GB IN SECOND FOUR-GOAL DEFEAT

Great Britain went down 4-0 for the second day running in the Champion’s Trophy in Kuala Lumpur earlier today. Playing the World Champions, Germany, GB might have thought themselves in with a chance after their opponents poor showing in the recent European Nations Cup. Indeed, British hopes were raised when the ball found the back of the net in the 28^th minute but umpire Singh adjudged that the ball had not been struck in the circle by an attacker. Minutes later Germany one a penalty corner and scored their first of the match off the stick of Sebastian Draguhn. Germany scored their second from open play just after the re-start - Matthias Witthaus the scorer - and increasingly the Germans started to take control of the match. But it was not until the 58^th minute that they found the net for the third time, from a series of penalty corners. Germany scored their fourth in the dying seconds of the match.

It is clear from reports from Kuala Lumpur that the GB side are suffering the effects of the stifling heat and humidity in the Malaysia capital. They have a rest day tomorrow to recover before the tournament resumes tomorrow.

Other results: Pakistan 2 Spain 0, Netherlands 3 Malaysia 1.

RECKERS WRECKS BRITAIN'S OPENING MATCH

Great Britain men struggled against the powerful Dutch and the sweltering heat on the opening day of their Champions Trophy campaign in Kuala Lumpur today. The British side went down in the second minute to a goal in open play from Teun de Nooijer but managed to contain the Dutch until the second half, when Ronald Brouwer found the net after only five minutes. Two further goals for The Netherlands off the stick of Rob Reckers put the match beyond the Great Britain.

GB have another difficult game tomorrow when they face World Champions, Germany. The Germans managed to dispatch Pakistan 5-2 earlier today. The host nation, Malaysia, managed a creditable result at the hands of Australia, losing 2-0. The match between Spain and Korea ended in a 2-2 draw.

TalkHockeyRadio will be in Kuala Lumpur from Tuesday, with daily reports and photographs of matches from Wednesday onwards.

ARGENTINA WIN TEST SERIES

Great Britain's women lost the fifth and final test match against Argentina 1-2 yesterday. The GB goal was scored by Bowdon Hightown's Jo Ellis. Agentina win the series 3-1, with one match drawn.

CULLEN IN ALL-STARS LINE UP

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has announced its 2007 Women’s World Hockey All Star Team. Dutch and German players figure large in the hypothetical squad, but once again Leicester and England defender Crista Cullen (pictured) has been included in the line-up. Also selected is a former Canterbury player, US national goalkeeper Amy Tran. The full squad will appear in the January 2008 edition of HockeyTalk, available from our main site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk from 22/12/07.

GB WOMEN SUNK IN LAST MINUTES

Great Britain’s women managed to hold out until the last ten minutes in the fourth of their five test matches against Argentina yesterday (Sunday), losing to a penalty corner conversion by Guila. Skipper Kate Walsh (pictured) won her 50^th GB cap in this match.

WOMEN’S CUP QUARTER FINAL DRAW has taken place and sees the two non-Premiership sides drawn against each other. The ties are to be played on 24 February 2008.

Barnes Hounslow Ealing v Staines

Old Loughtonian v Leicester

Olton & West Warwick v Bowdon Hightown

Slough v Ipswich

CANTERBURY BEATEN BUT NOT BOWED

With Reading running away with the Premiership and having added another three points to their tally yesterday evening, potentially the most intriguing match of the day was third placed Cannock at Canterbury, the latter currently holding up the table. For much of the match one was left wondering how it is that Canterbury have only managed to pick up three points in ten outings. Although Cannock had much the lion’s share of the possession, Canterbury were never the underdogs in this match. As if to underline this point, they opened the scoring in the 20^th minute, when Andrew Gooderham (deputising for James Fair who is on GB duties) trapped the ball in front of his goal and left a sitter for Matt Harper to slip between the posts. Some superb goalkeeping by Canterbury’s Adrian Kimber, and a good slice of luck, kept Cannock at bay until just after the break, when Michael Johnson scored an equaliser from a penalty corner. It only took two minutes for Gareth Andrew to give Cannock the lead but Chris Bassano-Harper was able to put the teams on level terms from a stinging shot in open play. Canterbury need more than one point to get themselves out of trouble and even that eluded them when Simon Ramsden scored from a penalty corner. Final score 3-2 to Cannock. Our photograph shows Cannock’s Hardeep Jawanda threatening the Canterbury goal. More photographs from this match will appear on our main web site (www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk) soon.

