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All the news for Sunday 6 January 2019

2019 Croatia Indoor Cup (W) - Day 2
Sveti Ivan Zelina (CRO)

Results 5 January

HUN v CRO (RR)     0 - 8 (0 - 2)
SVK v USA (RR)     0 - 11 (0 - 6)
SLO v USA (RR)     0 - 13 (0 - 6)

Pool standings

FIH Match Centre

Croatia Cup Day 2 Sees Indoor USWNT Continue Dominant Play



SVETI IVAN ZELINA, Croatia - On day 2 of the Croatia Cup in Sveti Ivan Zelina, Croatia, the Junior and Senior U.S. Women's National Indoor Teams continued their winning ways tallying two victories each. The first game saw the Indoor USWNT work around a tight Slovakia defense to win 11-0. Next the U-21 Indoor USWNT and Croatia went head to head in an exciting match that finished 3-2. The Indoor USWNT continued to be a scoring threat and converted 13 against Slovenia. In their second game, the U-21 Indoor USWNT found their rhythm in the second half to win a competitive 7-1 match against Slovakia.

USA 11 - Slovakia 0

Slovakia played a deep, tight, defensive zone that tested the Indoor USWNT’s patience and creativity. They held USA at bay until the 8th minute when Corinne Zanolli (Newtown Square, Pa.) found space on the right, she took the ball to the baseline at speed and passed it to Paityn Wirth’s (Thompsontown, Pa.) stick in front of goal to open the scoring. Cat and mouse play continued, until Hope Rose (Dauphin, Pa.) intercepted an outlet pass and rounded Slovakia’s goalkeeper Daniela Sutovska to put USA two up. Two minutes later Rose intercepted again, this time she passed to Maddie Orobono (Macungie, Pa.), who quickly moved in support, and she shot high over the diving goalkeeper. An identical play a minute later, this time Ashley Sessa (Schwenksville, Pa.) intercepted and passed to Rose to give USA a 4-0 lead. Zanolli converted on a penalty corner in the 17th minute and then picked up a loose ball and made no mistake with a hard shot just before half time to make it 6-0.

Slovakia maintained their tight, shifting defense in the second half.  USA found gaps with quick passes and were awarded with a penalty corner where Elizabeth Yeager’s (Rye, N.Y.) hard shot ricocheted off the cross bar. Slovakia’s defense showed signs of tiring in the final five minutes allowing USA with more openings. From a penalty corner in the 36th minute, Rose slipped the ball to Sessa who deflected it into the net to make it 7-0. Two more came a minute later when Sessa had a good shot saved on the line but Yeager was on hand to score with the rebound. The next was when Yeager dispossessed a defender and passed to Zanolli to convert. Thirty seconds later Zanolli returned the favor giving Yeager an open goal. With a few seconds left on the clock Allyson Fuller (Philadelphia, Pa.), who had a very good game on defense, fired a long ball into the circle that Yeager deflected high into the net to give USA an 11-0 victory.

“I was pleased with how we created opportunities through the packed defense,” said Jun Kentwell, Indoor USWNT Head Coach. “I want to see more attention to detail in our corners.”

U-21 USA 3 - Croatia 2

In an open and exciting game, the U.S. U-21 Women’s National Indoor Team played well to build a 3-0 lead through goals from Olivia Bent-Cole (Ventnor, N.J.) in the 16th and 33rd minutes and Ryleigh Heck (Shamong, N.J.) in the 38th minute. Heck then received a yellow card and Kelly Smith (Dowingtown, Pa.) was issued a green for not taking her face mask off quick enough following a penalty corner. Down to three field players, Croatia forced and converted on two penalty corners in the final 90 seconds to bring the game back to 3-2. The Junior Indoor USWNT players breathed a sigh of relief when the final horn sounded for the win.

“I am very pleased with how our young players are improving with each game,” commented Kentwell. “They have handled themselves well against physically stronger and more experienced opponents.”

