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.

Service Update

TalkHockeyRadio may be briefly unavailable during 2/1/08 whilst we upload a revised web site.

www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

ENGLAND INDOORS ENDS IN DRAW / LOSE

Having played three games apiece, it was a mixed finish for the England indoor sides, as they completed their three match series against Scotland in Paisley this afternoon.
England's women, who have recorded two 3-3 draws in their previous matches, went two behind from goals by Vikki Bunce and Kaz Marshall early in the game but Sally Walton and Emma Thomas were able to even up the score before the break, both goals coming from corners. Cathy Gilliatt-Smith briefly gave England the lead after the re-start before Nikki Kidd equalised for Scotland. Gilliat-Smith then scored again to restore England's lead but it was Kidd who came to Scotland's rescue. A further goal by Vikki Bunce and a late goal by Julie Bryce gave Scotland a 6-4 victory and they win the series 1-0.
England's men were still recovering from their 7-4 defeat by Scotland yesterday. Their 3-1 win on Friday meant that potentially they could win the series if they could win today. A penalty corner conversion by David Becket was wiped out by a goal by Adam MacKenzie just before half time. A penalty stroke to Scotland five minutes into the second half briefly gave Scotland the lead after Willie Marshall converted but Simon Egerton stepped up to take an England penalty stroke two minutes later and the sides were on even terms. Alistair Brogdon put England in the lead from a goal in open play, but the lead lasted only five minutes before Scotland's Scott Sunderland scored from a penalty corner. Final score 3-3, which means that the men's series ends in a draw.

WE WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WISH ALL OUR VISITORS A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR. HOCKEY RE-STARTS ON 2 JANUARY 2008 WITH THE BURLINGTON CUP (INDOOR) IN VIENNA.

ENGLAND SUFFER MORE INJURIES INDOORS

England suffered a third injury ahead of this afternoon's match against Scotland in the three-match series in Paisley. Iain Mackay broke a finger in three places during a training match at Largs earlier in the day. Mackay is the third England player to suffer a hand injury. Ashleigh Ball from the women's squad received an injured knuckle yesterday, which is now in plaster, and Gareth Andrew broke a finger. On the pitch, England's women put on a repeat of yesterday's match against Scotland. Alex Scott opened the scoring after four minutes. Scotland were awarded a penalty stroke in the tenth which was put away by Emma Rochlin but Heather Battern enabled England to retake the lead before the end of the half. Alex Scott scored her second mid way through the second half but goals from Julie Bryce and Elspeth Cockburn wiped out England's lead. Final score 3-3.
After the 3-1 win yesterday, England's men suffered a setback against Scotland. Adam Dixon opened the scoring within seconds of the start of the match and Simon Egerton made it two from a penalty corner. After having gone into the break 2-1 up, Scotland came back stongly. A goal apiece from Dixon and Egerton could not stem the tide, and Scotland ran out 7-4 winners.
England play against Scotland again tomorrow to complete the series.

INDOOR INTERNATIONALS MARRED BY INJURIES

The opening day of the indoor internationals in Paisley saw two English players taken to hospital with injuries. The women's match between England and Scotland started well for the English with goals from Alex Scott and Ashleigh Ball. In the second half, two goals in two minutes from Jaime Lyon evened up the score before Scotland took the lead courtesy of Emily Maguire. A penalty corner conversion by England's Emma Thomas in the last minutes resulted in the match ending 3-3. Ashleigh Ball was taken to hospital with a suspected broken knuckle.
It was Gareth Andrew who was injured in the men's match between England and Scotland. He went to hospital with a suspected broken finger. First half goals from Simon Egerton and Alistair Brogdon gave England a lead. Gavin Bryers pulled one back for Scotland in the second half but Simon Egerton scored England's third in the dying seconds of the match. Final score 3-1 to England.
England play four more matches over the weekend (two women's and two men's) as part of their warm up for the EuroHockey Indoor Nations Challenge in Sheffield on 18-20 January.

READING PLAY CANNOCK IN EURO LEAGUE ROUND TWO

The draw for the second round of the EuroHockey League took place this afternoon. The draw pits English clubs Cannock and Reading against each other for a place in the third round, where the winner will meet either Rotterdam or Waterloo Ducks from Belgium. The third English team in the draw will play Royal Antwerp. Kelburne from Scotland are drawn against the last surviving German side, Uhlenhorster. The winner of that match will meet the winner of the Loughborough Students v Royal Antwerp in round three.

