A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR VISITORS

The hockey scene tend to go quiet just before Christmas, but not for long. Hockey will soon be back in action. The January edition of our on-line magazine will be available from 28 December and our podcast two weeks later. Both are looking back over 2006 - an exciting year for hockey. But January is a busy month in itself. At home we have the domesrtic indoor league, the indoor finals at the NIA, and the Player of the Year awards. There is also the Women's Champions Trophy in Argentina. How have the top teams progressed since we last saw them in October? You will be able to find out more from our podcasts, on-line magazine, and our blog.

We will be blogging again in January, but if you've not already visited out main site - www.talkhockeyradio - why do pay us a visit? We are carrying out a major upgrade to the site soon to enhance your visiting experience.

HAVANT TAKE PREMIER SCALP. Weekend Cup and League Roundup

TalkHockeyRadio went out looking for a giant killing act in the Fifth Round of the England Hockey Cup and chose the match between Havant from Div.1 and Premier Division side Hampstead and Westminster. It looked as if we had made a poor choice when the Londoner’s scored in the 12^th minute, courtesy of Scott Webster. But with penalty corner danger man Callum Giles in their side, Havant were always going to be a problem at corners, and it was as half-time approached that Callum Giles gave Havant a well deserved equaliser. Shortly before the break, Tasmanian Richard Hedlam, gave Havant the lead with a well taken goal from open play. In the second half, Havant’s two Egyptian internationals, Ezz and Hamoza, combined well, and Hampstead were caught on the break by Ezz, who scored after a fine run down the left wing. Hampstead then started to claw their way back into the match and a penalty corner conversion by Josh Smith closed the gap to 3-2. Several times during the closing minutes it looked as the match would go to extra time but some fine goalkeeping enabled Havant to hang on to their lead and progress through to the next round. Photographs from this match will appear on our main site over the next few days.

Havant were not the only Div 1 side to take a Premier Division scalp. Div 1 leaders Bowden overcame Beeston 2-1. Elsewhere the underdogs had less luck. Canterbury overcame Chelmsford 6-3, Loughborough Students beat Exeter University 4-1, Old Loughtonians went down 1-4 to Cannock, and Surbiton won against Southgate 5-2. In a re-run of the 2006 final, East Grinstead met Reading, the game ending in draw. The final result was a reversal of the last cup meeting, EG winning 4-1 on penalty strokes after extra time. The biggest score of the day was between Div 1 Bournville and South Div Indian Gymkhana, which ended 14-1.

The EHL now takes a rest until 27 January. There were matches played in the Women’s Premier, and North and South divisions, and the men’s North and South divisions yesterday (Saturday). Wins by Canterbury, Leicester, and Slough have resulted in the top three pulling away from the rest of the pack. Leicester were victorious against fourth placed Bowden Hightown, despite being 2-0 early in the match. Final score 4-3. Ipswich’s 3-2 win over Chelmsford drops Chelmsford from 5^th to 7^th place and the draw between Old Loughtonians and Doncaster lifts the Yorkshire side off the bottom of the table.

A full set of league tables has been posted to our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk.

Weekend EHL roundup for 3 December 2006

Beeston’s brief stay as Premier Division leaders came to an end this afternoon (Sunday) when they were beaten 1-2 by Reading. Reading now go top on 19 points, ahead on goal difference from Cannock, who won 3-2 at home to Surbiton. Also on 19 points is Loughborough Students, who overcame Hampstead and Westminster 2-1. East Grinstead stay in 5^th place despite a 5-2 win over struggling Belper. Also at the bottom end of the division, Canterbury recorded only their second win of the season by beating Guildford 3-1. Canterbury move up one place to 8^th.

Bowdon’s seemingly unstoppable charge for promotion suffered a slight hiccup when they drew against 7^th place Bournville, closing the gap between them and chasing Havant to three points. Havant visited Holcombe this afternoon and opened the scoring after only two minutes with a classic Callum Giles penalty corner conversion. Twenty-five minutes later, Egyptian international Mohamed Ezz left the sin bin to score Havant’s second goal, again from a corner. Ezz was on target shortly after the break with a well struck field goal. Holcombe fought to get back into the match, and when Chris Bassano-Harper pulled one back in the 44^th minute, it looked as if Holcombe might get back on level terms. However, their hopes were dashed when Andrew Pett scored six minutes later. Final score 4-1 to Havant. Elsewhere, Oxford Hawks won their first match of the season against fellow strugglers St Albans, but remain at the bottom of the South Division.

In the Women’s Premier Division, Slough slipped from the top slot yesterday after drawing 2-2 with Chelmsford. Their place is taken by Leicester, who beat Olton and West Warwickshire 2-0.

A full set of EHL tables appears on our main web-site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

WEEKEND EHL REVIEW

In the topsy-turvy world that is the men’s Premier Division, with only three points now separating the top five clubs, points are starting to take on a particular significance. East Grinstead, who recently lost the top spot, met Hampstead and Westminster in a floodlit match on Saturday evening. Hampstead have a reputation for being draw specialists, and this reputation looked set to continue as they twice pulled EG back from a lead. Torrential rain kept the pitch slow but tempers short, with Hampstead being down to nine men at one stage. However, it was Grinstead’s star packed team which eventually prevailed, with a somewhat unexpected 7-2 victory. This result drops Hampstead out of the top six but leaves Grinstead unmoved in fifth position. It was higher up the table this afternoon (Sunday) where most of the movement took place. Luckless Guildford made a brave effort to grasp some points and managed to get to the break only 1-0 down against Beeston. However, they were totally outclassed in the second, losing 7-1. Ironically, it was a Danny Hall solo effort for Guildford which may qualify for goal of the match. Elsewhere, overnight leaders Loughborough Students lost 2-0 to third placed Cannock, and Reading saw off Belper 6-2. This gives Beeston a one point lead at the head of the table, with Reading. Cannock, and Loughborough all on 16 points. Full league tables are available on our main site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk.

In the women’s Premier Division, the table topping match between first placed Slough and second placed Bowdon Hightown ended in a 3-3 draw. Leicester won away at Ipswich, meaning that Ipswich now move into second place, one point behind Slough. At the other end of the table Sutton Coldfield recorded their first victory, winning 4-1 against Doncaster. This moves Sutton off the bottom of the table, where they are replaced by Doncaster.

OLD BOYS FADE AFTER TWO GOAL START by Peter Savage at Surbiton

There were no giant killing acts in the fourth round of the England Hockey Cup (Men) this afternoon (Sunday), although Old Georgians must have fancied their chances when they went 2-0 away to Surbiton, courtesy of Van Der Reit and Lewis. Although Surbiton looked at times unnerved by their visitors, it did not take long for them to get into their stride. Robert Moore opened their account in the fifteenth minute, followed by a Matt Daly penalty corner hat-trick (24th, 35th, 44^th minutes). Surbiton dominated the second half and those attacks which did threaten were smothered by the England defensive partnership of Richard Alexander and Brett Garrard. Further goals from Ben Marsden, Tim Pinnock (2) and Peter Short smashed the old boys’ hopes. What had started out as a promising day was finished with OG’s ‘keeper, Andrew Howell being dismissed in the closing minutes for playing the ball outside his area. Final score: Surbiton 8 Old Georgians 2.

Yesterday, in the women’s Premier Division, Slough stay ahead of Bowden Hightown by two points, both having won their matches. Sutton Coldfield remain firmly rooted at the bottom, having been beaten by Chelmsford 4-0. Chelmsford move into fifth place behind Canterbury, who lost away to sixth place Ipswich.

The steady rise of Beeston in the Men’s Premier continues after they overcame Surbiton 3-1. This puts them in second place behind Loughborough Students, who won their match against Belper. East Grinstead helped out lowly Canterbury with a 1-1 draw at Polo Farm. Bottom placed Guildford were on the wrong end of five goals when they hosted Reading.

Full tables are available on our main site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk. Go to the news page and follow the link. Photos of the Surbiton v East Grinstead match will be up loaded to the site in the next few days.

