European U-18 Championships: Day Four

Ireland U-18 Boys 1 (Stu Loughrey) Wales 0
Andy Smyth's side showed their steely determination for a second successive game as they struck late to beat Wales in an extremely tight-fought battle in Vienna.

Stu Loughrey finished off fellow Leinster man Kyle Good's brilliant cross with just four minutes to go of their semi-final for the game's only goal - coming off the back of a late goal against Switzerland to earn the last four spot in the first place.

The win guarantees Ireland's place in the A division for 2011 and they now have a shot at outright glory when they face France in the final on Saturday afternoon at 5pm.

Ireland U-18 girls 1 (Gillian Pinder) Lithuania 2
Ireland face a testing final day of the EuroHockey Youth Championships after they again struggled to make the best of their chances against Lithuania.

They dominated play for long periods but could not convert any of their four corners while enjoying the lion's share of possession.

All the goals came in the closing ten minutes with Gillian Pinder latching onto Chloe Watkins ball to give Ireland the lead in the 60th minute. However, Lithuania struck twice in the closing minutes to turn the game on its head and raise the importance of Ireland's battle with Russia - the current table-toppers in the relegation pool.

The bottom two sides in the group face the drop to the Trophy level of competition in 2011.

Results: Ireland 1 Lithuania 2; Russia 1 France 1
Relegation pool standings (points/goal difference): 1. Russia 4pts (+1) 2. Lithuania 3pts (0) 3. Ireland 3pts (0) 4. France 1pt (-1)

* For more pictures from Ireland vs Lithuania, click here

Potential club v country tug of war as EHL and WCQ dates named

The announcement of the dates for the first round of the EuroHockey League (EHL) and the 2010 World Cup qualifying (WCQ) tournaments has led to concerns over men's player availability for both club and country.

Just one week separates the EHL's round 1b from the first of three WCQ events with a very real possibility that, depending on the draw, Pembroke and Glenanne's international players - comprising eight of the current panel - could be double-booked.

Plenty of gaps remain to be filled in, the first of which happens next week when the EHL committee will announce the venues for the first round of their competition. Round one will be split into two weekends, running on October 9-11 and 23-25.

Two of the WCQ events have been announced already with Lille hosting on October 31 to November 8 followed by Invercargill, New Zealand on November 7-15. A third tournament will be announced in due course.

Should Ireland finish in the top 5 in their division of the European championships, they go into a WCQ tournament with their destination to be decided once all continental competitions are completed.

Whilst there currently seem a fair amount of variables, the recent convention has seen Irish players withdrawn from club action for well over a month ahead of major tournaments of this ilk.
As such, the proximity of the two tournaments is likely to cause problems for a number of the EHL's second tier countries.

Europe's top four countries in the European A-division in August qualify directly for the World Cup but the next four countries go into the WCQs while also supplying a minimum of six clubs to the EHL.

On the women's side, Ireland can qualify directly for the World Cup should they reach the semi-finals of next month's Europeans. Failing that they will go into a WCQ of their own with Seville, Spain and Santiago, Chile announced as two provisional venues. India and USA will vye for the third space though if Spain take one of the top places, both could be hosts to guarantee the IHA an expensive away trip.

Meanwhile, as reported by Southern Fried and the Examiner, Irish men’s hockey got a boost this week with news of a €70,000 grant from the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) in its campaign for qualification for the 2012 Games in London.

The OCI financial support aims to enhance the team’s effort at the Champions Challenge Cup in Dublin, the European Championships in Wales and a World Cup qualifying tournament later this year.

President of the OCI president Pat Hickey said: “The Olympic Council has negotiated this special team sport grant through an International Olympic Solidarity programme in order to assist the Irish Hockey Association’s goal of qualifying an Irish men’s team for the first time at an Olympic Games.”

Champion's Challenge: Ireland 2 Poland 3

Ireland 2 (Mikey Watt, Alan Sothern) Poland 3 (Tomasz Gorny, Maciej Janiszewski, Tomasz Dutkiewicz)
Despite the match being solely to decide semi-final pairings, Ireland and Poland played out the most intense battle of the Champion’s Challenge II to date.

Tomasz Dutkiewicz’s low corner strike early in the second half proved the vital moment of a helter-skelter battle with both sides taking the most direct route to goal.

Ireland led twice but could not hold onto the advantage in the face of the Polish onslaught.
Mikey Watt opened the scoring in the fifth minute just moments after Dariusz Rachwalski applied the pitching wedge over David Harte’s goal.