The full draw will appear on our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk tomorrow.

EUROHOCKEY LEAGUE SECOND ROUND DRAW

This Wednesday (19/12/07), at 6pm CET, EHL brings the first ever interactive, multimedia show in hockey to computer screens around the world on www.eurohockeyleague.eu.

Combining never-before-seen hockey movie clips with special studio guests, Dutch national team players three times WorldHockey Player of the Year Teun de Nooijer and 2005 WorldHockey Young Player of the Year Robert van der Horst, live participation of representatives of 16 hockey clubs from 9 different nations and viewer interaction through a chat module, Euro Hockey League's Round 2 draw is an exciting event for all and provides a platform where teams, fans, and media come together and actively take part in a unique hockey event.

For fans, the 45 minute KO16 show contains a number of hockey video clips, relaying the best of the action of the first two tournaments, shining a light on umpires and coaches, and taking three of Round 1's influential players to center stage. Viewers can also participate in the show, asking questions to Teun, Robert, or the EHL crew, or giving their comments through a custom-designed chat box on the draw site, with the most interesting questions and comments selected and integrated into the program by the presenter.

The draw itself happens in an innovative format, with the seeded teams shaping their fate by choosing their opponents - even if blindfolded - and all participants' reactions available live and direct. The list of club representatives participating in the draw includes illustrious names, such as players Carlos Nevado for Uhlenhorster HC and Rhys Joyce for Reading HC, coaches Paul van Ass for HGC or David Ralph for Loughborough Students, and former FIH president Juan Angel Calzado for Real Club de Polo de Barcelona.

Already, the Euro Hockey League website shows videos of all Round 1 goals in a fantastic highlights round-up and offers the possibility of submitting questions and comments for the draw.

Be sure you don't miss this all-new, superb hockey show - we look forward to seeing you join in on Wednesday on www.eurohockeyleague.eu!

SLOUGH AND EAST GRINSTEAD MOVE AHEAD

After the first weekend of play in the Indoor EHL Premier Divisions, only one team from each division has a 100% record. At Whitgift School, Slough confirmed their pre-eminence in the women’s indoor game with wins over Slough and Canterbury both by a 4-2 scoreline. Bowdon Hightown had some catching up to do after losing both their matches yesterday, but saw off Clifton (3-2) and Sutton Coldfield (7-2) this afternoon. Chelmsford, who for several seasons dominated the indoor game, showed signs of revival with a 5-1 win over Canterbury but were on the receiving end of a 4-3 setback at the hands of near neighbours Ipswich. Olton have had a good tournament, this afternoon’s wins over Sutton Coldfield (2-0) and Sevenoaks (8-1) giving them a 75% success rate over the weekend.

Women’s Indoor EHL Premier Division after first weekend (50% of matches played):

1. Slough 12 pts (+14)
2. Chelmsford 9 pts (+9)
3. Olton & West Warwick 9 pts (+8)
4. Ipswich 9 pts (+4)
5. Clifton 6 pts (+2)
6. Bowdon Hightown 6 pts (+1)
7. Canterbury 3 pts (-7)
8. Sutton Coldfield 0 pts (-12)
9. Sevenoaks 0 pts (-19)

East Grinstead’s ambitions to get back into Europe came a little closer today as they moved three points ahead in the Men’s Premier Division thanks to wins over Robinsons (8-6) and Beeston (6-4). Bournville, who play their outdoor hockey in Division One, moved up into second place after beating Hull 5-2 and Reading 4-2. Loughborough Students drop down a placs after losing to Old Louhgtonians 5-4. Earlier in the day they had beaten Robinsons 5-2.

Men’s Indoor EHL Premier Division after first weekend (50% of matches played):

1. East Grinstead 12 pts (+9)
2. Bournville 9 pts (+6)
3. Loughborough Students 7 pts (+6)
4. Canterbury 7 pts (-3)
5. Beeston 6 pts (+5)
6. Old Loughtonians 6 pts (+0)
7. Robinsons 3 pts (-5)
8. Reading 3 pts (-6)
9. Hull 0 pts (-12)

OUR PICTURE SHOWS BOWDON HIGHTOWN’S JULIE HOPE ON THE ATTACK DURING THEIR MATCH AGAINST SUTTON COLDFIELD. FURTHER PICTURES WILL APPEAR ON OUR MAIN WEB SITE (www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk) TOMORROW (MONDAY).