GRINSTEAD SLIP TO FIFTH AS CANNOCK REFIND FORM - Weekend EHL Roundup

One cannot escape the conclusion that it was a game of two halves. Far from looking like the table topping Premier League side, East Grinstead were very much on the back foot at home to visiting Cannock this afternoon (Sunday). Despite their first half dominance, James Fair probably pulled off the save of the season for Cannock, to give the visitors a 4-0 lead at the break. It was a transformed East Grinstead side that came out for the second half, with Daryl Cheeseman netting within seconds of the restart, but despite a significant number of corners the home side were not able to build on their resurgence and the match finished at 4-2 to Cannock. This result sends EG sliding from top place into 5th. Loughborough Students saw off struggling Guildford 4-1 to take the top spot. Beeston's shaky start to the season now seems to be behind them, as they climbed into third place after beating Hampstead and Westminster 4-1. Canterbury's problems deepened at the foot of the table as they were overcome by Reading 3-2. Surbiton managed to climb one place in the table by drawing against Belper.

In the Women's Premier Division, Slough remain in the top position, with Bowden Hightown, Canterbury, and Ipswich only separated by goal difference, two points adrift of the leaders.

Full league tables are available at our main site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk. Navigate to the News page and click on the League table icon.

FIH CHIEFS MEET AT LORDS by Bill Colwill

As England and their travelling fans are departing down under for the long awaited Ashes series, Lords - the home of cricket - will be opening its gates to representatives from the world of hockey. The International Hockey Federation (FIH), the world governing body, will be holding its biennial Congress in London at Cricket’s headquarters on Saturday 11 November. More than 80 countries affiliated to the FIH are expected to attend.

At present, there are 117 national association members of the FIH. This number will probably increase after the London Congress, based on a recommendation of the Executive Board the Congress delegates will be asked to approve five new member associations. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador and Estonia have sent their applications and are expected to be endorsed.

Beside the Congress, more FIH activities are scheduled in London all week. This evening (Monday 6 November) the Glasgow Bid Committee for the 2014 Commonwealth Games will be holding a reception for guests in the Long Room at Lords. The day before the Congress, the FIH WorldHockey Forum “Synergy for Success” will take place in the Nursery Pavilion whilst over both days an exhibition by FIH partners and suppliers will be on view for delegates in the Pavilion.

During the week FIH Office Bearers, the FIH Executive Board and all FIH Committees will meet in London prior to the Congress.

The hockey family is no stranger to Cricket’s home. In 1967, games in the Mexico pre Olympic Tournament were held at Lords along with the Oval and throughout the seventies, numerous International games and the annual Varsity match were played on the hallowed-turf.

EHL Weekend Roundup

With only seven points separating the top and bottom clubs in the men’s Premier Division there is still a lot of movement after five games. East Grinstead go top on the back of a win over Guildford, but previous leaders Cannock came off worse in a nine-goal tussle against an improving Beeston, who now move up to fourth, whilst Cannock slip back to third, behind Loughborough Students. The biggest mover is Surbiton who suffered a 6-2 setback at Reading and go from second to seventh.

It was a double header weekend in the men’s North, and South divisions. Of the leading clubs in the South division only Old Georgians took the full six points with victories over Firebrands and Whitchurch. OGs go ahead of Indian Gymkhana, who could only draw against Firebrands. Third place Oxted had a mixed weekend. On Saturday they hosted Plymouth Marjons, and despite an early goal by Gareth Carr for the visitors, goals by Reece Basson (2), Justin King (2), Richard Arscott, and Neil Turk sunk the boys from Devon. They had less luck the following day when they hosted another Devon side, University of Exeter, the match ending in a goalless draw.

A full set of league tables are current available at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk.

We have experienced a minor problem at our main web site with the content of the tables showing publication dates and forthcoming fixtures. These have been blank for several days. This was caused by a bug in a software update we installed in our web authoring program. The problem has now been identified and the suppliers have provided a workaround. The tables have now been restored in working order.

EHL Weekend Round-up

This weekend was a double-header for the clubs in the Women’s Premier Division. Slough moved ahead of Canterbury by beating Doncaster away on Saturday (3-0) and Leicester away this afternoon (4-2). Second place Canterbury had a mixed weekend, drawing 2-2 to Old Loughtonians, followed by a 1-0 victory at home to Bowdon Hightown. In the Men’s Premier Division Cannock retain the lead with a 7-1 win over bottom placed Belper. Reading is the only club in the Women’s South Division with a team in the men’s Premier League and it is starting to show. Under the experienced eye of former Reading star Mani Kochar they have picked up fifteen goals from five matches and have only conceded one goal. Yesterday (Saturday) they met Woking, who were occupying the fourth slot. Despite a deficit in penalty corners, Reading opened their tally early in the match when Claire Kerr found herself unmarked in the ‘D’ and slipped the ball past the stranded ‘keeper. Ten minutes later it was Kerr who was again on target, this time from one of Reading’s few first half penalty corners. The picture changed somewhat in the second half, when it was Readings turn to win the corners, but despite several opportunities and a missed penalty stroke, the score stayed resolutely at 2-0. It was not until the closing seconds of the match that Reading struck again from open play, giving Kerr a much deserved hat-trick. The result keeps Reading ahead of the pack, with St Albans and Swansea (who dropped their first points yesterday away to St Austell) chasing on 12 points each.

A full set of league tables is available on our web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk. Go to the News page and follow the links.

NO REST FOR ENGLAND STARS IN DUTCH LEAGUE by Bill Colwill

Barry Middleton took just ten minutes in his opening League game for his new club HGC to open his goal account in their opening game on October 8^th in a 2-2 draw against Oranje Zwart. Middleton scored twice in Friday’s nights encounter in HGC’s 4-2 win against Pinoke. HGC’s other goals coming from Canada’s Rob Short and Conner Grimes. Middleton has now netted five times in his first four games. HGC are currently in second position behind Bloemendaal whose German star Christopher Zeller has netted 13 times in four games. Ben Hawes scored twice in Amsterdam’s 3-3 draw with bottom club Kampong.

Home-grown talent is leading the way in the Dutch women’s league. In their last round of games Kim Lammers scored six times in Laren’s 8-0 victory over Victoria whilst former Dutch captain and centre forward, Mijnije Donners netted five times as Den Bosch beat Pinoke 6-0.

[Our weekly EHL review will appear tomorrow (Sunday). Our featured match is the Women's South meeting between Woking and Reading.]

Weekend Roundup for 21st/22nd October

Canterbury got off to a storming start in their opener in the Women’s Premier League on Saturday against newly promoted Sutton Coldfield with three goals in the first six minutes, one apiece from Hayley Brown, skipper Lucy Barnes, and Sarah Kerly (does that surname sound familiar?). Canterbury added a fourth in the fifteenth minute courtesy of Christina Houslop. But if Canterbury had their foot on the gas pedal, it soon became apparent that there was not much in the tank. Katie Long fired a warning shot for Sutton when she converted a penalty corner just before the break, and as the match progressed there seemed every possibility that Sutton might get back into the match. Missing their recently returned internationals, Mel Clewlow and Jenny Wilson, Canterbury struggled to stay in control of this match and might consider themselves lucky to have held onto the 4-1 lead. It was not so much a game of two halves as a game of one half. In a double header event at the Polo Farm ground, Canterbury’s men faced Cannock in the men’s Premier Division forty-five minutes later. Canterbury made some of the early running, and Cannock would have been one down in the opening minutes had it not been for a fine save by James Fair. Going behind to a field goal by Hardeep Jawander and then a penalty corner strike by the same player, did not seem to seriously dent their prospects. A classical David Matthews corner conversion and a field goal by Matt Harper sent the two teams into the break on level terms. The second half seemed a different proposition, with Cannock taking control of the match. Hero of Monchengladbach, Martin Jones, scored just after the break. Minutes later, a Cannock player was upended in the ‘D’ and Simon Ramsden stepped up to convert the resultant stroke. Cannock made it five when Ramsden coverted a penalty corner. These results put Canterbury women at the top of their table and Cannock at the head of the men’s premier. Other results in the Men’s Premier Division have almost turned the tables on their head, with lowly Beeston going to third place after a 6-1 victory over fellow strugglers, Belper. East Grinstead’s 5-4 win over front runners Reading propels them into second place and Reading slip back to fifth.

Today (Sunday) saw Round three of the men’s Cup, where the remaining teams are joined by the EHL Div 1 clubs. There were no real surprises except for Exeter University’s 3-0 win over Bath Buccaneers. The students are currently in 8^th place in the EHL South Division, whilst Bath are 5^th in Division 1.

