#FIHSeriesFinals: Japan and South Africa join India and USA in semi-finals

    With a win over Poland today, Japan will play India in an all-Asian semi-final. The other semi-final will see South Africa, who qualified after defeating Russia today, take on USA. Both European teams will play the match for the 5th place. All games are scheduled on 14 June. Japan – Poland As has happened so often in this event, Japan did not wait long to set up camp in their opponents’ half. But on a counter-attack, Joseph Hillyer managed to find his teammate Mikolaj Gumny in an ideal position in front of the goal. Gumny had no hesitation in converting this golden opportunity into the first goal of the match. The ball possession remained mostly with the Asian champions but Poland was defending well. On a penalty corner however, Shota Yamada drag-flicked the ball into the net, giving his side a deserved equaliser. Japan then missed a huge opportunity with Koji Yamasaki deflecting the ball onto the goalpost. But on the subsequent penalty corner, Hirotaka Zendana made no mistake as he put his team ahead. Another counter-attack from the determined Poles saw Michal Poltaszewski sending a clever pass to Maciej Janiszewski who, in turn, delivered a precise cross to his team’s leading goalscorer Mateusz Hulboj. The striker needed no invitation to score from short distance. Early in the second half, Poland’s goalkeeper Maciej Pacanowski cleared a penalty corner but the ball came back to Kenta Tanaka, who found the target making it 3-2. Just two minutes later, Japan made the most of the Polish defence’s inability to clear the ball from their own circle to add another goal to their tally. This time the scorer was Koji Yamasaki. In the final quarter of the game, Poland gave all they could in an attempt to reach the semi-finals. Despite their efforts, it was Japan who increased their lead with two further goals from Kenji Kitazato and Koji Yamasaki – his second of the night. Japan’s Head Coach Siegfried Aikman: “If you win, it makes you happy. But I was unhappy in the previous games with the way we conceded goals and today was similar: we dominate, our opponents get one chance and it’s a goal. So, then we make it very hard for ourselves. We need to work harder. The inconsistency in our play is troubling me. It’s fantastic to play the home nation. It will a be an exciting match. India play good hockey, they’re skillful, they’re fast, they have everything which should be in a hockey match. For us, it’s a challenge because they are the number one in Asia. We envy them, we want to get that position. So, we accept the challenge with a lot of joy.” Poland’s Maciej Janiszewski: “I think we just lost energy in the second half. In the first half, we kept our tactic and our positions. At 2-2, we were thinking we could make it. But we lost energy and could not come back when Japan scored again.” ******** FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019 Result: Japan 6, Poland 2 (cross-over) Man of the Match: Kazuma Murata (JPN) Umpires: Gus Soteriades (USA), David Sweetman (SCO) ******** Russia – South Africa There were high expectations before this encounter between the second highest-ranked team of the tournament, South Africa, and a Russian side clearly on the rise after their challenging start against hosts India. Both teams lived up to the expectations as they set a high tempo right from the start of this intensely contested game. The ball circulated quickly from one camp to the next throughout the first half with both teams creating good chances and defending well at the same time. Only goals were missing in this exciting game. The second half followed the same pattern. The African champions and the European representatives multiplied the attempts on goal but both goalkeepers Marat Gafarov and Rassie Pietersee seemed invincible and their defences were performing well. Halfway through the third quarter however, Nqobile Ntuli found the target following a penalty corner. But at the beginning of the next quarter, Russia equalised on a penalty corner by Georgii Arusiia. Was the fate of this game to be decided on penalty shootouts for the first time in this tournament? The answer eventually came from South African Ryan Julius who gave to his team a definitive lead. Russia tried hard to come back, but to no avail. South Africa’s Nicholas Spooner: “We’re feeling pretty good. We didn’t play our best hockey tonight but we’re the winners at the end of the day against a good Russian side, so in these conditions we’re happy to get to the semi-finals. We didn’t have the best start against the USA in this tournament. It’s always hard from a South African point of view as we don’t have a lot of time together. We’ll be looking to put pressure on them and hopefully get a win there.” Russia’s Pavel Golubev: “I’m really disappointed about our loss because we came here to win as usual and we had a lot of great opportunities to score. This game was even but I think we had more chances to score and we didn’t manage to do this. It’s our main problem nowadays. So, we’ll work to make it better.” ******** FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019 Result: Russia 1, South Africa 2 (cross-over) Man of the Match: Austin Smith (RSA) Umpires: Eduardo Lizana (ESP), Sébastien Duterme (BEL) ******** The action continues on 14 June with the following programme: 08:00* (IST) Russia – Poland (match for 5th place) 17:00 (IST) USA – South Africa (semi-final) 19:15 (IST) India – Japan (semi-final) * In order to adjust to the current high temperatures affecting Bhubaneswar and considering that the welfare of athletes, fans, volunteers, officials and everyone involved in an FIH event is paramount, FIH has decided that the game will start at 8am (IST), instead of 8:45am (IST) as initially planned. #FIHSeriesFinals #RoadToTokyo

