African Hockey Federation | General News Archives - Page 67 of 71

Netherlands storm to gold and records get re-written at Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018

5 August 2018 Netherlands win eighth title with stunning final performance Ireland take silver and move into top 10 of FIH Hero World Rankings Spain make their own history by winning bronze London: Relentless and magnificent. The Netherlands have absolutely owned the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup since their opening 7-0 scoreline against Korea. The women in orange might have been slightly stunned by the reception their opponents received as they walked out for the final but then it was business as usual – except in this case, the word ‘usual’ is a synonym for unparalleled excellence. If ever a World Cup title was warranted, it was this one and the question every other coach has to be asking is “How do we beat the Dutch?” London turned green for the afternoon as Ireland women played out the final chapter of their fascinating World Cup journey. The crowd sang the Irish national anthem with a pride and a passion that moved even the most neutral of spectators and the Netherlands were, for just a moment, a sideshow to the main event. Then the action started on the pitch. Every Irish pass was greeted with a roar of approval. A heavy tackle by Caia van Maasakker was booed, albeit with an undercurrent of humour. But this is the Dutch and it was going to take a lot more than a noisy crowd to put them off course. For Chloe Watkins and Eva de Goede, this final was a particularly special occasion as both players were representing their respective nations for the 200th time. Ireland started brightly, with the excellent Nikki Evans showing the confidence to take the Dutch on and create opportunities for her team mates. Gradually though, the Dutch felt their way into the game and, as is their style, a sweeping team move allowed Vitality Best PLayer Lidewij Welten to give them a lead in the seventh minute. After the quarter break it was again a team move that doubled that lead. Frederique Matla took the ball down the Dutch right-hand side of the pitch, before slipping to Xan de Waard. Her shot was weak and dealt with easily by Goalkeeper of the Tournament Ayeisha McFerran but the rebound fell to Kelly Jonker who made no mistake as she shot home with a clipped backhand shot. Netherlands began to turn the pressure up, winning two penalty corners in quick succession. Unusually for the world number one team, the shots failed to produce goals, but this was rectified a few minutes later as the tournament’s Top Scorer Kitty van Male pounced on a rebounded effort from van Maasakker and shot home for her eighth goal of the tournament. With just 30 seconds left on the clock, Malou Pheninckx unleashed a shot from the edge of the circle that flew into the top corner of the Ireland goal. McFerran, who has been so excellent all tournament could do nothing about the rocket of a shot – Pheninckx’s third goal for her nation and her third of this tournament. The half time break gave Graham Shaw a chance to regroup his shattered troops but it also gave Alyson Annan an opportunity to put her foot down even more firmly on the pedal. The Netherlands came out with every intention of making each attack count and just two minutes into the half, Marloes Keetels was on hand to knock the ball into the goal after another defence splitting run by Welten. Caia van Maasakker finally found her groove as she scored from the penalty corner – her third of the tournament. The shot was perfectly placed just out of McFerran’s reach. Irish hopes were lifted for a moment when a Netherlands penalty corner broke down and a quick move saw the Deirdrie Duke alone with just one Dutch defender. A lot is said about the Netherland’s attack but on this occasion it was the defence that showed its class. Irene van Assem made the tackle and the danger was averted with composure. And so to the last 15 minutes of this compelling story. The Netherlands were within touching distance of the trophy for an amazing eighth time, and for the second consecutive edition. But Ireland had played their own part in this story too. As one highly ranked team after another had fallen by the wayside, the story just got more amazing and that is why millions were tuning in across the world and the stadium was full of people determined to see how the final chapter panned out. With their total domination of the sport since 2016, harking back to a single loss in July 2017, the Netherlands are one of the best sports team in the world at the moment, but for sheer exhilaration, this World Cup also belongs to the teams that overturned the rankings and entertained the crowds for 15 glorious days of hockey. The final score of 6-0 is an all-time record for World Cup finals, and it is a signal to the hockey world that the Netherlands have set the bar very high indeed. Ireland’s inspirational captain Kathryn Mullan reflected back: “It was a tough, tough game. We prepared as we did for all the other games. The turn around time was tight and we knew it was going to be a real physical effort from us and we weren’t perhaps as fresh as we would have liked. But credit where credit is due, the Dutch are phenomenal. “We may be disappointed when we look back at the game as to how they got in, but the better team on the day won. The effort my teammates put in was brilliant. “It’s tough right now, but in a few weeks or month we will look back with pride. We came in ranked 16th and we wanted to cause an upset. I’m wearing a silver medal, so we have definitely caused an upset.” Netherlands’ Frederique Matla, said: “This is my first world cup so I am really

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Double centuries for de Goede and Watkins