INDOOR EHL SWINGS INTO ACTION

The Premier divisions of the Indoor EHL are playing this weekend. After one day of play East Grinstead are the only side in the men’s competition on maximum points. In a close match they overcame Bournville 6-5 with goals from Scot Ashdown (2), Dave De Prez (3) and Mani Kochar, the latter guesting indoors from his new club Richmond. In their second match East Grinstead beat Reading 6-2 with goals from James Southgate (2), Dave De Prez (2), Mark Justice, and Dominic Male. Winners of the last indoor championships, Canterbury, are currently in third place, having recorded a win over Old Loughtonians and a draw against Loughborough Students. David Matthews returned to his old club to score in both of those matches. Jerome Goudie, recently spotted in the stands at Kuala Lumpur for the Champions Trophy, scored in Loughborough Students 7-3 win over Hull and in the draw against Canterbury.

Positions after two matches:

1. East Grinstead 6 pts (+5)
2. Loughborough Students 4 pts (+4)
3. Canterbury 4 pts (+1)
4. Bournville 3 pts (+1)
5. Old Loughtonians 3 pts (+0)
6. Beeston 3pts (+0)
7. Robinsons 3 pts (+0)
8. Reading 0 pts (-5)
9. Hull 0 pts (-6)

In the Women’s Premier three teams are on maximum points. Slough veteran Jane Smith was on target scoring all the goals in her side’s 6-0 defeat of Sevenoaks, and one of the six in their 6-2 win over Olton. Chelmsford, who were a surprise absentee from the last Indoor Championships, showed a return to form with a 3-0 win over Sutton Coldfield and a 4-1 win over Bowdon Hightown. Clifton occupy third position with wins over Sevenoaks (4-0) and Ipswich (2-1).

Positions after two matches:

1. Slough 6 pts (+10)
2. Chelmsford 6 pts (+6)
3. Clifton 6 pts (+5)
4. Ipswich 3 pts (+1)
5. Olton & West Warwick 3 pts (-1)
6. Canterbury 3 pts (-1)
7. Bowdon Hightown 0 pts (-5)
   
8. Sutton Coldfield 0 pts (-5)
9. Sevenoaks 0 pts (-10)

GERMANY UBER ALLES IN CHAMPIONS TROPHY by Peter Savage in Kuala Lumpur

It could have gone either way but eventually the favourites, Germany, prevailed. Their opponents in the final of the Champions Trophy here in Kuala Lumpur were Australia, whose mere presence in the final itself was a bit of a surprise. As recently as Saturday morning they were being tipped as Great Britain’s opponents in the 5^th / 6^th place match. Great Britain’s draw against Korea, and Australia’s 5-0 win over Germany in the last of the round-robin stage matches, propelled them into the final. As we said yesterday, we could not read too much into the result of the previous meeting but Australia proved to be stronger opponents in the final than we had suspected. Germany took an early lead with a penalty corner strike from Tibor Wiessenborn in the sixth minute. Australia managed to weather being down to ten men whilst Nathan Eglington sat out a period of suspension for a particularly agricultural tackle, and whilst both sides produced some exciting play in attack, solid defences and a good measure of luck kept the score down to the single goal for the remaining 65 minutes. If there were prizes for consistency, in a tournament where inconsistency has been the order of the day, then Germany deserve to win it and they are worthy winners of this year’s Champion’s Trophy.

A late goal by Korea threatened to deprive the European Champions, The Netherlands, of a win in the bronze medal match. Final score in that match 3-2 to the Dutch.

Final places:

1. Germany
2. Australia
3. Netherlands
4. Korea
5. Spain
6. Great Britain
7. Pakistan
8. Malaysia

Over the next two weeks the following material will be available on the TalkHockeyRadio web site.

- Images from the last four GB games, plus the final, will be available over the next few days.

- Interviews from the Champions Trophy will feature in December’s edition of TalkHockeyRadio, which will be available to download from 13/12/07.

- Our on-line magazine, HockeyTalk, will feature the Champions Trophy in the January 2008 edition, ready to download from 20/12/07.

For more details go to our web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk

BRITAIN'S EFFORTS THWARTED BY SPANISH by Peter Savage in Kuala Lumpur

Great Britain head coach Jason Lee rejected suggestions that facing the Spanish in the 5^th / 6^th place game after losing 5-0 in their previous meet on Wednesday imposed a psychological burden on his players. “We knew what we did wrong on Wednesday, which makes it easier to deal with.”