The Grange man dug the ball out from under his feet to reverse home after Eugene Magee’s baseline foraging pulled goalkeeper Marcin Trzaskawka. Tomasz Gorny levelled soon after as he burst two tackles before smashing home via a defensive stick.

Sothern restored the lead in the 24th minute from the first corner of the game - won after Tim Lewis’ sublime long ball reached Graham Shaw on the circle’s edge. But the sides were on level terms when Maciej Janiszewski’s snap-shot beat Harte in the 33rd minute.

Magee had a chance to restore the lead yet again when Timmy Cockram hared through but his lay-off was slipped across goal to leave the game 2-2 at the interval.

And Poland’s Tomasz Dutkiewicz put Ireland behind for the first time in the competition as he fired his side’s first corner low after Miroslaw Juszczak spun the ball into his path.

From there, a rip-roaring encounter saw plenty of circle penetrations but no more goals. Four Irish straight strikes from corners went by the wayside as Poland placed two men on the line with goalkeeper Trzaskawka.

Sothern hit the post with the third of those while Jermyn’s drive was saved on the final hooter. Dutkiewicz, for his part, drew a top drawer save from Harte to keep Ireland in contention.

Afterwards, Paul Revington felt his side came up second best in the game’s key battles. “We are disappointed that we lost the penalty corner battle and the counter attack battle. These two areas of the game must improve for the weekend.”

Final group standings (points/goal difference):
Group A: 1. Poland 9pts (+3) 2. Ireland 6pts (+5) 3. Japan 3pts (-3) 4. Chile 0pts (-5)

Fixtures (Saturday):
Semi-finals: 2.30pm France vs Poland; 5pm Malaysia vs Ireland

* For more of Adrian Boehm's photos from Ireland vs Poland, click here

Champion's Challenge II: Day three

Group A: Japan 4 (Genki Mitani, Ryuji Fukushiro, Kenji Kitazato, Naoto Shiokawa) Chile 3 (Felipe Montegu, Alexis Berzcely, Felipe Eggers)
With just seeding for the relegation play-offs at stake, Japan got a low-key tussle off to a decent start as Genki Mitani scrambled in from close range inside 100 seconds. Other than that, chances were at a premium though Kei Kawakami's sliding shot drifted wide as did Felipe Montegu's wild shot.

Ryuji Fukushiro doubled up in the 33rd minute after some pinball in the circle while Chile had their best chance on the final hooter but Matias Amoroso -after initial brilliant spadework saw his follow-up squeeze wide from four yards out.

A higher tempo second period saw Kenji Kitizato made it 3-0 with a neat finish 40 seconds into the second half before a brilliant exchange between Katsuyoshi Nagasawa and Naoto Shiokawa - the former superbly keeping the ball in play - saw the latter finish for a commanding lead in the 54th minute.

Chile, though, launched a thrilling fightback inside a minute when Felipe Montegu pulled one back and Alexis Berzcely made it a game with a spectacular reverse. Montegu had a great chance to put one in it but a lack of hurling skills meant he missed out on a high volley.

As it was, their third came with just over a minute to go when Felipe Eggers swept in but too late to nick a point.

Group B: Malaysia 4 (Ismail Abu, Hafifi Hafiz Hanafi, Tengku Abd, Faizal Saari) Russia 3 (Alexey Sergeev 2, Alexey Mamoshkin)
Malaysia - pictured, right, paying respect to the crowd pre-match - edged a thrill-fest to open the third day at the Champion's Challenge II, ending Russia's faint hopes of advancing to the semi-finals.

Malaysia made the best use of a non-stop, counter-attack battle in front of a vocal support to build up a 2-0 half-time lead through Ismail Abu's corner deflection and Hafifi Hafiz Hanifi's rebound.

Russia let three corners slip by before the break but Alexey Sergeev nailed the fourth six minutes into the second half and his side were level inside 30 seconds when Alexey Mamoshkin's reverse bobbled up and over Kumar Subramaniam.

Chances flew by at each end, with Leinster-based umpire Kris Cholewa letting the game flow well. Kelvinder Singh almost scoring one of the more outrageous 3d efforts before Tengku Abd stabbed home a corner rebound. Sergeev's drag-flick made it 3-3 in the 56th minute to raise Russian hopes once more but Faizal Saari smashed in from the top of the circle to kill the game and end Russia's chances. Malaysia top the group with three wins.

