MIDDLETON AND WALSH RECEIVE WRITERS' AWARD

Barry Middleton and Kate Walsh (Kate pictured here with fiancé Brett Garrard) were today named by the Hockey Writers Club as the UK Players of 2007. At a luncheon at the sumptuous Royal Thames Yacht Club overlooking Hyde Park, the awards were presented by newly appointed GB Hockey president Richard Leman. Runners up were Brett Garrard and Glenn Kirkham in the men’s section, and Crista Cullen and Helen Richardson in the women’s.

Awards were also made to Bill Feltham of the Hockey Youth Trust, and to Surbiton’s Sophie Bray and Liam Doige of Old Loughtonians. Bill Feltham’a son, Clive, received the Friskin Award for outstanding services to UK hockey on behalf of his father. The silver goblet was presented by David Chappel, managing Editor of Times Newspapers. Sophie Bray and Liam Doige received the Higgins Youth Award, presented by Richard Higgins of the Higgins Group PLC.

STUDENTS DASH 'GRINSTEAD'S EUROPEAN HOPES by Peter Savage at the NIA in Birmingham

Loughborough Students, whose results in the Indoor EHL might have suggested they were a spent force, pulled off a surprise win against the favourites, East Grinstead, in the final of the National Indoor Club Championships here in Birmingham this evening. The Students had experienced a rocky ride in the semi final, going into the second half against Old Loughtonians 4-1 down, but in the final they confounded the sceptics with some attacking hockey and stout defending. An early goal from open play by John Jackson was followed by two more in quick succession, Tim Benford and Marc Edwards the scorers for the Students. East Grinstead staged a revival, with penalty corner conversions from Mark Pearn and David De Prez and a third from a penalty corner just after the break by skipper Scottt Ashdown, but the sides were on even terms for only two minutes. David Appleton found the net from open play and Richard Smith scored from the penalty spot. East Grinstead were unable to repeat their earlier resurgence and despite a second penalty corner conversion by Ashdown, were never able to find the goal that might have taken the match to penalty strokes. Final score 5-4 to Loughborough Students. East Grinstead, who had set their hearts on an early return to Europe after their success in Brussels last February, will now have to wait another year before they can qualify. This follows on from their surprise defeat at the hands of Canterbury in last year’s final.

Our photograph shows Loughborough Students celebrating after the final hooter.

Men’s semi-final scores: East Grinstead 7, Bournville 3 (Half time 2:1); Old Loughtonians 5, Loughborough Students 6 (Half time 4:1).

There were no surprises in the women’s tournament. Only three clubs have won the final since 1991 - Chelmsford, Hightown and Slough - and two of them were playing in this year’s final. However, the writing was on the wall for one of the finalists, Bowdon Hightown, who in their semi-final match allowed Ipswich to wipe out a six goal advantage in the space of twelve minutes and were fortunate to score their winning goal minutes before the final hooter. Despite a hat-tick from Denise Marston-Smith for Olton, their opponents, Slough, were too strong for them and the final score was 7-3. In the final, Sally Walton found the net for Bowdon Hightown within seconds of the start. Veteran Slough striker, Mandy Nicholson, was soon able to reply, but Lyndsay Smith struck back for Bowdon shortly after. The sides went into the break with Slough the 3-2 leaders after Alex Scott scored from open play. The second half belonged Slough, with two more goals from Fiona Greenham giving them the 5-2 victory.

Our photograph shows Slough’s Jane Smith having a close encounter with Bowdon ‘keeper Kirsty Mackay.

LUNDBERG SAVES DANISH BACON by Peter Savage in Sheffield

It was a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. England, who had dominated the women’s tournament in the EuroHockey Indoor Nations Challenge here in Sheffield, fell at the last hurdle. Only the women’s portion of the tournament requires the winner of the round-robin stages to play-off for first and second place and England, who were the only side to survive the early stages on maximum points, found themselves one behind against Denmark after only four minutes of play. On the last knockings of the first half, Marianne Nielsen converted a penalty corner in overtime, giving England a two goal deficit to overcome in the second half. Emma Thomas duly obliged with two fine goals in open play but Matilde Lundberg put the Danes back in front with nine minutes left on the clock. Battle as they could, England never managed to reassert the supremacy they had shown in previous matches. Just to add a cruel insult to injury, an England penalty corner in overtime went wide of the post. Denmark were ecstatic. England were distraught. A sad end to a very successful campaign for England’s women. Without taking anything away from the Dane’s performance, England failed to show the confidence they had shown in previous matches and the luck never seemed to go their way. Final score 3-2 to Denmark. Denmark win the tournament, with England in second place. Turkey were the surprise third place side after beating Sweden 1-0.