    SA Men’s Squad named for the FIH Hockey Series Final

      The South African Hockey Association has today announced the SA Men’s side that will take part in the FIH Hockey Series Final in Bhubaneswar from the 6-15 June 2019. The tournament will be the first under the stewardship of Garreth Ewing with the goal of trying to finish in the top 2 to qualify for the FIH Olympic Qualifiers. South Africa will be in Pool B alongside USA, Mexico and Japan. With India, Poland, Russia and Uzbekistan competing in Pool A. The top team from each pool progresses to the Semi-Finals directly while the teams in 2ndand 3rd play a crossover Quarter Final. Ewing has taken the opportunity to call up a few players who missed out on the 2018 FIH World Cup at the same venue. Siya Nolutshungu returns to the line-up alongside Ryan Julius, Alex Stewart and Matt de Sousa. Matt Brown, who is lethal at penalty corner time, will get the opportunity to earn his first cap for his country. With Rhett Halkett and Julian Hykes having announced their retirement from the International game, there is an opportunity for others to cement their spots in the squad. Tim Drummond will continue to lead the team as captain. “Selection was a tough series of decisions because there were a lot of conversations between the selection panel and me regarding player availability. I am sure that some guys will be thrilled, and some will be disappointed.” Shared Ewing, “I’m happy with the balance of the team and our depth in terms of penalty corner attack. Some players will be in slightly different positional roles which I believe will be mentally stimulating for them. I’m very positive about this group both in terms of its talent and the balance between experience and youthful energy. I believe we will compete well and take a positive step in the team’s process.” South African Men’s Hockey Squad *Caps per FIH Tournament Management System at 08 May 2019, Province is most recently represented province. Fixtures – Hockey Series Final 06 June – South Africa vs. USA 08 June – South Africa vs. Japan 10 June – South Africa vs. Mexico 12 June – Crossovers 14 June – Semi-Finals 15 June – Final Source: Sports24Seven

      ACCC 2018: GRA, Telkom setup epic final

        Source: isports360.com | December 21, 2018 It was all joy for defending champions GRA as they beat Telkom in their match day five fixture and qualify to the final. The champions who had not been impressive in their opening three games looked to have regained confidence after their match against Delta which they won 7-0. With Telkom already in the final, pressure was on GRA to win at all cost especially after Ghana Police ladies had won earlier. The Champions looked a refined team with great display from the start. Playing so well, yet GRA failed to find the opener. Looking as wounded lions, they never gave up and went in search for that opener. Telkom on the other hand, gave them scary moments with few chances coming their way but the 2017 losing finalist could also not get the opener. A moment of scare in the first quarter from Jacqueline Wangechi as she lifted the ball over Azumah Bridget with the ball heading towards the goal post but Linda Effah bravely intervened to prevent the ball from entering. However, that moment finally came on the stroke of the end of third quarter. GRA won a penalty corner and Vivian Narkuoh with her first of the tournament put the champions infront. Telkom fought back to equalize but time run out as GRA carried the day to setup a repeat of the 2017 final against Telkom. Ghana Police had earlier in the day beaten Delta Queens in a game that saw five goals been scored. Delta surprisingly took the lead in the 5th minute courtesy a penalty stroke scored by Irame Beauty. Police responded quickly and got the equaliser. Delta went ahead again from a penalty corner this time around but the same scorer- Irame Beauty. Nafisatu Umaru scored two, a goal each in the third and final quarter both from a penalty corner to hand Ghana Police their third win of the campaign. Debutants USIU beat disappointing co-host Kada Queens in a game played in the early hours of the day. The newcomers cane from begins to register their first ever win at the ACCC. Kada who had not found the net in their previous four games finally broke the jinx in the 27th minute through Johnson Benedicta. Omindi Night scored in the 37th minute to tie the scores at 1-1. Jubilant celebrations followed five minutes later as Kuira Rhoda put USIU infront. The debutants held onto the lead till the final whistle to place fourth and book a place in the bronze medal match. MATCH DAY FIVE RESULTS Kada Queens 1 – 2 USIU Ghana Police 3 – 2 Delta queens Telkom 0 – 1 GRA

