Ireland produce performance of the day as Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup bursts into life

    A mammoth crowd packed into east London’s Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre to witness some fabulous action in the first Saturday of the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018. Four stellar matches ensured that this eagerly anticipated competition got off to the best possible start. The opening session of the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 was a witnessed by a crowd of 10,500 being thoroughly entertained by two cracking matches, with Germany producing a classy performance to overpower Pool C rivals South Africa before the partisan crowd watched England claim a draw against India in Pool B. Germany (FIH Hero World Ranking: 6) made a superb start to their World Cup campaign with a deserved victory over a South Africa (WR:14) team that did not make it easy for the team coached by Xavier Reckinger in the competition opener. Die Danas were the better side in the opening period, controlling possession and creating chances to force some good early saves from South Africa goalkeeper Phumelela Mbande before the opening goal arrived a minute before the quarter-time break. Viktoria Huse scored the first goal of what promises to be an wonderful World Cup competition in London, deceiving Mbande with a smart turn before passing into an open goal. Germany extended their advantage two minutes into the third quarter when the excellent Charlotte Stapenhorst fired home from close range before South Africa, who grew in confidence as the game progressed, hit back thanks to a deflected penalty corner slap-shot from Lisa-Marie Deetlefs. However, few would argue that Germany were worthy winners, with Huse claiming her second of the match from the penalty spot in the 54th minute to seal a 3-1 victory for Germany. “We have been together for three weeks and we had a tournament in Germany that was the start of all of this”, said Germany’s two-goal star Huse after the match. “We are here to win, for sure. We have a good team and we all know each other very well. There is a great atmosphere in our camp.” With a full house watching on, the atmosphere during the contest between home favourites England (WR:2) and Asian continental champions India (WR:10) was intense throughout. “I think as we are competitive people we can become fixated with the result and we are probably disappointed with it, but focusing on the level of performance, particularly in that second half, we absolutely dominated and I can’t ask for more” Danny Kerry, England Head Coach. England thrilled the home fans by winning but failing to convert a penalty corner in the opening seconds, but India were far from overawed by the occasion. The Eves were the first team to have a shot in anger, with England’s Maddie Hinch comfortably kicking clear a strike from Navjot Kaur. England had a penalty stroke overturned by the video umpire in a second quarter where they were unusually wasteful in front of goal, something that they were left to rue in the 25th minute when Neha Goyal deflected home from close range to give India a 1-0 lead at half time. The hosts spent most of the third quarter camped in Indian territory, with Alex Danson and Lily Owsley both growing in stature as the game progressed thanks to their trademark bursts forward. Owsley was particularly influential in the final quarter, and when Hinch was replaced with an attacking player with ten minutes remaining, the breakthrough that England had been searching for arrived. Owsley was the scorer of the equaliser, forcing home from close range six minutes from time after India failed to effectively clear their lines from a penalty corner, ensuring that the match finished with the honours even at 1-1. Speaking after the game, England Head Coach Danny Kerry said: “I think as we are competitive people we can become fixated with the result and we are probably disappointed with it, but focusing on the level of performance, particularly in that second half, we absolutely dominated and I can’t ask for more. The atmosphere was amazing, you could really feel the crowd getting behind us in that second half.” The second session at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre contained unquestionably the best match of the day, as USA (WR:7) and Ireland (WR:16) were involved in a hugely entertaining, fiercely contested game that upset the FIH Hero World Rankings. Ireland claimed a stunning 3-1 victory over the Americans, a result which saw the second lowest ranked team in the competition end Day 1 sitting top of the Pool B table. The Green Army – playing their first World Cup match for 16 years – were outstanding in the opening quarter, taking a 1-0 lead after just five minutes when Deirdre Duke produced a calm and collected finish after finding herself one-on-one with USA shot-stopper Jackie Briggs. That advantage was doubled thanks to a fierce penalty corner strike from Shirley McCay, but an ingenious penalty corner routine from the Americans, finished off by Margaux Paolino, made the score 2-1 at the end of the first quarter. USA were very much in the ascendency in the second quarter, but they could not find a way past outstanding Ireland goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran, who was named Vitality Player of the Match. While McFerran was in sparkling form, her goal also lead a charmed life when another wonderful USA penalty corner routine hit the crossbar ahead of a half time. The killer blow arrived six minutes after half time and again it was Duke who was the scorer, finishing off a rapid counter-attack with a close range strike that rattled the pads of USA goalkeeper Briggs before bouncing over the line to give Ireland a shock victory over a team that finished fourth at the 2014 World Cup in The Hague. “We just decided to go out and enjoy it”, said delighted Ireland forward Anna O’Flanagan after the match. “We had a certain amount of confidence that we could win this game, we had