There were no surprises in the men’s tournament. England had to only win against Finland this afternoon to take the silver medal, which they did with goals by Richard Smith, Alistair Brogden, Adam Dixon (2) and Harry Jawanda. Sweden finish top of the pool, with England as runners-up. Both are promoted to the EuroHockey Indoor Trophy, which is next due to be held in two years time.

Photographs from the last three days will appear on our main web site soon. The EuroHockey Indoor Nations Challenge will feature in the next edition of our on-line magazine, HockeyTalk, which will be available from Thursday. Go to our web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED INFORMATION THAT THERE IS CURRENTLY NO TELEPHONE SERVICE TO OUR BASE AS A RESULT OF FLOODING EARLIER IN THE WEEK. THIS MAY RESULT IN DELAYS IN UPDATING OUR WEB SITE.

ENGLAND ON COURSE FOR PROMOTION by Peter Savage in Sheffield

England’s women continued their domination of the women’s tournament in the European Indoor Nations Challenge in Sheffield with another high scoring performance. Sweden, who had come here as one of the stronger women’s teams, were England’s victims this evening. Cathy Gilliat-Smith, opened the scoring after eight minutes and went on to score three more. Other goals came from Emma Thomas, Alex Scott, and Sally Walton (2) in this 9-0 win.

The women’s competition is being played on a different basis to the men’s and the top two teams after the round-robin stage meet in the final at 14:30 tomorrow. England, who are on maximum points, will play Denmark for the gold medals and promotion to the Nations Trophy.

The men’s competition is entirely on a round-robin basis and England play Finland tomorrow in their last match. With two promotion places up for grabs, Sweden currently lead the table on twelve points, with England and Croatia both on nine. However, England have the superior goal difference, +18 as opposed to +11. Finland have been one of the outsiders in this competition and Croatia and Sweden are due to play each other, so England’s prospects of filling one of the two places look good.

Our photograph shows Cathy Gilliat-Smith in goal scoring mode in the match against Sweden this evening.

ENGLAND'S MEN FOLLOW WOMEN'S EXAMPLE by Peter Savage in Sheffield

England' men are showing growing confidence on the second day of the EuroHockey Indoor Nations Challenge here in Sheffield. Playing outsiders, Turkey, they took control of the game and whilst Turkey had their moments, England dominated most of the exchanges. Adam Dixon opened the scoring from open play, followed ten minutes later with a goal off the stick of Simon Egerton. Deniz Kocak converted a penalty corner in first half overtime, after the first attempt had struck the crossbar and plummeted down fractions of an inch from the goal line. England’s relief lasted only seconds, as a second corner was awarded. If there was to be a revival by Turkey it did not materialise. Alistair Blogdon put two into the net in the second half, followed by a second goal by Simon Egerton and two from Richard Smith. Final score 7-1.

England showed a great deal of composure in this match and although the scoreline could not match their 11-0 defeat of Bulgaria earlier in the day, this was a very convincing and workmanlike effort

ENGLAND WIN FIRST OF VIKING DUO by Peter Savage in Sheffield

Right from the start of England women’s second match in the EuroHockey Indoor Nations Challenge it was clear that the women of Denmark would prove tougher opponents than Turkey. The Danes defended stoutly and were dangerous in attack. It looked at one stage as if the first half might pass without a goal being scored but Sarah Page broke the deadlock shortly before half time. England went into the second half showing growing confidence but suffered a setback when Marianne Nielson’s shot at goal slipped under the body of an outstretched Becky Duggan to equalise. England restored their lead seven minutes later when Alex Scott found the goal in open play. It was still anyone’s game and an equaliser from Matilde Lundberg in the 34^th minute put England on the back foot. But Lady Luck, who has not always favoured England in the past, came to England’s aid when a shot by Cathy Gilliat-Smith was trapped in front of the Danish goal by skipper Janne Nielson, and spun cruelly into the back of the net. The restored lead seemed to boost England’s confidence and Nielson, who had been a towering presence in the Danish defence, seemed unsettled by her own goal. A penalty corner award resulted in Sally Walton getting her name on the scoresheet and a second goal by Sarah Page in the dying seconds gave England the 5-2 win.