Austria and France now face a straight shoot-out for the second place.

Austria 1 (Michael Korper) France 5 (Freddie Soyez 2, Arnaud Becuwe, Mathieu Durchon 2)
France claimed the second semi-final place from Group A as they eased past Austria 5-1. The French took thew early initiative with two goals around the quarter-hour - a Freddie Soyez drag-flick and Arnaud Becuwe then spectacularly swept over Philippe Thiltges - a recent commenter on The Hook facebook page - after Mathieu Durchon brilliantly set him free.

Michael Korper's bullet corner made it a game three minutes after the break, creating a few nerves initially in the French camp before they soon got going a played some really decent hockey.

Soyez had one plucked off the line by Christian Minar before dragging in his second for 3-1 from his side's seventh corner. Mathieu Durchon (right) pulled out his box of tricks late on to add two of his own to complete the rout.

Final Group A standings (points/goal difference): 1. Malaysia 9pts (+4) 2. France 6pts (+4) 3. Russia 1pt (-3) 4. Austria 1pt (-4)

* Photos with thanks to Eleni Henry, for more pics click here (facebook link)

European U-18 Championships: Day three

EuroHockey Girl’s Youth Championships
Ireland 1 (Ali Meeke) England 3 (Shona McCallin, Rebecc Dru, Holly Chipman)
Following Belgium's 3-0 win over France, Ireland were left with the tough task of needing to beat England by three clear goals in the final group B. They started brightly with Deirdre Duke's magical build-up play setting up Ali Meeke for the opening goal in the 10th minute.

The English equalised, however, in the 23rd minute to knock the stuffing out of the Irish offensive. A penalty stroke five minutes after the break and a corner goal ten minutes from time sealed the deal. Ireland now face Lithuania in the relegation play-offs on Saturday.

* For more pictures from Ireland vs England, click here

Results:
Group A: Belgium 3 France 0; Ireland 1 (A Meeke) England 3
Group B: Lithuania 1 Russia 2; Netherlands 0 Germany 0

Standings:
Group A: 1. England 9pts (+7) 2. Belgium 6pts (+4) 3. Ireland 3pts (-1) 4. France 0pts (-6)
Group B: 1. Germany 7pts (+15) 2. Netherlands 7pts (+10) 3. Russia 3pts (-7) 4. Lithuania 0pts (-18)

EuroHockey Boy's Youth Trophy
Ireland U-18 Boy's 2 (Stephen Cole, Shane O'Donoghue) Switzerland 2
Shane O'Donoghue rescued a semi-final place for Ireland in the EuroHockey Youth Trophy with a strike seven minutes from the end of their tussle with Switzerland.

Ireland struggled in the first half and trailed 2-0 by the break. But Stephen Cole latched onto a broken down corner early in the second period to give his side a lifeline.

Near constant pressure was eventually rewarded in the closing stages as O'Donoghue continued his rich run of goals, rebounding off his own initial shot to nick the last four place. They will play Wales in the last four.

EuroHockey Youth Trophy results:
Group B: Austria 5 Ukraine 1; Ireland 2 (Stephen Cole, Shane O'Donoghue)
Group A: France 1 Wales 3; Croatia 3 Italy 4

Group B Standings: 1. Austria 9pts (+10) 2. Ireland 4pts (+2) 3. Switzerland 4pts (-3) 4. Ukraine 0pts (-9)
Group A: 1. Wales 9pts (+15) 2. France 6pts (+16) 3. Italy 3pts (-7) 4. Croatia 0pts (-24)

Champion's Challenge: Ireland 3 Japan 0

Group A: Ireland 3 (John Jermyn 2, Mikey Watt) Japan 0

What a difference a day makes. The indecision and individual errors that characterised Monday night’s match with Chile all but dissipated as Ireland eased into the semi-finals of the Champion’s Challenge II at Belfield last night.

The 3-0 score-line was the only similarity between the performance against tournament top seeds Japan and bottom ranked Chile as notice of a different outlook was served inside 15 seconds.

Mikey Watt burst into the Japanese circle with the ball flaring up to be batted home by John Jermyn though a whistle had blown for a free-out. Nonetheless, an infinitely more purposeful attitude saw Japan take over five minutes to get out of their half with the ball.

When the goals came, John Jermyn was once again tormentor in chief. Mitch Darling expertly won the first corner of the game - his first act after coming off the bench - in the 11th minute which the Corkonian duly zipped into the bottom left corner.

