SUNDAY'S RESULTS FROM THE FINAL DAY AT CHISWICK, plus results from Johor.

Results from Investec Women's World League in London:

7th/8th place: South Africa 3 Spain 2
5th/6th place: Italy 0 USA 6
3rd place: Argentina 3 China 2
Final: Australia 3 England 0

Results from Men's World League in Malaysia:

Pool A: Argentina 7 Japan 1
Pool A: Korea 0 Germany 5

Pool A after two games: 1. Argentina 4 pts (+6), 2. Germany 4 pts (+5), 3. Korea 1 pt (-5), 4. Japan 1 pt (-6).

Pool B: Pakistan 2 England 2
Pool B: South Africa 4 Malaysia 6

Pool B after two games: 1. Malaysia 4 pts (+2), 2. Pakistan 2 pts (+0), 3. England 2 pts (+0), 4. South Africa 1 pt (-2).

OOMPH FACTOR SEES ENGLAND THROUGH TO FINAL. Report of yesterday's World Leage matches in London and Malaysia.

Before the match against Argentina, Head Coach Jason Lee told his team to give it more “oomph”.  Our dictionary defines ‘oomph’ as an ingredient that makes something better or perfect and it was probably the factor which got England off to a good start here in the Investec World League Semi Finals in London a week ago. But as the week progressed, the “Oomph Factor” seemed to fade, particularly in Thursday’s unimpressive display against Italy.  Last night in Chiswick it returned in bucketfuls. 

Just to confuse the outside world, the match between England and Argentina was the semi finals of the World League Semi Finals.  The hockey world will be more confused by the result.  There are only two ranking positions separating the two sides, but history has shown few examples of England beating the Olympic silver medallists.  But last night was different. 

Argentina helped to raise English hopes by gifting their opponents an own goal after only twelve minutes, and 14 minutes later they were back in the game with a goal from Carla Rebecchi.  Was this the point at which they would start their fight back?  No it was not. Just before half time Nicola White added a second goal for England and, four minutes into the second half, Hannah Macleod found herself in a one-on-one with ‘keeper Maria Aladro, which she neatly slotted past her. 

It was now England’s turn to give goals away, with a 41^st minute own goal, but the margin was restored soon afterwards when Susannah Townsend found the net from open play. Final score 2-4 to England, and England are in today’s final against Australia.

When England play like this they are a remarkably unbeatable team. As we’ve mentioned before, the new members of the squad have shown great maturity and confidence. If they continue to grow like this, Jason Lee could find himself in charge of the best England women’s team ever. They just need to remember Thursday’s match against Italy – not their finest hour - to remain grounded. As we’ve seen so many times before, it sometimes needs a poor game to proceed an excellent one. This was an excellent one.

The surprise result of the whole week was not the outcome of the match between England and Argentina, but the result of the game between South Africa and Italy. Whilst the Italians, ranked 17^th in the World, have much to learn, their opportunity to have a crack at fifth place this afternoon is amazing.  Having finished yesterday’s  game against South Africa in normal time at 1-1, they won the shoot-out 1-3.

Italy will play the USA in the fifth/sixth decider today.  Two goals in last ten minutes gave the USA a 1-3 win over Spain.

England’s opponents this afternoon, Australia, comprehensively beat China yesterday with a 1-4 win.  The performance of China has been disappointing in this tournament, but Australia – who are in the process of rebuilding – have looked good.  England and Australia drew 1-1 in the pool, and it should be an exciting match.

In the Men’s World League in Johor, Malaysia, both pools remain static after the first round of matches all ended in draws. 

The most surprising result was the draw between Olympic Champions, Germany, and Argentina. The hero of the hour was Gonzalo Peillat, whose 61^st minute penalty strike for Argentina resulted in the match ending 1-1.

England were rocked on their heals in their Pool B match against South Africa, after Julian Hykes scored twice in five minutes to give the South Africans a 0-2 lead.  When England did score, it was from an own goal. Ben Arnold scored an equaliser for England mid-way through the second half, but the South Africans re-took the lead from a penalty corner in the last five minutes courtesy of Timothy Drummond. It was in the dying seconds that England grabbed a draw, thanks to a penalty corner conversion from Richard Smith. 

We are posting results from both tournaments as they are received on this blog.  Photographs from London are posted regularly on our Pictures web site at www.HockeyImages.co.uk.

SATURDAY'S WORLD LEAGUE RESULTS. From London and Malaysia

Investec Women's World League, London:

South Africa 1 Italy 1 (Italy win after shoot out and will play for fifth place)
Spain 1 USA 3 (USA will play Italy tomorrow for fifth place)
China 1 Australia 4 (Australia will play the winner of Argentina v England in the final )
Argentina 2 England 4.