I must confess that there were times during this match when I felt that we would finish on the losing side but England showed a good deal of character in riding the difficult parts of the match and emerging winners. England play the other half of the Viking duo when they meet Sweden this evening.

Our photograph shows Emma Thomas in action during the match. Further pictures will appear on our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk later next week.

ENGLAND RAMPANT AGAINST BULGARIANS by Peter Savage in Sheffield

Bulgaria feature as one of the weaker teams here in the EuroHockey Indoor Nations Challenge and so a win by England was something of a forgone conclusion when the two sides met here in Sheffield this morning. However, it was the margin of the win which brought a smile of satisfaction to home supporters. England got off to a cautious start, probing the Bulgarian defence for weaknesses. Penev in the Bulgarian goal was all over any visitors to his circle rather like the legendary bad suit, but his defence paid the price with two penalty conversions in less than a minute giving England an early two goal advantage. The scorers were Adam Dixon and Richard Lane. Further first half goals were provided by James Southgate, Harry Jawanda, and Richard Smith. Having asserted their authority on the match, England came out more confident in the second half. Simon Egerton scored early, with further goals from Adam Dixon, David Beckett (2), Richard Smith and Harry Jawanda. Final score 11-0 to England.

A good performance by England against one of the outsiders. This is certainly not a match from which one can read too much but the score will benefit England’s goal difference when the final table is totalled up

TURKEY GIVE ENGLISH DELIGHT by Peter Savage in Sheffield

The Turkish women were never rated as one of the strongest teams here but you cannot take anything away from the barnstorming performance produced by the England women here in Sheffield in the EuroHockey Indoor Nations Challenge this evening. England had Turkey pinned back into their own half for most of the first period and only some effective goalkeeping by Elif Balci kept England from causing a major landslide. In fact England had only found the net four time - thanks to a penalty stroke and a penalty corner goal by Sally Walton and goals in open play by Emma Thomas and Alex Scott - when the Turks made one of the daftest substitutions I have seen for some time and replaced Balci with Derya Karaoglan. After that the floodgates just opened, with Scott finding the net twice more. Sally Walton added to the Turks misery with a third, and Emma Thomas went on to be one of three England players to score a hat-trick. Sarah Page joined the party with a fine goal from open play. Final score 10-0 to England.

Turkey are not Germany, so celebrations may be premature, but this was a very composed performance by England’s women, which will bring hope for success in tomorrow’s matches. England play Denmark tomorrow afternoon, followed by Sweden in the evening. The two Scandinavians sides met earlier today, with both teams seemingly running out of legs before the end of play. Denmark won the match 3-1. England look a far fitter team than either of their opponents tomorrow, so there are grounds for optimism.

An early goal by England’s Adam Dixon in their second match of the day, did not necessarily bring a sigh of relief. Playing Croatia in the men’s tournament, they looked likely to repeat their performance of earlier in the day, a feeling that was only helped by a late equaliser in the first half. The initial exchanges in the second half did not give room for optimism but in a golden period ten minutes into the second half England found the net twice, the first from a penalty corner by Richard Smith and the second four minutes later from Simon Egerton in open play. It was more with a sigh of relief than a feeling of elation that the final hooter was heard, but this was a much improved performance over this morning. The Croatians proved earlier in the day that they could play indoor hockey and so England can take some encouragement from this result.

England play Bulgaria tomorrow afternoon and Turkey in the evening.

Our photographs show some support in the crowd for Sally Walton, Alex Scott watches her 22^nd minute penalty corner find its target, and Richard Smith battling during the England v Croatia match.