Losing today’s match in the Champion’s Trophy here in Kuala Lumpur meant more to Lee’s side than simply losing one game. A win and the resultant 5^th place finish would have given Great Britain a guaranteed place in the next Champions Trophy in Rotterdam. Great Britain had a poor start when Victor Sojo slotted in a rebound off James Fair’s pads after only six minutes. A repeat of Wednesday looked on the cards when Fair managed to block a ball on the line from a penalty corner shot by Xavier Ribas, only to see it loop over his outstretched body and drop into the goal. Despite being down 2-0 after only fourteen minutes, Great Britain never looked out of this match like they had done four days earlier, and a simple one-man stop and hit penalty corner strike by captain Ben Hawes had the power to beat Cortes in the Spanish goal to narrow the gap. It was an overtime penalty corner strike by Richard Mantell just before the break which put then sides on equal terms.

GB managed hold out under intense pressure until the last ten minutes. A penalty corner award resulted in Santi Frexia adding his name to the scoresheet, followed two minutes later by Xavier Ribas with his second, also from a corner. Final score; 4-2 to Spain.

Make no mistake – this was a creditable effort against one of the world’s top ranked sides, who were starting to find their form by the time they met Great Britain. But GB must learn from the last ten days. Lee’s team have demonstrated that they can play great hockey, but often they are let down by basic mistakes. They can do better and must do better if we are to be taken seriously as a world ranked hockey nation.

Earlier in the day, Malaysia nearly caused an upset when they came back from 2-0 down against Pakistan in the 7^th/8^th place match to force the game to a golden goal decider. Imran Muhammad scored in the 3^rd minute to give Pakistan the 7^th place.

Our photographs shows one of GB's penalty corner attempts. This one went just wide of the far post.

Roundup From Penultimate Day in Kuala Lumpur

Although unable to progress higher than sixth place, Great Britain’s 2-2 draw against Korea has effectively selected their opponents for the final match, which will be played tomorrow (Sunday). Korea were the favourites to win and take the three points, which would have put them second in the table. That fact that they did not win leaves them in fourth place behind The Netherlands. GB’s predicted opponents in for a 5^th/6^th place play-off were Australia, who this afternoon played Germany. The Germans were assured a place in the finals and one should not read too much into the 5-0 defeat dished our by the Kookaburras. Given a choice of Australia or the Netherlands, I suspect the Australians would have been their first choice, and Germany effectively gifted them their second place by a generally under par performance.. Although this is a good Australian team, it is not the best by any stretch of the imagination. The Netherlands beat Pakistan 4-1 this afternoon, which puts them in the bronze medal match against Korea. Spain, who got off to a slow start in this tournament, are now firing on all cylinders, albeit too late. Their meeting against Malaysia ended 7-2 to Spain. Unfortunately, three points is not enough to let Spain move out of the 5^th / 6^th play-off position, and so Spain meet Great Britain again tomorrow. One can only hope that Great Britain can shake off memories of their very poor performance against Spain on Thursday night. There is a prize awaiting for the winner of this match, namely automatics qualification for next year’s Champions Trophy in Rotterdam. If GB do qualify, there will be questions asked as to the fairness of this arrangement. England only managed to finish fourth in the second-tier Champions Challenge earlier this year and some may view qualification of one of the “extra” teams in the Champions Trophy as gaining entry by the back door.

Todays results:
Malaya 2-7 Spain
Great Britain 2-2 Korea
Netherlands 4-1 Pakistan
Australia 5-0 Germany
Places at end of round robin stages:

1, Germany 16 pts (+18)

2. Australia 13 pts (+7)

3. Netherlands 12 pts (+5)

4. Korea 12 pts (+5)

5. Spain 11 pts (+6)

6. Great Britain 7 pts (-10)

7. Pakistan 5 pts (-8)

8. Malaysia 1 pt (-22)

Tomorrow’s matches;

7^th/8^th place Pakistan v Malaysia

5^th/6^th place Great Britain v Spain

Bronze medal (3^rd/4^th) Netherlands v Korea

Final (1^st/2^nd) Germany v Australia

AYMAR AND DWYER WORLD HOCKEY PLAYERS OF 2007.