Seven minutes later he repeated the trick, maintaining Ireland’s 100pc record in the tournament from the set-piece.

Indeed, the home side’s danger from corners was not solely confined to their offensive efforts. The three conceded on the evening all led to fluid break-outs, the first of which made it 3-0 five minutes before the break.

Johnny Jackson stole the ball at the top of his own circle; Stephen Butler - Ireland's most experienced player at his bullish best, facing the side he made his debut against - added the forward impetus, sharing a pass with Watt, to create a three-on-three and eventually got the chance to shoot on his reverse.

In truth, the shot was miscued but Watt was alive to the chance and scrambled through Katsuya Takase’s legs. From Japan’s second penalty corner, a similar break-out fashioned a chance for Butler 80 metres from where Yuta Fukushiro mis-trapped.

The second half proved less productive as the inexperienced Japanese attempted a more aggressive press than their passive, half-court first period. It led to increased niggle with Naoto Shiokawa, Joe Brennan, Jermyn and Graham Shaw all seeing green cards.

With Jermyn subsequently substituted, three corner chances went without reward as Butler and Sothern both tried their luck to no avail. Timmy Cockram’s reverse cross escaped Alan Sothern’s slide while Eugene Magee stumbled slightly as he struck a breaking ball wide.

Japan rallied late on. Ryuti Furusato drew a point-blank save off David Harte’s foot. His skills also caused bedlam down the left end-line, leaving Ronan Gormley to probably take the best option of a clumsy foul to prevent a free shot with Harte scrambling to cover the vacant goal.

The ensuing drag-flick was dismissed with apparent disdain by the towering goalkeeper. He was caught out of position once but for the second day in a row Tim Lewis calmly cleared a potentially fraught situation and ensure a clean sheet.

Speaking afterwards, Irish coach Paul Revington was pleased his side’s performance had stepped up after a nervy first game, though he hoped for a couple more goals.

“It was a damn sight better than yesterday [against Chile]. This should be a standard performance. If we perform well we should be scoring five or six goals, in my opinion in games like this, but this is the kind of performance I expect.”

Poland were also confirmed as semi-final qualifiers due to this result combined with their 3-1 win over Chile. Thursday’s match will now solely decide semi-final seedings.

Group A standings (points/goal difference): 1. Ireland 6pts (+6) 2. Poland 6pts (+2) 3= Japan 0pts (-4) 3= Chile 0pts (-4)

* For more of Adrian Boehm's photos from Ireland vs Japan, click here

Champion's Challenge: Day Two results

Group B: Austria 4 (Michael Korper 2, Benjamin Stanzl 2) Russia 4 (Alexey Sergeev 2, Evgeny Mokrousov, Azarov)
Austria produced a stunning comeback in another lively game at the Champion's Challenge this afternoon as they recovered from a three-goal deficit to draw 4-4, though the value of a draw for either side following opening day defeats may be negligible.

Russia - without the suspended Dimitry Volkov, retrospectively red carded for two yellows on Monday - raced into a 3-0 lead inside 16 minutes with Alexey Sergeev adding to his two goals against Malaysia with a fourth minute drag-flick.

Mokrousov and late call-up Azarov fired in two in two minutes to increase the lead before Austria finally got a foothold in the game - Korper slamming home his third of the competition from the top of the D.

Benjamin Stanzl narrowed the lead further in the second half from a corner but Sergeev edged Russia up to 4-2 in the 48th minute. But Stanzl's diving effort and Korper's drag-flick inside the last dozen minutes meant honours were shared.

Group B: France 2 (Lucas Sevestre, Arnaud Becuwe) Malaysia 4 (Ismail Abu, Amin Rahim 2, Azlan Misron)
Malaysia became the first side to qualify for the semi-finals as they got the better of France in a fast, free-flowing tie. They began the scoring via Ismail Abu's snap-shot but Lucas Sevestre's high reverse brought the game level in the 22nd minute but Rahim got his third of the tournament to make it 2-1 by the break.

He plucked an overhead from the sky, broke into the circle only for his final shot to be denied by a covering defender's foot. No matter, he converted the stroke.