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    South Africa's squad heading to London was announced earlier today Photo: FIH/Getty

    South Africa name women’s World Cup squad

      African women champions South Africa have announced their 18-player squad for the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018. BUY TICKETS! Sheldon Rostron’s squad, who qualified for the World Cup as African continental champions, features a blend of some superb youngsters coupled with experienced campaigners. One of the notable names missing is Ilse Davids, who announced her retirement recently, while SA Player of the year for 2016, Celia Evans, misses out through knee injury. Shelley Jones and Dirkie Chamberlain will be key to South Africa’s approach at the World Cup as they take part in their fourth World Cups. Dynamic duo Lisa-Marie Deetlefs and Sulette Damons will take part in their third, while Nicolene Terblanche returns for her second after featuring at the Hague in 2014.  Their collective experience will be key to a South African side featuring some incredible youngsters. There is a return to the squad for Tarryn Glasby and Lilian du Plessis (her second World Cup as well) who missed out on the Commonwealth Games, adding much needed threat in front of goal to the explosive talent of Candice Manuel. While the experienced trio of Erin Hunter, Nicole Walraven and Kara Botes will be joined in defence by the exciting Simone Gouws, who was the Junior Player of the Tournament at the recently completed Inter-Provincial Tournament (IPT). Kristen Paton and Ongi Mali, often spoken of as the future of South African Hockey, will now be a very active part of the present. The team is completed by the Western Province duo Quanita Bobbs and Jade Mayne, who will look to continue their fine form in the green and gold when arriving in London. South Africa will take part in Group C facing off against Germany (FIH Hero World Ranking: 6) on 21 July, Spain (WR: 11) on 26 July and Argentina (WR: 3) on 28 July. Speaking about this, Sheldon Rostron, Head Coach of the South African women, said: “The group that we have created has a good blend of experience and youth. We have looked at specific skill requirements as well as the players form over the past 12 months. Simone Gouws will add a different dynamic in our defence, which we feel is needed, while the return of Lilian will make us a more threatening attacking team. As much as this is a team for the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup, it is also a team to build for the future of South Africa Women’s Hockey.” South Africa Women’s Hockey Team for the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 Phumelela Mbande Marlize van Tonder Erin Hunter Kara Botes Simone Gouws Nicole Walraven Lisa Deetlefs Shelley Jones Kristen Paton Quanita Bobbs Nicolene Terblanche Sulette Damons Candice Manuel Ongi Mali Lilian du Plessis Tarryn Glasby Dirkie Chamberlain Jade Mayne #HWC2018 Source: FIH

      Olympic legend Dame Katherine Grainger recently visited FIH's TAP in Ghana Photo: UK Sport