Popular Argentine star, the 30 year old Luciana Aymer (pictured on the right), has been elected World Hockey Women’s Player of the Year for the fourth time. She previously held the title in 2001, 2004, and 2005. The Young Player of the Year Award went to Germany’s Maike Srokel (pictured with Aymar). The men’s award went to the diminutive Australian striker, Jamie Dwyer. The Young Player award went to fellow Australian Mark Knowles.

Images from GB v Korea

A ful set of images from the matches between Great Britain and Pakistan, Spain and Korea, will appear on our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk next week.

IMPROVED GB SET UP FOR FIFTH PLACE PLAY-OFF by Peter Savage in Kuala Lumpur

It was almost a different team that took the field against a Korean side who were being tipped as finalists in the Samsung Champions Trophy here in Kuala Lumpur. I say “almost” because Great Britain are still displaying some of the failings which caused their setback against Spain on Thursday. GB were on the scoresheet as early as the sixth minute, when Matt Daly’s first time shot hit the back of the Korean net. For the next 38 minutes the Korean’s fought to get back into the game but some smart goalkeeping by Ali McGregor maintained the lead. It was Korea’s skipper, Jong Ho Seo who scored the equaliser but a penalty corner conversion by Richard Mantell restored the lead with nine minutes to play. Great Britain’s lead lasted less than a minute, with Korea’s second goal coming from Nam Yong Lee. Although a much improved performance, there were still displays of weakness under pressure, with some players trying to take on too many defenders rather than distribute the ball. But, one must not it take away from the team that they managed to recover from Thursday’s poor performance and draw against one of the strongest teams in the tournament.

At the time of writing it looked certain that GB would take part in the 5^th/6^th place match tomorrow (Sunday), with Australia as potential opponents. Check back later on this blog for a roundup of today’s action.

Photographs from today’s match will appear shortly.

THURSDAY CHAMPIONS TROPHY ROUND-UP

With only one more match to be played in the round-robin stage of the Champions Trophy, the focus on Saturday will be on those teams who can join Germany in Sunday’s final. The Germans lead the table by a whole five points and have been the stand-out team of this tournament, despite having a late wobble against the Malaysians this evening when they conceded two goals in eight minutes and saw Florian Keller dispatched to the sin bin. Spain’s convincing 5-0 win against Great Britain today is probably too late, although theoretically a high scoring win on Saturday against Malaysia could put them in second place. This would require GB to beat Korea and for Australia to lose against Germany. Great Britain, weighed down by a huge goal deficit are out of the running for medals but have the possible carrot of an automatic entry into next year’s Champions Trophy if they can finish fifth. Korea are the favourites to hold the second place and GB would have to show a huge improvement to have a chance against the talented Koreans. Latest weather forecast suggest more of the rain delays that have interrupted this tournament over the last two days.

Today’s results:
Australia 3-3 Netherlands
Pakistan 3-3 Korea
Spain 5-0 Great Britain
Germany 3-2 Malaysia

Tomorrow (Friday) is a rest day.

Current positions:
1. Germany 16 pts (+12)
2. Korea 11 pts (+5)
3. Australia 10 pts (+2)
4. Netherlands 9 pts (+2)
5. Spain 8 pts (+1)
6.Great Britain 6 pts (-10)
7. Pakistan 5 pts (-5)
8. Malaysia 1 pt (-7)

Images from GB v Spain Match

THE RAIN IN MALAYSIA FAILS TO DAMPEN SPAIN by Peter Savage in Kuala Lumpur

A resurgent Spain gave a demonstration of class hockey to a Great Britain side who quite simply failed to step up to the mark here in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon. The rain, which had fallen steadily all day, failed to dampen the spirits of a Spanish side who announced their return as a top team by beating Australia yesterday. To give GB full credit, it did take Spain all of 22 minutes to penetrate their defence, and up to that point GB had displayed some interesting play.. However, all too often promising moves were broken down by passes to marked players or by trying to force the ball through packs of defenders. Two goals towards the end of the first half, one from Ramon Alegre from a penalty corner, and the second in open play off the stick of an allegedly unfit Santiago Frexia, marked Great Britain’s card and after that all the more promising traffic was one way. Alegre scored his second from open play in the second half, followed by a cracker from the edge of the circle by Eduard Arbos, which left Ali McGregor in the GB goal without a hope. Goal number five was from a corner and was scored by Victor Sojo. After the match, coach Jason Lee, was in no mood for making excuses. “We were appalling doing what we would normally do. After an international match one should normally be tired, but my players are relatively fresh.” Maurits Hendriks, the coach of the Spanish side, commented after the match, “The good news is that we are back in the tournament.”