Elsewhere in the Division, Bowdon’s revival was underlined by a useful three points at Beeston, with Saxon Hill scoring the only goal of the match. East Grinstead’s European ambitions were advanced when they beat Loughborough Students at home, EG’s scorers being Ben Payne, Scott Ashdown, and Danny Hall.

SLAZENGER EHL PREMIER DIVISION RESULTS:
Beeston 0 – 1 Bowdon
Canterbury 2 – 3 Cannock
East Grinstead 3 – 2 Loughborough Students
Hampstead & Westminster 4 – 4 Havant
Surbiton 1 – 6 Reading (Played on 24/11/07)

Things are so tight in Men’s Division One that one slip up can have a dramatic result on a team’s league ranking. Old Georgians, who were in second place at the start of the weekend, drop to fifth after their 2-1 defeat by leaders Southgate. Moving in the opposite direction are Bath Bucaneers, who now occupy second place after their 5-0 win at Belper. Old Loughtonians move up from sixth to third after their 3-2 win against Brooklands.
FULL LEAGUE TABLES WILL APPEAR ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE SOON.

WOMEN’S CUP FOURTH ROUND
Barnes Hounslow and Ealing 3 – 0 Sevenoaks
Clifton 0 – 4 Bowdon Hightown
Nottingham Highfields 0 – 4 Leicester
Olton & WW 3 – 0 Poynton
Staines 2 – 0 Reading
Sunderland 1 – 3 Ipswich
University of Birmingham 2 – 3 Old Loughtonians 3 (Golden goal)
Worcester 0 – 8 Slough

THIRD TEST MATCH ARGENTINA v GREAT BRITAIN (WOMEN)
Argentina 1 – 0 Great Britain

SLOUGH AND BOWDON OPEN GAP

Slough and Bowdon Hightown are now drawing away from the pack as the Slazenger EHL Women’s Premier Division played its last games this afternoon before the winter break. Slough went to Ipswich where goals by Jane Smith (2) and Purdy Miller gave them a useful 3-1 win. After last weekend’s setback Bowdon Hightown returned to their free scoring ways when they visited bottom-of-the-table Old Loughtonians. Tina Cullen again led the charge with a goal in the second minute. Cullen scored a second minutes later and goals from Julie Hope, Lis Chaffey, Michelle Liptrot, and Ashleigh Ball gave the visitors a 7-0 victory. There is now a nine point gap between Bowdon and Leicester, who had their match against Chelmsford postponed due to a frozen pitch.

WOMEN’S PREMIER DIVISION RESULTS:
Chelmsford v Leicester – Postponed (Frozen pitch)
Clifton 4 – 1 Poynton
Ipswich 1 – 3 Slough
Old Loughtonians 0 – 7 Bowdon Hightown
Olton & West Warwicks 3 – 0 Canterbury

Women’s Division One remains unchanged although Sutton Coldfield in third slot were the victims of a Angie Wheelhouse hat-trick when they went down to a surprise 1-3 defeat at bottom placed Harleston Magpies. In Women’s National North, Sevenoaks move up to third from fourth after their visit to Taunton Vale. Goals there from Sarah Pinkstone, Elizabeth Key and Niclola Lloyd for Sevenoaks in their 3-1 win. Staines increase their lead at the top of the table to eight points after their 1-0 win at Bournemouth, partly thanks Maidstone’s 4-2 win over second place Swansea. In Women’s North, Cannock retain their lead after beating Nottingham Highfields 3-0. Highfields slip to fourth place after Liverpool Sefton’s 4-2 win over the visitors from Rover Oxford. Sefton move into third place, four point behind Whitley Bay and Tynemouth, who won their match against Bradford 4-2. Women’s Divisions One, North, and South now go into recess until 2^nd February. The Women’s Premiership will restart a week later.