      Olympic legend inspired by West African Development

        April 13, 2018 With its national women’s team having just finished competing in their first major international competition and a national hockey event taking place in its capital city, Ghana’s hockey development is progressing apace at both ends of the development spectrum. Ghana women have just concluded their first foray into the Commonwealth Games, while Accra is preparing to host the West Africa Hockey5s tournament. This marked progress represents key milestones for the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Targeted Assistance Programme (TAP) that has transformed hockey in the West Africa country. The TAP West Africa project began in 2014 as part of England Hockey’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup. It is run in conjunction with the African Hockey Federation, the Ghana Hockey Association and is supported by FIH. UK Sport has also been a key funding partner in the project. Four years on and England are just a few months away from hosting the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 and Ghana is celebrating reaching a number of landmark points in its own hockey development. “People who have worked on the project have left with their own incredible life experiences and memories and there is a distinct sense that it had changed everyone’s lives for the better.”  Dame Katherine Grainger, Chair of UK Sport FIH Hockey Academy and Education Manager Andre Oliveira says there are three areas in which the Targeted Assistance Programme has delivered outstanding results. The first of these is the development of a workforce which can deliver hockey events, namely, coaches, umpires, umpire managers and educators. Then there is the development of the national team, which has been so emphatically demonstrated by the success of Ghana women in qualifying for the Commonwealth Games. Ghana are now ranked 30th in the world and will be the lowest ranked team at the tournament, but their inclusion and their rise up the rankings signals a spreading of hockey across Africa. The third area of improvement is the hockey development and growth in the countries that surround Ghana. In Togo, the number of registered players has reached 700 (from 200) and Burkina Faso is about to enter its first international competition – the West Africa Hockey5s tournament in Ghana’s capital city Accra. Also at the inaugural Hockey5s tournament were Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. Dame Katherine Grainger is Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympian, with five Olympic medals in addition to six world championship titles. She is now Chair of UK Sport and was on hand to watch the hockey action at the West Africa Hockey5s. Speaking about this Programme and the event, she said: “I had heard great things about the TAP project but it wasn’t until being privileged enough to have a visit to Ghana myself that I realised its enormous positive impact. We often talk about how sport can transform lives and in Ghana I saw a wonderful tangible example of that. Once again great partnerships in sport created something special and ground-breaking. “Between UK Sport, England Hockey, the FIH, the African Hockey Federation, and the Ghana Hockey Association, five different African Nations were able to come together for the first time and compete in a hockey tournament. For two of those nations the athletes had never had the opportunity to compete internationally before.” She continued: “The hockey was played with a ferocious level of passion and enthusiasm and the singing and dancing displayed by the teams at the end of the tournament showed how much players, officials and spectators were celebrating the experience.” Grainger pointed out that Ghana’s aim at the start of the project was to qualify for a world level tournament by 2022. In fact, in qualifying for the Commonwealth Games, this target was met four years early. “In addition to the tournament itself, throughout the four year project further participation and performance projects had been put in place for coaches, players and umpires with a plan that hockey can continue to grow and develop in Ghana and across West Africa. “ added Grainger, “People who have worked on the project have left with their own incredible life experiences and memories and there is a distinct sense that it had changed everyone’s lives for the better.” FIH’s Targeted Assistance Programme is a key component of the 10-year Hockey Revolution strategy. By increasing the degree of professionalism amongst the organisations in West Africa it is hoped that this Programme will contribute to the strategy’s overall aim of making hockey a global game that inspires the next generation. For more information about hockey in Ghana, click here. #GlobalProjects

        New Zealand women win historic gold at Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games

