International Hockey

Wade Paton - GB vs SA Stellenbosch University 2012Malaysia 1
Marhan Jalil '35

South Africa 2
Wade Paton '59
Taine Paton '70

JONATHAN COOK reports from Potchefstroom. Missed chances in the first half cost the South Africa men’s hockey team dearly as Malaysia scored 30 seconds from half-time (35^th minute) through a clinical finish by Marhan Jalil to take a 1-0 lead into the second half at the University of North West Hockey Centre in Potchefstroom Thursday, but goals in the 59^th minute by Wade Paton and the winner 17 seconds from the end (70^th minute) by his younger brother Taine Paton earned SA a thrilling victory in the first of the four-Test series.

Ollie Willars in action for England - image taken at recent training match at LilleshallBELGIUM 5 (3)
Tom Boon 5, 68 (FG, PC)
23 (OG)                                       Arthur Van Doren 31 (FG)
Jerome Dekeyser 42 (PC)                                                          
ENGLAND 0 (0)

In the third and final match of the series Belgium recorded their biggest victory of the week as they put five goals past England with no reply. In a repeat of the first two fixtures, the Red Lions went into the break three goals to the good, and to reinforce recent form they were able to convert twice more before full time to make it 5-0 and cement their series whitewash.

Phil Roper in action for England - image taken at recent friendly against Scotland. Copyright Ady KerryBELGIUM 4 (3)
Loick Luypaert 25 (PC)
Florent Van Aubel 28 (FG)
Tom Boon 35 (FG)
Xavier Reckinger 70 (PC)

ENGLAND 1 (1)
Barry Middleton 1 (FG)

In the second of England’s three match series against Belgium the home side once again came out on top, this time with a 4-1 victory over their visitors. A goal in the first minute from Captain Barry Middleton put England ahead, but three goals at the end of the first half and one in the 70th minute from a clinical Belgian side gave them a comfortable victory.

H.C. Rotterdam will go into next season’s Euro Hockey League as the top ranked team from The Netherlands after claiming the Dutch Hoofdklasse title on Sunday. The team captained by Jeroen Hertzberger claimed a 3-2 win over Oranje Zwart in the third and final play-off match, which was brought into play after both sides each claimed a win in the two previous fixtures. 

Darren CheesmanBELGIUM 5 (3)
John-John Dohmen 13, 30 (FG, FG)
Felix Denayer 23 (FG)
Jerome Dekeyser 36 (PC)
Cedric Charlier 47 (FG)

ENGLAND  2 (0)
Darren Cheesman 40 (FG)
Dan Fox 44 (FG) 

As part of England’s preparation for their World League Semi Final in Malaysia at the end of the month they played their first of three warm-up games against Belgium in Antwerp.

FIH World LeagueAfter Japan sealed the title at the Hockey World League Round 2 tournament in Elektrostal, Russia yesterday, the final pieces came in to place for the Hockey World League Semi-Final puzzle.

The Japanese victory means that they will go to Johor, Malaysia for the Hockey World League Semi-Final tournament there, while France is the lucky team to punch their ticket to the Hockey World League Semi-Final in Rotterdam, Netherlands. France earned their berth thanks to being the highest-ranked second-placed team in the last two Hockey World League Round 2 events.

World League ElektrostalThe second-but-last round of matches at World League Round 2 in Elektrostal saw Ukraine defeat Austria in a shoot-out and Egypt battle past the Czech Republic to confine the Czech to last place in the tournament. The highlight of the day was the match between tabletoppers Russia and Japan, with Japan claiming a narrow win that confirmed them as one of the two missing World League Semi-Finalists.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) today announced Rightster, the world’s fastest growing online video distribution and marketing network, as its new digital media partner. The new deal is part of FIH's marketing and digital strategy which is fan-centric in its approach, ensuring all prime international hockey matches are made available on YouTube via multiple devices and syndicated across Rightster’s network.