Azlan Misron extended the lead with a slick deflection to a drag-flick and by the 40th minute the advantage was 4-1 as Rahim slid in to net from a great cross. Arnaud Becuwe got a consolation two minutes from time for the French

Standings (points/goal difference): 1. Malaysia 6pts (+3) 2. France 3pts (0) 3. Austria 1pt (-1) 4. Russia 1pt (-2)


Group A: Poland 3 (Thomasz Choczaj, Tomasz Dutkiewicz, Miroslaw Juszczak) Chile 2 (Sebastian Kapsch, Esteban Krainz)
Poland picked up their second 3-2 win of the tournament, managing to keep their noses ahead of Chile and to the verge of qualification - dependent on Ireland's result later on.

A ninth minute counter-attack got the ball rolling, Thomasz Choczaj converting the chance. The lead was short-lived as an error from a Polish defender left a huge overload and Sebastian Kapsch duly equalised in the 12th minute.

Captain Tomasz Dutkiewicz recaptured the advantage within 150 seconds from a corner, though, as Poland began to take control and Mirolslaw Juszczak built the lead further, rebounding off Mauro Scaff in the second half.

Esteban Krainz pulled one back in the 47th minute and his side rattled the post soon after as the South Americans finished stronger as the game opened up.

* For more pictures of Adrian Boehm's from the Malaysia vs France game, click here

European U-18 Championships: Day Two

Girl's EuroHockey Youth Championships
Ireland U-18 Girls 1 (Chloe Watkins) France 0
Ireland created a chance to qualify for the semi-finals as they got the better of France 1-0 in Nivelles, Belgium. They created plenty of opportunities including nine short corners and plenty of goalmouth action but their lone goal came courtesy of Chloe Watkins' 12th minute drag flick.

Ireland controlled the French attack well with Orla Fox marshalling the defensive effort while Watkins, Dora Gorman and Brenda Flannery impressed further up the pitch. Ireland will play England tomorrow (5.30pm, Irish time*) in their final group stage where a win would see Ireland progress with Belgium. Anything else and Ireland will contest the relegation pool.

Germany and the Netherlands are already into the semi-finals.


Group A standings (points/goal difference): 1. England 6pts (+5) 2. Belgium 3pts (+1) 3. Ireland 3pts (0) 4. France 0pts (-5)

* For a live match-tracker of this game, click here and then LT beside Ireland's name. For more pictures, click here

Boy's EuroHockey Youth Trophy
Game1: Ireland U-18 Boys 5 (Shane O'Donoghue 3, Stephen Dowds, Ian Sloan) Ukraine 1
Ireland's U-18 boys got their delayed start to the European championships off to a flyer as they hammered Ukraine 5-1 in Vienna this morning.

All the goals came in the first half with Shane O'Donoghue starting the rout in the eighth minute from a short corner drag-flick. He made it 2-0 when he finished off Kyle Good's pull-back from the endline before Ukraine got one back from a 16th minute corner.

But Ireland eased clear when Stephen Dowds finished off a fast break-out and Ian Sloan rebounded well at the top of the circle. And O'Donoghue finished off his hat-trick in the 30th minute to round off the scoring.

The match was originally abandoned yesterday due to adverse weather conditions after five minutes and was subsequently played this morning at 8.30am.

Game2: Ireland 2 (Shane O'Donoghue, Steven Dowds) Austria 4
In their delayed second game of the day, Ireland lost out to Austria to leave them requiring a draw in their final group game against Switzerland to qualify for the semi-finals. The Austrians were clinical at the set-piece, scoring three penalty corners and a stroke to take the honours and kept their noses ahead throughout.

They were 1-0 up at the break due the stroke before stretching the lead to 2-0 and then 4-1.

In group A, France and Croatia are into the semi-finals following two facile wins a piece against Italy and Croatia.

Other results:
Group B: Austria 4 Switzerland 0; Switzerland 3 Ukraine 2
Group A: France 14 Croatia 1; Wales 5 Italy 2; France 6 Italy 1; Wales 10 Croatia 0

Group B Standings: 1. Austria 6pts (+6) 2. Ireland 3pts (+2) 3. Switzerland 3pts (-3) 4. Ukraine 0pts (-5)
Group A: 1. France 6pts (+18) 2. Wales 6pts (+13) 3. Italy 0pts (-8) 4. Croatia 0pts (-23)

Champion's Challenge: Ireland 3 Chile 0

Ireland 3 (John Jermyn 3) Chile 0
John Jermyn’s hat-trick of set-pieces were the upside of what was otherwise a pretty disjointed Irish performance against Chile this evening at Belfield. Indeed, a more accomplished side than the tournament’s bottom-ranked side would surely have made more of the chances that presented themselves with David Harte by far the busier of the goalkeepers.