          Black Sticks win first ever gold in Commonwealth Games hockey Australia pick up silver England defeat India to take bronze New Zealand have won their first ever Commonwealth Games gold medal as they defeated Australia in the Gold Coast 2018 women’s hockey. As a result, Australia picked up silver while England won bronze as they beat India. In the final, New Zealand took the lead through Shiloh Gloyn in the 28th minute when she smashed a shot beyond goalkeeper Rachael Lynch to give the Black Sticks a 1-0 advantage going into the half-time break. Whilst Australia had their chances, New Zealand continued to dominate and in the third quarter, penalty corner conversions from Rose Keddell and Olivia Merry put them 3-0 ahead. Australia’s Hockeyroos battled hard and made a brief comeback through a Jodie Kenny drag flick in the 50th minute but it was to be New Zealand’s day. Anita McLaren sealed their historic win in the 56th minute through a penalty corner to make the final score 4-1. After their win, Head Coach Mark Hager said: “This means a hell of a lot to our group. We have found ourselves in crunch matches before but I’m just so pleased we were able to finally get across the line and win gold. The feeling is fantastic, this is a team I absolutely love being a part of and I’m proud of every single one of them.” “These players don’t make a lot of money but put in a tremendous amount of time and effort, mostly after hours, to get to where they are, so this is thoroughly deserved.” Mark Hager, New Zealand Head Coach Speaking about their loss, Australia’s Savannah Fitzpatrick said: “I am pretty devastated. Silver seems worse than bronze sometimes. We weren’t on the same page for a period and that’s when they hurt us. We were trying to work really hard but it was frantic energy not positive energy.” In the bronze medal match, Sophie Bray was a hat-trick hero for England as they defeated Asian champions India to secure their sixth consecutive Commonwealth Games medal. Both teams took time to get into this match and although India challenged England goalkeeper Maddie Hinch on several occasions, England showed their ruthlessness in front of goal. England pulled ahead just before half-time through Hollie Pearne-Webb. From a penalty corner she misjudged the trap but fortunately had enough time to make the strike herself, which to her delight ended up in the back of India’s net. After the break England’s Sophie Bray lit up the Gold Coast Hockey Centre, her first goal the best as she perfectly executed a backhand strike into the top corner in the 43rd minute. She then got her second of the day six minutes later. Laura Unsworth made it 4-0 as she scored from a tight angle before Bray completed her hat-trick with only four minutes remaining. The three-goal hero had one last influence on the match as she set up her captain Alex Danson for England’s sixth. That result was the 10th consecutive year the women have medalled at a major hockey event as either England or Great Britain. Afterwards, England captain Alex Danson said: “It was a resilient performance. We’ve got a very big, very talented squad. It’s a fantastic way to end this event. It’s a relief when you’ve done the work at home, and you’ve got the tactics and the ability as individuals in the team to play. It’s all about the mindset, how you feel going into the match. How you talk, how you think, and how you stand.” The women’s hockey event at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games is one of the last major international events before the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 taking place in England between 21 July and 5 August. Tickets for that event are still available and can be purchased here. RESULTS Women Gold: Australia 1, New Zealand 4. Bronze: England 6, India 0.

          Australia and New Zealand to play for gold as Ghana settle for tenth place in Gold Coast

            Oceania rivals Australia and New Zealand will play for the women’s hockey gold medals at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games as they both won their respective Semi-Finals tonight. In the first Semi-Final, England, who finished top of Pool A, took on Pool B runners-up New Zealand – the highest scoring team in this event so far, with 18 goals. New Zealand nor their opponents could find the back of the net in this match however, but that did not detract from the fast-paced, action packed encounter that thrilled yet another capacity crowd at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre. While New Zealand goalkeeper Sally Rutherford made a number of crucial saves during regulation time, Grace O’Hanlon entered the cauldron and left a hero, denying England time and time again in the shoot-out. The Black Sticks alternate goalkeeper saved four of England’s shoot-out attempts. New Zealand meanwhile relied on Samantha Harrison and captain Stacey Michelsen to score the two shoot-out goals to win the Semi-Final for the Kiwis and take them to the gold medal match in the Commonwealth Games for the first time since 2010. After their win, New Zealand Head Coach Mark Hager said: “Grace was brilliant, she kept us alive and ignited our players in the shoot-out. I also want to praise Sally who was outstanding and really kept us in the game under huge pressure.” Straight afterwards, Australia’s Hockeyroos qualified for their fourth consecutive gold medal match at the Commonwealth Games. The 2014 champions dominated the majority of this match, and whilst India had their chances, the Hockeyroos got the all-important goal to take them to the final. In the 36th minute, Grace Stewart volleyed home a raised pass from Savannah Fitzpatrick’s in what was one of the best goals of the event so far. Whilst this was a highlight, Hockeyroos Coach Paul Gaudoin will be pleased his team continued their strong defensive duties, with the hosts yet to concede at this event. Earlier in the day, Scotland and Malaysia entertained the fans with a six-goal thriller. The Scots started well, with Millie Brown and an Amy Brodie double giving them a 3-0 half-time lead. Malaysia then battled their way back into the game, with Fatin Sukri then Nuraini Rashid both scoring through penalty corners. Despite the attempted comeback, Scotland’s nerves settled when Lucy Lanigan scored Scotland’s fourth as the game finished 4-2 – a result that saw Scotland finish in seventh and Malaysia eighth. In their debut Commonwealth Games, Ghana took Wales to a shootout in their classification match after the match finished 1-1. Ghana stunned their European opponents as they took the lead through Serwaa Boakye in the 43rd minute. It took just under 10 minutes for Wales to level, through a penalty corner from Tina Evans, which took the game to shoot-out. Sian French and Sarah Jones emerged the heroes for Wales as the only two scorers in the shoot-out, ensuring a ninth place finish for their team, with Ghana ranked 10th. SOURCE : FIH