ENGLAND PLAY AUSTRALIA IN THE FINAL TOMORROW!

Men's World League, Johor, Malaysia:

Germany 1 Argentina 1
Korea 3 Japan 3
Pakistan 4 Malaysia 4
England 3 South Africa 3

ENGLAND STALL ON A COLD AND WET EVENING. Report on yesterday's matches in the Investec World League in London.

It was quarter-finals day at the Investec Women’s World League in London yesterday, where the teams that finished top of their pools had to beat the team that finished bottom of the other pool to progress through to the Saturday’s semi-finals.  In the case of England and China, both of whom finished second in their pools, their route to the semi finals was to play the side that came third.  In England’s case, their opponents were surprisingly Italy who, despite being ranked 17^th in the world, had finished third in Pool A. 

For England it was not their finest hour.  On what was a cold and damp evening, it was a cold and damp performance.  The match had started encouragingly, with a spectacular Alex Danson goal opening the scoring after only three minutes.  A response from a penalty corner only minutes later, fired home by Macarena Ronsisvalli, appeared like only a blip in the proceedings, but it seemed like an age before England could retake the lead, courtesy of Hannah MacLeod.

A third England goal, a second from Danson, seemed to put England well in the driving seat by the time the match entered the second half, but at that point the home side seemed to stall and lose commitment.  The two goal advantage was lost 20 minutes into the second half when a penalty corner strike hit a foot, and Italy was awarded a stroke, which was buried by Augustina Di Bernardo.

As the rain picked up, English heads seemed to go down, and there was a real threat that the match could end in a draw (and a shoot out) or worse. But England clung on to record a 3-1 victory.

England will have to pick their game up if they stand any chance against their opponents on Saturday.  Argentina beat South Africa in their quarter final match 3-1 and will meet England at 5:30 pm.

In the other quarter final matches, China booked their place in the semi finals by beating Spain 3-0. They will meet Australia, who saw off the USA 4-1. 

Picture from all of yesterday’s matches can be found on our sister web site at www.HockeyImages.co.uk. 

The second venue of the Men's World League Semi Finals starts in Johor, Malaysia, tomorrow (Saturday) with England playing South Africa in the final match of the day.

INVESTEC WORLD LEAGUE, Chiswick. Quarter final results.

Quarter finals:

Argentina 3 South Africa 1
Australia 4 USA 1
China 3 Spain 0
England 3 Italy 2

A GOOD DAY FOR SPAIN. A report from yesterday's matches in the Investec Women's World League Semi Finals in London.

So what went wrong?  Hockey fans were looking forward to a match between England and Spain that had a goal scoring potential to elevate England to the top of Pool B.  In the final analysis you would have to say that Spain, playing in the last match of the pool stages of the Investec Women’s World League Semi Finals in London, had a very good game.

Spain clearly seemed to be on top form and placed the England defence under a fair bit of pressure in the early stages of the match, and threatened to do so during the entire 70 minutes.  You somehow felt that Spain would tire and England would settle down to win an easy victory, but it never happened.

The fact that it took 54 minutes for England to score says a lot about the balance of power. The goal, when it came, was from a penalty corner from Sophie Bray – who no doubt was urged on by a section of the crowd chanting “Sophie, Sophie” for most of the match.

Perhaps Bray’s goal was the expected turning of the tide, but less than four minutes later England were facing a penalty corner which resulted in the award of a penalty stroke.  In the press room there have been jokes about teams selecting players with the longest names to score.  On this occasion it was Lola Riera Zuzuarregui. 

1-1 was how the match ended.  All the positive things we have reported in the previous two matches were still there. The new blood have demonstrated amazing maturity and technical ability in this tournament. Perhaps it was just going to be Spain’s day.

Happily, the result makes no difference to the most probable outcome to this pool, and England finish in second place, two points behind Australia who won their match earlier in the day against South Africa 0-1.  England will play Italy in the quarter-finals tomorrow. Despite losing 4-0 to Argentina yesterday, Italy have done well for a team considered to be outsiders, and they play England by virtue of finishing third in Pool A.

Craig Parnham’s USA side looked as if they might record their first win in Pool A yesterday when they took an early lead against China with a goal from Paige Selenski.  It was a lead they lost within minutes and the match ended 1-2 in China’s favour.

Positions after the end of pool stages:

Pool A: 1. Argentina 9 pts (+6), 2. China 6 pts (+1), 3. Italy 3 pts (-4), 4. USA 1 pt (-3)
Pool B: 1. Australia 7 pts (+6), 2. England 5 pts (+3), 3. Spain 2 pts (-5), 4. South Africa 1 pt (-4)

Quarter finals are played between the top team of each pool against the bottom team of the other pool. Second placed team plays the third placed team of the other pool.

