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All the news for Sunday 10 February 2019

2019 FIH Pro League (Men) - 10 February

Weekend fixtures

8 Feb 2019     NZL v GBR (RR)     2 - 6    
10 Feb 2019    AUS v GER (RR)     4 - 2

Unofficial Pool standings

The FIH inexplicably and confusingly use a system not used in any other sports League in the World, of making the Percentage more important than Points until the end of the League when they will revert to Points only. Fieldhockey.com prefers to use the conventional Points and so the Unofficial Pool Standings on this site are reflected in this manner.

FIH Match Centre

2019 FIH Pro League (Women) - 10 February

Weekend fixtures

8 Feb 2019     NZL v GBR (RR)     5 - 1    
9 Feb 2019     AUS v CHN (RR)     4 - 3
10 Feb 2019     AUS v GER (RR)     2 - 2 (3 -1 SO)

Unofficial Pool standings

The FIH inexplicably and confusingly use a system, not used in any other sports League in the World, of making the percentage more important than point until the end of the League when they will revert to points only. Fieldhockey.com prefers to use the conventional Points and so the Unofficial Pool Standings on this site are reflected in this manner.

FIH Match Centre

Kookaburras Bounce Back Against Germany

Alexie Beovich



The Kookaburras have secured their first win of the FIH Pro League, defeating Germany 4-2 in front of a bumper crowd in Hobart on Sunday.

Jacob Anderson was the standout all day long, nailing two first half goals and being awarded Player of the Match.

Lead by Tasmanian Eddie Ockenden, Australia was able to break away from Germany after  a 2-2 first half, finding two much needed goals through Tom Wickham and Dylan Wotherspoon.

The victory pushes Australia to fourth in the FIH Pro League standings where they sit behind Belgium, Netherlands and Great Britain whom they host in Perth next week.

The goal scorers for Germany were Florian Fuchs and Lukas Windfeder, despite allowing four goals Tobias Walter played valiantly facing 14 Australian shot attempts.

The Kookaburras take on the top ranked Great Britain in Perth next week.

Australia 4 (Anderson 12' & 21', Wickham 36', Wotherspoon 48')
Germany 2 (Fuchs 5', Windfelder 22')

Hockey Australia media release

Hockeyroos Hold Onto Top Spot In Shootout Nail-Biter

Alexie Beovich



The Hockeyroos have defeated Germany 3-1 in an FIH Pro League shootout after a nail-biting 2-2 draw in Hobart on Sunday.

Rachael Lynch and Grace Stewart were amongst the best for Australia but it was Sophie Taylor who earned Player of the Match honours after scoring her first international goal.

The victory is marred only by a suspected ankle injury to forward Maddison Fitzpatrick.

Goals to Taylor and Stewart weren’t enough to secure a Hockeyroos victory in regular time and the Australian’s couldn’t find an answer for Hanna Granitzki who scored twice off penalty corners.

Eddie Bone, Brooke Peris and Mariah Williams were the goal scorers for Australia in the shootout whilst Germany’s only goal came through Nike Lorenz.

The win leaves the Hockeyroos on top of the FIH Pro League standings with two wins, one shootout win and a loss to their name.

The  Kookaburras and Hockeyroos host Great Britain in an FIH Pro League double-header next weekend in Perth.

Australia 2 (Taylor 9’, Stewart 32’, Bone SO, Peris SO, Williams SO)
Germany 2 (Granitzki 22’, 47’, Lorenz SO)

Hockey Australia media release

Glad to see Hockey Australia also reject the non-sensical Percentage ranking the FIH use to rightfully claim they are top of the standings.

Another day of drama for Inverleith in Oslo



In the second day of indoor European Club Challenge 1 Inverleith got off to a flying start with an excellent win over Kringsja, and then looked to be cruising to victory against Bologna before an Italian fightback resulted in a nail-biting 5-5 draw in Oslo.

The Scots now need to win against Irish side Three Rock Rovers in the next match.

INVERLEITH 6-4 KRINGSJA SPORTS KLUBB (NORWAY)

A hat-trick from Olympian Stephen Dick was the catalyst in Inverleith`s 6-4 victory over Norwegian champions Kringsja in the final pool match at the indoor European Club Challenge 1 tournament in Oslo.

