PREMIERSHIP SIDES IN BAD START TO PROMOTION WEEKEND

Today saw the first day the England Hockey League Promotion Tournament. For the clubs hoping to stay in the Premiership it was not a good start to the weekend.

Canterbury from the Men' Premier Division found themselves going 3-1 down to a University of Exeter side who are anxious to make a quick return to the top flight. For the women, Emma McCabe's penalty corner equaliser must have given Olton & West Warwickshire a glimmer of hope, but two goals in three minutes – the first from the evergreen Jane Sixsmith – gave Sutton Coldfield the 3-1 result to get them off to a flying start.

 

Men's Promotion Tournament

 

University of Durham		(0)		0	-	4		(2)		Southgate
										Johannes Kloess 17 39 - PC PC Edward Miller 24 - PC Adam Wilson 59 - PC
Canterbury		(0)		1	-	3		(2)		University of Exeter
Michael Farrer 52 - PC										Ian Haley 8 - F Tom Carson 10 - F James Royce 39 - F

 

 

Women's Promotion Tournament

 

Olton & West Warwicks		(0)		1	-	3		(1)		Sutton Coldfield
Emma Mccabe 43 - PC										Charlene Mason 19 - PC Jane Sixsmith 50 - F Sarah Mills 53 - F
Sevenoaks		(1)		3	-	2		(1)		Buckingham
Heather Batten 30 - F Sophie Crosley 56 69 - PC PC										Lauren Thomas 23 - PC Leanne Grimsley 66 - PC

 

DOUBLE SUCCESS FOR ENGLAND IN DEN BOSCH by Peter Colwill at the Women's Club Champions Cup

Day 4 Monday Play offs: Volga Telekom (Rus) 2 Atasport (Aze) 5; Royal Antwerp (Bel) 2 Ritm Azot Grodno (Blr) 3
Quarter Finals: UHC Hamburg (Ger) 1 Larensche (Ned) 5 ; Leicester (Eng) 1 Berliner (Ger) 0; Club de Campo Madrid (Spn) 2 Slough (Eng) 2aet , Slough won 4-3 on penalty strikes; Den Bosch (Ned) 10 CD Terrassa (Spn) 0.

Slough and Leicester from England and Larensche and ‘s-Hertogenbosch from the Netherlands will contest the semi finals at Whitsun (June 10-12) at a venue yet to be revealed, with the competition rules drawing the English and Dutch teams in against each other in the semi finals ensuring that an English team is certain to reach the final. The Dutch clubs sailed through at a canter but it was a much closer affair for Leicester who won by the only goal and Slough who won in the sudden death stage of this new fangled penalty shoot out.

Leicester gave an assured performance restricting Berliner to two penalty corners and although they were unsuccessful from their own five corners they scored the critical goal four minutes before half time. Emma Clarke did well to control the ball in the midfield and released Chloe Rogers down the right. Rogers’ cross was swept in by Lauren Turner.

A delighted Leicester coach Chris Mayer said: “Absolutely ecstatic, we deserved that victory. It made up for a number of disappointments over the last two years and all the work the squad has put in. A great day for English clubs in Europe. We now look forward to the finals weekend at Whitsun.”

Slough took the lead in the tenth minute. Fiona Greenham’s ball over the top released Lauren Penny who ran on to score. Madrid equalised through a Carla Rebecchi penalty corner which sailed high beyond Becky Duggan’s reach. Ashleigh Ball put Slough back in front before the interval slashing at a loose ball in the circle after Alex Scott had created the opening.

Slough’s lead remained intact until the final minute of normal time when Maria Cruz scrambled an equaliser. There was no time to restart and after two periods of five minutes extra time there came the shoot out. Nicola White and Ball were successful at both attempts and Duggan saved from both Rebecchi and Cruz for a dramatic victory.

Larensche’s 5-1 defeat of Hamburg completed a miserable weekend for German clubs while two early corner strikes by Maartje Paumen opened the floodgates for ‘s Hertogenbosch’s 10-0 win against CD Terrassa in front of a large crowd and the town band.