            GC2018: Hockey Ladies suffer first loss at Gold Coast 2018

              Ghana’s Female Hockey team first appearance at the commonwealth games has been reckoned with both local and international local media houses praising the team. The team beat Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya but lost to South Africa to pick silver in the 2017 African Cup of Nation held in Ismalia, Egypt. New Zealand started their Gold Coast campaign beating Scotland 6 goals to 1. The energy of Madi Doar, Kelsey Smith, Sam Charlton and Shiloh Glyon stumped the camp of Ghana ending the first half 4-0 in New Zealand’s favour after Adampa Janet and Amoako Cecilia got booked. Ghana became vulnerable in the third period after Michelsen Stacey 33′, Merry Olivia 35′ and Harrison Samantha 43′ drove pass the unstable defense to increase the deficit to 7. Azumah Bridget made remarkable saves but wasn’t enough to stop Ghana from conceding more goals. New Zealand Black Sticks stretched the tally in the final period with 5 goals to end the game 12 nil in their favour. 18-year-old Doar impressed the crowd with a hat-trick whiles McLaren Anita bagged her 100th international goal for NZ Blacksticks. Ghana plays host nation, Australia, in their second game tomorrow at 12:30 GMT+10 (2:30 AM).

              GC2018: South Africa suffer first defeat on day 1

                Wales held hockey giants Pakistan to a draw whilst South Africa were stunned 4-2 by Scotland in the opening day of the men’s hockey competition at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. Following the women’s matches earlier in the day, thousands of fans continued to turn out to support the men’s teams at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre. Wales, ranked 24th in the FIH Hero World Rankings, have every right to be proud of their draw against 13th ranked Pakistan. Taking inspiration from their women’s win against India earlier in the day, Wales were tough in their tackles and composed in possession – penetrating their opponents circle more often than Pakistan entered theirs throughout the match. And it was Wales who took the lead in open play, after 33 minutes, through Rupert Shipperley. That did not last long however as, six minutes later, Pakistan levelled the match through an Ali Mubashar penalty corner. After the two goals, both teams cancelled each other out across the field, with no other shots at goal or penalty corners conceded for the remainder of the game. Despite riding their luck on occasion, Wales did more than enough to justify their share of the spoils and record what some believe to be one of their best men’s results in their history. Pakistan meanwhile will rue dropped points against a team they would have hoped to beat. The last match of the day saw African champions South Africa come up against a Scottish side buzzing with energy and passion. The Blue Sticks raced into a 3-0 lead by the end of the first quarter – all goals through open play. The highlight was the second goal when a neat ball was slipped through two South African defenders to find Kenneth Bain who fired a beautiful back stick strike high into the roof of the net. Alan Forsyth followed that up in the 13th minute as he smashed home a goal at the back post after South Africa failed to clear the danger. Scotland’s energy continued into the second quarter, their confidence allowing them to spread the ball around the field – a fact reflected by statistics showing they had 89% of possession in the match. It was however South Africa who got on the scoresheet next as Gareth Heyns scored from a penalty corner. Their captain, Tim Drummond, then brought the score back to 3-2 through a fantastic diving shot after a pass was edged through the entire Scottish defence. Although their fans may have feared a typical Scottish collapse, the Blue Sticks held on and Kenneth Bain squeezed in his second goal of the night to guarantee a hugely important win both in terms of points and for confidence. Results Pool A: South Africa 2, Scotland 4. Pool B: Pakistan 1, Wales 1. #GC2018Hockey fih.ch

