News for 06 January 2020
All the news for Monday 6 January 2020
Day 3 of Rohrmax Cup Sees USA Face Tough FIH Top-10 Ranked Opponents
Image Courtesy of Katherine Hennessy
VIENNA, Austria - On the final day of pool play at the 2020 Rohrmax Cup in Vienna, Austria, the U.S. Men's and Women's National Indoor Teams had tough match-ups against FIH top-10 ranked opponents. At the USZ Hietzing venue, the Indoor USMNT opened the day against No. 1 ranked Austria but despite some great possessions and several attempts, USA succumbed to Austria’s fast-paced counter and fast-break attacks and lost 1-20. Next USA Gold secured a place in the semifinals after defeating a strong No. 7 Switzerland side, 6-4, who finished fifth at the last FIH Hockey Indoor World Cup. USA Blue moved the ball with purpose but could not surpass No. 5 Czech Republic's breaks as they fell 0-4. The semifinal meeting between USA Gold and No. 9 Austria, who finished sixth at the last FIH Hockey Indoor World Cup, was a battle from the start, and even though USA came within a goal, time ran out in the hard fought 3-4 loss.
USA 1 - 20 Austria
The Indoor USMNT traveled to the Rohrmax Cup in Vienna, Austria to seek world-class opponents as part of their preparation for the upcoming 2020 Indoor Pan American Cup. While maximizing learnings from each game and applying them to subsequent matches, the learning curve proved to be very steep in Game 3 against the FIH top-ranked Austria.
It didn’t take long for Austria to show their experience, maintaining most of the possession and earning a three goal advantage in the first period. USA goalkeeper Stephen Dennis (Fairfield, Conn.) was tested repeatedly, making multiple early saves. Determined to make a mark, USA’s Vincent Heller (Stuttgart, Germany) came out firing and was fouled in an attempt on goal in the first minute of the second period. Ajai Dhadwal (Agoura Hills, Calif.) hit the target on the ensuing penalty stroke to put USA on the board, 3-1. However, the excitement was short lived as Austria asserted their dominance and continued to score through the remaining three quarters tallying 20 goals by the end of the match. Despite some great possessions and several attempts, USA succumbed to Austria’s fast-paced counter and fast-break attacks.
"We really struggled today against Austria," said Alex Grassi (Brookeville, Md.), Indoor USMNT Captain. "The difference in quality between our teams was clear. However, we made some small improvements on a few outletting principles and began implementing a new defensive structure. Tomorrow should be another strong opponent and we plan on continuing to improve.
"Austria was outstanding against us today and showed why they are ranked number one in the world," added Billy McPherson, Indoor USMNT Special Consultant Coach. "As a team we found it difficult to cope with the pressure which they put us under. Once again, a tremendous learning experience for this group of players."
"The outcome was to be expected in this tough match with the number one team," said Alex Gheorghe, Indoor USMNT Head Coach. "We worked on staying composed and defending well, but in the end, Austria was too quick and fast and was able to break our press."
USA Gold 6 - 4 Switzerland
Four goals from Hope Rose (Dauphin, Pa.) helped USA Gold secure a 6-4 victory over Switzerland in their final pool game. In an exciting tactical match USA Gold came back from being an early goal down to secure a 3-2 halftime lead. A fourth goal from Rose and a high reverse shot from Elizabeth Yeager (Rye, N.Y.) took USA Gold to 5-2. Switzerland put one back before Corinne Zanolli (Newtown Square, Pa.) added the sixth. With four minutes to play, Switzerland pulled their goalkeeper and added their fourth goal in the last minute but it was a little too late as USA Gold secured a place in the semifinals over the strong Switzerland side who finished fifth at the last FIH Hockey Indoor World Cup.
USA Blue 0 - 4 Czech Republic
USA Blue moved the ball with more purpose and accuracy against the Czech Republic in their last pool game. The first half was a midfield battle with few chances coming for either side. Czech Republic took the lead from a penalty corner just before halftime. With USA Blue working hard to breakdown their opponent's defense they were caught on the break twice and the Czech Republic extended their lead to 3-0 before adding a fourth in the last minute. Laura Hurff (Newark, Del.) worked tirelessly in midfield and created opportunities only to see the Czech Republic's goalkeepers equal to the threats.
USA Gold 3 - 4 Austria
USA Gold faced Austria in the Rohrmax Cup semifinals. Austria, who finished sixth at the last FIH Hockey Indoor World Cup, would be a formidable opponent. After a scoreless first period, the hosts went up 2-0 before halftime. Rose put a goal back with a strong shot from the left early in the third period but Austria countered with two field goals of their own to extend their lead to 4-1. USA Gold made more adjustments at the end of the third period, pressing high and attacking at speed. Yeager pounced on a loose ball in the circle, after Ashley Sessa (Schwenksville, Pa.) beat two Austria defenders, and made no mistake with a hard flick. Rose scored from a penalty corner to bring USA Gold within one goal with three minutes left. Continuing to press Austria's defense, USA Gold created a penalty corner as time ran out. This time Austria's goalkeeper deflected Rose’s shot wide to give Austria a hard fought 4-3 win.