        ACCC 2018: El-Sharkia book a place in the final in a twelve goal thriller

          Source: isports360.com | December 21, 2018 Defending champions El-Sharkia booked a place in the final of the 2018 ACCC after seeing off Exchequers in an action-packed encounter at the Abuja National Stadium, Hockey Pitch – package B. The champions who are in search of their 24th title depicted why they are the record title holders. However, GRA restored hope for team Ghana as they came from behind to beat Eastern Company in the last game of the day. The match day began with Exchequers hoping to get a win in their fixture against El-Sharkia. The 2018 Ghana League Champions who needed a win so badly in order to bolster their chances of playing in the final started on a convincing note. With so much pressure mounted inside the opening minutes, Exchequers were awarded a penalty corner and after three shots on target, finally got the opener from Arthur Ebenezer. El-Sharkia were caught off guard and for the first time in this competition, the Champions concede first. The lead did not last long as Hussain Reda leveled the scores two minutes to end the first quarter. Exchequers went ahead again from the penalty corner and this time had it right on the first attempt courtesy Ankomah Emmanuel. End of First Quarter and the Ghana League Champions led 2-1. The story was different in the second quarter though. Two goals inside five minutes and El-Sharkia took the lead; Ahmed Ahmed Mohamed getting the equaliser before skipper Edres El Sayed made it 3-2 with a well-taken penalty corner. Ankomah Emmanuel scored his second of the day to tie the game. El-Sharkia restored their lead after Osmanu Mohammed in defence for Exchequers gifted Mohamed Ahmed a pass and the Egyptian International made no mistake to slot the ball home. Exchequers once again equalized with Ankomah Emmanuel this time the provider setting up Elikem Akaba. Exchequers began mounting pressure on El-Sharkia who seemed to be exhausted. Exchequers thought they had won a penalty corner after the ball hit the foot of Edres Sayed in the scoring circle but umpire Jibrin Kolo denied them that great moment. Fast break from defense and Sharkia won a penalty corner. Edres converted to register his fifth goal of the tournament. Mohamed Ahmed got his third of day after a defensive blunder from Exchequers five minutes from time. Elikem Akaba reduced the deficit for Exchequers in the 56th minute with the final four minutes dicey for both clubs. Exchequers were yet again denied a penalty corner by Umpire Jibrin Kolo to send the entire Exchequers bench into wild mood. With too many men upfront, Exchequers left their defence open and Ahmed Gamal took advantage of an Osmanu Mohammed slip to put the game beyond reach for the bankers. Twelve goals scored and El-Sharkia were heading to their third final in four years. The second spot in the final was to be decided in no other than the next game between Eastern Company and GRA. With both teams sharing the spoils when they met in Ghana 2017, this was a decider for them. The Ghanaian club with the pride and hope of the entire nation on their shoulder knew they must deliver and not disappoint. Any other result apart from a GRA win will send Eastern Company to the final irrespective of GRA’S outstanding game and that the Ghanaians could not afford. The match stared on a very low tempo with both teams very tactical and weary of the other. The first two quarters were exhausted and the deadlock was yet to be broken. However, the final 20 minutes of the game had more to offer than the opening 40. Eastern Company were awarded penalty corner after Ernest Opoku impeded Ibrahim Amr who was on the counter break for Eastern company. Tournament’s top scorer, Aboutaleb Mahmoud took the responsibility and with an excellent drag flick gave Eastern the lead. GRA regrouped and with Eastern down by two men began mounting pressure. It yielded and they were awarded a penalty corner. Salya Nsalbini stepped up to take and GRA leveled. Eastern Company were about rejoicing with a minute to play when Akuamoah Micheal broke their hearts with with a brilliant strike. 59 minutes played and GRA were historically one foot away in the final. The match ended with the entire stadium in jubilant mood as an all Egyptian final was not going to be. GRA still maintain their third position, one point behind Eastern Company but the Ghanaians have a game in hand. MATCH DAY FIVE RESULTS Exchequers 5 – 7 El-Sharkia Eastern Company 1 – 2 GRA