                Nigeria slams Burkina Faso for title race

                  March 26, 2018 Ghana and Nigeria recorded massive wins on Match Day 3 to book a place in the finals of their respective finals. Nigeria’s boys team beat Burkina Faso to set up an epic finals against host Ghana. Ghana’s girls team beat Togo to also book their place in the final. The girls started match day 3 with Ghana facing Togo. The girls from Togo set out to revenge the heavy defeat they suffered at the hands of their neighbours on match day one. The game started with Ghana dominating as usual but the girls from Togo also played well. The Ghanaian girls were frustrated in the early minutes as they failed to score Togo. Good team play from Togo attracted applauds from spectators and dignitaries present. Their moment of doom came in the 5th minute when Ghana’s Gifty Addae put the host in front with a cheeky lob over Tchagbele Aidatou in post for Togo. The floodgates were then opened as the host scored 7 goals in succession. Togo managed to pull one back but that was not enough as they succumbed to a 8-1 defeat. The win puts Ghana top of the group an a place in the final. With just two teams available for the girls division means Togo meets Ghana again in “The third world war”. Nigeria also booked their place in the boys final with a win over Burkina Faso. The green lads once again produced another great performance. Four goals in the first session, three in the second and two in the final session was enough to send them to the grand final. Burkina Faso unfortunately had to end the game with two key players injured. Source: http://isports360.com/

                  Ghana doubles win over Ivory Coast

                    March 25, 2018 Match day two of the ongoing West Africa Hockey 5s ended with massive wins for Ghana and Nigeria who trashed Ivory coast and Togo. Ghana played host to their counterparts from Ivory Coast in the first match of the day. Both teams had to play another game because a third opponent was unavailable. The Ghanaian side put up another splendid performance to book a place in the finals. The host dictated the pace of the game as they controlled every department. The Ivorians showed brilliant team play; a performance many saw as an improvement of their game yesterday. However, the expected happened as Ghana won the game beating ivory coast by 13-0. The final game of the day was between Nigeria and Togo. The boys in green were playing their first game of the tournament after a late arrival. Togo who brushed aside Burkina Faso by 11-2 in their first game were in high spirit approaching this game. Mustapha Bala put Nigeria in-front as early as the 5th minute. Daniel Attah scored five goals (8th, 13th, 20th, 22nd and 26th min) with Abdul Aziz Yusif (14th min), Baccas Benjamin (24th min) and Peter John (24th min) getting a goal each for Nigeria. Agbessi Kokou pulled one back for Togo in the 13th minute but time ran out as Nigeria won 9-1. Source: http://isports360.com

                    Ghana, Togo commence Hockey 5s with big wins

                      March 25, 2018 The first edition of the West Africa hockey 5s commenced at the Theodosia Okoh hockey stadium, yesterday, with wins for host nation Ghana. The tournament seeks to promote youth hockey in West Africa as well as a preparatory grounds for the youth Olympic qualifier in Algeria later this year. Five countries represented with 5 male teams and 3 female teams. The opening game of the tournament yesterday saw Ghana’s female team engage their counterparts from Togo. The Togolese made its first appearance in any hockey tournament started on a more determined note. Their hopes were however, cut short in the 3rd minute when Okine Rafiatu put Ghana in front. the 1st session ended with Ghana 4-0 up. The Togolese came up strong in the second and final session but all efforts proved futile as they were beaten 11-0. Speaking after the game, Togo Female’s coach Kesse Komlan said, “we played with an opponent who has been playing hockey for decades, and we are so proud of how we performed. We are putting things in place and hopefully no team will be able to match us years to come”. In the boys division, Togo got the best of Burkina Faso beating them by 11-2. it was a game between two debutants as both teams made their way into the hockey fraternity for the first time. Togo showed dominance from the start of the game controlling every part of the turf. Their dominance was turned into goals as they scored six at the end of the second session to put the game beyond Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso gained experience from the first two session and played extremely well in the final session. They manged to score two goals with Togo bagging in five more goals. Host nation Ghana engaged counterparts Ivorian in the final game of the day. The boys from Ghana were enthused and eager to do better than their girls. The match started with the host dictating pace with three goals in the first three minutes. Ghana were 7-0 up after the first session. A resilient Ivorian side pulled one back in the second session but Ghana grabbed two more goals to increase their tally before the end of the second session. The Ghanaian side rounded up their scintillating win with six more goals in the final session ending the game 15-1 in favor of Ghana.   Source: http://isports360.com