USA 13 - Slovenia 0

Slovenia offered another tight defensive structure, relying of fast counter attacks to create scoring opportunities. USA moved the ball around the disciplined defensive zone trying to create an opening for their lurking forwards crossing behind the defensive wall. It took eight minutes for USA to win their first penalty corner which Zanolli ripped past the onrushing Slovenia goalkeeper Aleksandra Dervaric. USA’s second penalty corner came two minutes later, with Rose making an impossible escape move out of the descending pressure to slip the ball to Nathalie Friedman (Phoenix, Md.) who calmly deflected the ball into the net. The chess game continued and eventually Ali Campbell (Boyertown, Pa.) found Rose with a slide pass off the boards. Taking the ball on the run, Rose rounded the goalkeeper and shot high into an empty net to give USA a 3-0 lead at the 15th minute mark. As the half drew to a close, USA scored three quick goals as their opponents showed signs of tiring. Zanolli drew a crowd and slipped the ball to Wirth who couldn’t miss. Campbell fired a penalty corner into the top left corner, and Fuller threaded a bullet into the circle that Sessa did well to get a stick on and deflect high into the net for a 6-0 halftime lead.

Early in the second half Orobono stole the ball on the left board, sent a quick pass to Zanolli on the right who passed to over to Wirth on the left to finish. Three minutes later Orobono made a similar interception and passed to Zanolli. This time Zanolli rounded the Slovenia goalkeeper Dervaric at speed and scored for a narrow angle. Campbell made a strong tackle on one of Slovenia’s counter-attacks and sent a long pass up to Zanolli who deflected the ball across to Wirth who had a simple tap in to give USA the 9-0 advantage. USA kept Slovenia on their back foot and their defense continued to cope well with their opponent’s counter attacks.

In the 28th minute, Rose stepped up and fired a penalty corner over the goalkeeper’s shoulder. Zanolli converted a cross pass from Wirth, and two minutes later deflected a long pass from Campbell past the stranded goalkeeper to make it 12-0. Rose took a quick free hit on the half way line and stormed into the circle to score USA final goal. Slovenia continued to pressure eager to score and on the break Petra Dervaric lifted the ball over the sliding USA goalkeeper Skye Joegriner (Gaithersburg, Md.) only to see the shot rebound clear off the post.

U-21 USA 7 - Slovakia 1

The U-21 USA team had a great start when Mia Leonhardt (Media, Pa.) took the ball along the base line and fed Bent-Cole to open the scoring in the second minute. A minute later Heck forced the ball over the goal line following a broken penalty corner. USA looked set for a third goal but Leonhardt’s shot was scrambled clear and from the break Slovakia started a period of sustained pressure which brought a series of fine saves from USA goalkeeper Sierra Espeland (Fredericksburg, Va.) in goal. From a penalty corner, Rayne Wright (Bethlehem, Pa.) stopped a hard shot on the line. The ensuing penalty stroke flew over Espeland’s cross bar and USA escaped again. In the fourteenth minute, Slovakia put one back from penalty corner through Sarlota Medvikova. With Smith and Wright solid on defense, Heck channeling in the midfield and the young forwards chasing and pressing, USA held on to their 2-1 lead at half time.

Slovakia came out strong in the second half but when Josephine Palde (Schwenksville, Pa.) intercepted a cross pass and shot into the far corner of the goal it gave USA some breathing room. Slovakia determined to get the goal back were caught pressing forward. A hard clearance off the boards out of defense found Leonhardt who swept a first time shot into the far corner to extend USA’s lead to 4-1. Two quick goals in the 28th minute against the run of play for Bent-Cole took the bite out of the Slovakia team, and Evelyn Murray (Virginia Beach, Va.) closed out the scoring with a late goal following a nice set up by Leonhardt to give USA a 7-1 win with their defense being the story of the game.

“This was a very competitive game and I was very pleased with how this young group coped with sustained periods of pressure from the Slovakian women, especially in the first half,” commented Kentwell.

The final day of the round-robin Croatia Cup is tomorrow continuing with both teams have two more games. The Indoor USWNT will take on Hungary at 3:00 a.m. ET and Croatia at 6:30 a.m. ET. The U-21 Indoor USWNT will match-up against U-21 Croatia at 5:20 a.m. ET and Slovenia at 8:50 a.m. ET. The remainder of the tournament will not be live streamed on USA Field Hockey's Facebook page per the request of the FIH.

For all information regarding the Croatia Cup including the full schedule, rosters and more, check out the event page by clicking here.

USFHA media release

Note the USA U21 and Croatia U21 teams are competing on an Invitational basis and their results are not officially recorded

Close battle in Alagendra Cup final

By Jugjet Singh

KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional are the favourites to beat Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) and win the Alagendra Cup at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil here on Sunday.

