SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S HOCKEY

Photo: Celtic Panthers Ben Edge is upended by goalkeeper Philip Carr in their 3rd/4th place match against Caledonian Cougars in the GB Super League. Richard Gray scored from the subsequent penalty stroke.

An apology to visitors to our blog for the very poor report from Edinburgh on the final of the GB Super League. This was caused by a combination of factors including a very poor internet connection from Edinburgh.

TIGERS ARE TOP CATS BUT ONLY BY A WHISKER

After three days of play in the GB Super League during which the Saxon Tigers had dominated the men’s tournament, they were taken to the wire in the final on Sunday by a resurgent Pennine Pumas side. The two teams had played each other in the round-robin stage the previous day, with the Tigers winning by a comfortable 5-2, and Tigers performance over the tournament had shown that they were the team to beat. But from somewhere the Pumas found reserves of both skill and energy, taking the lead after only four minutes with a Chris Pryce penalty conversion. They kept their lead until early in the second half when Adam Dixon equalised for the Tigers. It was to be short lived with Chris Catlin restoring Pumas lead seconds later. As the clock ticked down to the final minutes, Gareth Andrews came to Tigers’ rescue with a fine goal in open play. That meant a final score of 2-2 and the issue had to be settled by strokes. Remarkably by the time the third pair of strokes had been taken, the Pumas had failed to score and so the match and the championship went to the Tigers. In the men’s 3^rd/4^th place match, Celtic Panthers beat Caledonian Cougars 3-1

The same pairing featured in the women’s final. Cathy Gilliat-Smith was early on the scoresheet for the Tigers from the penalty spot but a second stroke was saved and a penalty corner strike was disallowed for being high. Katie Maltman increased the lead to two shortly after the break but goals by Pumas’ Sarah Page and Katie Long in the last ten minutes threatened to rob Tigers of their victory. It was Lucy Brown’s penalty corner strike that eventually came to the Tigers rescue with only two minutes left on the clock. Final score 3-2 to the Tigers. In the 3^rd/4^th place match, Celtic Panthers beat Caledonian Cougars 3-2.

Photographs from the finals will appear on our main web site in the next few days.

USA BOOK OLYMPIC PLACE

The serious prospect of an obscure island of Venezuela qualifying for the Olympic hockey faded as the week progressed in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Kazan (Russia). Netherland Antilles had qualified for the competition because it has a national Olympic association. But it does not issue passports as it is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Obvious questions were being asked as to how many of the Netherlands Antilles team, most of which play in the Dutch premier league, have actually been to the islands. Although the side reached the halfway stage of the qualifying tournament unbeaten, they were tripped up 2-3 by the Belgian’s on Thursday, and although the Belgians could only manage a 0-0 draw in their last match of the preliminary rounds, it was they and not the Netherlands Antilles who went through to Sunday’s final against the United States. The US, who had remained undefeated during the tournament, qualified for Beijing by beating the Belgians 3-1. The 3^rd/4^th place match was won by the Netherlands Antilles who beat India 2-1 but not until the match had gone to a golden goal in extra time. Russia finished 5^th after beating France 2-1. The last of the Olympic Qualifiers is currently taking place in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada).

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CARDIFF AND SPRINGFIELD REMAIN UNBEATEN IN EHL QUALIFIER.

After two matches Cardiff & UWIC emerged as front-runners in the men’s Slazenger England Hockey League Qualifier. They beat the South champions, Fareham, 2-1 on Sunday. Kingston-upon-Hull, who have a second chance to remain in the EHL, now look doomed . Despite taking an early lead against East champions, Harleston Magpies, they eventually went down 2-6. They are now on zero points with three more games to play.

Men’s EHL Qualifier table: 1. Cardiff and UWIC 6 pts (+3), 2. Harleston Magpies 4 Pts (+4), jt3. Durham University 3 pts (+0), jt3. Harborne 3 pts (+0), 5. Fareham 1 pt (-1), 6. Kingston-upon-Hull 0 pts (-6).

Springfield UCLAN from the North are currently leading the women’s qualifying table after their win over Matlock Baileans on Sunday. Horsham, fighting to retain their EHL status, are in third after a useful 4-2 win over East champions Holcombe. Southgate are in second after a 4-1 win over bottom place Lansdown.

Women’s EHL Quaifier table: 1. Spingfield UCLAN 6 pts (+3), 2. Southgate 4 pts (+3), 3. Horsham 4 pts (+4), 4 Matlock Baileans 1 pt (-1), 5. Holcombe 1 pt (-2), 6. Lansdown 0 pt (-5).

The competition concludes with three more matches for each side at Cannock over the weekend of 3^rd to 5^th May.