EHL Weekend Roundup

Despite pre-season concerns over the retirement of key players, Reading have got off to a good start to the season with six points from two games, the latest a 3-2 win over Cannock. Second place, also on maximum points, are Loughborough Students, who recorded a 2-1 win over East Grinstead. Interestingly, after only two matches, there is no team in the men's Premier Division that does not have at least a point.

Bowden have made a fine start in Men's Div. 1 with nine points from three matches, the latest scalp being against second place Havant. Near the basement end of the Division, today (Sunday) saw an intriguing battle between Holcombe and Southgate. Although Holcombe had the lions share of the first half action, it was Southgate's Dan Shingles that caught the home defence napping in the ninth minute. Shortly after the restart Holcombe served notice that they were not beaten when South African internation Denzil Dolley shaved the near post, followed minutes later by a superb penalty corner goal by Chris Bassano-Harper, our man of the match. Both goalkeepers saw plenty of action in the second half with a number of super saves, and despite end-to-end action, neither team could break the other's defence, and the match finished one apiece. The draw leaves Holcombe and Southgate in eighth and ninth place respectively, with Teddington propping up the table.

In the Women's Division One, University of Birmingham beat mid-table Poynton to stay top on maximum points, whilst second place Barnes Hounslow added more misery to newly promoted Horsham, who are now in botttom place on nil points and a goal difference of -12.

Oxted put seven past St Albans in men's South Division to take top position ahead of Indian Gymkhana. In Women's South Divsion, Reading beat St Austel and Swansea beat Southampton and are first and second respectively. Hapless Southampton recorded their fourth straight defeat and stay bottom. In the North, Sheffield University Bankers men defeated Leek 2-1 and stay on maximum points and Cannock lead the pack in the women's division after a 3-2 win at Preston.

A full up-date of the league tables will take place tomorrow (Monday) on our site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

THR News back with the action on Sunday

After the excitement of the Women's World Cup in Madrid, THR News Blog will be back tomorrow (Sunday) with a round-up of the weekend's news from the EHL. Our featured match will be the Div 1 clash between Kent side Holcombe and Southgate.

CHELMSFORD TRIO SALVAGE ENGLISH PRIDE by Peter Savage, pitchside in Madrid

It is only a couple of season's ago that I was complaining that Chelmsford had some potential world-class players in their squad who ought to be playing for England. Clearly someone was listening because three from the Essex club were very much to the fore in the 7th/8th place match in the Samsung Women's World Cup in Madrid this afternoon. It was Chelmsford's young Chloe Rogers who opened the scoring against Germany in the 16th minute, but just on the stroke of half-time it was another Chelmsford player, Lisa Wooding, whose blast was deflected into the goal by Rachel Walker - Walker earning her 100th cap in this match. It looked as if England were in control of this match, by Germany managed to pull one back from a goal by Maire Stoeckel. Then potential disaster struck, when Germany were awarded a penalty stroke. Rinne stepped up to the spot but her shot was saved by Chelmsford's Katy Robers in the England goal. Final score: England 2 Germany 1.

Looking back at the last few days, it looks very much as if a semi-final place for England hung very much on one goal - or rather the lack of it. However, it is clear that England have a quantum leap to take before they catch up with the likes of Holland, Australia or Argentina. The absence of an out-and-out striker is the most obvious shortcoming, and although Rogers is showing an eye for the back of the net, she is still comparatively inexperienced at this level.

THE FINAL BETWEEN the Netherlands and Australia was hardly a classic, although it picked up in the second half when the Dutch were temporarily pegged back by a penalty stroke. But the Dutch have been the standout side in this tournament, and eventually they ran out as worthy winners. Argentina, who were far too strong for their Spanish opponents, took the bronze medal.

After the final the FIH announced their woman player of the year award, which goes to the Dutch captain Minke Booij. The Young Player award went to Mi Hyun Park of Korea.

We have some super photographs from the last three days of competition in Madrid and these will be appearing on our web site in the next few days. The October edition of TalkHockey Radio will feature the women's World Cup and includes interviews with Lisa Wooding and Katy Roberts.

USA FADE TO GIVE JAPAN FIFTH SPOT by Peter Savage, pitchside in Madrid.

The talk in Madrid this morning was about the penalty corner which led to the extra time golden goal penalty corner that gave Australia a place in finals against the Netherlands on Sunday. Local television have shown the incident that led to the corner and from what I can see the umpire was spot on. Although the ball was rising when it hit the defender, it does not look as if the ball was ever going to clear shin-pad height and the umpire decided, rightly in my view, that the ball was not dangerous. Hence the corner.

Today's action at the Campo ground was to decide some of the lower placings. England can take some small satisfaction from at least one of today's matches. Some of the USA's recent promise faded when they were beaten by an increasingly confident Japan, who now take the 5th place. Korea beat China to take the 9th place, and India put a single goal past South Africa to take the 11th place and leaving South Africa with the wooden spoon. Photographs of the USA v Japan and India v South Africa matches will appear on our web site later next week.

Thoughts now turn to tomorrow and the hope that England can lift themselves to beat an equally demoralised Germany and take the 7th place. But the big attractions of the day are the promise of an all Latin affair when Spain play Argentina for the Bronze medal, followed by old adversaries, Australia v the Netherlands, in the final. It is interesting to note how national fortunes either follow or otherwise the progress of the men's teams in Monchengladbach. We have one team in the finals (Australia) and one team in the bronze medal match (Spain) from the same nations, but certainly the fortunes of the Netherlands and Germany are quite different to those three weeks ago.

GERMANY GO DOWN IN SHOCK DEFEAT BY USA by Peter Savage, pitchside in Madrid.

England will not be the only team to go away from these finals feeling that they have been bested by a team they should have beaten. One of the shocks of todays play was the 1-0 defeat of Olympic champions Germany by the USA. The host side, Spain, also nearly pulled off a surprise against the Australians, reaching full time with no score on the board, but falling to a stellar penalty corner conversion after a few minutes of golden goal time.
So Sunday's final will be between the usual suspects, Netherlands - who beat Argentina 3-1 this afternoon - and Australia. England will play Germany in the 7th/8th play-off on Sunday, with both teams looking to take away something from this tournament, which has been a disappointment for both sides. 5th/6th match between USA and Japan will be played tomorrow (Sunday).

Our pictures are from the England v Japan game this afternoon. Further pictures will appear on our site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk in a few days time.

PACKED DEFENCE UNDOES ENGLAND'S HOPE OF A 5th PLA CE, by Peter Savage pitchside in Madrid.

If matches were won on possession England would have been the out-an-out winners of this game, but that's not how matches are won and England paid the price for a lack of scoring ability. Japan gave early notice in this 5th/8th crossover match in the Samsung Women's World Cup in Madrid, bruising the upright from a breakaway in the first few minutes. Despite a massive advantage in possession, England had very few scoring chances. After the match, which finished 2-0 in favour of Japan, England coach Danny Kerry was gracious about the Japanese and the effectiveness of their defence and pointed to a packed defence as the cause of England's failure. England will now go into the 7th/8th play off against a team to be decided. There will be a further blog report later today, hopefully with some photographs of the England v Japan match.

ENGLAND NEED CONFIDENCE BOOST TO BEAT JAPAN by Peter Savage in Madrid

Danny Kerry described the draw against Spain yesterday as one of the lowest moments of his life, but I think that he is failing to do justice to the achievements of both him and his team. The England Women meet Japan for a place in the 5th/6th play-off in the Samsung Women's World Cup here in Madrid tomorrow, and if they emulate the men by coming 5th they have achieved all that could reasonably be expected of them. They were placed in a particularly tough pool, with Netherlands and Germany the teams to beat. They achieved the latter by beating Germany, but the surprise of Pool A was Spain, who managed to take the scalps of Germany and China before coming up against the Dutch. Englands 1-1 draw against Spain was no disgrace and I think England need to get a sense of proportion before moving on to the all-importand game agains Japan.

I bumped into some of the England squad shopping in Madrid this afternoon. They looked relaxed and this is the approach they need to take with them for their match toorrow. They have beaten the Japanese as recently as August. With that memory fresh in their minds they should do well. It is true that there have been times that England looked in awe of their opponents, particularly the Dutch, but this is a comparatively young side. Kerry would do well to put yesterday's game behind him and look to a promising future.