Pictures from this match will appear on this blog soon. A full review of todays proceeding will follow later.

GB ON VERGE OF SOMETHING SPECIAL by Peter Savage in Kuala Lumpur

Tomorrow’s match against Spain could be make or break time for Great Britain in the Champions Trophy here in Kuala Lumpur. Both sides seem to have found some form late in the tournament and so you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who will predict the outcome of this one. Today’s excellent win against Pakistan elevates GB into fifth place and, with two of the teams ahead of them pitted against each other tomorrow (Thursday), it could elevate Jason’s Lee’s side into a challenge for a bronze medal play-off.

Today was definitely underdogs’ day. Although GB in the guise of England might be expected to win the encounter against Pakistan, it was the margin of the victory which was the surprise. Spain overturned their form in this tournament so far by beating Australia 3-2. The match between a revitalised German side and the Netherlands – you would not think this was the same Germany who looked so dismal in Manchester – was a cracking game, which finished with honours even at 3-3. But the match of the day for me was the encounter between the hosts, Malaysia, and the very fit and technically proficient Koreans. Having hammered the Dutch on Monday, the Koreans found themselves going into the second half against Malaysia 2-1 down. The Koreans drew level towards the end of the second half, but with just over a minute on the clock the Malaysians showed their inexperience at this level. Given a free hit in their own half, they wasted it by not giving the Koreans an opportunity to retreat. The short pass and scoop was was picked up by a Korean forward and popped into the net by Hyo Sik You . Protest as much as they liked, umpire Haider, was having none of it and the goal against Malyasia stood, robbing the hosts of their first win of the competition. Malaysian coach, George Koshy, was sanguine afterwards. “I do not blame the umpire for what happened. With only a few seconds left on the clock my players should have held the ball and waited for their opponents to retreat. They’ll learn.” Watching the replay on Malaysian television later that evening suggests that Koshy was being generous.

Positions at the end of play today:

1. Germany 13 pts (+11)
2. Korea 10 pts (+5)
3. Australia 9 pts (+2)
4. Netherlands 8 pts (+2)
5. Great Britain 6 pts (-5)
6. Spain 5 pts (-4)
7. Pakistan 4 pts (-5)
8. Malaysia 1 pt (-6)

Pictures from Great Britain v Pakistan

Images from the GB v Pakistan match in Kuala Lumpur today. More pictures will appear on our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk next week.

GB CROSS FITNESS BARRIER IN STYLE by Peter Savage in Kuala Lumpur

In the November edition of TalkHockeyRadio I suggested to the manager of Great Britain, Peter Nicholson, that my presence at England matches had often resulted in improved results. It was a light hearted comment and, of course, this is Great Britain playing and not England. Despite that, it was a prediction that came true here in Kulua Lumpur this afternoon for my first day at the Samsung Champions Trophy. But first let me set the scene. Starting a match at 16:05 here is like walking into a Turkish bath. Hot and humid. The weather had been noticeably cooler this afternoon, by which I mean the equivalent of warmest July in England plus ten degrees. It had not been the searing heat of previous days but at 16:00 the clouds rolled back and the simple act of standing on one spot became an effort, never mind playing 70 minutes of hockey. However, the Great Britain team seemed to have done a better job of acclimatising than anyone could have expected. Playing Pakistan - a team who they could beat of paper but were probably better able to adapt to these conditions - it took GB 10 minutes to settle down. When they did they looked far the more dangerous of the two sides. Stephen Dick, proving once again that the Scots are not just in the team to make up the numbers, scored the opener after 15 minutes, and six minutes later Rob Moore made it two. One criticism I have made of England teams in the past is a lack of effectiveness in the circle but you could not say this about this GB performance. Every loose ball was readily snatched up. A Simon Mantell goal made it three and that is how the match went into the break. The Pakistan coach had clearly been studying British tactics during the first half and when they came back onto the pitch it only took just under ten minutes for continued pressure to bring results, with Imran Muhammad finding the net from a penalty corner. But this was to be GB’s lucky day. The rain, which had started just after the start of the second half, turned to monsoon proportions, and the umpires suspended the match whilst we watched the pitch slowly disappear under water. The break was enough for coach Jason Lee to reorganise his troops and they came out after the break fighting. Richard Alexander, who seemed to be running after everything, finally got his reward with a goal in the 57^th minute. A slightly bizarre post script to this match was the discovery that there were eleven Pakistan players on the pitch whilst Imran Kahn was sitting out a period of suspension. The unfortunate victim of this was the Pakistan captain, Salman Akbar, who found himself blameless but sitting next to Kahn in the sin bin. The final score 4-1 to Great Britain. And coach Jason Lee’s comment after the match? “We have played much better than that.” They may get a chance to show that when they play Spain tomorrow. Spain have been off form in this tournament, and this might just be GB’s chance to put a further three points into their pot.