The win propelled Inverleith into second place in their pool, thereby qualifying for the promotion group involving Bologna (Italy), Three Rock Rovers (Ireland) and Lousada (Portugal). Unfortunately the Edinburgh side will carry forward their 6-4 reversal at the hands of the Portuguese in their pool encounter.

Only a win against Kringsja would see Inverleith progress to the next stage, and they made their intentions clear when Dick converted his first penalty corner in only five minutes. Blaise Rogeau levelled for the Norwegians, but Dick struck again from another set piece to put his side 2-1 in front. Inverleith reached the interval with a two goal cushion, this time it was Kyle Taylor who scored from a penalty corner.

Inverleith`s triumph looked secure when Aedan McCrossan made it 4-1 two minutes into the second half. But two goals inside a minute from Kringsja`s Martin Genestet and Arunpreet Garcha forced coach Stuart Neave to call a time-out to steady the ship.

Within two minutes the Scots were 5-3 ahead, Dick converted his third penalty corner. The final minutes were tense, especially when Rogeau pulled another back for the Norwegians, but then he departed to the sin bin and Craig Sinclair sealed the points with a late open play strike.

INVERLEITH 5-5 BOLOGNA (ITALY)

With four minutes to go Inverleith seemed to be cruising to a comfortable victory against Italian champions Bologna in the promotion pool of the indoor European Club Challenge 1, they led 4-1 but the game finished in a 5-5 draw.

This result means they must now beat Irish side Three Rock Rovers in the next match.

Bologna took an early lead through Nicola Missaglia, but within two minutes Aedan McCrossan had levelled. Not long after McCrossan again scored for a 2-1 lead, then Stuart Hatton and Patrick Christie just on the interval gave the Edinburgh side a comfortable 4-1 advantage.

There was no further addition to the scoring until four minutes from time, then the Bologna avalanche with Nicola Sanasi, Pietro Lago, Sergey Stasyuk and Missaglia again putting in four late strikes, before a penalty corner conversion by Stephen Dick salvaged the result for Inverleith.

Scottish Hockey Union media release

Holcombe go top in the Investec Women's Premier Division


University of Birmingham's Sienna Horton in action against Clifton Robinson's Kitty Chapple. Credit: Andrew Smith

Holcombe opened up a three point gap at the top of the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division, their 2-1 win over rivals East Grinstead being enough to leapfrog former leaders Surbiton who lost at Buckingham.

The first half ended 0-0 but the game sparked to life early in the second period, Sophie Bray finding the net for East Grinstead in the 40th minute from open play.

Holcombe levelled in the 62nd minute when Leah Wilkinson scored from a penalty corner before they sealed victory in the same fashion in the 67th with another goal for Wilkinson.

Buckingham produced a good performance at home, winning 2-1 against Surbiton to inflict only their third league defeat of the season.

Jenna Woolven gave Surbiton the lead early in the second half when she slotted in from open play in the 37th minute.

Buckingham hit back five minutes later when Natasha James found the net from free play before Phoebe Richards sealed the victory for the home side with a goal on 58 minutes.

Beeston ran out 2-1 winners at home against Bowdon Hightown.

Rebekah Walker gave the home side the lead in just the second minute before doubling their advantage with her second of the game in the 29th.

Rosie Bailey hit back for Bowdon with a goal from open play in the 39th minute but it was only to be a consolation as the home side held out to seal all three points.

Elsewhere, the University of Birmingham and Clifton Robinsons played out a 2-2 draw.

Flora Peel and Claire Thomas both scored a brace as the teams had to settle for a point each.

Slough versus Canterbury also ended in a draw with the score being 1-1 at full time.

Kitty Baccanello gave Slough the lead in the 13th minute before Agustina Alvarez netted for Canterbury in the 25th to claim a share of the spoils.

Investec Conference West

Stourport maintain their position at the top of the Investec Conference West with a 3-0 victory at Swansea City.

Cerys Preston gave the away side the lead in the 26th minute when she found the net from free play.