THE MEN’S DIVISION ONE match between Chelmsford and Brooklands also fell foul of the weather. There was no change at the top of the table, although all that now separates the top three is goal difference after Southgate could only draw against Bournville. Sven Tegeler, Adam Lewis, and Gareth Carr were on target for Old Georgians when they went to Belper. Final score there 3-2 to the old boys, who retain their second place. Bournville are replaced in third position by Bath Buccaneers who put six passed Sheffield University Bankers. Scorers for the Buccs were James Kellock, Chris Cargo (2), James Grogan, Josh Norton, and Ben Dando. This weekend is a double header weekend for Men’s Division One with further matches tomorrow.

LATE RESULT:

There was one match played in the Men’s Premier Division today. Surbiton 1 Reading 6. The scorers for Reading: Austin Smith (2), Andy Watts (3) and Simon Lanyon. Surbiton’s scorer was Hugh Wilson.

MOODIE TO RETURN HOME

Graham Moodie, who is in Kuala Lumpur with the Great Britain team as part of their warm up for the Champions Trophy, has been forced to return home with a hamstring injury. His place will be taken by 26 year-old Niall Stott of the Scot's club Kelburne. The hugely experienced Stott has previously been capped for GB 42 times. The Champions Trophy starts in earnest next Thursday with an opening Match against the Netherlands. TalkHockeyRadio will be providing daily on-the-spot bulletins from Kuala Lumpur from Tuesday 4 November.

GREAT BRITAIN'S WOMEN played the second of their five test series against Argentina yesterday. Bowdon Hightown's Sam Quek won her first GB cap in the 0-0 draw. Coach Danny Kerry had rested some of his experienced players and after the match commented, "As expected, Argentina threw the kitchen sink at us this evening. With Walsh, Richardson and Thomas rested, this team showed good resilience in the face of pressure.

READING EXTEND LEAD AS CANNOCK FALTER

There must have been something about the foul weather today that upset the form book, with Bowdon launching themselves off the foot of the Men’s Slazenger EHL Premier Division with a 5-0 win over Hampstead and Westminster at home. Goals came from Michael Hoare, Russel Hornby, Steve Smith, Saxon Hill, and Alex Edmonstone. Bowdon move up to eighth. East Grinstead were also able to move up the table, to second, this courtesy of two Dave De Prez goals at Cannock. Readings 3-0 win at Canterbury, with goals from Warren D’Souza and Austin Smith (2) opens up their lead at the head of the pack to nine points. Beeston’s short trip to Loughborough Students was not a happy one as they went down to goals by David Appleton and James Osborn, and saw Chris Seddon sent to the changing rooms with a red card. Beeston’s David Griffith’s scored Beeston’s only goal in the Student’s 2-1 win. Beeston slide down from third to fifth in the table.

Slazenger Men’s England Hockey League Premier Division:
Bowdon 5 – 0 Hampstead & Westminster
Cannock 1 – 2 East Grinstead
Havant 2 – 6 Surbiton
Loughborough Students 2 – 1 Beeston
Reading 3 – 0 Canterbury

There are few changes in the Men’s Division One table with leaders Southgate seeing off struggling Guildford 6-0. Goals there from Nick Gerrard (2), Matt Fitter, Adam Wilson (2) and Jordache Rawson. Bournville and Old Georgians drew, and Bath Buccaneers beat bottom placed Chelmsford 5-0. Old Georgians (2^nd), Bournville (3^rd) and Bath (4^th) are all on fourteen points, only separated by goal difference.

FULL EHL LEAGUE TABLES WILL BE POSTED ON OUR MAIN SITE ON MONDAY. WE REGRET THAT DUE TO THE WEATHER CONDITIONS THERE ARE NO PHOTOGRAPHS FROM TODAYS MATCHES AVAILABLE ON OUR SITE.