ENGLAND MISS LAST SEMI-FINAL PLACE

England's last chance of winning a semi-final place in the Samsung Women's World Cup was lost this afternoon when they failed to overcome the host nation, Spain. A Mel Clewlow penalty corner strike put the teams at 1-1 when the final hooter sounded, but this gives Spain the remaining semi-final place and relegates England to playing for the 5th/8th place. Their first match will be against Japan on Friday morning.

TalkHockeyRadio will be in Madrid from Friday and this blog will be updated from pitchside, hopefully with photographs.

ENGLAND WIN CREATES WEDNESDAY HEAD-TO-HEAD

The remaining semi-final place will be decided tomorrow (Wednesday) when England meet Spain in the Samsung World Cup for Women in Madrid. Earlier today, England scored a notable victory against Olympic Champions Germany, the only goal of the match coming from a Helen Richardson penalty stroke after Lucilla WRIGHT's shot hit a defender's leg on the line.

Under the format in Madrid, tomorrow is 'Super Wednesday' with each of the nations playing their final pool match. England current stand on seven points, two behind Spain who are in second place. England must win to book a place in the finals and by chance they find themselves playing Spain in this all-important match.

If England qualify they will play either Argentina or Australia, who are both on ten points and similar goal difference in Pool B. These two play each other tomorrow and if England win their match they will play the winner to decide a place in the finals.

AUSTRALIA AND ARGENTINA BOOK SEMI FINALS PLACE

Despite their surprise draw against Japan today, Australia have booked themselves a place in the semi finals of the Samsung Women's World Cup in Madrid. They are joined by Argentina, who head the table by virtue of goals scored. England's group play tomorrow, but with two matches outstanding in this pool it is theoretically possible for any team to qualify. The Netherlands look certain to be in the top two unless they trip over in their remaining games, with the second place going to either Germany or Spain, although England and Korea are not entirely out of the running at this stage. England play Germany tomorrow (Tuesday), with the Dutch meeting bottom placed China, and Spain playing India

DISALLOWED GOALS LEAVE ENGLAND AND INDIA WITH A DRAW

Despite having lost their previous two matches, India have looked like the sort of side that could cause an upset and a draw against England this afternoon was a scalp of sorts. India started out the match packing their defence but Surinder Kaur made some dangerous runs into the England twenty-five. It was a foul on Kaur that led to the first penalty corner of the match, although India were not able to make anything of it. England had a chance in the 15^th minute, when a Mel Clewlow shot from penalty corner rebounded off Innocent’s pads and Jo Ellis narrowly missed scoring from the rebound. On the stroke of half-time Asunta Lakra seemed to have put India ahead when she roofed the ball into the England net, but the shot was disallowed for dangerous play. England came out for the second half looking for a goal and 12 minutes into the half Chloe Rogers put England ahead. With just over 10 minutes remaining, India were awarded a penalty corner, but Kaur’s shot at goal struck a defender and she stepped up to take the resultant penalty stroke to tie the match. But it was as the last minutes ticked by that England thought they had taken the lead. A pass was deflected into the net by Kerry Williams but following a review by the video umpire the goal was disallowed. Final score 1-1.

The Spanish express train was shunted off into a siding by the Dutch earlier this afternoon. The Spanish, who have boxed above their weight in their two previous matches looked very ordinary against the Dutch, who ran out 2-0 winners. Germany, who seemed to be performing much under par in their previous matches, regained their form to win against China 3-1.

The injury to Kate Walsh, which saw her stretchered off in the match against the Netherlands on Friday, may not be as bad as was originally feared. She may be able to take part in one of England’s two remaining matches. England are not entirely out of the running for a semi-final place. Much may depend on the outcome of their next match, against Germany on Tuesday. Three points from that match is a tall order, but not an impossible one.

One or two reputations took a knock today in the fourth day of play in the Samsung Women's World Cup in Madrid today. First up were the Australians, who were shocked to find themselves a goal down against the Koreans when Jung Hee Kim scored in the 6th minute. The Australians were soon back on top form with a five minute goal blitz during which Hope Monro (2), Nikki Hudson, and Karen Smith, scored to give the Aussies a 4-1 lead. However, the lead was pegged back by a penalty corner strike by Eun Young Choie just before the break. The score remained at 4-2 until Hyun Park scored for Korea with seven minutes of play left. The Australians desperately hung on to their lead and probably consider themselves lucky to come away with the three points.

There was no such luck for the much fancied Argenitinians, who were held 2-2 by outsiders South Africa, thanks to a goal by EHL player Jenny Wilson and a second Wilson shot which was blocked on the line and led to a penalty stroke. The other match today, between the USA and Japan, ended in a 0-0 draw.

England will be in action against India tomorrow (Sunday). Although India have failed to pick up a point so far, they have looked dangerous, and in the matches against Netherlands and Germany were certainly no walk-over. They will be a tough test for England, who will be without their skipper Kate Walsh, who is recovering from a knee injury. Probably the match of the day for neutral and home supporters will be the clash between the favourites, the Netherlands, and the surprise package of the tournament, Spain.

DOUBLE BLOW TO ENGLAND IN SECOND MATCH

Only the most optimistic follower of English hockey would have expected the women to have beaten the Dutch in their second match at the Samsung Women's World Cup in Madrid, but the coaches of both teams must this evening be reflecting on their team's performance. England seemed in awe of their opponents and saw little of their opponents 'D' during the seventy minutes. The fact that the scoreline was restricted to a single goal must be a cause for concern in the Dutch camp. Their only goal came in the 13th minute when the English defence were suckered by a dummy penalty corner hit, only to see the ball switched left to Schopman, who was faced with a virtually open goal. The real concern for England was not the score - which was mercifully more modest than it might have been, but the injury to skipper Kate Walsh, who was accidentally struck on the knee during a tackle and had to be stretchered off. The lastest reports suggest that Walsh will not be fit for some time.

Other matches threw up some shocks. Olympic and Champions' Trophy gold medalists, Germany, found themselves trailing 2-1 to India, and were saved by a late flurry of goals to win the match 3-2. One of the surprises so far has been the effect that playing in front of a home crowd has had on Spain. Their 1-0 win against China gives them their second scalp of the competition.

England next play on Sunday when they meet India.

CULLEN SEALS VICTORY ON DAY ONE

The format of the Samsung women's world cup in Madrid and the use of two pitches, meant that every nation had a match on the opening day of the Samsung Women's Hockey World Cup in Madrid today (Wednesday). England met China in their match, facing a team who have climbed the world rankings and currently sit four places above them. England opened the scoring after 11 minutes with a field goal by Alex Danson. China were then awarded a penalty corner ten minutes before the break, which they converted through their captain Yi Bo Ma, but England were able to restore their lead minutes later courtesy of a field goal from Lucilla Wright. Shortly after the restart, China managed to get back on even terms thanks to a goal from Ye REN, but it was Crista CULLEN's penalty corner striking which restored England's lead and sealed the victor, 3-2.

In other matches there were some surprises. The Dutch seemed to have the measure of their opponents from India, but the Indians responded strongly in the second half, and the Dutch might consider themselves lucky to have survived with a 3-2 win. Australia looked decidely off-form against an enterprising South African side and only won by a single goal. Not unexpectedly, Korea overcame Japan 2-1, and Argentina beat the USA 2-1. Possibly the upset of the day was when the host nation overcame the fancied Germans 1-0.

England are next in action on Friday, when they meet the Netherlands.

NOW IT'S THE WOMEN'S TURN TO SHINE

Following on from the comparative success of the England men's team in Monchengladbach, the women's World Cup opens in Madrid later today (Wednesday). The opening day sees all twelve teams in action, with England playing China later today. Although England were ranked higher than the men at the start of the tournaments, they are drawn in a particularly stiff pool, which includes the Netherlands (ranked 1st in the World), Germany (ranked third), and China (ranked fifth).

At home Surbiton hockey club have announced the appointment of former England men's skipper Brett Garrard as Assistant Director of Coaching as deputy to John Royce. Garrard, who had a particularly successful campaign in the World Cup has 237 international caps to his name.

League tables for EHL first weekend.