Tomorrow’s schedule (Thursday) is:

12:30 Argentina v South Africa
15:00 Australia v USA
17:30 China v Spain
20:00 England v Italy

We have lots of photographs from yesterday’s matches on our sister web site at www.HockeyImages.co.uk.

RESULTS FROM THE INVESTEC WORLD LEAGUE SEMI FINALS IN LONDON

Pool A: USA 1 China 2
Pool A: Argentina 4 Italy 0

Pool A Final Table: 1. Argentina 9 pts (+6), 2. China 6 pts (+1), 3. Italy 3 pts (-4),  4. USA 0 pts (-3).

Pool B: Australia 1 South Africa 0
Pool B: England 1 Spain 1

Pool A Final Table: 1. Australia 7 pts (+6), 2. England 5 pts (+3), 3. Spain 2 pts (-5), 4. South Africa 1 pt (-4)

ENGLAND YOUNGSTERS CONTINUE TO IMPRESS. A report on yesterday's World League matches in London and Rotterdam.

There was a time when any sort of result against the Australians was unthinkable, but the Kookaboros went into decline and slipped down the rankings.  We now have the slightly unusual position where both sides are in a rebuilding phase, although in England’s case it is off of the back of relative success (as GB) in the Olympics.

So how would England, with a number of inexperienced players in the squad, fare? Quite well as it happens, as we saw yesterday in the Investec Women’s World League Semi Finals in London.  As we mentioned yesterday, England are not quite the complete product yet, but the youngsters have impressed. We saw some very mature technical skills on display, some excellent passing, and some cool heads when not everything went to plan.

It probably fair to say that the Australian’s had more than their fare share of the possession, and the nimble Maddie Hinch was again England’s saviour on many occasions. Having said that, it is probably only right to give credit to Rachel Lynch in the Australian goal, who pulled off what might turn out to be the save of the tournament.  The ball had probably gone past her right shoulder when she plucked it out of the air with a flick of her stick.

After the opening encounters, which seemed to be largely going Australia’s way, England enjoyed a long period of possession mid-way through the first half, and got their just rewards when a penalty corner award was converted into a goal by Hollie Webb, one of the side’s newcomers.

For much of the second half it was a game that could have gone either way, but the balance of power noticeably shifted in Australia’s favour as the match moved towards its concluding minutes. With ten minutes left on the clock, it was the turn of Jodie Schulz to find the net from a penalty corner, to bring the score to 1-1. 

There were some nail-biting moments as the seconds clicked away, including a penalty corner which was padded away by Hinch. As someone commented, England has been well served by its recent goalkeepers, and although her style is quite different to Beth Storry’s, she is a worthy successor.

The match ended at 1-1, which means that Australia lead Pool B on four points, ahead of England on goal difference.

Throughout all three World League Semi Final rounds, most of the results have been reasonably predictable.  There are exceptions that prove the rule, and the match between Italy and the USA is an example.  Coached by Englishman Craig Parnham, the Americans may be out of the top flight, but surely they were more than good enough for rank outsiders Italy? Having taken an early lead, the USA found themselves on level terms after only a few minutes, and were finally scuppered by a penalty corner at the last knockings, sunk by Stefania Tosco.  Final score 1-2 to Italy.

The Pool A match between China and Argentina was a feisty affair. Two first half goals from Argentina put them in the lead, but China got back into the match to bring the score to 2-2 with six minutes left to play. Then Yannan Cao and Jiaojiao De were sent to the naughty seat with yellow cards within four minutes of each other. Whether being down to nine players was a factor in Carla Rebecchi scoring the winning goal for Argentina would be an interesting point for debate, but it could not have assisted China’s cause. Final score 2-3 to Argentina.

Argentina lead Pool A on maximum points, ahead of China on three points.  Surprisingly, Italy are in the mix, also on three points, separated by goal difference, with the USA in bottom place.

The last match of the day was in Pool B between South Africa and Spain, the latter coached by Englishman Adrian Lock, which ended in a 2-2 draw. South Africa are in third place in Pool B, ahead of Spain on goal difference.

Today (Monday) is a rest day.

The Men’s World League Semi Finals in Rotterdam ended in what might have been a surprise for some, but it’s been on the cards for years. 

Having taken a 1-0 lead in the final against Belgium, thanks to a penalty corner goal from Chris Ciriello, Australia found themselves 2-1 behind with only seconds left on the clock, after Tom Boon and Sebastian Dockier had found the net.  Australia were saved by a last gasp goal from their Russell Ford. 

The stay of execution was only temporary.  Although it took 18 individual shoot outs to settle it, it was Ciriello’s failure to find the net at Australia’s ninth attempt that gave Belgium the victory.  The final tally in the shoot out, 7-6.