Our main web site can be found at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

SLOUGH TAKE OVER LEAD AS HIGHTOWN SLIP

Bowdon Hightown lost their unbeaten record and their lead at the top of the Slazenger EHL Premiership this afternoon, when they lost 2-3 to Olton & West Warwicks. Tina Cullen opened the scoring for Bowdon within the first minute, but goals from Lucilla Wright and Rachel Walker put Olton in front. A penalty corner conversion on half time off the stick of Sally Walton meant that the sides went into the break on even terms, but Lucilla Wright scored her second from a penalty corner just after the re-start to give Olton the win. Slough’s 5-0 victory over Chelmsford puts them at the top of the table, two points ahead of Bowdon. The nearest chasing club, Leicester, who are in third place but six points adrift, played bottom place Old Loughtonians. Goals from Hannah Macleod (2), Lucy Brown, and Kate Sharland gave them the 4-0 win. Poynton, one up from the bottom, managed a useful draw against Ipswich, the Poynton goals coming from Cath Linaker, Nicola White and Jane Ambler.

Slazenger England Hockey League Women’s Premier Division:
Bowdon Hightown 2 – 3 Olton & West Warwicks
Canterbury 4 – 1 Clifton
Leicester 4 – 0 Old Loughtonians
Poynton 3 – 3 Ipswich
Slough 5 – 0 Chelmsford

In Women’s Division One the two front runners, Sunderland and Trojans, both recorded wins, as did Sutton Coldfield. Reading could only draw at University of Birmingham and slip to fourth place. There is no change in the National South Division, whilst in the North, third-placed Nottingham Highfield’s 4-0 win over Rover Oxford and leaders Cannock’s 2-0 defeat at Liverpool Sefton means that Nottingham are within striking distance of the lead.

In the Men’s National South, Sevenoaks short lived lead was lost when they went down 3-1 to neighbouring Oxted. University of Exeter move back into the lead after their 6-0 win at Robinsons. The North Division remains unchanged.

CANTERBURY SUFFER DOUBLE SUNDAY DEFEAT

It was a bad day for Canterbury, with both their men’s and women’s teams losing. Their opponents in the Women’s Premiership were Bowdon Hightown who, fresh from their 8-1 victory at Chelmsford yesterday, could only achieve a comparatively modest 4-2 win, with goals from Lindsay French, Lis Chaffey (2) and Annalisa Bishop. Their men’s prospects looked much better against Beeston, with a penalty corner conversion by Chris Bassano-Harper and a field goal by Matt Harper putting them two up by the eleventh minute. Canterbury were 3-1 up shortly after the re-start but Beeston fought their way back into the match to finish 5-4.

The three front-runners in the men’s Premiership, Reading, Cannock and Beeston, all won today. Unlike their women’s team, Bowdon are still struggling and look set for an early return to Division One unless their luck changes. They hosted Loughborough Students lost 2-1. Loughborough’s goals came from Adam Wilson and Paul Cleghorne.

In the Slazenger Women’s Premier Division, Slough maintain their second place, beating Clifton 3-2, with Jane Smith (2) and Purdy Miller being the scorers for Slough. The bottom of the table clash between Poynton and Old Loughtonians resulted in Poynton recording their first win of the season. Both clubs are starting to drift away at the bottom of the table.

Slazenger EHL Premiership Results:

Men:
Beeston 5 – 4 Canterbury
Bowdon 1 – 2 Loughborough Students
Hampstead & Westminster 0 – 2 Reading
Havant 4 – 5 Cannock
Surbiton 4 – 6 East Grinstead

Women:
Canterbury 2 – 4 Bowdon Hightown
Ipswich 1 – 2 Chelmsford
Old Loughtonians 1 – 2 Poynton
Olton & West Warwicks 0 – 3 Leicester
Slough 3 – 2 Clifton

There was no play in Men’s Division One today. In the National South Division Sevenoaks were the only team amongst the front runners to win, with a 2-1 victory over Whitchurch, and they go two point ahead at the top of the table. University of Exeter could only manage a 3-3 draw against Indian Gymkhana, and Oxted drew 2-2 at Holcombe. In the North University of Birmingham retain their lead after a 3-2 win at Sheffield Hallam. At the basement end of the table neither Formby or Kingston-upon-Hull had recorded a win this season until this afternoon. All that was to change when the two sides met, with Formby taking the laurels with a 5-1 victory.