GERMANY UBER ALLES! by Peter Savage in Monchengladbach

Sometimes it was sublime and sometimes it was a bit agricultural, but nobody can deny that the BDO Men's World Cup final in Monchengladach was an occasion not to be missed. The Germans were playing in front of their home crowd and did not want to spoil a party they had so ably organised - the Australians anxious to add the World Cup title to their Olympic crown. Despite the Germans taking an early lead through a goal in open play from Christopher Zeller, two penalty corner strikes - the first from Mark Knowles and the second from Matthew Naylor - before the break, left one feeling that the Australians were going to prevail. It was a feeling that was given more weight by a goal from Troy Elder three minutes into the second half. Friday's semi-final match against the Spanish, which had gone to extra time and strokes, had clearly taken its toll on the Germans, some of whom lookd leaden footed. However, there's nothing quite like playing in front of a home crowd and the Germans gradually clawed their way back into the match. A field goal by Moritz Furste and then a goal by Bjoern Emerling put the home side on even terms. The Australians were clearly missing their Jamie Dwyer, who suffered an injury in the match against Spain and remained on the bench, and their penalty corner scoring machine, aka Luke Doerner was not brought on until the last nine minutes. It was in the 54th minute that the clincher came, when Christopher Zeller scored his second, to give the home side the victory. Nobody heard the final hooter the noise from the crowd was so deafening. Players seemed to be aimlessly wandering around the pitch for a few moments until the sudden realisation that they were the victors or the defeated. The Australians were beyond consulation. The Germans celebrated. It was a glorious spectacle. Germany are the world title holder. The final score 4-3.

In the bronze medal match, the Spanish overcame the Koreans 4-3 in extra time. The Spanish have played some entertaining hockey throughout this competition and must consider themselves unlucky not to have reached the final. The Koreans have arrived on the world stage in style. A super fit side who can also entertain.

Over the next few days www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk will be updated with photographs from the World Cup. Our World Cup Special podcast will be available to download from 21/9/06 and our on-line magazine HockeyTalk will carry news, comment and stats from the competition.

ENGLAND CELEBRATE FIFTH PLACE VICTORY by Peter Savage in Monchengladbach

It may not be the World Cup final, but the 5th/6th place match was as good as for Jason Lees' boys in Monchengladach this afternoon. The seeds of recovery which seem to be apparent from the World Cup qualifiers onwards, have at last started to sprout. Their opponents this afternoon (Saturday) were Pakistan, perhaps stronger opposition than one would expect to face for the 5th place, but England fittingly had the lions share of the match. A count of penalty corners was heavily waited in England's favour, but weary limbs and a tight Pakistan defence meant that this route to victory was closed. Pakistan often looked dangerous. Fair made a couple of good saves, and managed to scamble away a ball that stopped temptingly a few inches in front of his pads. In the end it was Pakistan's lack of discipline that let them down. AMaqsood and Abbasi were both sin-binned, and it was whilst Abbasi was off the pitch that an untypical mistake by Saqlain gifted James Tindall the ball in the Pakistan twenty-five. Tindall passed to Martin Jones who slotted it into the net. There were three minutes left on the clock but they all count, and this single goal was enough to give England a well deserved victory. In the other place game played today, Netherlands took the 7th place ahead of New Zealand.

PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO OUR TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS OUR BLOG FOR THE FINAL BETWEEN SPAIN AND GERMANY WILL NOT BE UPDATED UNTIL MONDAY MORNING. OUR WEBSITE WILL BE UPDATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE WORLD CUP OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND OUR WORLD CUP SPECIAL PODCAST WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE SITE FROM 21/9/06.

WWW.TALKHOCKEYRADIO.CO.UK

ENGLAN D JOY AND DUTCH SORROW by Peter Savage in Monchengladbach

Not since England won the silver medal in 1986 has an English team finished higher than the Dutch in a World Cup, but the results from today's matches (Friday) give the English a possible chance of a fifth place if they can overcome Pakistan tomorrow. The Netherland, who started out as favourites to win this competition, can do no better than seventh, having been beaten 3-2 by Pakistan. The England camp were bouyant after their victory over New Zealand earlier today, which puts them into the 5th/6th place match. Jason Lee's boys came out fighting from the bell, but after a period of ten minutes absolute dominance they started to lose possession, eventually falling victim to two Blacksticks' penalty corners. Simon Mantell managed to pull one back from a penalty corner in first half overtime, and were on level terms 10 minutes into the second half through a Glenn Kirkham field goal. The New Zealanders, who remained a threat throughout the match, went ahead 8 minutes later, but a second goal by Simon Mantell and a penalty corner conversion by James Tindall, gave the English a well-deserved victory.

The two semi finals were played today. A lively Korean side took the lead in the 31st minute, but the Aussies eventually settled down and took the match 4-2. The Germans made amends for the uninspiring pool match against the Koreans a few days ago by being partners in a superb display of hockey with the Spanish, which could only be settled by penalty strokes.

ENGLAND OVERCOME EARLY SCARE TO STAY IN TOP EIGHT

England will play New Zealand on Friday with the hope that they can at least qualify for a sixth place in this tournament. Today (Wednesday) England played an improving South Africa, and went down to Ian Symonds penalty corner in the 10th minute. It took England another ten minutes to get the measure of their opponents, James Tindall scoring from open play. After the break the England side piled on the pressure and courtesy of two Richard Mantell penalty conversions were 3-1 up by the 50th minute.

Unfortunately the day's matches will be remembered for the farce of a game between Germany and Korea. Both teams needed a win or a draw to qualify for the semi finals. It soon became clear that both teams were happy to settle for a draw and the game was notable for the total absence of a penalty corner during the 70 minutes. Disgruntled Dutch spectators, seeing the chances of their team failing to qualify if the game remained at 0-0 booed and whistled the Germans and the Koreans when their tactics become obvious.

TALK HOCKEY RADIO IS IN MONCHENGLADBACH FOR THE FINAL THREE DAYS. WE HOPE TO MAINTAIN THE BLOG ON SITE, WITH SOME PHOTOGRAPHS IF POSSIBLE.

AUSTRALIA IN LAST FOUR BUT OTHER PLACES STILL UP FOR GRABS

With only one more day of group games to play the tables are looking intriguing. The Netherlands will be sweating on the result of the match between Germany and Korea tomorrow (Wednesday). A late display of form by the Dutch cannot compensate for the loss of five points earlier in the competition. A win by either Korea or Germany will see the Netherlands qualify for the last four, but a draw would consign them to third place in the pool. England's fortunes rest on the match against South Africa. A win or draw would put them in fourth place, but losing would put them amonst the teams playing off for the wooden spoon. Group A is still wide open. The Japanese, who had a surprise win over Argentina today, meet the Australians (who have already qualified for the top four) tomorrow and the Aussies are almost certain to win this game, putting them at the top of the pool. The other match in this group is between current second place Spain and Pakistan. A win by Pakistan could theoretically displace Spain, but they have a substantial goal diffence to ovecome.

ENGLAND'S GLORY SHORT LIVED

The field of dreams turned into a field of tears for England in their World Cup campaign in Monchengladbach today (Monday). You almost had to pinch yourself to realise that for much of this match England were in the lead against the favourites, the Netherlands. Early in the match England had taken a 2-0 lead through a goal from Tindall and a Richard Mantell penalty corner conversion. But the Dutch were galvanised into action by this reverse and scored twice in two minutes, the first from Teun de Nooijer and the second from Ronald Brouwer. England went into the break at 2-2, but shortly after the restart managed to re-take the lead courtesy of a field goal from James Tindall. It was not long before the Dutch has equalised through Taeke Taekema, and with less than ten minutes left on the clock and with Martin Jones in the sin-bin, Taekema struck again from a penalty corner. Final score 4-3 to the Dutch. England are currently in fourth place in Group B and cannot now qualify for the semi-finals.

In Group A, Spain have taken the top place thanks to a 3-1 victory over New Zealand. Australia have a game in hand and the fate of themselves and New Zealand may depend on the outcome of the match between themselves and New Zealand. Only Japan from this group cannot qualify for the semi finals. In group B the semi final places would seem to be a competition between leader Korea and the Dutch and the Germans.