“We are learning and growing with every game” said Jun Kentwell, Indoor USWNT Head Coach. “We are competing with some of the best European indoor teams, playing better with each game and growing in confidence. I am very pleased with our young team."
For more information regarding the upcoming Rohrmax Cup, including the full schedule and results, visit the event page by clicking here.
USFHA media release
Indoor hockey coach says things coming together for maiden Euro campaign
Carroll claims if you are going to grow the game you have to do it through indoor hockey
Stephen Findlater
Rowland Rixon-Fuller: he previously lined out for Zimbabwe outdoors up until 2015. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho
Irish men’s hockey indoor coach Kenny Carroll says that while his side would never enjoy “ideal preparation”, things are coming together nicely for their maiden European Championship campaign which starts in Spain next week.
When they take to the court in Santander against Wales, it will be a first international indoor tie for the country since 1987 in Loughlinstown.
While they competed internationally then, they did not take part in any of the continental tournaments which have been running since 1974.
Carroll has been a long-term practitioner of the short form of the game, playing for Railway Union in Euro club action five times, but admitted he “never thought this would come around”.
He is also a regional development officer for Hockey Ireland, and says that it is a format to be embraced to bolster the sport.
“I personally feel in Ireland and worldwide if you are going to grow the game you have to do it through indoor hockey,” he told The Irish Times.
“It’s great getting new [astro outdoor] pitches laid, but it will never be a groundbreaking number. What we do have all over is indoor sports halls.
“In bad weather you can always play. In new schools, new areas which maybe don’t have a hockey tradition, it’s so much easier to start up.”
For the top-end players, meanwhile, he says it is a brilliant development tool, with far more decisions to be made in a condensed space with increased requirements on a high level of close skills.
It is for this reason that elite countries like Belgium and the Netherlands have recently ramped up their allocation of time and resources to indoor.
Group sessions
For the Euros the guts of Carroll’s panel took in group sessions on Saturday and Sunday in addition to most playing in Leinster league games.
Neal Glassey and John Jackson, however, were not able to attend due to club commitments in Germany and England respectively. Nonetheless, Carroll is content with the work his panel have done over the past six weeks.
“The reality is you will never have an ideal preparation, but we haven’t done too badly. But you can’t really say we are going to aim for this position or whatever because we don’t know the opposition.”
His side will feature seven Irish outdoor internationals along with long-time Dublin resident Rowland Rixon-Fuller, who previously lined out for Zimbabwe outdoors up until 2015 but has been cleared to transfer.
The tournament begins on Friday, January 17th.
The Irish Times
Govia reappointed T&T indoor hockey coach
By Nigel Simon
Former national player Raphael “Raffie” Govia will be hoping to qualify for Trinidad and Tobago’s senior indoor hockey team for a second straight World Cup after he was recently appointed by the T&T Hockey Board.
Govia is now spearheading preparations for the double round-robin four-team 2020 Indoor Pan American Cup in Pennsylvania, USA, from March 25-29. That tournament will feature hosts USA, Canada, Argentina and T&T, with the winner qualifying to the 2021 FIH Indoor World Cup.
Also returning as part of Govia’s technical staff are former national captain Darren Cowie, Dwain Quan (assistant coaches) and Kirth Davis (manager).
In 2017, at the Indoor Pan American Cup qualifiers in Guyana, T&T crushed powerhouse Argentina 7-0 in a lopsided final led by a pair of goals from Mickell Pierre and Akim Toussaint to secure a first-ever Indoor World Cup appearance. However, at the 2018 edition of the 12-team FIH Indoor World Cup, T&T ended in the tenth spot behind champions Austria, Germany, Iran, Australia, Czech Republic, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Russia.
Commenting on his coaching staff, Govia said, “Darren is quite capable of coaching this team, as he did in the past when I had to leave the tournament early, he brought us home convincingly.
“Dwain is also full of knowledge and has been knocking on the coaching board doors for some time with stints with outdoor national coaches Glenn “Fido” Francis and national stand-out, England-based Kwandwane Browne, and also recently completed a coaching course in Lima, Peru.”
With regards to their Pan American Indoor opponents, Govia was quick to note it will not be an easy task for his team.
“No doubt, we are one of the toughest groups and Cowie and Quan Chan will certainly add much-needed value in this stint of serious no room for error competition.”
