliva cross but they were behind due to two field goals from Nick Bandurak.

Atletic got back on terms when Oliva scrambled in an equaliser for 4-4 and they went in front in the 16th minute 6-4 courtesy of a Dani Malgosa backhand shot.

The game was made safe in the second half when Joan Tarres scored a brilliant individual goal for 8-4 and plenty of breathing room.

Dinamo Kazan pulled off something of a shock when they beat 2017 champions Rot-Weiss Koln 10-8 in the second ranking match in Rotterdam.

Tom Grambusch’s corner goal got the German side off to a good start but they were soon 4-1 behind as Denis Shchipachev converted a penalty stroke and Linar Fattakhkov’s deflection put them in great shape.

Grambusch got another back from a corner but Dinamo began to believe when Pavel Golubev cracked home a third field goal. They survived a glut of corner chances and other moments of drama to stay 6-2 ahead going into the final quarter.

Marco Miltkau got two back with a field goal early in the final quarter but Nikolai Komarov kept edging Kazan away, scoring once with a cracking shot for 8-4.

Tom Grambusch’s stroke reduced the margin to two with eight minutes to go but Komarov found an empty net to ease the pressure at 10-6. Again, Rot-Weiss fought back via Mats Grambusch but the Russians held on for a win that will make a difference in their national ranking and chances of staying with two teams in the EHL.

Euro Hockey League media release



HOCKEYROOS: A History At The Commonwealth Games

Alexie Beovich



The Hockeyroos will look to add a fifth Commonwealth Games gold medal to their record this month and history says that they should get close.

Since the introduction of hockey to the Commonwealth Games in 1998, the Australian women’s team has won four of five possible gold medals.

At the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in Malaysia, the side secured their first gold medal by defeating rivals England 8-1 in the final match of the tournament.

During this run, Australian athlete Alyson Annan scored a record setting 11 Commonwealth Games goals. The record still stands today.

The Hockeyroos went into the 2002 Commonwealth as favourites after an impressive run heading into the Manchester Games.

The side dominated in their pool matches but were unable to defeat home team England in the semi-finals. Australia went on to defeat New Zealand 4-3 to secure the bronze medal.

The 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games saw Australia take home two more gold medals.

In 2006 Australia defeated India 1-0 in the gold medal match and in 2010 they defeated New Zealand 4-2 in shootouts.

Current Hockeyroo Emily Hurtz played in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and was the leading scorer for the tournament with four goals to her name. A repeat performance like that in 2018 would certainly hold Australia in good-stead.
Australia’s most recent performance in the Commonwealth Games was without a doubt their most exciting one.

With 12 seconds left in the gold medal match, Australia was trailing 1-0 against England, thanks to a remarkable goal from Jodie Kenny the team staved off defeat and went on to win gold via shootouts.

Kenny scored an amazing nine goals throughout the 2014 Games but it was that final clutch performance that will stick with her forever.
Teammate and now captain Emily Smith remembers the goal fondly as she was on the bench “jumping around like a pelican” when the ball found the back of the net.

Australia went on to win 3-1 via shootouts thanks to an impressive performance from current Hockeyroo Rachael Lynch who deflected two successive shots.

In 2018, if the Hockeyroos can capture some of the spirit they had four years ago, they’ll be well on their way to securing a gold medal.

Hockey Australia media release



How Life Has Changed For The Hockeyroos’ Mum

Ben Somerford



Life has changed a lot for Jodie Kenny since her last-gasp heroics in the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medal match, with the birth of her first child Harrison in June.

The 30-year-old Hockeyroos defender took time away from the game after the 2016 Rio Olympics to start a family, returning to the national set-up earlier this year.

Kenny, who is the only mum in the Hockeyroos team, said she was loving motherhood although it brought its own unique challenges as an elite athlete.

“It’s given me that balance in life,” Kenny says. “He’s the most amazing gift that I’ve ever had.