Shortly after half time Lorna Mackenzie double the lead with a goal from a penalty stroke before Sophie Thompson sealed the victory with a goal from open play in the 61st.

Gloucester City cemented their position at second in the table with a 3-1 win at home against Isca.

Goals from Frankie Mayes, Charlotte McShane and Isabel Viant were enough to seal all the three points for the home side.

Elsewhere, Olton & West Warwicks ran out 2-1 victors at home to Trojans, Exe and Barnes played out a 1-1 draw, and Reading won 1-0 at home to Oxford Hawks.

Investec Conference North

Loughborough Students maintained their six point advantage at the top of the Investec Conference North with a 1-0 victory at the University of Durham.

The only goal of the game came in the fifth minute when Hannah Cozens found the net from free play.

Leicester opened up a gap between second and third place with a 2-0 victory at home to Ben Rhydding.

Goals from Olive Hepi in the 11th and 40th minutes were enough to seal all three points.

Elsewhere, Belper ran out 3-1 winner at Leeds, Sutton Coldfield won 2-1 at Timperley and Brooklands-Poynton versus Fylde ended 2-2.

Investec Conference East

Wimbledon remain top of the Investec Conference East on goal difference after a 1-1 draw with third-placed Hampstead & Westminster.

Kate Maxey gave Wimbledon the lead with a goal from a penalty corner after 30 minutes before Lauren Turner equalised in the 54th minute to secure a point for Hampstead.

Cambridge City move up to second in the table after winning 3-0 at home to Harleston Magpies.

Lisa Williamson gave the home side the lead in the 20th minute with a goal from a penalty corner before Rebecca Daniel doubled the lead in the 22nd with a goal from open play. Williamson scored a second in the 43rd to seal all three points and close the gap at the top.

Elsewhere, Southgate won 2-1 at home to Ipswich, St Albans won 1-0 at home to Horsham and it ended 1-1 between Sevenoaks and Bedford.

RESULTS:

Investec Women’s Premier Division: Beeston 2, Bowdon 1; Buckingham 2, Surbiton 1; East Grinstead 1, Holcombe 2; Slough 1, Canterbury 1; University of Birmingham 2, Clifton Robinson 2.

Investec Conference West: Exe 1, Barnes 1; Gloucester City 3, Isca 1, Olton & West Warwicks 2, Trojans 1; Reading 1, Oxford Hawks 0; Swansea City 0, Stourport 3.

Investec Conference North: Brooklands-Poynton 2, Fylde 2; Leeds 1, Belper 3; Leicester 2, Ben Rhydding 0; Timperley 1, Sutton Coldfield 2; University of Durham 0; Loughborough Students 1.

Investec Conference East: Cambridge City 3, Harleston Magpies 0; Sevenoaks 1, Bedford 1; Southgate 2, Ipswich 1; St Albans 1, Horsham 0; Wimbledon 1, Hampstead & Westminster 1.

England Hockey Board Media release

Liaoning Club upset league champions Terengganu, thanks to Liu

By Aftar Singh


Man Meet Kaur of Terengganu (right) fights for the ball against Liaoning’s Li Yuqi during the National Women’s Hockey League at Jalan Duta Hockey Stadium. - MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star.

KUALA LUMPUR: Liu Xinyu was the heroine for Liaoning Club as she helped the team beat newly-crowned league champions Terengganu 1-0 in the National Women’s Hockey League.

Xinyu scored the solitary goal in the 45th minute from close range in the fourth quarter at the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium in Jalan Duta on Saturday.

With the win, the Chinese club, who are featuring for first time in the league, finished third with 25 points from eight wins, a draw and three defeats.

Terengganu, who clinched the league title on Feb 7, were not too disappointed with the defeat as they did not push themselves in the match.

Liaoning Club coach Goa Lihua said it was tough playing three matches a week but she was pleased with the team’s overall performance.

“We’ve finished third in our league debut - that’s good. We’ve qualified for the overall cup (Vivian Soars Cup) and I want my players to win it,” said Lihua.

Only the top-four teams - Terengganu, Police Blue Warriors, Liaoning Club and PKS Uniten - will feature in the Vivian Soars Cup.