Both teams were hardly tested in the opening rounds, and fans can expect a close battle in the final.

Tenaga who received a bye into the semi-finals defeated Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) 3-1 while THT overcame Nur Insafi (3-1) and Maybank (4-1) in their respective matches.

THT coach I. Vikneswaran, a former international, said: “We only gathered a week before the tournament for training, and we used our opening matches to find a balance in our game.

“I think it will be a close final with both teams having an even chance of winning the title," said Vikneswaran.

Tenaga coach Nor Saiful Zaini said: “We have a balanced squad of senior and youth players.

“The team have nine national players, and they will be relied on this year.”

New Straits Times

Tengku Ahmad hopes to take Tenaga past former team Terengganu in Cup final

By Aftar Singh



KUALA LUMPUR: Birthday boy Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil (pic) aims to draw on his experience to help Tenaga Nasional nail their first Tan Sri P. Alagendra Cup.

The national hockey striker, who celebrated his 33rd birthday yesterday, will lead his team against Terengganu in today’s mouth-watering final at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Tengku Ahmad has an advantage of knowing Terengganu’s strength after playing for them for four years from 2013 before he joined Tenaga in 2017.

“I have in-depth knowledge of the East Coast team. They always deliver in the final. It will be no different this time,” said the Kangar-born Tengku Ahmad .

Terengganu will be led by South Korean penalty corner specialist Jang Jong-hyun, who netted a whopping 28 goals to help Terengganu win the Cup in 2017.

Then, they edged Maybank 5-3 in the final.

“They have a solid team of six foreign and local players. We have to watch out for Jong-hyun and national forward Faizal Saari, who are exceptional in their penalty corner drag flicks,” he said.

Jong-hyun has been in top form so far as he has scored a penalty corner each in the first two matches against Nur Insafi (3-1) in the quarter-finals and against Maybank (4-1) in the semi-finals.

“We cannot afford to give away penalty corners. We also need to keep an eye on Faizal, who has good dribbling skills and he is deadly in the semi-circle,” said Tengku Ahmad.

Tengku Ahmad, who made his debut in the MHL in 2005, has helped teams like KL Hockey Club (KLHC) and Terengganu win both the league and overall titles.

And now he wants to achieve the same with Tenaga, who has never won the Tan Sri P. Alagendra Cup since its inception in 2016.

Tenaga qualified for the final in 2016 but lost 2-1 to Sapura.

“I’m confident my teammates will rise to the occasion, and it’ll be a perfect birthday present for me,” added Tengku Ahmad.

I. Vickneswaran, who was hired as Terengganu coach this season, said Tenaga were capable of winning.

“They proved this by defeating last year’s overall champions Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) in the semi-finals (3-0) on Friday,” said the former international.

“Tenaga are good in every department. They have 10 national players and also the best goalkeeper – S. Kumar, who is in superb form.

“They’ve been playing together for years while we only had two weeks of training prior to the league,” said Vickneswaran.

The Star of Malaysia

Hampstead and Westminster secure finals spot



Hampstead and Westminster smashed home 20 goals in just two games as they underlined their superiority at day three of the Jaffa Super Sixes Championship Men’s Premier Division at Bromsgrove School in Worcestershire on Saturday.

Sam Ward found the net six times and Kei Kaeppeler added four as they opened up a three-point cushion at the top of the table, booking their place in the finals at the Copper Box in London on Jan 27 and taking their tally so far to an impressive 34 goals in their first six matches.

They beat Holcombe 10-3 in the day’s second match with Kaeppeler being joined on the scoresheet by Richard Smith with two goals. Then later in the day they beat Canterbury 10-1 with Ward scoring six of their goals.

Previously unbeaten Sevenoaks are still second despite suffering their first defeat of the competition on Saturday.

They began well enough with a 5-4 win over Surbiton, but despite taking a 2-0 lead over Wimbledon at half time they ended up losing 4-3.

Wimbledon then went on to beat Team Bath Buccaneers 9-4 in the last match of the day.

Surbiton are third in the table after bouncing back from their defeat to Sevenoaks with a 7-4 victory over Holcombe.

Also winning both their matches on Saturday was East Grinstead, who overcame Team Bath Buccaneers 5-2 before winning 10-5 over Brooklands MU. Ben Mackey scored twice in each of East Grinstead’s victories.