SWEDES PROVE TO BE NO SWEDES by Peter Savage in Sheffield

One of the intriguing things about the EuroHockey Nations Challenge here in Sheffield is that the quality of all the visiting teams is virtually unknown to the pundits, and I count myself as one of them. So what were we expecting from the Swedes? If we were counting on them being a walkover we would have been sadly mistaken. This afternoon we saw a match where they showed considerable individual skill and not a little tactical prowess. The fact that England went into the second half one up was more a matter of some fine goalkeeping by Nick Brothers and an element of good luck. England went into the lead from a penalty corner after fifteen minutes of play courtesy of James Southgate. England raised their tally to two in the second half when Adam Dixon converted a penalty stroke. But Sweden always looked threatening and two penalty corners resulted in the sides being on even terms. The final act in the drama finally took place with a goal from open play scored in the last seconds of the match, the scorer being Sweden’s Magnus Mattsson. Final score 3-2 to Sweden.

It would be wrong to say that England were outclassed. The two sides were very evenly balanced. However, some may blanch at England losing at the hands of Sweden, a virtually unknown hockey nation. Worse may be to come. Turkey played Croatia earlier today and both teams showed themselves to be competent indoor exponents. England play Croatia later today.

Our pictures show umpire Andy Mair taking control of a penalty corner and England goalkeeper Nick Brothers in action. More photographs will appear on our main web site (www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk) next week.

ALL SET FOR EURO INDOORS by Peter Savage in Sheffield

The EuroHockey Indoor Nations Challenge kicks off here in Sheffield at mid-day tomorrow (Friday) when Croatia play Turkey. This is followed by the first England match, when England's men play Sweden. It will be England's turn to play Croatia in the final match of the day at 20:00. Our women play one match tomorrow, against Turkey at 19:00.

This blog will carry full reports of the England matches, together with pictures and tables.

GB TRI NATIONS TOURNAMENT IN DURBAN.
Due to our preparations for Sheffield we missed posting the results of the last two matches in the Tri-Nations Tournament in Durban. The match against South Africa played on Tuesday ended in a 1-1 draw. The GB scorer was Matt Daly. On Wednesday the GB match against Canada ended 4-1 in GB's favour. The GB scorers were Barry Middleton (2), Ashley Jackson (PS) and Graham Moodie.

SLOUGH AND EAST GRINSTEAD SECURE TITLES

There may be mixed emotions in the morning after East Grinstead celebrate their medals in the Indoor EHL today. The Sussex club dominated the Premier Division, only losing a single match - ironically the last match of the day against runners-up Old Loughtonians. Grinstead have European ambitions and are anxious to go on to qualify for European indoor club competition by winning the national championships at the NIA in a fortnight’s time. But looking down the table, there must be concern caused by the poor performance of Canterbury, who finished one off the relegation zone. Canterbury are England’s representatives in the European Indoor Club Championships in Perth next month. A poor result in that very tough competition could result in relegation to the ‘B’ tournament from which East Grinstead won promotion in Brussels last year. If there is any side deserving of the ‘Sick as a Parrot’ award, it must be Beeston, who were in second place when play started this morning. Playing in the first match of the day they went down 5-3 to Bournville, with Bournville’s goals coming from Hardeep Jawanda (3) and Chris Graham (2). In their second match they lost to by the same margin to Loughborough Students, giving the Students the points they needed to haul themselves into a place in the finals in Birmingham. Reading, who have rather gone off the boil as an indoor side, had a particularly successful day, beating Robinsons 5-2 and Canterbury 14-1. Alas, this was not enough to secure them a place at the NIA.

Whilst there was some high scoring at the Glades in the Men’s Premier, the goal tally was of much more modest proportions further south at Croydon in the Women’s Premier. Slough had lost only one match before today, that against Bowdon Hightown yesterday, and won the title with a three point margin with wins over Ipswich (4-2) and Sutton Coldfield (6-1). Beneath them things were a little more crowded. Olton and Chelmsford found themselves in what was effectively a play-off for fourth place. Goals from Denise Marston-Smith, Kerry Moor and Jenny Pritchard gave Olton the 3-1 win. Bowdon made surprisingly hard work beating relegated Sevenoaks (2-0) and an out-of-form Canterbury (4-3), but finished second. Ipswich came back from their defeat against Slough with a 4-1 win against Sutton Coldfield. Sutton, who were among the finalists at the NIA last year, are relegated. Our photograph shows Slough’s skipper, Lynette Smith, receiving the winner’s plate from Tournament Director, Jo Pennycook.