Govia and his staff will continue preparations ahead of the qualifiers at the Woodbrook Youth Facility until March 20, 2020, before the squad leaves for their first game versus Argentina on March 25.
With regards to the core of his training squad, Govia says he hopes to have the majority of his players back in action soon from the T&T Police Service and Fire Service.
T&T is currently ranked 12th in the world and tops in the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) region with 725 points, up six places, while Canada is ranked 15th, down five spots. Argentina sits at 20th, falling one spot, while the USA is ranked 42nd. Austria (2,338 points), the last Indoor Hockey World Cup winners, is ranked number one in the world followed by Germany (2,075), the Czech Republic (1,600) and Iran (1,588).
The Trinidad Guardian
England Hockey Jaffa Super 6s, Men's Premier Division
It’s still all to play for in the Jaffa Super 6s Men’s Premier Division, with five teams level on nine points after the first weekend of action at Repton School.
Holcombe are top of the table on goal difference only. Having lost out to East Grinstead on Sunday, they responded in emphatic fashion with an 11-0 dismantling of Bowdon.
Holcombe won both games on Saturday; firstly a 7-2 win against Canterbury before beating second-placed Sevenoaks 4-3 thanks to a Robert Field hat-trick.
Sevenoaks got their weekend off to bright start with a 7-2 victory over Bowdon with two goals from their top scorer Ian Haley.
The Kent side then responded to their loss to Holcombe by taking two wins from two on Sunday.
Firstly they were 6-2 winners over Canterbury who currently lie bottom of the table, with Craig Haley scoring a brace himself. A 5-1 win against Reading capped off a successful first weekend for Sevenoaks.
The division’s leading goal scorer, Alan Forsyth helped Surbiton to three wins from four, placing them third in the table.
The Great Britain ace scored four of his 15 goals in Surbiton’s opening game, including two in the last two minutes to beat Hampstead & Westminster 5-4. Another five goals followed for Forsyth with Surbiton winning 9-3 in what would be Wimbledon’s only loss of the weekend.
Surbiton beat Reading 4-3 on Sunday but five goals from Forsyth couldn’t prevent a 7-5 loss to East Grinstead who sit a place below Surbiton on equal points.
The win for East Grinstead was one of three consecutive victories after falling 6-3 in their opener thanks to a hat-trick from Wimbledon’s Ed Horler. East Grinstead bounced back from the defeat with a 7-4 win over strugglers Canterbury followed by Sunday’s 5-1 opening win against Holcombe.
Wimbledon went on to take six points on Sunday. Rory Patterson struck once in a 3-2 win at Hampstead & Westminster before striking five times in their 9-2 win against Canterbury.
Despite only winning two and losing two from their first four matches, Hampstead & Westminster have had no trouble finding the back of the net after an 11-4 win over fellow a struggling Reading before ending their weekend with a 9-1 victory over Bowdon.
Bowdon and Reading – who both sit on one point from a possible 12 – played out the only draw across the opening weekend as the sides were locked in a 4-4 stalemate and sit in seventh and eighth place respectively.
Jaffa Super 6s Championships Premier Division
Results (Sat, 4 Jan 2020): Bowdon 4 Reading 4, Hampstead & Westminster 4 Surbiton 5, Wimbledon 6 East Grinstead 3, Canterbury 2 Holcombe 7, Sevenoaks 7 Bowdon 2, Reading 4 Hampstead & Westminster 11, Surbiton 9 Wimbledon 3, East Grinstead 7 Canterbury 4, Holcombe 4 Sevenoaks 3.
Results (Sun, 5 Jan 2020): Hampstead & Westminster 2 Wimbledon 3, Canterbury 2 Sevenoaks 6, Reading 3 Surbiton 4, East Grinstead 5 Holcombe 1, Bowdon 1 Hampstead & Westminster 9, Wimbledon 9 Canterbury 2, Sevenoaks 5 Reading 1, Surbiton 5 East Grinstead 7, Holcombe 11 Bowdon 0.
League table:
Holcombe…9pts
Sevenoaks…9
Surbiton…9
East Grinstead…9
Wimbledon… 9
Hampstead & Westminster…6
Reading…1
Bowdon…1
Canterbury…0
Full results, statistics and goal scorer information is available here - https://englandhockey.altiusrt.com/
England Hockey Board Media release
England Hockey Jaffa Super 6s, Women's Premier Division
Sophie Bray in action for East Grinstead against Surbiton. Credit Peter Smith.
East Grinstead top the table in the Women’s Premier Division after the first action-packed weekend of the Jaffa Super 6s Indoor Championships at the Phoenix Sport and Leisure Centre in Telford.
Sophie Bray scored eight times across their four matches, helping to leave East Grinstead as one of two teams with 100% records so far.