          ACCC 2018: Classic Flickers deepen woes of Kada on derby day

            Source: isports360.com | December 20, 2018 It was derby day on match day four of the ACCC as Niger Flickers beat Kada Stars to revenge the defeat on the final day of the Nigerian Super League at the same venue, Abuja National Stadium. The victory moved Flickers into 5th position with a place in the 3rd and 4th classification match mathematically possible. The Ghanaian and Egyptian derbies were also honored; GRA holding Ghana League Champions- Exchequers in a 1-1 drawn game while El-Sharkia in a marvelous fashion and style beat Eastern Company 4-3. The victory puts El-Sharkia in a position to play in the final while Eastern Company will have to beat GRA who have a game in hand against Kada stars, to play in the final. GRA and Exchequers got us underway on match day 4 in the Ghanaian derby. After being dethroned of the league trophy in Ghana, the revenue controllers with revenge on their minds came solely for a victory. Exchequers who also have a game in hand with Niger Flickers knew a victory will edge them closer to a place in the final and with these two mindsets, we were in for a derby. Fifteen minutes into the game and Exchequers were in the lead. Samuel Mensah with a brave run going past three defenders and the goalkeeper slotted the ball into the path of Dzotsi Eric; with just the post to beat broke the deadline. Confidence reinstated and Exchequers took control over the game. With anxiety to equalise and eagerness to double the lead from both teams, the match recorded numerous infringements and cards been flashed. The third quarter had the tables turned and GRA dictated the pace of the game. The revenue controllers failed to however restore parity courtesy the numerous penalty corners. Exchequers were also guilty in that stance failing to convert theirs. A swift play from defence by GRA found Micheal Baiden in the scoring cirlce of Exchequers and after rounding the goalkeeper, was impeded by Ankomah Emannuel and GRA were awarded a penalty stroke. Ernest Opoku stepped out and slotted the ball home sending Tyche Duisberg the wrong side to level the scores. Nonetheless, Exchequers thought they had grabbed the winner when a long hit from the sideline found Bempah Daniel in the scoring circle. With just Eugene Acheampong to beat, the former Ghana u21 international misplaced his steps and allowed the GRA defenders to retrieve the ball. Final whistle blown and the spoils were shared. The second match was next and El-Sharkia locked horns with fellow Egyptian counterparts Eastern Company. The game produced seven goals amidst missed chances and poor penalty corner conversion rate. Edres Mohamed gave El-Sharkia the lead 10 minutes into the game from a penalty corner and the lead was doubled seven minutes later with a brilliant goal from Ahmed Ahmed Mohamed. It was all El-Sharkia at this point who got their third through Ahmed Gamal. Eastern Company responded quickly with two goals inside two minutes. Two penalty corners in succession and the deficit was reduced. Aboutaleb getting the first in the 43 minute with Ibrahim Amr scoring the second. Elnaggar looked to have earned a point for Eastern Company with his goal in the 52nd minute only for Gobran Hosam to grab the winner three minutes from time. El-Sharkia won the game 4-3. The home crowd came in their numbers as the day was wrapped with the Nigerian derby. Niger Flickers engaged Kada Stars as both teams went in search of their first maximum points. A misunderstanding in defence and the Flickers were in the lead. Danladi’s Umar going oast the gal keeper to slot home into an empty goal post. Kada Stars failed to gind their momentum and allowed the Flickers to go 2-0 up; a great finish from Aliyu Jauro. If the goal was beautiful then the assist from Oluwa Tosin was of class. Aliyu Dakumi got the the third for Flickers a minute to half-time breaking the hopes of Kada Stars. Samaila James managed a goal from the pray corner but his effort came in late as time run out for Flickers to carry the day. MATCH RESULTS FROM DAY THREE GRA 1-1 Exchequers El -Sharkia 4-3 Eastern Company Kada Stars 1-3 Niger Flickers.