FULL SLAZENGER LEAGUE TABLES WILL APPEAR ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE (www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk) SOON.

TINA'S FOUR KEEP BOWDON ON TOP

An injury received during training has kept her off the stats for a few weeks but she was back with a vengeance today when Bowdon Hightown visited Chelmsford in the Slazenger EHL Women’s Premier Division. Although Chelmsford were first to find the net – only to see their attempt disallowed as it was adjudged to have been struck from outside of the ‘D’ - Tina Cullen was back in scoring mode with less than four minutes on the clock with a well taken field goal at full stretch (see our photo). Bowdon have had some high scoring wins of late – their average for the season stands at an impressive four goals per match – but the early encounters gave little clue that this might be one of them. Cullen enjoys space and she was given plenty of it. But it was team-mate Julie Hope who scored Bowdon’s second. It seemed that a Lynn Bollington goal for Chelmsford in the 23^rd was a catalyst for further effort by Cullen and her team. Bowdon’s third went in two minutes later off the stick of Cullen, followed by a fourth from Fay Nash just before half time. When you’re down on your luck the breaks never seem to come, and a difficult bouncing ball five minutes from time eluded a Chelmsford defender and Cullen was there to steal it and pop it in the net. Cullen made her tally for the match four just before the final whistle. Some of Chelmsford’s frustration in this match was evident when one of their players received their marching orders for swearing at umpire Dawn Henning. This is not the best I have seen Bowdon Hightown play. Lord help any team that faces them when they are truly on song.

Elsewhere in the Premiership Olton and West Warwicks lifted their prospects with a 7-0 win over Old Loughtonians. Canterbury’s visit to Ipswich saw them come away empty handed, with goals from Becky Baker and Leisa King relegating the Kent side from fourth to sixth in the table. Currently Bowdon Hightown lead by one point ahead of Slough. There is then an eight point gap, with Leicester in third place, separated on goal difference from Ipswich. Lowly Poynton remain bottom on one point after their 1-0 defeat by Slough.

SLAZENGER EHL WOMEN’S PREMIER DIVISION;
Chelmsford 1 – 6 Bowdon Hightown
Ipswich 2 – 0 Canterbury 0
Leicester 1 – 1 Clifton
Old Loughtonians 0 – 7 Olton & West Warwicks
Slough 1 – 0 Poynton.

In Division One Sunderland remain top after their win at Durham University. Sutton Coldfield slipped back into fourth place after losing to fellow promotion contenders Trojans 2-3. Reading have found their winning ways again with 4-1 win over bottom placed Harleston Magpies, and move into third.

PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE MATCH BETWEEN CHELMSFORD AND BOWDON HIGHTOWN WILL APPEAR ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE (WWW.TALKHOCKEYRADIO.CO.UK) TOMORROW (SUNDAY). UPDATED LEAGUE TABLES WILL APPEAR ON MONDAY.

EH CUP QUARTER FINALS DRAW

The draw for the quarter finals of the Men’s Cup took place earlier today and has thrown up some interesting pairings. The two newly promoted teams in the Premiership, Bowdon and Havant, have struggled in their first season in the top tier but have survived through to the last eight. Neither has an easy draw, with Havant entertaining East Grinstead and Bowdon meeting Old Georgians from the top end of Division One. Holcombe, who are fighting to regain Division One status, are matched against an on-form Beeston from the Premier Division. Doncaster, who are currently third in the National North Division, have the misfortune to be drawn against Premiership leaders Reading. Matches will be played on Sunday 24 February.

Late Result from EuroHockey League

We had some problems getting results from Antwerp in the EuroHockey League yesterday but we have now received the final results. Loughborough Students had made qualification a certainty by there 3-1 win over Kelburne on Saturday, and it only remained for the Scots to see off Swiss champions Luzerner, which they did with a 5-3 win. As a result, the two British teams go through to the next round. You have to pinch yourself to realise that all three English clubs have survived round one, whilst the Germans only have one survivor, Uhlenhorster, who qualified along with Dutch rivals Bloemendaal, from Pool C. Irish side, Pembroke Wanderers ended their EuroHockey dream on Sunday with a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Pocstiwiec Poznan. Full results will be available shortly on our Website at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk.