Second on goal difference, Bowdon Hightown have also been in superb form with four wins. Their seasoned campaigner Sally Walton is top goal scorer with 15 goals, almost twice as many as Bray in second spot in the goalscoring charts.
East Grinstead opened the weekend with an emphatic 10-2 win over Surbiton and then went on to beat Holcombe 5-2. And Sunday’s victories included a narrow 2-1 win over Slough as well as a 5-1 victory over Leicester in the afternoon’s final match in Telford.
Bowdon Hightown battled to a 6-5 win over Leicester as well as a 7-3 win over Buckingham on Saturday, while Sunday’s results for them included a 5-1 win over Clifton Robinsons as well as a 4-2 victory over Holcombe.
Walton’s heroics included nine goals from penalty corners and three penalty strokes, as well as another three goals from open play.
Sutton Coldfield are also unbeaten, but lie third in the early table after having to settle for a 2-2 draw with Buckingham. Aside from that, they were 2-1 winners over Slough and beat Clifton Robinsons 5-4 on Saturday afternoon.
After drawing with Buckingham, they got back to winning ways with a 4-3 victory over Surbiton.
Buckingham were 4-0 winners over Clifton Robinsons but lost 7-3 to Bowdon Hightown. After the 2-2 draw with Sutton Coldfield, they went on to beat Leicester 4-3.
Slough have won two and last two of their first weekend’s matches. They beat Surbiton 6-1 on Saturday and were 2-1 winners over Sutton Coldfield. But they lost to East Grinstead and Clifton Robinsons on Sunday.
Similarly Holcombe have won two of their four games, with wins over Leicester and Surbiton in the bag.
The teams return to action next weekend with more Premier Division matches.
Jaffa Super 6s Championships Premier Division
Results (Sat, 4 Jan 2020): Leicester 5 Bowdon Hightown 6, Buckingham 4 Clifton Robinsons 0, Sutton Coldfield 2 Slough 1, Surbiton 2 East Grinstead 10, Holcombe 5 Leicester 4, Bowdon Hightown 7 Buckingham 3, Clifton Robinsons 4 Sutton Coldfield 5, Slough 6 Surbiton 1, East Grinstead 5 Holcombe 2.
Results (Sun, 5 Jan 2020): Buckingham 2 Sutton Coldfield 2, Surbiton 3 Holcombe 5, Bowdon Hightown 5 Clifton Robinsons 1, Slough 1 East Grinstead 2, Leicester 3 Buckingham 4, Sutton Coldfield 4 Surbiton 3, Holcombe 2 Bowdon Hightown 4, Clifton Robinsons 1 Slough 4, East Grinstead 5 Leicester 1.
League table:
East Grinstead…12pts
Bowdon Hightown…12
Sutton Coldfield…10
Buckingham …7
Slough…6
Holcombe…6
Leicester…0
Clifton Robinsons…0
Surbiton…0
Full results, statistics and goal scorer information from all divisions can be viewed here
England Hockey Board Media release
Coach down with mumps but the training goes on
KUALA LUMPUR: Terengganu women’s hockey coach Mohd Nasihin Nubli has been down with mumps for the past one week.
And this has affected the team’s training and also preparation for the Malaysia Hockey League (women’s), which begins on Jan 11.
Nasihin, a former national goalkeeper, hopes to recover before the league starts.
“I only had two training sessions with the team before I had mumps. I am on medical leave and in my absence, Siti Rahmah (Othman) is coaching the team with the help of our team captain Siti Noor (Amarina Ruhani).
“Siti Rahmah is a player-cum-assistant coach for the team. I have prepared training drills and plans for Siti Rahmah and Siti Noor to carry out in training, ” said Nasihin, who was a former national assistant coach.
Despite Nasihin’s absence, Terengganu will be the team to beat in the league.
The East coast side have hired three foreigners – two from Argentina and one from Kazakhstan to beef up the squad for their double title defence – the league and overall titles.
The Argentines are midfielder Agostina Galimberti and forward Micaela Andrada Farace, who played for the Bremen club in the German Hockey League while goalkeeper Guzal Bakhavaddin is from Kazakhstan.
The Argentina players will arrive today before Terengganu open their campaign against debutants Sabah at the Likas Hockey Stadium in Sabah on Jan 11.
Terengganu also have the services of five national players.
Besides Siti Noor Amarina, the other national players in the team are Nuraslinda Said, Nursyafiqah Mohd Zain, Nurul Syafiqa Mat Isa and Fazilla Sylvester Silin.
Six teams will feature in the women’s league and Nasihin said they have to watch out for debutants Hockey Academy of KL as they have a number of local and foreign national players.
The Star of Malaysia