Brooklands MU had a day to forget, having also lost 7-4 to Canterbury earlier in the day.

Reading and Beeston are both unbeaten after day one of the Division One matches at Nottingham Trent University.

Reading beat Harleston Magpies 12-4 after winning 8-2 over Olton & West Warwicks earlier in the day, while Beeston beat Loughborough 3-1 and Ashmoor 3-2.

* For goalscorers and full competition details, including live updates click here - https://englandhockey.altiusrt.com/

England Hockey Board Media release

EG unstoppable on day three of the Jaffa Super 6s



East Grinstead started where they left off after the festive break with two more wins to head the Jaffa Super 6s Championship Women’s Premier Division after day three at the Phoenix Sports and Leisure Centre in Telford on Saturday.

They kicked off with a slender 2-1 win over Buckingham before Elsie Nix added to her goal in the first game with another two to hold off Clifton Robinson 4-3.

Bowdon Hightown matched the leaders with an early 6-2 victory over strugglers Canterbury with Tina Cullen and Sally Walton both scoring a hat-trick.

The duo came up trumps for Hightown again in their later match against Slough, scoring a brace each to edge the game 4-3. Walton is now joint top-scorer for the Championship with 11 goals.

Beeston and Holcombe played out the game of the day with Holcombe eventually winning 7-5. Emma Trunks racked up a hat-trick to join Bowdon Hightown’s Sally Walton as joint top-scorer after netting twice earlier in the day in Holcombe’s 3-4 loss to Clifton Robinsons.

Buckingham made sure they would take points home after their earlier loss by beating Canterbury 5-3. Canterbury now have just one win in six and are bottom of the table whilst Buckingham maintain a good position in third.

Leicester fell to a 2-1 defeat to Slough in their first match of the day before losing 5-4 to Beeston who bounced back from their own earlier loss to lift them from the foot of the table.

Lauren Burrell netted twice for Beeston with Caroline Hanks, Rebekah Walker and Paige Gillott also on the scoresheet.

In Division One, Sutton Coldfield and Sevenoaks are unbeaten after day one at the UWE Centre for Sport in Bristol.

Sevenoaks won 3-2 over Gloucester City before beating Cambridge City 2-1, while Sutton Coldfield beat the University of Birmingham 6-2 and overcame Reading 5-3.

* For goalscorers and full competition details, including live updates click here - https://englandhockey.altiusrt.com

England Hockey Board Media release

Paragon thump UWI men in T&T Ventures hockey

Renaldo Matadeen


Police's Krystal Raymond shoots at goal against Ventures in the Ventures Indoor Hockey Tournament at UWI-SPEC, St Augustine, Saturday.

It was goals galore at the 16th Ventures’ Invitational Indoor Hockey Tournament on Friday night and Saturday at UWI-SPEC, St Augustine. The champions will be crowned today with action continuing from 9 am to 5.15 pm, after an eventual weekend of games.

In the Men's Group B action yesterday, Paragon thumped UWI 8-2 thanks to six goals from Akim Toussaint and Fatima edged SHAPE 5-4 couretsy a pair each from Che Modeste and Joshua Olton. Rounding out proceedings up to press time, Queen's Park Cricket Club (QPCC) II were shocked by Supernova who claimed a 5-1 win. Men's Group A action saw QPCC I hammer Notre Dame 8-0 after a hat-trick from the experienced Evan Farrell and a double from Kadeem Fortune. In Veterans' action, TT Defence Force (TTDF) edged Fatima 4-3 owing to a brace from Aaron McKenzie and an Anthony Morales winner in the 25th.


Aiden De Ganes of Queen's Park Cricket Club I, right, makes a pass as TT Defence Force's Marcus James defends in a Ventures Indoor Hockey Tournament match on Friday night at UWI-SPEC, St Augustine.

Women's Group A action saw Paragon edge Notre Dame 2-1 with Zene Henry netting the decisive goal in the 19th minute. Also, UWI edged Magstastic 3-2 after coming from behind twice. Magstastic went ahead through Sade Mohammed in the 7th, only for UWI to equalise through Gabrielle Thompson two minutes later. Elise Olton put Magstastic ahead again in the 24th, but Krizia Layne was UWI's saviour in the final minutes of the game with a late double to seal the comeback. Group B action saw Magnolias Pink hammer Old Fort 9-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Briana Govia, with Ventures then taking out TT Police Service (TTPS) 5-1 with Arielle Williams claiming two goals.