“It comes with its challenges as well, being a mum and athlete. It takes a lot more organisation.

“You can’t just jump out of bed, put your training kit on and off you go to training.

“You have to think of him first and his priorities and try and organise everything else.

“It’s the most amazing experience knowing he’s going to be here for a few games watching his mum.

“Obviously he doesn’t understand now but hopefully he can look back on these games and know that he was a big part of my life.”

The Wamuran product said she was extremely nervous upon her return to the Hockeyroos team in January.

However, Kenny scored in her third game back against Spain in January and showed during the Test Series she still retained plenty of her ability.

“Maybe not at top level,” she modestly says.

“When I left I was the Hockeyroo of the Year, so that was a big place to come from.

“Obviously, pregnancy changes you and your body. I’ve definitely got a little bit to come, but I’m really happy with how far I’ve come since returning.

“I keep improving which is a nice feeling.”



Kenny’s motherly presence has also extended beyond the home, helping guide her younger Hockeyroos teammates.

Ten members of the 18-player Hockeyroos team in the Gold Coast are competing at their first Commonwealth Games.

Kenny has previously competed at two Olympic Games, one World Cup and one Commonwealth Games, where she memorably scored an equaliser in the last minute of the gold medal match against England to send the game to a shootout.

Those experiences have ensured she can provide wisdom to her younger teammates.

“Being there for a bit of guidance as well to settle the nerves,” she says.

“It can be an overwhelming experience.

“You’ve got to get them settled in nice and early so they can play the game they’re capable of playing rather than being affected by nerves and the crowd and all the things which come with big events.

“I definitely have that bit of extra responsibility.”

She adds: “I’m excited to get back into the squad and be a part of it again. It’s made all of that hard work to get back in there really worth it.”

The Hockeyroos, who are in Pool B alongside New Zealand (fourth), Scotland (18th), Canada (21st) and Ghana (30th), are first up against Canada on Thursday 5 April 4.30pm AEST.

Hockey Australia media release



Veteran Shea McAleese candid on Black Sticks' hopes

By Andrew Alderson

Men's Black Sticks veteran Shea McAleese put it best summing up New Zealand's record since hockey debuted at the Commonwealth Games in 1998.

The men's side secured silver at Manchester in 2002 and bronze at Delhi in 2010.

"This is my fourth Games and the three previously we have definitely underachieved.

"I was having a talk to [coach] Darren [Smith] about it; we were fifth in Melbourne, third in Delhi and fourth in Glasgow.

"Traditionally we haven't gone as well as we would've liked."

The 33-year-old made the statement with clinical candour. He said those circumstances led to the "sole reason" he was still playing after racking up 258 caps.

"Because I've got a huge belief in this group. Post-Rio [Olympics] I contemplated retirement, but the talent coming through has given me the desire to keep playing and chasing gold.

"I'm excited for the Games to begin. It feels like there's some unfinished business."

English footballer Gary Lineker once said: "Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win".

The same applies to Australian men and Commonwealth Games hockey. They have won every gold. As the current world no.1s, the hosts will remain tough to beat on the Gold Coast.

Coach Darren Smith suggested "they will cause problems in our pool".

New Zealand are currently ranked ninth in the world, but fourth in this event behind Australia, India and England.

Smith welcomed back "half a dozen guys" from the European leagues and lamented the absence of Simon Child, Blair Tarrant and Blair Hilton.

The women's Black Sticks have a better record than the men at the Commonwealth Games with silver at Delhi in 2010 and bronze at Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and Glasgow in 2014.

They have come closest to gold, after fighting back to 2-2 against Australia in the final at Delhi, courtesy of a last minute goal to take the match into extra time and an unsuccessful penalty shoot-out.

Coach Mark Hager is seeking to complete a set of gold, silver and bronze medals since his tenure began in January 2009. Australia has won gold on four occasions, with the exception coming in 2002 when India defeated England in the final.