We regret that on Saturday we credited two of the Loughborough Students goals to Michael and Jonathan Christie. We were a bit baffled at the time but we were relying on information from official sources. It now appears that there was mix-up between the numbers of the two teams and the scorers for Loughborough Students were in fact Robert Smith and James Osborn.

HEADLINE NEWS - BOWDON HIGHTOWN DO NOT WIN

Bowdon Hightown not winning three points might seem an odd headline news item but the fact is that before this morning they had gone for six matches and had scored maximum points in the Slazenger Women’s Premiership. Playing Leicester away they were honours even at half time, Becky Herbert opening the scoring for Leicester and Jo Ellis replying four minutes later. Bowdon then went ahead a few minutes into the second half from a field goal by Ashleigh Ball but Lucy Brown put the sides back on even terms. Vanessa Hawkins converted a penalty corner to give Leicester the lead, but with two minutes left on the clock Lyndsay French equalised from a corner.
Slazenger Women’s Premier Division:
Canterbury 0 – Slough
Clifton 2 – 4 Chelmsford
Leicester 3 – 4 Bowdon Hightown
Old Loughtonians 1 – 5 Ipswich
Olton & West Warwicks 4 – 1 Poynton

There was one serious upset in the Men’s Cup this afternoon, when Old Georgians from Division One put four passed Premier Division stugglers, Canterbury. TalkHockeyRadio was at the match between Reading and Chichester from the South Premier Division and photographs from that match will appear on our main site shortly. Other Cup results:

Chelmsford 0 – 6 Beeston
E Grinstead 6 – 1 Old Loughtonians
Gloucester City 0 - 7 Bowdon
Havant 8 – 0 Robinsons
Old Georgians 4 – 0 Canterbury
Reading 8 – 1 Chichester
Sheffield Hallam 3 – 6 Holcombe
Southgate 2 – 3 Doncaster

A report from Antwerp will appear on this blog shortly.

Saturday - Late Result

In the third of there three match series against the Australian Institute of Sport, Great Britain lost 2-5, GB's goals being scored by Hayley Brown and Kate Walsh.

TWO CRISTIES GIVE STUDENTS THE EDGE

Loughborough Students have secured a place in the second round of the EuroHockey League with a convincing win against Scots side Azzurri Kelbourne in Antwerp this afternoon. The students went in front with goals by Michael and Jonathan Cristie and then resolutely defended their lead in the second half. Kelbourne pulled one back with a penalty corner by Niall Stott which was deflected into the net off the stick of defender Jon Bleby. With ten minutes of the match left, Chris Nelson gave the students their third to leave the final score at 3-1.

Last weekend’s first round matches had ended in draws aplenty, so a 9-2 win stands out as a bit of an oddity in this competition. That was how the match between Barcleona and Dinoma Electrostal ended. The other Spanish team playing today also enjoyed a goalfest, putting seven passed Pocztowiec Poznan for no reply. The only German side left in the competition, Uhlenhorster drew against the much fancied Dutch from Bloemendaal 3-3.

On home soil Reading have built up a remarkable eight point lead in the Slazenger EHL Premier Division after overcoming Havant 4-3 this afternoon. Reading’s scorers were Andy Watts, Austin Smith, Richard Springham, and Warren D’Souza. Beeston met East Grinstead away and ran out 6-4 winners. Beeston and East Grinstead now occupy respectively the second and third place slots. Canterbury earned their first points of the season by beating Bowdon 2-0 and the two teams are both at the bottom of the table with Canterbury having the advantage on goal difference.
Men’s Premiership results in full:
Canterbury 2 – 0 Bowdon
East Grinstead 4 – 6 Beeston
Hampstead and Westminster 2 – 3 Surbiton
Reading 4 – 3 Havant.