Friday results:

(Women's Group A): Paragon 4 (Keima Gardiner 8th; Kristin Thompson 12th, 25th; Gabrielle Thompson 26th) vs Magstastic 2 (Lauren Pounder 11th, Elise Olton 28th).

(Men's Group A) TTDF 6 (Marcus James 2nd, 16th; Javon Woodward 6th, 25th; Nicholas Wren 7th; Shane Leggerton 17th) vs QPCC I 6 (Marcus Pascal 14th; Aidan De Gannes 17th, 54th; Jordan Reynos 20th; Dominic Young 20th; Jerazeno Bell 29th).

(Veterans' Group B): Petrovets 8 (Colin Thompson 2nd, 21st; Dwain Quan Chan 4th, 25th; Anthony Marcano 13th; Danielle Thompson 18th, 21st; Keston Paul 23rd) vs Fatima 0.

(Men's Group B) SHAPE 0 vs Supernova 9 (Kareem Mc Kenzie 5th, 13th; Meshach Sargeant 14th, 26th; Omar Hopkinson 16th; Warren Williams 21st, 28th, 30th; Nandalall Persaud 23rd).

(Veterans' Group A) Old Fort (withdrew from tournament) vs QPCC.

https://newsday.co.ttMalvern 8-0 (Teague Marcano 5th, 6th, 18th, 20th, 25th; Kristien Emmanuel 7th, 15th, 27th) vs Notre Dame 0.

https://newsday.co.ttTTPS 2 (Wayne Leggerton 9th; Justin Beharry 13th) vs UWI 4 (Daniel Byer 21st, 30th; Joshua Olton 26th; Lyndell Byer 29th).

Saturday results (up to press time):

(Men's Group B): Paragon 8 (Akim Toussaint 3rd, 3rd, 8th, 16th, 18th, 23rd; Tariq Singh 21st; Kelon Skerrit 28th) vs UWI 2 (Jordan Reynos 12th, 27th).

(Women's Group A): Notre Dame 1 (Kayla Brathwaite 2nd) vs Paragon 2 (Gabrielle Thompson; Zene Henry 19th).

(Women's Group B): Magnolias Pink 9 (Shaniah De Freitas 2nd; Brianna Govia 8th, 14th, 15th; Savannah De Freitas 11th; Kimberley Wellington 15th; Chelsea Day 23rd, 26th; Kaitlyn Olton 28th) vs Old Fort 1 (Dawnelle Paul 27th).

(Veterans' Group B): Petrovets 7 (Danielle Thompson 3rd, 22nd, 26th; Anthony Marcano 13th, 30th; Solomon Eccles 15th, 30th) vs Notre Dame 1 (Selwyn King 20th).

(Men's Group B): SHAPE 4 (Sheldon De Lisle 4th; Jalani James 5th, 5th, 8th) vs Fatima 5 (Che Modeste 13th, 13th; Joshua Olton 20th, 24th; Matthew Perriera 22nd).

(Women's Group A): UWI 3 (Gabrielle Thompson 9th; Krizia Layne 28th, 29th) vs Magstastic 2 (Sade Mohammed 7th; Elise Olton 24th).

(Men's Group A): Notre Dame 0 vs QPCC I 8 (Jerazeno Bell 1st; Aidan De Gannes 3rd; Kadeem Fortune 23rd, 25th; Marcus Pascal 26th; Evan Farrell 27th, 27th, 29th).

(Women's Group B): Ventures 5 (Arielle Williams 5th, 17th; Lindsay Williams 15th; Krizia Layne 24th, 30) vs TTPS 1 (Tineil Garcia 4th).

(Men's Group B): QPCC II 1 (Shane Samuels 29th) vs Supernova 5 (Omar Hopkinson 11th; Shomere Garnett 16th; Warren Williams 25th; Shakeem Fausette 29th; Nandalall Persaud 30th).

(Veterans' Group B): TTDF 4 (Aaron Mc Kenzie 3rd, 20th; Nicholas Wren 14th; Anthony Morales 25th) vs Fatima 3 (Shawn Tang Ming 5th, 26th; Derek Lee 5th).

Trinidad Newsday