"I'm pretty sure we'll go okay if we get our defence right," Hager said.

"The last few tournaments we've leaked a few too many goals and haven't put on enough scoreboard pressure. We also want to improve our penalty corner and goal scoring conversion rates."

Hager would not be drawn on midfielder Tessa Jopp's withdrawal from the team last week for "medical reasons".

He said she remained in "good health" but want to afford her and her medical staff privacy to attend to the matter.

Amy Robinson replaced Jopp in the squad.

The New Zealand Herald



Caren hails self-funded U-21 men after England series

Ireland’s Under-21s came close to sharing their series with England at Pembroke with a 3-2 defeat on Saturday morning, following a 5-4 win on Friday and a 3-1 loss in the opening game.

For coach Jonny Caren, speaking to Dublin City FM, hailed the performances from a side that came together on a self-funded basis.

“The important thing for our lads is this is a self-funded programme where there are so few resources given to us. That England team has pretty much the same budget as our senior men’s team so we are always going to be behind eight-ball.

“On that, we could have had a training group last Sunday but the EYHL working group put a fixture on what was a designated high-performance day.

“To me, we have excelled in this series. I hope that people do take note of this, a full-time programme against a – we’ll call it – thrown together group which had three training sessions and then out we go.

“For a side who don’t have any time together, we go out, we do our homework and got a result. On Saturday, it could have gone either way – we had a stroke to level it which didn’t go in – but I am happy with how these guys performed this series.

Matthew Nelson was on the mark late in game one – a 3-1 loss – in the opening tie before Ireland won a cracker on Friday morning.

Julian Dale broke the deadlock from the stroke spot before Ben Wallace slipped in the second from the right baseline after breaking through two tackles.

Dale, employing a back-to-goal technique, added another stroke for 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. Luke Witherow notched the fourth before England got one back before half-time.

A great reverse from Adam McAllister made it 5-1 on his debut for the Under-21s before England’s James Oates, Eddie Way and Matt Ramshaw to reduce the lead to 5-4 but Ireland had their win.

On Saturday’s game three, Dale scored a drag-flick and a penalty stroke in a 3-2 defeat. He scored twice in the first half, cancelling out goals from Ronan Harvey and Nick Park in the opening quarter.

Zack Wallace put England back in front in the third quarter but Ireland missed a stroke in the closing stages to miss out on a chance of sharing the series.

“It’s what we are known for as a culture, our fight. We could have quite easily sat back and thought ‘it’s not our day’. We didn’t; we got our first goal when they had two extra players when they pulled their keeper. The grit and determination of this team is unreal. Everything is there; all we need is a bit of resources to help take it to the next level.”

The Hook



Great weekend for Scotland youth squads comes to a close


Scotland Under 18 boys v Wales – photo by Duncan Gray

A great weekend for Scotland`s youth squads against Wales came to a close at Glasgow Green – they all won their three match test series – under 16 boys 2-1, under 16 girls 1-0, under 18 boys 2-0 and best of all under 18 girls with three straight victories.

It took the under 16 girls 26 minutes to get their noses in front when Jennifer Tait (Granite City Wanderers) broke the deadlock. The Scots youngsters went two up only three minutes later through Ellie Rutherford (CALA Edinburgh). The 2-0 score line stood until the final minute of the contest when Tegan Waters converted a penalty corner, but it proved little more than a consolation.

Under 18 boys took their series in style with a 6-2 win over Wales to edge out Wales 2-1 to finish on top. The Scots moved into an early two goal lead, Euan Burgess (Watsonians) at a penalty corner and Joel Davenport (Grange) were on target.

By half-time the lead was reduced to 3-2, Alex Wilson (Perthshire) scored again for the hosts but Wales retaliated through a double from Joseff Moyse.

But the Scots youngsters were in control in the second half, Burgess and Wilson added a second to their individual tally while Jake Inglis (Inverleith) got the other.