ENGLAND PAY THE PENALTY

A brave England effort against the host nation came to an end when the Germans were awarded a penalty stroke in the 42 minute. England had gone into the break on even terms courtesy of a penalty stroke conversion by Simon Mantell, which cancelled out Christopher Zeller's penalty corner goal earlier in the match. It was Zeller who stepped up to the spot after a shot at goal was stopped on the goal line by the body of a defender. Final score 2-1 to Germany.

Surprise result of the day was when rank outsiders, South Africa, held Group A leaders Korea to a 2-2 draw.

NEW ZEALAND AND KOREA TOP POOLS

The pool stages of the BDO World Cup are at the halfway point, although only four teams have as yet played three matches. After play on Saturday New Zealand led group A, whilst Korea lead Group B.

The showpiece match today was between the host nation, Germany, and the Netherlands. There was no score in the first half, but shortly after the break the Dutch scored in open play from Brouwer. Five minutes later Reckers made it two for the Dutch. The Germans, who seem to have become the comeback kings in recent matches then scored twice through Zeller and Fuerste to give the Germans a 2-2 draw. South Africa and India picked up their first points, drawing 1-1 when they met earlier today. The Indians will be feeling particularly sore that this tournament has gone so badly for them. They are amongst the top scoring sides and yet have failed to win any of their three matches. New Zealand, who have been one of the surprises so far, beat outsiders Japan by a comparatively modest 1-0. Despite their setback against Spain in their first match, the Australians announced that they were back with a vengeance when they dominated their match against Argentina. Final Score 4-0 to Australia.

The group tables are looking increasingly intriguing, with qualification for the semi-finals still open to anyone. England have played two of the three teams where a win might have been on the cards, leaving only South Africa as a realistic source of further points. They still have the Germans and the Dutch to play.

ENGLAND STUMBLE AT SECOND HURDLE

Some of the hopes raised by England’s clash against India yesterday were dashed this afternoon by a scrappy game with a scrappy goal. Korea, who two days ago had humbled the mighty Dutch, were England’s opponents in this their second match of the tournament. Although the two teams were seemingly well matched, the Koreans seemed to have most of the possession. English hopes were raised early in the game when an Alexander pass was picked up by Wilson, but his shot at goal was saved by the ‘keeper. The game was an hour old before the deadlock was broken. A free hit to the Koreans was picked up by Sung Hoon Yong, who deflected the ball into the back of England’s net. England’s hopes were raised briefly in the last seconds of the match, when repeated breaking from a penalty corner resulted in Jong Bok Cha being sin-binned, but Richard Mantell’s final shot went just wide of the right post. Final score 1-0.

Both the other matches today ended in draws. Surprise package of the tournament so far, New Zealand, were engaged in a ding-dong battle against Pakistan which ended four apiece. Spain held Argentina to a 1-1 draw.

The official FIH site is showing Group B tables which are different to our own. We have checked our figures and would maintain that ours are correct

SIMON MANTELL GIVES ENGLAND STELLAR START

England got off to a cracking start in their World Cup campaign in Monchengladbach today (Thursday). Playing India, who had given the Germans a run for their money the previous day, the early omens were not good. Failing to convert two penalty strokes in the first half, it was India who went into the break with a 29^th minute goal from Shivendra Singh. England stepped up a gear in the second half but India held onto their lead until the 57^th minute when James Tindall netted from a penalty corner. Minutes later England took the lead after a Richard Mantell penalty corner strike was saved but the deflection found the stick of his brother Simon, who slotted the ball home. Simon increased England’s lead with another penalty corner conversion, but the last ten minutes of the game saw India desperately trying to retake control of the match. The pressure paid off when Dilip Tirkey converted a penalty corner for India. Final score 3-2 to India.

In other matches, the Netherlands, who had been beaten by Korea yesterday, managed to overcome South Africa but in very unconvincing style, with the final score of 2-0. EHL umpire Andy Mair was one of the officials for this match. Australia, whose lack of form at the Champions Trophy surprised many, were the losing side against Spain. Pakistan overcame outsiders Japan with the highest scoring margin of the tournament so far, winning 4-0.

DUTCH DISASTER BUT GERMANS SURVIVE

Favourites in the BDO World Cup, the Netherlands, got off to a bad start in their opening match in Group B, going down to Korea 3-2. Hyo Sik You scored twice in three minutes to give the Koreans the lead. Brouwer and Taekema pulled one each back for the Dutch, but the Koreans re-took the lead with a late goal by Jong Ho Seo.

The other favourites in Group B were given a scare by their opponents. In the first match of the tournament, the host nation, Germany, faced India. The match began by looking like a cure for insomnia, but Christopher Zeller brought the game to life with a beautifully struck penalty corner goal in the first half. After the restart it looked as if we had a revived and refreshed Indian side on the pitch and after a period of intense pressure on the German goal, Shivendra Singh picked up one of many rebounds from a corner strike to put the teams on level terms. The Germans struck back shortly afterwards courtesy of a penalty corner goal by Oliver Hentschel. However, the Indians would not let the Germans rest on their laurels. In a beautiful one-two move Singh potted a second. With 90 seconds left on the clock, and with every prospect that they had dropped a vital two points, Zeller scored again from open play, to give the Germans a 3-2 victory.

New Zealand took an early lead against Argentina in their opening Group A match with two stunning penalty corner conversions by Hayden Shaw. Their opposition started the match with energy but their moral was sapped by Shaw’s striking power. New Zealand got a third goal in open play after a scramble in the Argentine goal resulted in 18 year-old Simon Child pouncing on a loose ball. Final score 3-0.

MORE INJURIES DENT ENGLAND'S HOPES

With only two days to go before the start of England's campaign in the BDO World Cup in Monchengladbach, Surbiton defender Ben Marsden has been sent home after receiving an injury in the warm-up match against New Zealand on Saturday. Marsden, who injured his ankle in the match, has been replaced by Alastair Wilson of Loughborough Students. To add to England's woes, Barry Middleton picked up a minor hamstring injury in the same match and is likely to be ruled out of England's opening two matches. Middleton is one of the standout palyers in the squad and his absence is likely to impact of England's chances.

England play their opening match against India on Thursday.

ENGLAND BEAT NEW ZEALAND IN TRAINING MATCH

Sources in New Zealand are reporting that England beat New Zealand 3-2 in a training match in their preparation for the World Cup in Monchengladbach yesterday (Saturday). No details of the England scorers are known.

TALKHOCKEY PLANS FOR MEN'S WORLD CUP

The hockey world cups are the most important hockey event in a year packed with international action. TalkHockeyRadio and THR News Blog will keep you in touch with the action day-by-day from the BDO Men's World Cup in Monchengladbach. Here are our plans:

NEWS BLOG: The news blog will be updated after the end of each days matches to give you the scores and latest group tables. For the crossovers, classification matches and finals, we will be there where the action is with a daily up-date from Monchengladbach.

TALKHOCKEYRADIO will have a special World Cup edition which will be on-line from 21 September.

HOCKEYTALK Magazine will also have a special edition, which will be available to download from 27 September.

WWW.TALKHOCKEYRADIO will carry photographs from Monchengladbach on the site.

INJURY WORRIES FADE AS ENGLAND SQUAD IS SELECTED

Announcement of the men's squad for the World Cup in Germany was delayed until today due to injury worries, particularly to Cannock's Barry Middleton who suffered an injury in training a week ago. There are no surprises in the squad, which is largely unchanged from the World Cup qualifiers earlier this year. The squad is: Brothers (GK), Richard Mantell, Simon Mantell, and Clarke (Reading), Kirkham (East Grinstead), Alexander, Daly, Garrard, Moore, Tindall, and Marsden (Surbiton), Goudie, Bleby (Loughborough Stds), Jones, Cordon, Middleton, Fair (GK) (Cannock), and Hawes (Amsterdam).

The first England match, which is against India, is at 14:00 (CET) and is scheduled to be broadcast live by Eurosport. Check Europsport schedules to see whether the broadcast will be available in the UK.

TalkHockeyRadio will be at the World Cup for the crossover and classification matches, and the finals and place games.

SQUAD FOR MADRID NAMED

Whilst injury and fitness concerns delay the announcement of the squad for the men's World Cup in Madrid next month, the women's coach Danny Kerry has announced his squad for Madrid. The squad contains no real suprises, with Chelmsford's Katy Roberts being preferred to Becky Duggan for one of the two goalkeeping spots, and newcomers Jo Ellis and Kerry Williams finding a place in the squad.