4 August 2018 On Sunday 5 August, Eva de Goede of the Netherlands and Chloe Watkins of Ireland are poised to play their 200th matches for their respective nations. The match is the gold medal match between Netherlands and ireland 16:30 (UTC). A presentation will take place after the match. For further information and news from the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup, London 2018, click here. #HWC2018 -ends- NOTES TO EDITORS Event website: click here On-site Media Contact: Sarah Juggins FIH Media Operations Manager sarah.juggins@fih.ch Ph: +44(0)781 2525310 About the International Hockey Federation (FIH) The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is the world governing body for the sport of hockey, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Founded in 1924, FIH today has 137 member National Associations. For more information on the Hockey Revolution, visit: fih.ch/inside-fih/our-strategy

Ireland and Netherlands through to semi-finals of Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018

2 August 2018 Netherlands defeat host nation England to secure place in semi-final Ireland continue to make their own history as they face first ever World Cup semi-final Either Spain or Ireland will make World Cup final debut London: On a remarkable day of action, Ireland and Netherlands completed the line-up for the semi-finals of the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018, booking their tickets to the final four with victories over India and host nation England respectively. Ireland yet again defied their 16th position in the FIH Hero World Rankings to claim a shoot-out victory over India, ensuring that the Green Army’s fairy-tale story would continue into the final weekend. Goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran was again a star for Ireland, conceding just once in the shoot-out to set up a semi-final meeting against Spain on Saturday 4th August at 1400 (UTC/GMT+1). The Netherlands broke the hearts of the host nation with a deserved 2-0 triumph over England in front of 10,500 fans, with Vitality Player of the Match Lidewij Welten and Laurien Leurink both on target as Oranje maintained their impressive title charge in London. The Dutch will now face Australia in this Saturday’s semi-final, which will take place at 16:30 local time. Ireland (WR:16) had already created history simply by reaching the quarter-final phase, eclipsing anything that the Green Army had achieved in previous editions of the Hockey Women’s World Cup. However, the team coached by Graham Shaw were determined to ensure that their staggering run in London was not about to end when they faced India (WR:10). Ireland’s 1-0 win over the Eves in Pool B was certainly reason to believe that they could secure a dream place in the semi-finals, although India’s excellent 3-0 cross-over play-off victory against Italy on Tuesday ensured that the Asian continental champions were justifiably confident about their own chances. The two teams cancelled each out for much of the match, with India putting in place an excellent defensive strategy to reduce the effectiveness of Ireland’s potent counter-attacking style on another hot evening in London. Irish attacker Anna O’Flanagan had two chances in quick succession in the second quarter but failed to test India’s ever impressive shot-stopper Savita, while Ireland goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran was a spectator for much of the half. India’s biggest chance to score arrived in the final quarter when India captain Rani drilled a penalty corner shot into the pads of McFerran before Elena Tice cleared the danger. It was the only penalty corner of a game, which always seemed destined to end in a shoot-out, and what a shoot-out it proved to be. McFerran, who has been one of the standout players at the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018, was sensational in the one-on-ones, denying India captain Rani and Navjot Kaur with wonderful saves while forcing Monika to shoot wide. McFerran’s goalkeeping heroics were capitalised on by Roisin Upton and Alison Meeke who both scored to make it advantage Ireland. Reena Khokhar kept India in the contest when she made the score 2-1, but Chloe Watkins made no mistake with a cool finish to trigger scenes of unrestrained joy from the Irish players, coaching staff and fans packed into the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre. “We just tried to go out and impose our style on India”, said elated Ireland international Elena Tice at the end of the match. “At times it wasn’t pretty and we could have taken a few more chances but we kept going. We wanted to put them under pressure from the start and go forward the entire game. At times it went okay and at times we were turned over but our defence is really tough. The defence is prepared to take the hits.” Referring to the atmosphere generated by the capacity crowd watching the action, Tice said: “It was absolutely unbelievable out there. It felt like it was all Ireland and when our legs began to ache, the crowd really got us going. We try to go into every game without fear. We are the underdog every time we play but we want to push on, become a top 10 team and expect to win.” Whilst it was not the outcome that India had desired, Head Coach Sjoerd Marijne felt that the experience gained in London will prove vital to their title challenge at the upcoming Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. “I think the girls will be proud of what they achieved so they will have lots of confidence [for the Asian Games]”, said Dutchman Marijne. “Now they don’t feel that, but they soon will. This has given them the experience of playing on the big stage, doing shoot-outs under high pressure. They will take all of that to the Asian Games.” The atmosphere in the stadium throughout the match between Pool A winners Netherlands and England, who had reached the quarter-finals after beating Korea in the cross-over play-offs on Tuesday, was absolutely electric. The home fans turned up in their thousands in the hope of witnessing England record what would be a famous victory over the reigning world champions, a team that had scored an incredible 26 goals in the three matches they had played ahead of this fixture. The Dutch were on fire in the opening period, putting the England defence under huge pressure. Caia van Maasakker issued a warning when she rattled England’s crossbar with a fierce penalty corner flick before 2015 Hockey Stars Player of the Year Lidewij Welten opened the scoring in the 14th minute. Xan de Waard was the creator, sending a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Welten who made no mistake with a first-time shot between the legs of Hinch. The relentless Dutch pressure continued in the second period, with Hinch again called into action before Susie Petty cleared a goal-bound shot off the line to keep the score at 1-0 going into half time. However, that all changed one minute after the break when the