In Men’s Division One, Southgate moved ahead of Old Georgians at the top of the table after the old boys could only draw when they hosted Brooklands. Southgate had a convincing 6-0 win at Belper.

TalkHockeyRadio should have been in Antwerp but the next best thing was a double header at Sevenoaks where the men met Holcombe in the National South Division. Sevenoaks are reckoned to be slow starters but two penalty corner conversions in the first five minutes put pay to that reputation. Close marking of David Matthews (Pictured No 10) and Danny Laslett effectively neutralised the Holcombe strike force, but the player who impressed was Pete Turner who scored his hat-trick with his third penalty corner conversion in the 60^th minute. Sevenoaks 3-1 win put them in second place separated by goal difference from the leaders, University of Exeter. Holcombe slip into third place.

PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE MATCHES BETWEEN SEVENOAKS MEN AND HOLCOMBE AND SEVENOAKS WOMEN AND EXE WILL APPEAR ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE SOON. www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

LOUGHBOROUGH LOOK SET TO PROGRESS

Loughborough Students look set to become the third English club to progress through from the first rounds of the EuroHockey League in Antwerp this afternoon. Playing Swiss side Luzerner, the students got off to a cracking start with an early penalty conversion from Richard Smith. A mistake in the defence allowed the Swiss to equalise, but the English side grabbed the deciding goal in the dying seconds, courtesy of Peter Dobson. Loughborough Students play Kelbourne tomorrow. The Germans, who came away empty handed from last weekend’s first round pool matches, had better luck when Ulenhorster won their match against Polish outfit Grunwald Poznan 5-1. In the other matches played today the host club, Royal Antwerp, drew 3-3 against the Russians from Dinamo Electrostal, and Spanish side Club Egara overcame Pembroke Wanderers from Ireland 3-2.

This evening’s practice match between Great Britain women and the Australian Institute of Sport ended ten minutes short of time due to a floodlight failure. The Australians had taken a twelfth minute lead through Madonna Blyth. Hayley Brown (pictured) replied in open play but Emily Halliday converted a penalty corner just before the half-time whistle. The scored remained at 2-1 at the time of the floodlight failure.

Roger Self has retired from the post of President of Great Britain Hockey on the grounds of ill-health. Bryn Williams will be acting president until a replacement can be appointed.

Notice regarding our European Hockey League Coverage

Our photographer and correspondent, Peter Savage, was involved in serious car accident on the way to Antwerp this morning. Although he is unhurt, it has curtailed his travel arrangements quite dramatically. Although we will be carrying reports from the EuroHockey League, they will not be as comprehensive as first promised. However, we are hopeful of bringing photographs of domestic league and cup action over the weekend.

QUEK AND GILBERT COULD BE SUPRISE SELECTIONS by Pat Rowley

Two uncapped teenagers, Samantha Quek of Bowdon Hightown, and Susie Gilbert (Birmingham University), could be surprise selections when Great Britain announce their team to visit Argentina for five test matches later this month. Both have been named to play in at least one of Britain’s two remaining matches against the Australian A side at Bisham tonight and tomorrow evening. They are two of 12 players selected who did not play in Wednesday evening’s 3-0 defeat against what is, to all intents and purposes, the full Australian team. The other ten hoping to stay in the British squad are goalkeepers Beth Storry and Katy Roberts, Hayley Brown, Crista Cullen, Jo Ellis (Bowdon), Rebecca Herbert, Chloe Rogers, Wales’ Sarah Thomas and two Scots, Laura Bartlett and Louise Munn. British coach Danny Kerry has informed his squad that anyone not selected for tomorrow’s game will be released to play for their clubs on Sunday. Loughborough Students ought to become the third English club to make the knockout stages of the new European League, when they play Luzerner (today) and Scottish champions Kelburne (tomorrow) in their three team group at Antwerp. To qualify, the Students have to finish in the top two in their pool. They will be better prepared than Reading were if they have to take part in an unusual tie breaker. What Reading appeared not to realise was that, even if the goalkeeper makes a save in the one on one shoot-out situation, they can still score provided they are within the eight second time limit.