The bronze medal match ended in disappointment for New Zeland who, despite opening the scoring, found the Dutch far too good for them. Final score 1-4.

Shoot out deciders seem to be almost the norm for these tournaments, and so it was with the 5^th place match, which was won by Spain after the match ended 2-2.  The shoot out proved a disappointment for India as they failed to convert their third, fourth and fifth attempts. Final shoot out result, 4-2 to Spain.

The 7^th place match, which was played on Saturday, ended Ireland 6 – France 4.

The pool stages of the Investec Women’s World League Semi Finals in London resume tomorrow.

SUNDAY'S RESULTS FROM THE WORLD LEAGUE SEMI FINALS

Investec Women's World League Semi Finals in London

Pool A: USA 1 Italy 2
Pool A: China 2 Argentina 3
Pool B: England 1 Australia
Pool B: South Africa 2 Spain 2

Men's World League Semi Finals in Rotterdam

7th/8th place: Ireland 6 France 4
5th/6th place: Spain 2 India 2 (Spain win after shoot out)
Bronze medal: New Zealand 1 The Netherlands 4
FINAL: Belgium 2 Australia 2 (Belgium win after shoot out)

FRESH BLOOD MAKE A GOOD START IN CHISWICK - A report on yesterdays' World League Semi Finals in London and Rotterdam

You didn’t have to have a very long memory to remember what happened approximately 12 months ago on the very same pitch when South Africa beat Great Britain in the Investec London Cup.  The defeat was put down to some serious injury problems that Great Britain was suffering in the run-up to the Olympics. And the South Africans had played out of their socks, and generally enjoyed a good tournament.

So, here we are at the Investec Women’s World League Semi Finals in London, with a fresh and largely untried England team facing South Africa.  Actually, they did very well. Although the inexperienced showed through occasionally, it was a promising effort.  When South Africa were given too much sight of the England goal, Maddie Hinch was usually there to clean up, performing a number of world class saves. 

England needed a few minutes to settle to their task, but 22 minutes into the match Susie Gilbert opened the scoring from open play.  Six minutes later one of the crop of fresh blood in the side, Lily Owsley, proved the wisdom of her selection by giving England their second. 

A South African penalty corner on the cusp of half time saw their corner specialist, Piete Coetzee, put the ball in the back of the net, and you could almost sense a groan around the University of Westminster ground. England had sometimes been living dangerously. Was this the start of a slide?

Any fears were needless, as four minutes into the second half Alex Danson athletically got on to the end of a cross and buried it into the South African net – a goal that was so good that anyone in the crowd who blinked would have missed it.

England seemed to be well in control now and a penalty corner in the dying minutes of the match saw another newcomer, Giselle Ainsley, convert from a penalty corner.  Final score 4-1 to England.

South Africa were not the team we had seen 12 months ago, and seemed unable to capitalise on the territorial advantage which they enjoyed for long stretches of the game. England s not quite the finished article yet, but it was a good start. And there will be bigger tests in this tournament, such as Australia, who they meet at 5 pm today (Sunday).

In the other matches there were no surpises at the outcomes, although Italy proved a sterner test for China than one might have expected. Valetina Braconi’s equaliser mid way through the second half rattled the Chinese, who had Qianwen Xuan on the naughty seat at the time. As you often see with the teams outside of the top echelons, Italy don’t do reverse, but China were often guilty of the same thing.  Final score 2-1 to China.

The was a second surprise result when Argentina had to wait until the 68^th minute to score the sole goal of the match against the USA. Argentina must be the favourites to win the tournament, so perhaps it was just a matter of opening night nerves for the South Americans.

There were no surprises in the match between Australia and Spain, other than the length of time it took Australia to find the net. Going into half time 1-0 up, the Aussies scored three times in the second half and were gifted an own goal to finish the match 5-0.

The final in the other World League tournament in Rotterdam was decided on a shoot out after the match finished at 1-1 in normal time. The shoot out seemed to be going OK for both sides after three attempts each, with two goals scored by both The Netherlands and Germany. But The Netherland’s Carlien Dirkse Van Den Heuval fluffed her attempt, and the shoot out ended 3-4 in favour of the Germans.

The bronze medal match also had to be decided on a shoot out after the game between New Zealand and Korea ended 3-3 in normal time. Korea got off to the worst possible start, failing to score from the first two attempts. But nerves must have got to the Kiwis as they failed in their fourth and fifth attempts, whilst Korea scored continually after their bad start, and Korea took the bronze 2-3 in the shoot out.

In the lower placed matches, India beat Chile 2-1 for seventh place, and Japan beat Belgium 3-1 for fifth place.