EUROHOCKEY LEAGUE K016 ENDS WITH A BANG by Peter Savage in Bloemendaal

The last day of te KO16 weekend of the EuroHockey League ended with a real belter of a match between two Dutch clubs, the hosts Bloemendaal, and Oranje Zwart from Eindhoven.

Played in front of a noisy and enthusiastic crowd of 5,000, we were treated to a display of high intensity hockey from the off. Jelle Galena stunned the home crowd with a 31 minute goal, but Martijn van Mierlo equalised in the second half, sending the match into extra time and then yet another one-on-one shoot out.

The normally ingenious and skillful Bloemendaal were inexplicably well below their best in the shoot out and paid the price, failing to find the net with their first two attempts out of three. So it is Oranje Zwart who go through to the semi finals, where they play HGC. The semi finals take place on 11 June. Although the venue has still to be arranged, there has been some speculation here in Bloemendaal that HGC may host the final four.

READING REACH SEMI FINALS by Peter Savage in Bloemendaal.

My first question to Reading skipper Rhys Joyce after this match was, how many times did Reading have to win it?

It was another match showcasing English hockey at its best, against a very capable KHC Dragons. Remember, the Belgians were the team that beat the holders, UHC Hamburg, in Round 1 and they went on to knock Rot Weiss Koln out of the competition on Saturday.

From the start it was end to end stuff, with Dragons taking their chances with long balls and Reading taking a more measured approach. The latter proved to be the better strategy, with Reading taking a 17^th minute lead from a Warren D’Souza goal.

Five minutes later, Joyce was the unlucky victim of one of EuroHockey League rules, when a ball struck him on the foot and was deflected into the Reading net. It would not have been a goal in the England Hockey League, but it was in the EuroHockey League thanks to the ‘own goal’ rule.

Reading looked as if the had re-taken the lead later in the first half but the goal was disallowed on video appeal. Reading managed to take the lead for real 20 minutes into the second half with a penalty corner goal from Ian Mackay.

The last 15 minutes of the match was one of the longest I can remember and one could just sense that it was not all over. Predictably, with only a few second left, Renaud Pangrazio equalised give us a normal time score of 2-2.

Silver goal extra time could not resolve the issue and so it was another one-on-one shoot out. When goalkeeper Nick Brothers denied Dragon’s Loic Vandeweghe their final attempt, it appeared to be all over. Certainly the Reading squad were celebrating, but it was a celebration that had to be put on hold when the Belgians asked for the goal to be referred to the video umpire. After an interminable wait, the umpires received confirmation that the goal would stand, and it was time for Reading to start celebrating all over again.

Reading are the first English side to qualify for the semi-finals of the EuroHockey League.

Due to the EuroHockey League rules regarding two nations going through to the last four, I am able to say that Reading will play Club de Campo on 11^th June at a venue to be announced.

Just to add a bit of spice to the day, we have just been told in the Media Centre at Bloemendaal that Leicester have reached the semi finals of the Women's Club Champions Cup in 's-Hertogenbosch.

BREAKING NEWS FROM BLOEMENDAAL

Reading have qualified for the semi finals of the EuroHockey League after beating KHC Dragons on a one-on-one shoot out. A full report will follow soon.

ENGLISH CLUBS IN REACH QUARTER FINALS by Peter Colwill in 's-Hertogenbosche

Pool A Leicester (Eng) 1 Den Bosch (Ned) 3;
Pool B B CD Terrassa (Spn) 0 Berliner (Ger) 7;
Pool C UHC Hamburg (Ger) 2 Club de Campo Madrid (Spn) 2;
Pool D Larensche (Ned) 3 Slough (Eng) 0.

Final Pool Standings:
Pool A: 1 Den Bosch (Ned) 2 Leicester (Eng) 3 Royal Antwerp (Bel).
Pool B: 1 Berliner (Ger) CD Terrassa (Spn) 3 Ritm Azot Grodno (Blr)
Pool C: 1 Club de Campo Madrid (Spn) 2 UHC Hamburg (Ger) 3 Volga Telecom (Rus)
Pool D: 1 Larensche (Ned) 2 Slough (Eng) 3 Atasport (Aze)

Quarter finals: UHC Hamburg v Larensche; Leicester v Berliner; Slough v Club de Campo Madrid; Den Bosch v CD Terrassa.