And on to the under 18 level – both youth squads recorded a 5-2 win over their Welsh visitors. The boys were two up midway through the first half through a penalty corner strike by Robbie Croll (Grange) and Wildcats` Andrew McConnell. Rory Calderwood pulled one back for Wales but the two goal advantage was restored before the interval with another set piece conversions by Fraser Heigh (Watsonians).

Rhys Bradshaw pulled the score back to 3-2 from the spot but the Scots were not to be denied with further goals from John Stephen (Perthshire) and Ralph Weissen (Grange) to finish worth winners.

Having won their earlier games 4-0 and 3-1, the under 18 girls completed the treble with a 5-2 win. But the Scots were a goal down at the interval with Lily Robeerts putting the visitors in front in only three minutes.

There followed a goal avalanche with five in as many minutes. Emily Dark (Dundee Wanderers) levelled at 1-1, then the Watsonians pair Olivia Bell and Georgia Jones advanced the scoreline to 3-1. A minute later Emily Drydesdale scored again for Wales from a set piece only for Jenny Walls (Grove Menzieshill) and Jones again to advance Scotland`s tally to five.

It was a great weekend for the Scotland and Wales youth squads and an exciting and entertainment series of youth hockey.

Scottish Hockey Union media release



Uhlenhorst and Racing to contest ABN AMRO U14 EHL



Uhlenhorst Mulheim and Racing Club de Bruxelles will contest the ABN AMRO U14 EHL on Sunday as they battled through their groups and the semi-finals of the competition on Easter Sunday.

The tournament started with two groups of three with Ireland’s Three Rock Rovers enjoying a dream start in Pool A in the country’s first entry into the competition.

They beat Bloemendaal 2-1 with Rex Dunlop and a Marcus Empey penalty corner strike putting them two up before Sep Meurs got one back for the Dutch side.

Bloemendaal would then go on to draw with Polo 3-3 with the Spanish side fighting back from 2-0 behind to build a 3-2 lead with goals from Lucas Gui, Jaime Ibran and Albert Costafreda before Casper van der Veen scoring a late equaliser.

It meant a draw for Polo or better would see them advance to the semi-finals along with Three Rock. Lucas Cabot put them in front before Alex Lynch completed the scoring in a 1-1 result.

In Pool B, HTC Uhlenhorst Mulheim began their group with a 1-0 win over Racing with a sixth minute corner from captain Philipp Noertersheuser getting what proved the vital goal.

Racing bounced back with a 3-1 win over England’s Wimbledon with Milan de Witte and Sacha Jochmans building a 2-0 lead before Jonathan Struch-Hibbit got one back. Noah Danzun, though, made the game safe for the Belgians.

Wimbledon ran out of steam in their final group game and so will play Bloemendaal on Monday in the fifth place playoff.

In the semi-finals, Racing took on Three Rock first and raced out of the blocks with three goals in the first 13 minutes as Noah Danzun, Tao Cousin and Sacha Jochmans all weighed in.

Rovers, though, wiped out two thirds of that advantage by the 23rd minute with a Rex Dunlop goal and a direct corner hit from Alex Lynch. They could not force an equaliser, though, and the Belgians were through to the final.

Uhlenhorst made it through to the final as they struck twice in the second half to pull away from Polo, succeeding 3-1.

The Spanish side had led 1-0 when Maurici Elies scored a corner. Noertersheuser levelled before half-time and then a burst of two goals in a minute settled the tie as Paul Bosserhoff and Jannik Enaux put the Germans in control.

MONDAY 2 APRIL
5/6 U14EHL: 09.15h - HC Bloemendaal v Wimbledon
3/4 U14EHL: 10.30h - Three Rock Rovers v Real Club de Polo
Final U14EHL: 12.00h - Uhlenhorst Mulheim v Racing Club de Bruxelles

Euro Hockey League media release

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