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THIS MATCH WILL APPEAR ON THIS BLOG IN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES.

CHAMPIONS TROPHY UPDATE by Peter Savage in Kuala Lumpur

The Champions Trophy resumes in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow (Wednesday). The weather here is scorchingly hot at the moment and going out in the sun is almost like having a blow torch turned on any exposed skin. Away from the stadium the humidity is thankfully low, but rain and pitch watering can change that in an instant.

One of the local papers, the Straits Times, has commented on the relative success of he two Asian teams taking part. For Malaysia this means putting up a good show against much higher ranked opposition, but Monday saw them draw a match against Pakistan 2-2, a creditable result by any measure. However, what may be of more significance in world hockey terms is the pasting the Dutch received at the hands of the Koreans, losing 6-2.

Mondays results in full:

Nethelands 2 – 8 Korea

Australia 1 – 0 GB

Germany 4 – 1 Spain

Pakistan 2 – 2 Malaysia

Places after four matches:

1. Germany 12 pts (+11)
2. Australia 9 pts (+3)
3. Korea 7 pts (+7)
4. Netherlands 7 pts (+2)
5. Pakistan 7 pts (-5)
6. Great Britain 3 pts (-8)
7. Spain 2 pts (-5)
8. Malaysia 1 pt (-5)

Great Britain play Pakistan at 15:05 local time tomorrow. If there are points to be taken in this competition, Pakistan could provide some of them. Memories will go back to the World Cup just over a year ago when Martin Jones scored the winner in a memorable match against tomorrow’s opponents. Keeping watching this blog for an early update tomorrow.

GB LOOSE OUT TO AUSSIES

You would not expect GB to beat Australia even on a good day, so a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Aussies is probably as good as it gets. Australia's only goal was scored by Eddie Ockeden in the 25th minute. Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be a rest day in KL. TalkHockeyRadio will start the first of it's on-the-spot reports on this blog on Wednesday.

GOALS AND POINTS AT LAST

Having the distinction of being the only team not to have scored a goal so far in the Champions Trophy, Great Britain went into the break in today’s match against Maylasia 1-0 down, having struggled in the first half. It was Scotland’s Stephen Dick who levelled the score fifteen minutes into the second half. Rob Moore made it two from a quick counter-attack minutes later, and GB held on to a 2-1 lead until Abdullah equalised for Malaysia with seven minutes of play left. But GB were to have the last word. A free hit outside the Malaysian circle fell to the stick of Ben Hawes, who unleashed a fierce shot into goal. Final score 3-2 to Great Britain.

Other results today: Spain 3 Netherlands 3, Germany 2 Korea 1.

Today’s result puts Great Britain in 6^th place, ahead of Spain and Malaysia. Germany are currently leading the table with nine points, followed by The Netherlands. Australia and Pakistan are yet to play but both are on three points and the best they can achieve from a win today is to move into third, ahead of Korea.

CANTERBURY FACE FURTHER WOE

Canterbury, who were due to visit Havant on 17 February, played their Slazenger EHL Premier Division match against the Hampshire club this afternoon to avoid a clash with the European Indoor Club Championships, where Canterbury are the English representatives. Canterbury are not having their best season and are currently propping up the Division. However, nothing in the form book could prepare pundits for the 10-2 defeat inflicted on them. Hat-tricks from Thornton Mcdade and Ahmed Ez Mohamed and goals by Calum Giles, Andrew Pett, Tim Davenport, and Tom Butt, gave the home side a 10-2 win. Canterbury’s reply was by Matt Harper and Simon Hare. Canterbury are now four points adrift at the foot of the table.

Today was a rest day in Kuala Lumpur in the Champions Trophy but Great Britain are back in action tomorrow when they play the host nation, Malaysia. There will be an interruption to postings on this blog whilst we make our way to Malaysia.