Slough and Leicester suffered defeats at the hands of the two Dutch Clubs in their final pool games but will still contest tomorrow’s (Monday) quarter finals of the Women’s EuroHockey Club Championship. Slough will play Campo Madrid in their game after succumbing 3-0 to a Larensche side who played at a much higher level than in their opening match. So dominant were the Dutch club in the first half that Slough’s first opening did not come until the 24th minute, when Louise Bevan won a penalty corner which produced another. Chloe Strong‘s shot was well saved by Joyce Sombroek.

Larensche took the lead in the 13th minute at a penalty corner. Kim Lammers low flick found its way under Becky Duggan’s dive. Just before half time they went further ahead when Macey De Ruiter lashed at a loose ball in the circle. Slough rallied well in the second half but the Dutch scored a third another low flick by Lammers at a penalty corner.

Leicester who will play Berliner in their quarter final gave a very spirited performance against the winners for the last eleven years and Christa Cullen achieved the rare feat of breaching their defence with a penalty corner flick. The goal came at the end of the third quarter but at this stage Den Bosch were three ahead. Sabine Mol exploited the space behind the Leicester defence to open the scoring in the fifth minute. Maartje Paumen converted a penalty corner their only success from nine attempts, which included two very fine diving saves by Maddie Finch. Eight minutes into the second half Mol outpaced the defence to score again.

Berliner should prove formidable opponents for Leicester. They demolished CD Terrassa 7-0. The star of the show was centre forward Natascha Keller who amazingly was the last name on the score sheet. There were two goals for both Viktoria Wieske and Katharina Otte. Campo Madrid came from behind after going two goals down in the opening ten minutes to draw with Hamburg to top the fourth group.

.

BEESTON THE BRAVE by Peter Savage at Round 3 of the EuroHockey League in Bloemendaal

As brave efforts go, it was as brave any effort as you would see on any hockey pitch near you. Beeston took on the Dutch giants, HGC, and came away with a lot of pride.

Beeston put in a great effort in the opening minutes, to the point where HGC’s Canadian captain, Rob Short, could be heard loudly berating his defence. Indeed, it was slightly against the run of play that Rodrigo Vila opened HGC’s account after 18 minutes. It was a lead they held for three minutes. Beeston’s dependable penalty corner striker, Andrew Monte, worked his magic and the side’s were on even terms.

HGC seemed to settle down as the first half ticked away and their Seve Van Ass put them into a 2-1 lead just before the half-time hooter. But Beeston were still playing on equal terms, as was evidenced by Monte’s second goal from a penalty corner, 11 minutes into the half.

From 2-2 HGC managed to race ahead with further goals from Timmo Kranstauber and Connor Grimes. In the last ten minutes Beeston put in a superhuman effort to be rewarded with a late penalty corner goal from Alastair Wilson. Then, with eight seconds left on the clock, a penetration into the HGC circle resulted in an appeal to the video umpire. The appeal resulted in a penalty corner. Unfortunately, the ball was mis-trapped as it came to the top of the D and the corner was over in a flash.

Final score 4-3 to HGC. They now go through to the semi finals on 11 June at a location to be announced.

Earlier in the day, what had promised to be an exciting all-Spanish match between Club de Campo and Atletic Terrassa, turned out to be very disappointing. After a 1-1 finish, the issue had to be decided on a one-on-one shoot out which saw Club de Campo emerge as victors. They go through to the semi finals.

England’s last remaining chance of a semi-final place takes place tomorrow afternoon when Reading play KHC Dragons.

ROGERS IMPRESSIVE IN DEN BOSCH by Peter Colwill at the Women's Club Champions Cup

Pool A Leicester (Eng) 3 Royal Antwerp (Bel) 1;
Pool B Ritm Azot Grodno (Blr) 2 CD Terrassa (Spn) 3;
Pool C Volga Telecom (Rus) 1 UHC Hamburg (Ger) 3;
Pool D Atasport (Aze) 0 Larensche (Ned) 2.