            ACCC 2018: Ruthless GRA edge closer to another final

              Source: isports360.com | December 20, 2018 GRA women finally found their scoring spark at the ACCC 2018 with a 7-0 victory over Delta Queens to edge closer to the final. The Champions who had managed just a single goal in three outings hit seven past the Nigerians who were not productive on the day. Telkom also secured a place in the final with a 2-0 win over another Nigerian club, Kada Queens who still remain the side yet to a score in the competition with Ghana Police sweeping aside USIU in the third game of the day. It was Telkom who took on Kada in the first match of day four played at the Abuja National Stadium. The game was highly watched by Ghanaians who were expecting a draw in order to see both Ghanaian clubs in the final for the first time but it wasn’t so. The former champions were made frustrated in the opening quarters of the game. A defensive setup by Kada Queens kept the attack of Telkom quiet. Kada who knew their stand in the competition; not playing in the final irrespective of the outcome of this match, played with nothing at stake. Limited to movements just inside their area, the Nigeria Women Super League Champions failed to create a single scoring opportunity with Telkom dominating throughout. Telkom thought they had taken the lead few minutes to the end of the third quarter when Jacqueline Wangechi’s goal from the penalty corner was disallowed after the shot (first at goal) failed to hit the back board. The players protested but the decision of the umpire stood and the players headed for the break with the score barren. Two minutes inside the final quarter and the former champions scored again from the penalty corner this time around from the stick of Audrey Amooh taking her overall tally to four. The goal stood this time around and Telkom held onto the lead till the final whistle to record their four victory of the campaign. With Telkom claiming a spot in the final, GRA could not afford anything another than a win in their match against Delta Queens. Ten minutes inside the game and the defending champions were up by two goals. Coffie Ernestina slotted home a 6th minute penalty corner before Inkoom Getrude added the second two minutes later. Lydia Afriyie added a third after an excellent team play down the right flanks spearheaded by Linda Effah. The game seemed out of hands for Delta as they conceded four goals inside the first 20 minutes- Brenya Maanyembim with the easiest of efforts getting the fourth goal. GRA dominating the game created so many chances and got the fifth and sixth in the 40th and 42nd minute courtesy Effah Linda and Elizabeth Opoku. The home crowd started cheering the GRA ladies who were playing so well and ruthless in front of goal. Brenya grabbed her brace on the stroke of the end of third quarter to sum up a free scoring day for GRA. The third game of the day was an encounter between Ghana Police and debutants USIU. After beating Kada queens on match day three, the law enforcers from Ghana were charged up with much confidence heading into the game. With the knowledge that a win draws them closer to a place in the final depending on the game between GRA and Telkom, Police ladies started the game the brighter side. They were rewarded with an early goal due to their determination and composure- Nafisatu Umaru with her second goal of the competition getting the opener. Sarfoa Martha doubled the lead two minutes into the second break. Pauline Amutebi reduced the deficit on the stroke of half-time from a penalty stroke. The goal restored their confidence as they pressurized Police in the early stages of the third quarter. Nafisatu scored her second of the day to dash the hope of USIU and give Police a slight advantage heading to match day five. MAYCH DAY FOUR RESULTS Kada Queens 0 – 1 Telkom GRA 7 – 0 Delta Queens USIU 1 – 3 Ghana Police.