The first leg semi-finals matches between Terengganu versus PKS Uniten and last year’s overall champions Police Blue Warriors versus Liaoning Club will take place on Tuesday at Tun Razak Stadium.

The return legs will be played at the same venue on Thursday while the final is on Feb 16.

NATIONAL WOMEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE
RESULTS
PSHA-MSSPP 0 POLICE BLUE WARRIORS 6
KL WIPERS 1 SSTMI 2
LIAONING CLUB 1 TERENGGANU 0

STANDINGS
                           P W D L F A Pts
TERENGGANU 1210 0 2 49 9 30
POLICE BLUE  12 9 0 3 40 8 27
LIAONING        12 8 1 3 46 11 25
PKS UNITEN    12 8 1 3 36 10 25
SSTMI               12 4 0 8 11 41 12
KL WIPERS      12 2 0 10 9 35 6
PSHA-MSSPP  12 0 0 12 1 78 0

The Star of Malaysia

Heavy burden for pint-sized Faiz to shoulder in cruncher

By Aftar Singh

KUALA LUMPUR: Faiz Helmi Jali of Tenaga Nasional has a tall order to fulfil. He has been asked to play a defensive role in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL).

The five-feet tall skipper has been handed a heavy responsibility in defence in today’s crucial match against Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) at the Tun Razak Stadium in Jalan Duta.

Both teams need a win to stay in contention for the league title in the top of the table clash.

Powered by six foreign and three national players, UniKL are leading the standings with 22 points from eight matches while Tenaga are just a point adrift in second spot.

UniKL have the psychological advantage as they have defeated Tenaga 3-1 in the first round match in Bangi.

National defender Faiz said it would be a herculean task for him and his teammates to stop UniKL from collecting full points – especially in the absence of national defender and penalty corner flicker Syed Mohd Syafiq Syed Cholan, who is out due to a wrist injury.

“The defence is weakened in the absence of Syafiq. I’ve to play in defence with Shazril (Izwan Nazli) and youngster Muhd Arif (Syafie Ishak),” said Faiz, who is featuring for the 10th time in the league.

“UniKL have a solid team with two very good drag flickers in Muhd Razie Abdul Rahim and Holland’s Martijn Havenga.

“We’ve to be on our toes throughout the match as we cannot afford to give away penalty corners. We also have to be wary of their strike force.

“I hope our goalkeeper S. Kumar will be in top form to stop all attempts from UniKL. Our hopes to win the league title will be virtually over if we lose.”

UniKL coach A. Arulselvaraj expressed his concern over Timothy Deavin who suffered an ankle injury during Friday’s match against Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

“I’m not sure whether he will be able to play or not. Overall, the team must be smart in making use of the chances and penalty corners to win,” he added.

The Star of Malaysia

Jiwa guilty of misconduct, Arul avoids suspension

By Jugjet Singh

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) disciplinary board today suspended NorInsafi player Jiwa Mohan for three matches while Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) coach Arul Selvaraj was given a warning.

Both were charged for breaching the Malaysia Hockey League’s (MHL) code of conduct for not using proper channels to voice out their dissatisfactions about the tournament.

Lawyer Jadadish Chandra chaired the hearing together with Peter Gan and former international Shankar Ramu.

“We gave them a fair chance to defend themselves. While Arul admitted he should have used proper channels, Jiwa denied stating anything against the league.

“After taking mitigation factors into consideration and the fact that Arul saved our time by admitting what he said, we gave him a warning.

“Jiwa was charged for not attending the recent MHL technical committee hearing and also for making a (negative) statement in the media about the MHL.

“The player claimed that he did not make the said statement, but after a round of questioning, we discovered he had said what was printed (in one of the newspapers).

“The fact that he did not attend the technical committee hearing, saying that he was not informed by his manager and that it was held on a public holiday (Thaipusam), we decided to hand him a three-match suspension,” said Jadadish.

Jiwa will serve the three-match ban against Terengganu Hockey Team, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and UniKL.

Both had spoken about the ‘drastic drop in the number of teams taking part’ in the MHL.