TRAINING MATCH IN SPAIN
Great Britain continued their series against Spain with a 2-2 draw in Terressa. GB went into the second half with a two-goal lead, with goals from Lucilla Wright and Jo Ellis. A GB victory looked in the bag until Silvia Munoz struck twice in the last ten minutes.

TRI NATIONS TOURNAMENT
Richard Mantell returned from injury to resume his role as principal penalty corner striker for Great Britain. Playing against Canada in a three nations’ tournament in Durban, Jonty Clarke opened the scoring for GB with a field goal in the 23^rd minute. Mantell found the net early in the second half but the Canadians pulled one back from a goal by Ranjeev Deol. Mantell was on target twice more and in the closing seconds of the match Barry Middleton made Britain’s total five. Final score 5-1.

SATURDAY HOCKEY ROUNDUP

Unfortunately, a technical problem with the England Hockey results service means that we are unable to bring you a full update after the third day of play in the Indoor EHL. We have managed, however, to secure the results for the Premier Division and have put together a league table from the results we have available.

In the Men’s Premier, East Grinstead remain unbeaten, the only team in the division who can now make that claim. Probably the match of the day was between EG and winner’s of last years national championships, Canterbury. This finished 11-10 in East Grinstead’s favour. Unfortunately, it was not a good day for Canterbury, as they were beaten 4-3 by Bournville in the last game of the day and look as if they will not qualify for this years championships in Birmingham. Probably the on-form side of the day were Beeston, who thumped lowly Robinsons 11-2 and then went on to beat struggling Hull 11-3. If the table remains as it is, we will see three out of the four of last year’s qualifiers absent from the NIA at Birmingham in two weeks time. Reading look out of the running, as do Canterbury, but it is probably a little early to write off Loughborough Students,

In the Women’s Premier, Slough were tripped up by Bowdon, who seem to have found some form after an indifferent start before Christmas. After the 5-3 win over Slough, Bowdon went on to scrape passed Olton 5-4. Slough’s second match of the day, against Chelmsford, ended 3-2 in Slough’s favour. Ipswich consolidated their position in the top four with wins over Olton (5-4) and Canterbury (2-1) and are now level with Slough, only separated by goal difference. The women’s division is still wide open, with six of the nine sides with a potential chance of qualification for Birmingham.

GB TRI SERIES MATCH IN DURBAN
South Africa and Canada may be ranked below Great Britain but both have already qualified for this summer’s Olympics. Great Britain have not, but the opportunity to play in this Tri Nations Tournament is a welcome opportunity to prepare for our Olympic Qualifier in two months time. Playing South Africa in the first of the series of matches, the match went into the second half with no score, but SA took a lead when they were awarded a penalty stroke ten minutes into the half. Britain’s Ashley Jackson redressed the balance less than a minute later from a corner but with five minutes left on the clock the South Africans struck again. Fortunately, James Tindall was able to give GB an equaliser two minutes from time. Final score 2-2. Unfortunately, the Great Britain side has been plagued with training injuries before this match and Richard Mantell, Simon Mantell, Brett Garrard, Graham Moodie, Stephen Dick, and James Fair were all unavailable for selection. Reading’s Nick Catlin won his first cap in this match.

WOMEN’S TRAINING MATCH IN SPAIN
The result of this match in Spain yesterday was not received until today. Great Britain’s women are playing a series of training matches against the Spanish in Terrassa. There was no score in this first in the series.

BURLINGTON CUP / INDOOR EHL ROUNDUP

Havant are the only team who remain undefeated after the first weekend’s play in the Indoor England Hockey League Division One at Flemming Park, Eastleigh. They found their form today with a 10-7 win over Surbiton and a 15-4 win over Guildford. St Albans, formerly maestros of the indoor scene, brought their three points from yesterday and moved into second place with wins over Sheffield University Bankers (9-4) and Surbiton (7-5). Doncaster, who had a stellar first day, slipped up against Harleston Magpies, who beat them 9-5, but they made short work of Guildford, beating them 6-1. Our photograph is from the match between Barford Tigers and Sheffield University Bankers, which the Tigers won 6-2. The shot shows Sheffield conceding a goal from a penalty corner. More images from today’s play will appear on our main web site (www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk) tomorrow (Monday).