He pulled off four corner saves while he came off his line speedily on a couple of occasions to snuff out impending danger. The upside for Ireland, though, is that though they only created five clear chances they scored three and hit the post twice.

Jermyn nailed the first shot in anger in the eighth minute after a cagey start, converting himself after manufacturing the corner on the endline.

The early lead failed to settle Ireland, however, and a series of misplaced passes and weak control on the ball gifted Chilean star man Felipe Montegu free runs from the halfway to penetrate the circle.

Alexis Berzcely missed a gilt-edge chance when left one-on-one with Harte four yards out but his weak reverse-scoop dribbled wide.

Ireland’s attacks were always more incisive. Eugene Magee won a second corner for Jermyn to double the advantage in the 29th minute and when Matias Amoroso was sin-binned for an off-the-ball incident, the hosts seemed to have broken the shackles.

A superb break-out between Jermyn, David Hobbs and Mikey Watt - earning his 50th cap - ended with Jermyn skimming the outside of the post. But it was one of two rare moments of fluidity as the South Americans dominated the early stages of a pretty shapeless second half.

An awful mix-up between Ronan Gormley and Joe Brennan in the right apex of the circle left David Harte stranded only for Tim Lewis to come up with a last-ditch intercept.

The ensuing play exposed the difference between the sides. Chile’s profligacy contrasted with Ireland’s capitalising on a loose pass. Jermyn latched onto the ball and within one pass Magee was one-on-one. He was unceremoniously hacked down and Jermyn duly completed his triple from the spot.

A second flowing move saw Stephen Butler play in David Hobbs to batter off the inside of the post before the game petered out in the final 20 minutes.

Lewis was sin-binned - possibly more due to an increasing number of dodgy tackles rather than his particular effort - as Montegu lobbed the ball delicately across the front of the goal while Krainz had two more drag-flicks booted away by Harte.

Speaking about his first ranking game in charge, Paul Revington was not pleased with his side's performance: "I am very disappointed with the overall performances as we set ourselves higher standards. We will have to perform at a consistently higher level for longer periods tomorrow if we are to end up on top against Japan."

* For more of Adrian Boehm's photos from the Ireland vs Chile game, click here

Group A Standings (points/goal diff): 1. Ireland 3pts (+3), 2. Poland 3pts (+1), 3. Japan 0pts (-1) 4. Chile 0pts (-3)

Champs Challenge: Day One results

Group A: Japan 2 (Katsuyoshi Nagasawa, Kenji Kitazato) Poland 3 (Marcin Strykowski, Tomasz Gorny 2)
Both of Ireland’s group A opponents felt their way slowly into the competition, sticking rigidly to a half-court press game which ultimately bore no fruit and little goal-mouth action.

By contrast, the second half developed into a dramatic shoot-out from the moment Marcin Strykowski tapped home two minutes after the interval.

Katsuyoshi Nagasawa’s drag-flick equalised before Tomasz Gorny restored the lead, firing home a zippy move. Kenji Kitizato made it 2-2 with a tap-in but Gorny popped up late on to roof in style to cause a minor surprise based on world rankings.

Group B: Malaysia 3 (Kevinder Singh, Muhammad Amin Rahim 2) Austria 2 (Michael Korper 2)
Malaysia began their tournament in dream fashion as Kevinder Singh sniped through the Austrian defence in just the fourth minute to take a 1-0 lead which they held until the break.

The European side levelled in the 44th minute through Michael Korper's low drag-flick but Muhammad Amin Rahim returned the favour within two minutes to restore Malaysia's advantage before getting the crucial third with a carbon copy strike.

The Austrians narrowed the gap in the 60th minute, Korper nailing the fourth corner strike in quick succession but an equaliser evaded them to give Malaysia the early advantage in the group.

France 5 (Arnaud Becuwe 2, Thomas Gourdin, Nicolas Martin-Brisac, Freddie Soyez) Russia 3 (Alexey Sergeev 2, Alexey Mayorov)
France won out in a goalfest to take their place at the top of group B alongside Malaysia as they got the better of Russia this afternoon. Thomas Gourdin opened the floodgates from close range to open his sides before Nicolas Martin-Brisac made it 2-0 from a botched corner to tap in.

Russia got back into the contest in the 19th minute when Alexey Sergeev dragged home and his side were level early in the second half thanks to Alexey Mayorov.