Leicester blew hot and cold but are through to the quarter finals following their 3-1 win over Royal Antwerp. They led 2-0 at the interval through a Christa Cullen flicked penalty corner and a fine individual goal by the very impressive Chloe Rogers.

Sophie Frederiks pulled one back for Antwerp early in the second half but Leicester regained their two goal margin within minutes. Hannah MacLeod created the opening and Rebecca Herbert, another who impressed, provided the finishing touch.

Larensche, Slough’s next opponents, had to wait for the start of the second half against Atasport when they scored two goals in quick succession. A little piece of magic by Naomi van As gave them the lead and Kim Lammers added a second from a penalty corner, their only success from nine attempts. The result confirms Slough’s qualification for the quarter finals.

Hamburg came back from a goal behind at half time to beat Volka Telecom who tired in the second half with only two outfield substitutes. CD Terrassa were not impressive in their 3-2 win against Ritm Azot Grodno but it was enough to reach the quarter finals where they will be joined by Berliner, Slough, Larensche, Hamburg,’s-Hertogenbosch, Leicester and Madrid. Sunday’s matches will determine who plays whom.

DRAGONS SMOKE ROT WEISS. Final results from Day 2 of the EuroHockey Leaue KO16

KHC Dragons proved their Round 1 form was not a flash in the pan when they came back from behind to beat Rot-Weiss Koln in the final match of Round 2 this afternoon. Dragons will now meet Reading in the quarter finals on Monday.

The mayor of Bloemendaal claims that 25% of the inhabitants of his community play hockey for a local club, and you could well believe that they had all turned up to watch Bloemendaal take on the holders, UHC Hamburg. In the opening minutes Hamburg looked by far the sharper of the two sides, although we had to wait until 11 minutes into the second half for a goal, courtesy of Hamburg’s Oliver Korn. After that they seemed to let the match slip away from them and a penalty corner from Woulter Jolie and a late goal from Nick Meije meant that Hamburg will not be around to defend their title in Round Three.

The curse of the one-on-one shoot out visited a Spanish club for the second time in Round Two earlier in the afternoon. Whereas Atletic Terrassa survived victorious against Mannheimer yesterday, RC Polo de Barcelona had less luck when they drew 2-2 against Dutch side Oranje Zwart. Going to a sudden death after the initial round failed to decide the issue, the Dutch emerged victorious and go through to meet Bloemendaal in Round 3 on Monday.

Tomorrow sees Beeston back in action when they play HGC in their Round 3 match for a place in the last four.

Images from today’s matches have been loaded onto out web site at www.hockeryimages.co.uk.

EAST GRINSTEAD AND READING IN EIGHT GOAL THRILLER by Peter Savage in Bloemendaal

In what was a tremendous advertisement for English hockey, East Grinstead and Reading fought out an eight goal thriller in their Round 2 match in the EuroHockey League this morning.

Without injured Ashley Jackson and Darren Cheesman, the early minutes of the match looked as if it might turn into a rout for East Grinstead, with Richard Mantell scoring for Reading in the opening minutes from a penalty corner. Jonty Clarke followed this up with a 21 minute goal in open play, but the modest 2-0 score belied the amount of pressure that Reading were applying to the East Grinstead defence.

Reading increased their lead early in the second half when Chris Cargo scored their third, but suddenly the pressure switched, with Danny Hall finding the net twice for EG in less than two minutes.

From this point the match became more evenly matched and there was an audible sigh of relief from the Reading supporters when Chris Cargo scored again to give his side a two goal lead.

East Grinstead kept fighting to the end, with Gareth Carr scoring with 13 minutes left, unusually for him from open play. But it was Reading who had the last word by sealing their dominance of this match with a 65^th minute goal from Richard Springham. The final score, 5-3 to Reading.

A sad end to a season which has seen some high moments for East Grinstead, somewhat spoilt by a flaky finish to the England Hockey League season and their recent defeat in the Championship finals. But the Sussex club must share much of the credit with Reading for putting on a thoroughly entertaining match this morning.

On Monday Reading will face the winners of the match between KHC Dragons and Rot Weiss Koln, which will be played later today. The prize will be a place in the semi-finals.

