ENGLAND GIRLS SUFFER DEFEAT IN DUBLIN

England’s girls found themselves in a tough match as they played their second Pool B game in the European Under 18s Championships in Dublin.  Facing Germany, they managed to reach the halfway mark at 1-1, after England’s Clio O’Malley equalised. But the match slipped away from them early in the second half, with two German goals in two minutes.

The Germans increased their tally to four with 16 minutes left to play. Kitty McWhirter found the net for England as the match entered its last 10 minutes, and that is how the match ended; 2-4 to Germany.

The result puts England on second place in Pool B, ahead of Belgium on goal difference. Germany lead the table, with Russia trailing in fourth.

England will play their final Pool B match tomorrow (Thursday) in a crucial encounter with Belgium.

ENGLAND GIRLS REACH JUNIOR WORLD CUP QUARTER FINALS

England’s girls pulled off a surprise win against Germany in their final Pool D match in the Women’s Junior World Cup in Monchengladbach this afternoon.  

Germany took the lead when Marilena Krauss converted a penalty corner in the 24^th minute, but seven minutes later England were gifted an own goal which put the sides on even terms  It was England’s Stephanie Addison who broke the deadlock with a goal from open play midway through the second half.  Final score 1-2 to England, and they now play Australia in the quarter finals on Thursday.

Spain, also from Pool D, beat Belgium 3-0 this afternoon, and finish the pool in top position.  They will play India for a place in the semi-finals.  India inflicted scored 10 against Russia to reach the quarter-final , beating them 1-10 in their final Pool C match, the second time in this tournament that Russia has conceded 10 goals. They have shipped a total of 26 goals in three matches.  The other side in the tournament to concede a lot of goals (25 in total) is Ghana. They were beaten 0-6 by the USA today, putting the USA through to a quarter-final place against Argentina. 

The only side to maintain a 100% record in the pool is The Netherlands, who top Pool A after beating Korea 0-2. They will meet South Africa in the quarter-finals.

INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY RESULTS FOR TODAY AND SUNDAY

Our apologies for these late reports. We lost our Internet connection for most of today (Monday) and only got back online this evening. 

There has been a lot of action over the last two days, including the Women’s Junior World Cup in Monchengladbach.

After a disappointing start for the Under 21 Women in Monchengladbach, England got back into their stride yesterday with a stunning 8-1 win over Belgium.  The result hauls them off the bottom of the table into third, ahead of Belgium.  England’s scorers were Olivia Chilton (2), Emily Defroand (2), Shona McCallin, Josie Inverdale, Hannah Martin, Grace Balsdon, and Stephanie Addison.

In Pool D, England’s pool, Germany could only draw 2-2 against Spain. Germany currently lead the pool on goal difference.  England play Germany tomorrow in their final pool match. Today is a rest day.

As on Saturday, there were some high scoring matches in Monchengladbach yesterday.  For the second day running Ghana fell victim, with a 9-0 defeat at the hands of Korea in Pool A.  Russia improved on Saturdays 10-0 drubbing at the hands of New Zealand, losing 6-0 to Australia.  

England’s boys played in the bronze medal match in the European Under 18 Championships in Vienna yesterday and lost 3-2 to The Netherlands.  England’s scorers were Tom Poustie and James Albery.  Spain won the final against Germany 2-5. 

England’s girls got off to a cracking start on the first day of the European Under 18 Championships in Dublin with a 10-1 in over Russia. On the scoresheet for England were Kitty McWhirter (3), Charlotte Burrows,  Megan Crowson (3), Pascale Massey and  Ellie Tait (2).  England play Germany in their second Pool B match on Wednesday.

And finally, after two disastrous matches in the Hamburg Masters four nations tournament in Germany, England’s seniors finally came good with a 3-2 win over Ireland. England’s scorers were Tom Carson, Darren Cheesman and Nick Catlin.  England finish third ahead of Ireland in the round-robin contest, with the winners being Germany, with The Netherlands runners-up

BAD DAY AT THE OFFICE FOR ENGLAND TEAMS. Scores from the Wormen's Junior World Cup, the European U18 Chmapionships and the Hamburg Masters.

It was a bad day at the office for England teams in Europe yesterday.

England’s women played their opening match in the Junior World Cup in Monchengladach and suffered a 0-5 setback at the hands of Spain. This places them at the foot of Pool D, with Belgium to play today (Sunday) and Germany on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in the tournament there were some high scoring matches. The Netherlands beat Ghana 10-0 and New Zealand overcame Russia by the same margin. After one match The Netherlands lead Pool A on goal difference. Argentina, who beat Canada 3-0 yesterday, lead Pool B. Pool C is topped by New Zealand, whilst England’s pool (Pool D) is currently led by Germany.

Meanwhile in Vienna, the England boys U18 side faced a setback in the European Championships when they were beaten by Spain for a place in the final. Playing in the day's second semi-final, England gifted an own goal in the 18th minute to start the ball rolling for1-3 win to the Spanish.   England's goal was scored by Jonathan Ruiz from a penalty corner.

England must now play The Netherlands today in bronze medal match. Spain will meet Germany in the final. 

England’s senior men suffered their second heavy defeat in the Hamburg Masters four nations tournament in Germany, losing 1-6 to the hosts.  England’s only goal came from Barry Middelton

LATEST INTERNATIONAL RESULTS

In the European Under 18 Championships in Vienna, England have reached the semi finals having topped Pool A on goal difference. A 3-0 win against Belgium was followed by a disappointing 1-2 defeat at the hands of Austria.  England finished the pool stages by beating The Netherlands 3-1.

England play Spain in the semi-finals tomorrow (Saturday).

England seniors had less luck against the Dutch in their opening match in the Hamburg Masters, suffering a 6-1 defeat.  England’s goal was scored by Darren Cheesman.

INDOOR HOCKEY TO BECOME A FIVE-A-SIDE GAME

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has made an announcement regarding changes to the Rules of Indoor Hockey. 

The new rule changes, which come into effect on 1 September 2013, include the change from six-a-side to five-a-side.  Part of the rationale behind the change is to introduce a level of conformity across all types of non-standard hockey, including Hockey5s, ParaHockey and Beach Hockey.

A noticeable absentee from the rule changes is the ‘own goal’ rule, which will not be included in indoor hockey.  Also absent from the changes is the rule  was proposed last year,  which banned the hand holding the stick coming into contact with the pitch. This rule change had been suspended after protests from players and others.

We will have full details on the changes to the rules of indoor hockey in the August edition of our on-line magazine, HockeyTalk, which will be available from 26^th July.