MEN’S DIVISION ONE TABLE AFTER TWO DAYS OF PLAY (4 GAMES):
1. Havant – 10 Pts (+18)
2. St Albans – 9 Pts (+8)
3. Doncaster – 9 Pts (+4)
4. Stourport – 7 Pts (+1)
5. Harleston Magpies – 6 Pts (+3)
6. Barford Tigers – 6 Pts (-2)
7. Surbiton - 3 Pts (-3)
8. Sheffield University Bankers - 3 Pts (-10)
9. Guildford - 0 Pts (-19)

In Division Two North, Bowdon, Birmingham University, and Yeovil & Sherborne, will join Holcombe, Bath Buccaneers and Southgate from Division Two South in the combined Division Two at Cocks Moor Wood, Birmingham, next weekend.

In Women’s Division One, Aldridge have maintained an unblemished record and are top of the Division after wins against Bradford (5-1) and Liverpool Sefton (3-2). Sefton and Bradford suffered their first defeats of the competition, but earlier in the day Bradford had picked up a useful three points against Old Loughtonians (5-4), as had Liverpool Sefton against Nottingham Highfields.

WOMEN’S DIVISION ONE TABLE AFTER TWO DAYS OF PLAY (4 GAMES)
1. Aldridge – 12 Pts (+13)
2. Liverpool Sefton – 9 Pts (+17)
3. Bradford – 9 Pts (+1)
4. Nottingham Highfields – 6 Pts (+0)
5. Harrow 6 Pts (-1)
6. Old Loughtonians 4 Pts (+2)
7. Lansdown 4 Pts (-5)
8. Barnes 3 Pts (-3)
9. Leicester 0 Pts (-30)

Trojans, whose home ground is just down the road from Flemming Park, did not seem to mind the short journey to Croydon, where they finished top of Women’s Division 2 South, and they join Reading and St Albans who will team up with the top three sides from the North Division - Loughborough Students, Birmingham University, and Cannok in the combined Division Two next weekend.

Next weekend will see every Indoor EHL division in action. The Premier League did not play today having played their first weekend of matches before Christmas

BURLINGTON CUP IN VIENNA
It was a day of mixed fortunes for England on the final day of play. England’s women took on Slovakia for the 5^th/6^th place. Lucia Sipalova opened the scoring for Slovakia after eight minutes but Heather Batten was soon able to equalise. However, it was not to be England’s day and, despite a couple of late goals by Alex Scott, Slovakia were the 5-3 winners. However, there was some compensation in the form of a very convincing win in the women’s final by Scotland, who beat HC Wels 4-2, with goals from Vikki Bunce, Emily Maguire, Julie Bryce and Nikki Kidd. England’s men played through a goalless first half in their match against RotWeiss Munchen but managed to take the lead shortly after the break with a goal in open play by Richard Smith. It took the Germans two minutes to find an answer, with a penalty corner conversion by Sebastian Fischer, but a corner to England, converted by Adam Dixon, gave England a very welcome 2-1 victory and fifth place in the tournament. In the final Austria beat Poland ‘A’ 9-6.

SATURDAY INDOOR ROUNDUP

Divisions One and Two of the Indoor England Hockey League play their first matches this weekend. In Men’s Division One at Eastleigh, Doncaster are the only side on maximum points, having beaten St. Albans 5-4 and Sheffield University Bankers 4-2. Local boys, Havant, were involved in two high scoring matches and are in second place. They drew their first match, sharing the goals with Stourport in a fourteen goal thriller, and then beating Barford Tigers 11-7 in the last match of the day. All but two teams in this division have won at least one of their two matches, leaving Guildford at the bottom of the table without a point and Stourpoint on the one point earned against Havant.

In Division Two North in Birmingham, Bowdon and Birmingham University are on maximum points, with Leak and Peterborough still unable to record a point. In Division Two South, Bath Buccaneers lead the table having won both their matches, whilst Winchester hold up the division with no points.