Images from this morning’s match will appear on our site at www.HockeyImages.co.uk later today.

SLOUGH OFF TO STORMING START by Peter Colwill at the Women's Club Champions Cup in 's-Hertogenbosch

Women’s EuroHockey Club Champions Cup‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
From Peter Colwill in the Netherlands
Day 1 Friday
Pool A Den Bosch (Ned) 8 Royal Antwerp (Bel) 0;
B Berliner (Ger) 4 Ritm Azot Grodo (Bur) 0;
C Club de Campo Madrid (Spn) 5 Volga Telecom (Rus) 0;
D Slough (Eng) 2 Atasport (Aze) 0.

A storming first half by Slough was enough to give them a victory, which should guarantee. them a quarter final match against either Hamburg or Campo Madrid.

The heavily Korean flavoured Azbergin side had little answer to Slough’s thrusting play in which Harriet Cunninghm and Ashleigh Ball were outstanding. Chloe Strong fired a penalty corner wide in the opening minute but made no mistake at her second attempt three minutes later. Within a minute of the start of the second quarter they were two ahead. Alex Scott was crudely tackled whilst trying to walk the ball into the goal and scored from the resulting penalty stroke.

Slough faded somewhat in the second half and were indebted to goalkeeper Becky Duggan who made three fine saves from penalty corners and also to the central defensive partnership of the youthful Hannah Coulson and the evergreen Mandy Nicholson.

Earlier in the day Campo de Madrid’s Argentinean forward Carla Rebecchi scored three goals in a comfortable 5-0 victory against Volgo Telecom. Berliner had a less comfortable time before beating the Belarusian club. Their final goal was scored with the sweetest of strikes by Mieketine Hayn who was celebrating her 17th birthday.

In the last match of the day the host club ‘s-Hertogenbosch romped to an
8 - 0 victory over Antwerp. Maartje Paulmen showed why many consider her the best corner striker in the world with three scintillating conversions.
ends

Final result from first day of KO16 at Bloemendaal

Atletic Terrassa go through to Round 3 after beating Mannheimer in a one-on-one shoot out.

We hope to bring you news from the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup in Den Bosch later.

BEESTON TO PLAY HGC IN QUARTER FINALS by Peter Savage in Bloemendaal

Beeston will meet Dutch side HGC in the quarter finals of the EuroHockey League on Sunday. In a closely fought encounter HGC overcame their Round 2 opponents from Ireland, Glenanne, 2-0. Glenanne were somewhat of a revelation against Ashley Jackson’s former club, matching their Dutch opponents ball for ball. It was something of a minor tragedy that the second of HGC’s two goals was as a result of Glenanne’s ‘keeper, Stephen Doran , being left stranded after mix up in the defence following an HGC breakaway. Doran had been exceptional between the sticks and deserved a better result.

Final score in that match, 2-0 to HGC.

The other Irish side in KO16, Pembroke Wanderers, had less luck. They are not the same side as progressed from Round 1, and player defections and other problems meant that they could not even field a full squad. They paid the price for their shortcomings by conceding 11 goals against their Spanish opponents, Club de Campo. Final score 11-0 to Campo.

TWO ENGLISH CLUBS IN ROUND TWO by Peter Savage in Bloemendaal

Beeston progressed through to Round 3 of the EuroHockey League here in Bloemendaal with a workmanlike, if rather dull, match against Dinamo Kazan of Russia.

Although they had the lion's share of possession in the first half, some effective defending by the Russians stopped Beeston having a genuine scoring chance. So, it was with a sigh of relief that Beeston's efforts finally paid off when a penalty corner opportunity was converted by Ben Arnold 10 minutes into the second half. Sam Ward followed up with a second from a corner, 11 minutes later to give Beeston a 2-0 win.

Beeston will now play the winner of the match between HGC and Ireland's Glenanne. The smart money will be on the Dutch, and they should prove to be a difficult opponent for Beeston when they play their Round 3 match on Sunday. The reward for the winner will be a place in the semi-finals.

England is now assured of two places in Round 3, as East Grinstead and Reading meet in Round 2 at 09:30 tomorrow morning.