New Straits Times

Jiwa gets three-match suspension for outburst

KUALA LUMPUR: Nur Insafi player M. Jiwa Mohan was suspended for three matches while Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) coach A. Arulselvaraj was let off with a warning by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) Disciplinary Board.

Jiwa and Arul were slapped with a code of conduct charge for using the wrong channel to voice out their grievances about the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL).

The disciplinary board was chaired by lawyer Jadadish Chandra with two others, lawyer Peter Gan and former international Shankar Ramu.

https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/hockey/2019/02/10/jiwa-gets-threematch-suspension-for-outburst/~/media/c500062e297d485e8b34522e8326e97e.ashx/?h=300&&w=200
National hockey player Jiwa Mohan.Star pic by ASRI ABDUL GHANI / The Star / June 02, 2018.

“We gave both of them a fair chance to defend themselves and Arul admitted that he made the statement and he should have used the proper channels. Jiwa denied making the statement,” said Jadadish.

“Jiwa was accused of two charges, one of not presenting himself to the Technical Committee hearing and second for making statement in the media about the league.

“Jiwa said he did not attend the technical committee hearing because he was not informed by his manager about it and also that it was held on a public holiday (Thaipusam). We decided to suspend him for three MHL matches with immediate effect,” said Jadadish.

Jiwa will not feature against Terengganu, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and UniKL.

Jiwa had said in the media that the MHL is declining with a drastic drop in the number of teams competing in the MHL, while Arul said that the MHL looked like it was going to close shop because of the lukewarm response this season and something needed to be done to revive it.

Arul was relieved to be let off with the warning.

The Star of Malaysia

Controversial Shahbaz Senior back at helm of PHF affairs



Shahbaz-SeniorPakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary general Shahbaz Ahmad Senior, a controversial figure in Pakistan hockey, is back at the helm of PHF affairs after his resignation was rejected by PHF president Muhammad Khalid Sajjad Khokhar. It is pertinent to mention that Shahbaz resigned just to hoodwink all and sundry and get financial grant for the national federation. After assuming charge at the PHF, he vowed to do his best to avoid any kind of sanctions of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Pakistan in the wake of its failure of not fielding the national team in the newly-introduced FIH Pro League due to the financial crisis. “As I am a member of the FIH Competition Committee and Executive Board, I will try my best to avoid the sanctions. Pakistan has a great contribution in the world of hockey so, hopefully, we will escape any penalties for not entering the team. Shahbaz resigned as PHF secretary after Pakistan’s dismal show at last year’s World Cup in India where they finished last.

During this period, Ayaz Mahmood was appointed as associate secretary and Ikhlaq Usmani was made acting secretary. Usmani decided not to send the team to Argentina on the first leg of the Pro League. He said had the federal government released the sanctioned grant of Rs200 million of the PHF during the interim government in June last year, the Pakistan team would have been participating in the ongoing Pro League.

He said that with the limited funds in PHF’s accounts, it was not possible to spend any money on the national team’s participation in the Pro League. Shahbaz also lashed out at former Olympians for unnecessarily criticising the PHF over the use of funds. He said the Olympians should wait for the audited report of PHF funds. He said though the Olympians were frequently saying the PHF received Rs540 million, they never spoke of the fact that the national team also had 27 tours in this period.

Shahbaz also criticised media for only criticizing him for the decline in the performance of the national team and there was not a single word against the roles of players and coaches. He regretted that the fitness level of Pakistan players was not up to international standards. Shahbaz said all the previous selection committees headed by Hasan Sardar, Tahir Zaman and Khwaja Junaid did the team’s selection on their own, and he had never interfered in their matters. He proposed that the PHF would have no objection if the federal government directly made all arrangements of the tours of the national team on its own and just release some portion of the funds to the federation to run the offices. He said the much-awaited meeting of the PHF Congress would be held in the current month alongside the National Under-19 Championship to be held in Islamabad. He said at least Rs 2.5 million was required to hold the meeting of the Congress.

The Daily Times

Note: Pakistan did not finish last at the World Cup. That "honour" went to South Africa who won none of their games. Pakistan actually finished 12th ahead of Spain, Ireland, Malaysia and South Africa