It is still very open in Women’s Division One at the KC Stadium at Hull. Liverpool Sefton recorded a 4-2 win over Harrow, which they followed up with an 11-0 win over Leicester. Aldridge beat Barnes 5-4 and Leicester 9-2. Bradford’s first match of the day ended in a 4-3 win over Lansdown and they were the 6-3 victors in their meeting with Barnes later in the day. Liverpool Sefton, Aldridge, and Bradford, lead the table, separated by goal difference, whilst Barnes, Harrow, and Leicester have yet to record a point.

In Women’s Division Two North in Worcester, Birmingham University and Loughborough Students have earned six points from their two matches, with Cannock and Firebrands still needing to record a point. Divison Two South at Croydon, is split between teams that have one both matches and those who have lost. Trojans, Harleston Magpies, and Reading are all currently on six points.

Play resumes tomorrow and we hope to have photographs from one of the venues to show you tomorrow evening.

BURLINGTON CUP UPDATE
After the end of play in Vienna we now know who England’s opponents will be tomorrow. England’s women will play Slovakia, who finished third in Pool B. The men will play RotWeiss Munchen from Pool B. Both matches are to decide the 5^th/6^th place. The women’s final will be between HC Wels of Austria and Scotland, whilst the men’s final will be between Austria and Poland A.

ENGLAND LACK OF EXPERIENCE SHOWS

England’s lack of experience at indoor hockey was emphasised on the final day of pool matches at the Burlington Tournament in Vienna today. England’s women, playing club side HC Wels from Austria, were 2-0 down by half time. Sally Walton was able to pull one back from the penalty spot by Wels had a final word with a goal by Sarova in the last minutes of the match. Final score 3-1 to Wels. Wels will play Scotland, who earlier in the day beat the USA 13-0, in the final tomorrow. England will play for the fifth place but their opponents are not yet known.

The men had a better result today but, like the women, await news of who their opponents will be for the fifth place match tomorrow. Playing Poland A this afternoon, England took an early lead with a first minute goal by Harry Jawanda. Alastair Brogdon added a second, before Rafael Grotowski pulled two back for the Poles in as many minutes. England were unlucky to lose David Beckett to a head injury before half time but went into the break with a one goal advantage thanks to a second Brogdon goal. Danger man, Grotowski, put the Poles in front, with two goals in as many minutes, before Richard Lane equalised. Final score 4-4.

More indoor news will appear on this site later.

ENGLAND TAKE TWO OUT OF THREE

England’s women played two matches on the second day of the Burlington Cup in Vienna. An early morning match against the Swiss club side, Rotweiss Wettingen, ended in a disappointing 3-2 win for the Swiss. England’s scorers were Cathy Gilliat-Smith and Sally Walton. Both were on target for the afternoon’s match against Austrian club, Westend. The two sides went into half time a goal apiece, with Gilliat-Smith scoring from open play for England. She went on to score twice more in the second half and a penalty corner conversion by Sally Walton made England’s tally four. Final score 4-2 to England.

England’s women current hold the third place in Pool A with six points, behind Rotweiss Wettingen on seven and HC Wels on six. However, HC Wels have a game in hand. England play Wels tomorrow afternoon.

England’s men played only one game today but recorded a useful 3-0 win against Austrian club side Westend. England’s scorers were Richard Lane, David Beckett and Dan Fox. This result also puts them third in their Pool A table, on 3 points behind Austria on six points and Poland A on three. England play Poland A tomorrow. The full Poland team are currently preparing for their Olympic qualifier and have sent a second string team to this tournament.

ENGLAND'S MEN PUNISHED IN VIENNA

England’s men playing in their first match in the Burlington Cup indoor tournament in Vienna today suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Austria. The host nation, who came sixth in the 2007 Indoor World Cup, opened the scoring with a goal in open play after three minutes off the stick of their star striker, Michael Korper. Korper went on to score a hat trick, as did Benjamin Stanzi, in this 11-0 defeat of England.

England’s women fared better against Austria. The Austrians took an early lead but goals from Sally Walton, Alex Scott and Emma Thomas put England in the driving seat at the break. Alex Thomas scored a second after the restart and a goal by Cathy Gilliat-Smith made the England total five. Two missed penalty strokes wasted opportunities to make the tally higher. Final score 5-3 to England. This is England women’s first win since returning to competitive indoor international hockey.

The competition resumes tomorrow (Friday) with England’s women playing Swiss club side Rotweiss Wettingen and the men playing Austrian club, Westend.

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