The full squad: Roberts, Wooding, Rogers (Chelmsford), Storry (SCHC), Crista Cullen, Richardson, Bimson, Herbert, Williams (Leicester), Clewlow (Canterbury), Grant (Rotterdam), Wright, Walker (Olton), Walsh (c), Danson (Slough), Ellis (Doncaster), Walton (Bowdon Hightown), and Ellis (Ipswich).

DUTCH ON-FORM AS WORLD CUP APPROACHES

The Netherlands proved that they are the on-form team for next month's World Cup in a four-nations tournament in Hamburg this weekend. Playing the host nation in the final match this afternoon, the Dutch beat the Germans 2-1 to make it a clean sweep of victories over the competition. Only the Spanish, who were soundly beaten by the Dutch on day one, will take any comfort from this weekend. After the first day's set-back they overcame the Germans 5-2, and then the team from Pakistan, 6-2. Most concern will be in the German camp, having conceded nine goals over the weekend for a reply of four. Final rankings: Netherlands; 9 pts (+7), Spain; 6 pts (+3), Pakistan; 3 points (-5), Germany 0 points (-5).

SCARE OVER MIDDLETON FITNESS FOR WORLD CUP by Pat Rowley

Barry Middleton (Cannock), England's outstanding attacking player, could miss the World Cup which is due to start at Monchengladbach in 10 days time. Middleton, UK Player of the Year in 2004, twisted an ankle during training last week. The injury is not as bad as first thought but in the normal course of events would take 2/3 weeks to heal. With the Surbiton duo, James Tindall and Matt Daly, also having to prove their fitness, coach Jason Lee has decided to delay the selection of the England team which was expected last week, until as late as possible.

England's women's team for their World Cup at Madrid in late September, will be announced tomorrow and the big interest is to see whether squad newcomers Kerry Williams (Leicester) and Jo Ellis of Doncaster force their way into the side. Both scored when England beat Germany, the Olympic gold medallists, 2-1 at Cannock a week ago.

GERMANS LOOK SET FOR WOODEN SPOON

In the run-up to the BDO Men's Hockey World Cup, four of the world's top nations are competing in a tournament in Hamburg this weekend. At the end of the second day of play the Netherlands are in the lead on maximum points. The Dutch met Pakistan ealier today, with another high scoring result but one which was more flattering to Pakistan than when they met in the Champions Trophy. The Dutch, who had beaten Spain 3-1 on Friday, came out 6-4 winners. Surprisingly it is the host nation who have not had the run of the ball and are currently propping up the table on zero points. They suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Pakistan yesterday, and went down 5-2 to Spain this afternoon. The concluding matches are between Pakistand and Spain and the Netherlands and Germany tomorrow (Sunday)

CLEWLOW AND DELMEE RECEIVE WRITERS' AWARDS

Further to our brief report on the internationals at Cannock yesterday, England women's Mel Clewlow and Dutch men's star Jeroem Delmee were presented with awards by representatives of the hockey press. Mel Clewlow, whose penalty corner striking has been a major factor in recent sucesses for England and her club, was awarded the Marjorie Pollard salver. Traditionally this was given to the top player at the Wembley International but with the demise of this annual event this award now goes to the top woman player at an international match selected by the Hockey Writers' Club. A similar award, in memory of the Daily Telegraph's Chris Moore, was awarded to Jeroem Delmee of the Netherlands.

MANTELL STRIKES AGAIN

England's star penalty corner striker, Richard Mantell, forced a draw against the Netherlands at Cannock this afternoon. After going down 2-0 to the Champions' Trophy winners, Mantell converted two corners to give England a 2-2 draw. Also at Cannock, England new girls Karry Williams and Jo Ellis scored in their side's 2-1 victory over the Germans.

A full report on these matches will appear in HockeyTalk magazine, available to download from www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk next Thursday. Also in the magazine will be a review of the forthcoming Men's World Cup in Germany.

SURE FIRE CLEWLOW GIVES ENGLAND HOPE

Englands penalty corner strikers were on form in the two internationals played this evening. In the women's international at Cannock, England took a late second-half lead against Germany with a penalty corner strike by Mel Clewlow. England held onto the lead for seven minutes until Germany replied with a field goal from former FIH Player of the Year, Natascha Keller. Final score 1-1.

In the men's match at Belle Vue, Rob Reckers opened the scoring for the Netherlands but Richard Mantell replied from a penalty corner minutes later. The two sides went into the interval at 1-1, but after the break Weusthof and Klaver gave the visitors a commanding lead. With four minutes left on the clock, Ben Hawes pulled one back for England from the penalty spot. Final score 3-2 to the Netherlands.

Although one cannot put too much store by these warm-up games, it does demonstrate that both England teams are not overawed by top European opposition.

Our pictures show penalty corner strikers Mel Clewlow and Richard Mantell.

ENGLAND ANNOUNCE LINE UP TO FACE GERMANY

England's women play Germany at Cannock on Thursday and Saturday and the squad for those matches has been announced. The squad is a mixture of old hands and comparative newcomers, with Canterbury's Mel Clewlow leading the count of caps with 207 and Doncaster's Joe Ellis and Leicester's Kerry Williams on 3 and 2 respectively. England's recent form against the Germans has not been good, but penalty corner strikers Clewlow and Crista Cullen were on good form against Japan last Friday and England may snatch a goal or two from corners. But the Germans are far stiffer opposition, with world class players of the quality Keller and Rinne available to them and England will have to tighten up on their passing if they are not to be punished.

ENGLAND TO MEET WORLD'S ON-FORM SIDE

England's men meet the recent winners of the Champions Trophy at Belle Vue, Manchester on Thursday (17/8). The fixture will be repeated at Cannock HC on Saturday. The England squad, which was announced yesterday, threw up no particular surprises. With the exception of goalkeeper James Fair of Cannock, every player in the side has at least a dozen caps.

England have played the Dutch a total of sixty-nine times and have only recorded eleven victories. However, the side's recent form has been much better and in the last three meetinga the English side has gone undefeated. The Dutch looked in awesome form in the recent Champions Trophy, but may use these two matches to experiment, and so an English victory is not out of the quesion.

ENGLAND WOBBLE BUT CLEWLOW AND CULLEN STEADY THE BOAT by Peter Savage in East Grinstead

In an unconvincing effort against the women from Japan, it was the penalty corner striking of Mel Clewlow and Crista Cullen that carried the day for England at East Grinstead this evening. Under over overcast evening sky England had most of the play in the early stages of the match and it was very much against the overall run of play that Sachimi Iwao scored in the eleventh minute. It was a rather robust defence, marshalled by their captain Akemi Cato, that was to be the undoing of the Japanese, as they gave away a number of penalty corners. England is lucky to have two world class corner strikers in its ranks in Mel Clewlow and Crista Cullen, and it was Clewlow who put England back on terms in the nineteenth minute. England fell behind for a second time when Keiko Muira converted a penalty corner just before half time. Ironically, it seemed to be the Japanese that were pressing England back into their own half for the rest of the match, and yet they failed to find the net again, thanks to some full stretch saves by Beth Storry in the England Goal. The Japanese continued to give away silly penalty corners for rough tackling and Cullen put England back on level terms with a corner conversion shortly after the restart. Rebecca Herbert then scored a third England goal from open play seventeen minutes later. With four minutes left on the clock, Cullen found herself unmarked and running into the top of the 'D' only to be badly obstructed by a defender who threw herelf in front of Cullen. Clewlow scored from the subsequent penalty corner, giving England the victory with a final score of 4-2. The score flatters England somewhat, for although there is little doubt that they deserved to win this game, some inaccurate passing was responsible for Japan having more possession than they deserved.

Our photographs show goalmouth action after a first-half England penalty corner and the skipper and two scorers. Left to right, Kate Walsh (Cpt), Crista Cullen, and Mel Clewlow.

Japan v England Women's Match at East Grinstead

Due to a lack of hockey being played in the last few days we have been very quiet of late, but we will be at East Grinstead for the international this evening. Hopefully we will be able to post a report with photographs before the end of the evening.