Pictures from the match between Beeston and Dinamo Kazan will appear on our images web site www.HockeyImages.co.uk sometime later today.

FAREHAM SURVIVE FOR ANOTHER SEASON. Today’s relegation play-offs and GB Super League results

Fareham managed to find the form they had been lacking in the West Conference for most of the season, with a 6-2 win against St Albans in the England Hockey League relegation play offs this afternoon. After wins in both of their play-off matches, they survive another season in the Conference. St Albans are relegated after only one season back in the EHL. The result also means relegation for North Conference Harborne.

In the women's play-offs, Exe won the second of their two matches to assure them a place in next season's West Conference. Their 2-1 win over Aldridge and Walsall condemns the North club to relegation. Cambridge City were already relegated and return to the East after two seasons back in the national league.

The GB Super League played its first games today and the results are shown below.

 

Men's Relegation Playoffs

 

St. Albans			(0)				2		-		6		(3)		Fareham
Mark Lowden 58 - F Andrew Dixon 65 - PS															Alex Bennett 22 35 - PC F Shaun Baker 32 - F Sam Hiscock 47 51 - F F James Seagar 67 - PC

 

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Fareham	2	2	0	0	10	4	6	6
2	Harborne	2	1	0	1	7	6	1	3
3	St. Albans	2	0	0	2	4	11	-7	0

 

Women's Relegation Playoffs

 

Aldridge & Walsall		(0)		1	-	2		(2)		Exe
Joanne Walker 66 - F										Claire Thomas 9 29 - F PC

 

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Exe	2	2	0	0	6	2	4	6
2	Aldridge & Walsall	2	1	0	1	4	3	1	3
3	Cambridge City	2	0	0	2	2	7	-5	0

 

GB Super League results: Saturday, April 16 2011

Men's Competition

Sophia Gardens, Cardiff    

Celtic Panthers	(1)	1	-	2	(1)	Highland Jaguars
Rufus McNaught-Barrington - 31 (F)						Gordon McIntyre - 13 36 (F, F)
Pennine Pumas	(2)	4	-	0	(0)	Caledonian Cougars
Peter Jackson - 25 51 (F, PC)
Nick Catlin - 34 (F)
Sam Ward - 37 (F)

 

Latest Table:

Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Pennine Pumas	1	1	0	0	4	0	4	3
Highland Jaguars	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	3
Saxon Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Celtic Panthers	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1	0
Caledonian Cougars	1	0	0	1	0	4	-4	0

Round-up of today’s results.

 

Men's EHL Championships

 

Reading		(1)		3	-	1		(0)		Surbiton
Stephen Dick 19 - F Richard Mantell 40 50 - PC PC										Matt Daly 67 - PC
East Grinstead		(0)		1	-	2		(1)		Beeston
Gareth Carr 45 - PC										Stephen Lawrence 18 - PC Ben Arnold 58 - F

 

Beeston are Champions. Beeston, East Grinstead and Reading qualify for Europe.

 

Women's Championships

 

Leicester		(1)		2	-	3		(3)		Reading
Rebecca Herbert 7 - F Anne Panter 40 - F										Jo Ellis 4 - F Kate Walsh 22 - PC Emma Thomas 33 - PC

 

Reading are Champions. Leicester and Reading qualify for Europe.

 

Men's Relegation Playoffs

 

Fareham		(1)		4	-	2		(1)		Harborne
Ben Hibberd 5 - PC Sam Hiscock 39 48 - F PC Paul Hilton 65 - F										Christian Battye 33 52 - F F

 

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Fareham	1	1	0	0	4	2	2	3
2	Harborne	2	1	0	1	7	6	1	3
3	St. Albans	1	0	0	1	2	5	-3	0

 

Women's Relegation Playoffs

 

Exe		(1)		4	-	1		(0)		Cambridge City
Clare Whitworth 12 - F Linda Webb 50 - F Claire Thomas 65 69 - F F										Louise Richardson 57 - PC

 

		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Exe	1	1	0	0	4	1	3	3
2	Aldridge & Walsall	1	1	0	0	3	1	2	3
3	Cambridge City	2	0	0	2	2	7	-5	0