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Spain and Australia through to semi-finals of Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup, London 2018

1 August 2018 Spain through to semi-finals against Ireland or Inda after late winner over Germany Australia win sets up date with Netherlands or England A new nation will be among the finalists London: The surprises just keep coming. This time it was Spain who claimed a higher ranked scalp at the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup, London 2018 as they beat Germany 1-0. “If you don’t score, you don’t win,” was the simple summing-up statement of a clearly hugely disappointed Head Coach Xavier Reckinger. In the second match, a marathon between two heavyweights in world hockey, Australia finally won out in the shoot-out to destroy Argentina’s hopes of winning a third World Cup. For Spain the 1-0 win means a first appearance in a World Cup semi-final since Madrid 2006. Then they faced Australia, losing 1-0 after extra time. This time they will face either India or Ireland. The result of that match means there will be a new nation guaranteed to be among the medals. In the first quarter final of the evening, Germany (FIH Hero World Ranking: 6) played their European rivals Spain, who are ranked five places lower. It was a game where the big names in each team really needed to step up and lead from the front. Marie Mävers was first to almost get on the score-sheet as she struck the ball across the face of Maria Ruiz’s goal. The German pressure was rewarded by a penalty corner in the third minute but Ruiz was equal to the challenge. It was not one way traffic however. While Germany were swinging the ball around and seeking opportunities to release their speedy forwards, Spain were always looking for their own opportunity to break. Berta Bonastre showed her tremendous ability as she reached to interrupt a German pass. Her subsequent pass was just out of reach of its intended target, Alicia Magaz, who was playing her hundredth match for Spain. This was a to-and-fro game with occasional bursts of exhilarating skill from individuals. One of the most exciting players at this World Cup has been Charlotte Stapenhorst and, again, she didn’t disappoint. Her run up the pitch, from deep inside her own defending area left a trail of defenders behind. Her shot, hit mid-height with venom, was well saved by Ruiz. Another player who has impressed throughout the tournament is Selin Oruz. Like Stapenhorst, she burst deep out of defence and was goal bound until a timely tackle from Rocio Gutierrez stopped her in her tracks. Janne Muller-Wieland used all her vast experience to prevent Miailen Garcia from entering the circle when a break down in the German attack left the world number six side exposed in defence. Where many people would have committed a foul in that position, Muller-Wieland’s tackle was as clinical as it was timely. In the final quarter, there was still no separating the teams. Spain were playing the more aggressive hockey and this prevented Germany playing their usual fast-moving game. Spain won their first penalty corner and Perez was very close to giving her team the lead. The decisive strike came in the 54th minute. Carmen Cano was the hero who put Spain through to the semi-finals of the World Cup after she cleverly batted a midair ball past Julia Ciupka. Spain then had to withstand six minutes of German pressure, something that was intensified when Carlota Petchame was sent from the field with a yellow card. A relieved but ecstatic Berta Bonastre said: “There were no stars out there today, we all played for each other. We have worked so long for this and all too often it is ‘we are making progress’, but tonight all our hard work paid off.” Charlotte Stapenhorst echoed her coach’s words when she spoke of the need to convert chances to goals. “Spain gave us no space to play our game, so we needed to take chances when we could. That didn’t happen tonight and then one moment of switching off and they scored. That is quarter-final hockey.” It took 60 minutes of hockey and a further 14 shoot-out attempts to discover who would be heading to the semi-finals and a meeting with the Netherlands or England. World number three team Argentina and the world number five team Australia have always been well-matched but in this quarter-final it seemed nothing could separate them. They have both won the World Cup twice, they have long occupied a place within the top five in the world, they both have iconic players in their glorious hockey history and neither side can stand losing. There is little to separate Australia and Argentina at the best of times and the quarter final of the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup was the best example of how neither team will ever give an inch. Australia’s defence over this World Cup has been good, only conceding three goals, while Argentina had been 135 minutes without conceding a goal, so scoring opportunities on the part of both teams was always going to be limited. In the first quarter, both teams were testing each other out, which made for a cagey and defensive first 15 minutes. There were forays into each other’s goals but on the whole neither Belen Succi or Rachael Lynch were called into action much. Australia always knew that scoring past Belen Succi and her defence would be a tough ask and so it proved. Just how defensive these two teams were playing is encapsulated in the statistics. By the end of 30 minutes of play, there had been two shots from Australia and four from Argentina. Neither side, aware of the threat of Australia’s Jodie Kenny and Argentina’s Noel Barrionuevo, had conceded any penalty corners. The second half saw both teams start to explore the attacking options a little less tentatively. Ambrosia Malone and Renee Taylor both had shots that tested the Leonas defence, while Delfina Merino, Agustina Albertarrio and the effervescent Maria Granatto all forced some brave defending from

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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 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 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).