BROUWER INJURY TAKES GLOSS OFF DUTCH VICTORY

The Netherlands won the Champions Trophy in Terrassa today with a 2-1 victory over Germany. In what had been a very free scoring competition, the Dutch performance was more workmanlike than exciting, and right up until the last seconds it was anyone's match. The scoring was opened for the Dutch by Taeke Taekema in the 20th minute with a flick from a penalty corner award. Just before the break Teun De Nooijer scored a second after a super solo run, but the second half saw the Dutch sometimes looking very much on the back foot, with Timo Wess scoring for the German shortly after the re-start. The Dutch grimly held on and at times looked threatening - Germany's Phillip Zeller was sin-binned for bringing down Karel Klaver after a penetrating run down the centre - but there was no repeat of yesterday's last gasp goal by the Germans in their match against Australia. During the match Dutch defender Brouwer was pole-axed when he was struck in the face by a rising reverse stick shot at goal. It is believed he may have broken a cheek bone. The bronze medal in the competition was taken by Spain who beat Australia on penalty strokes. The 5th/6th match was won by Pakistan, who beat Argentina 3-1.

We now have the result of the final of the girl's European Junior Nations Championship from yesterday. It was won by Germany 1-0, giving England the silver medal. The bronze was won by Italy.

TIME WASTING AUSSIES BLOW FINAL CHANCE

Having had one free hit reversed for time wasting you would have thought they would have learnt their lesson but Australia threw away a chance of a place in the final of the Champions Trophy in Terrassa when they dwelt on the ball for too long at a hit-in. With only seconds left on the clock umpire Santi was having none of it. From the reversed hit-in the Germans won themselves a penalty corner, which Zeller struck the ball high into the Australian net. Only needing a draw to qualify for tomorrow's final, Australia lost the match 3-4. The other drama of the day was the Match between the Netherlands and the hosts, Spain. Having gained an early lead the Dutch threw it away, only finally overcoming their opposition in the last minutes. Final score, 4-3 to the Netherlands, who meet Germany in the final tomorrow. Intriguingly, when the two teams met in the round-robin stage of the tournament they could only manage a draw. Pakistan, who beat Argentina today (Saturday), will repeat the match tomorrow to decide the 5th/6th place, whilst Spain will play Australia to decide the bronnze.

In the European Junior Nations Championship in Prague, England's boys finished fifth, having beaten Poland 7-0. The tournament was finally won by the Netherlands, with Germany taking the silver and Belgium the bronze.

As of 23:00 today it has not been possible to get any results for the girl's competition in Catania where England were playing in the final, nor have we be able to find any scores for the four nations tournament in Poland in which England men are playing.

ENGLAND GIRLS REACH FINAL

England will hope to reverse the fortunes of their pool match when they meet Germany for the second time in the European Junior Nations Cup for Women in Catania. Having finished second in Pool B behind Germany, England today secured a place in the finals by beating Spain on penalty strokes. Germany also had to go to penalty strokes to overcome Italy in their crossover match. England were beaten 6-0 when the two teams met in the pool. Meanwhile in the boys tournament in Prague, England managed to get into double figures against Russia, with a hat trick from Jawanda and goals from Harper, Dixon (2), Smith, Jackson, Watts and Brogdon. This is the second high scoring match for England in this competition - they beat the host nation 12-0 in the pool - but England will be playing tomorrow in the 5th/6th place match against Poland. The boys final will be between the Netherlands and Germany.

SUMMER SIZZLE FIZZLES OUT.

England's World Cup preparations took a blow today when England Hockey announced that the Internationals against Argentina on the 25th and 27th August at Reading will now not take place. England Hockey will be contacting ticket holders to "...discuss alternative arrangements."

Argentina also featured in the Champions Trophy in Terrassa today. Playing an Australian side who seem to have found their form, Argentina went down 6-0. Anyone who had been at the European Cup Winners Cup at Reading at Easter would be all too familiar with the penalty corner striking abilities of Luke DOERNER. Wearing his national colours this time he scored a hat trick against the Argentians, with other goals coming from Grant Schubert, Michael Boyce, and Mike McCann. Those of us who enjoy some of the stranger aspects of international hockey were deprived of seeing Schubert and Vivaldi on the pitch at the same time, as Vivaldi was not in the Argentine squad for this match. Host nation Spain were in action against Pakistan in a match where they went ahead twice only to see their lead snatched away. A field goal in the last seconds of the match by Seri Enrique finally gave them the victory. Final score 3-2. Spain now have eight points, the same as the Netherlands, who could only draw against the Germans in their match.

JACKSON HAT-TRICK NOT ENOUGH TO SAVE ENGLAND

After sharing the top spot with Spain, the head-to-head match with Spain today saw England relegated to third in Pool A in the European Junior Nations Championships. England were 5-0 down with fifteen minutes to go, but three Ashley Jackson penalty corner strikes in ten minutes salvaged some credibility from this match. England now play in the cross-over matches on Friday, playing the 4th placed team from Pool B, Russia. In Italy, England were comprehensively beaten by Germany in the girls' championships. They finish in 2nd place in Pool B and will meet the leaders from Pool A on Friday. Final results from Pool A are still awaited but the overnight leaders were Spain, who should overcome their opposition from Italy.

There was no play in the Champions Trophy today.

IT'S GOAL BLITZ TUESDAY

The various international competitions we have been following in this blog resulted in a torrent of goals yesterday (Tuesday). Top scorers were the England boys playing in Prague against the host nation in the European Nations Youth Championships. Eight of the England team got themselves on the scoresheet, including a hat-trick from Harry Jawda. Final score 12-0. This puts the boys at the top of their pool on equal points with Spain, who they play later today. England were not in action in Catania today in the girls' event, but they too are on equal points in their pool and meet Germany in a head-to-head today. The England seniors were in goal scoring form in their second test match against Poland yesterday, winning the match 5-0.

The three matches in Tueday's Champions Tophy in Terrassa produced a total of twenty-three goals. Germany overcame Argentina 3-1, whilst the host nation came back from a 1-3 half-time deficit against the Australians to win 5-3. But the high scoring game came from the Nethlands playing Pakistan, with the Dutch putting nine passed Pakistan for a reply of two. Nethlands now head the table in the round-robin stages of this competition with a lead of two points.

ENGLAND GIRLS MAKE SEMIS WITH GAME IN HAND

The England girls, playing in the European Junior Nations Championships, booked their place in the semis by beaing Wales today 2-1. Tash Brennan opened the scoring for England in the seventh minute, courtesy of a penalty stroke, after Charlotte Hartley was tripped in the 'D'. The Welsh were back on even terms shortly before the interval when Tina Evans converted a penalty corner. A penalty corner towards the end of the match by Susie Gilbert gave England the 2-1 victory.

There was no play in the England pool in the boys competition but England meet the host nation, the Czech Republic tomorrow. Nor was there any play in the Champions Trophy in Terrassa as today is a rest day. Play resumes tommorrow.

TWO GOAL JACKSON GRABS ENGLAND A POINT

Ashley Jackson, the young East Grinstead penalty corner specialist, grabbed England a point after they went into the half-time break 2-0 down against Belgium in the European Junior Nations Championships in Prague. Shortly after the resumption of play Jackson netted a pass from Darren Cheeseman and with ten minutes left on the clock put the two sides on even terms from a penalty corner. England had better luck in the girls' competition by beating Belarus 5-0, with goals by Charlotte Hartley, Kerry Williams, Susie Gilbert, and Zoe Leach (2).

The England men's senior side were also in action today in a test match against Poland in Gniezo, where they beat the Poles 3-0 from goals by Wilson, Daly, and Richard Mantell.

In the Champions Trophy in Terrassa it was draws all round. Pakistan finished 3-3 against Germany, Argentina managed to pull one back against Spain to finish the game 1-1, and the overnight leaders, the Netherlands, finished 1-1 against Australia. Tomorow is a rest day in Terrassa.

TAEKEMA HAT TRICK GIVES DUTCH FLYING START

Three goals from Taeke Taekema and a goal from Teun De Nooijer put the Netherlands at the top of the table on the first day of play in the men's Champions Trophy in Terrassa today. They beat Argentina 4-2, in a match which the Dutch only seemed to dominate in the closing minutes. Earlier in the day, Australia beat Pakistan 1-1, but the host nation, Spain, could only manage a 1-1 draw against the Germans. Play resumes tomorrow when the Dutch play Pakistan, whilst Spain meet Australia and Germany play Argenitina.