But parity was short-lived as Soyez dispatched a corner for 3-2 while Arnaud Becuwe appeared to make it safe at 4-2 with another corner-strike. Russia, though, were not done - Mayorov executed a penalty stroke with two minutes to go but Becuwe completed the scoring on the final whistle to end a memorable match 5-3.

Standings (points/goal diff): 1. France 3pts (+2), 2. Malaysia 3pts (+1), 3. Austria 0pts (-1) 4. Russia 0pts (-2)

* For more of Adrian Boehm's pictures from Japan vs Poland, click here

U-18 Europeans: Day one results

EuroHockey Youth Nations Championships (Girls), Nievelles, Belgium

Group B: Ireland U-18 Girls 1 (Katie Codyre) Belgium 2 (De Groof, Smeekens); England 5 France 1

EuroHockey Youth Nations Trophy (Boys), Vienna, Austria
Ireland U-18 Boys P Ukraine P
Ireland’s boys match against Ukraine was abandoned after five minutes due to unplayable conditions their match will be played instead tomorrow morning at 8.30am.

Champion's Challenge: Paul Revington's thoughts on first tournament with Ireland

Ahead of his first ranking tournament in charge of the Irish team, The Hook caught up with Paul Revington to get his thoughts on the Champion’s Challenge II event.

The Hook (TH): How do you feel the squad is currently shaping up?
Paul Revington (PR): “I think we’re pretty spot on. In terms of our planning in terms of the regional programme and the games that we’ve had, all the guys should be entering the games on Monday fit and excited to play having not over-played.

“Especially seeing as this is a home tournament, everyone gets excited about a home event. The reason why we didn’t send a first team to the Celtic Cup was that we ran the risk of by the time we get to Europe, which is still the main event, of players running dry from the emotional point of view so we should be ok.”

TH: Did the Celtic Cup create some last minute headaches for selection with their performance last week?
PR: “It’s what is needed both amongst the senior squad and the players fighting to be up there. Every club game, every game that this lot play from a selection or performance point of view should be an assessment and everyone needs to be getting into a habit of taking more pride in their performance; the standard that they are setting and what happened in the Celtic Cup is fantastic for us. So, no headaches at all."

TH: Were you surprised with how the newcomers performed in that tournament?
PR: “Winning the event, I was surprised; but I wasn’t surprised by the manner in which the guys dealt with the event. They got on with minimal preparation but the majority of them are in our regional programme. In Munster, Leinster, Ulster, the regional programme has been fantastic and they literally took their energy from there straight into the tournament. That wasn’t surprising.”

TH: Regarding your opposition this week, do you have much information to hand about them?
PR: “From a video point of view, we’ve a fair bit of video but, not to come across disrespectfully to the opposition, there are lots of things we need to get right ourselves and the majority of the focus is still on ourselves to make sure we get our own performance and our own structure of play right.

"Obviously you prepare for the opposition but there are enough guys who have played against all the teams in the Champs Challenge before so we are not too likely to come against a complete unknown entity."

TH: And what about the contention that Irish teams can produce some brilliant, one-off results but have struggled to finish off tournaments well in recent times.
PR:“To break that type that type of monkey on a team or countries back, the reality is you have to accumulate a series of wins. I know its sounds simplistic but it’s what needs to happen rather than over-analysing, we’ve got to get into the habit of winning games one at a time.

"If you win, you get used to winning and that thought is dominant in your mind. You will then generally become a side that finishes off tournaments. For us, at the moment, it’s about performance needed so we prevail at the end of every game and get into a habit where there are lots of W’s beside our team’s name.

TH: Finally, after a few issues in the build-up to the 2006 World Cup with South Africa, how do you feel the structures in Ireland have helped prepare your side?
PR: “Going into the Challenge event, we’ve had enough games for the players to not feel undercooked or that they haven’t performed enough. It’s different to back in South Africa. With the IHL, there would be more competitive club games, players playing in the EHL. When you add those games up, it makes a big difference.

"Teams in Europe have an advantage. From our guy’s perspective, they’ve had enough games at the moment in the last couple of months to be able to enter a tournament really sharp and in form whereas in SA back in 2006, we didn’t play a test match for four months before the World Cup.”

Revington to field much changed squad for Champs Challenge: Team news

After six months in charge, Irish men’s coach Paul Revington* is relishing the chance to finally get his charges into competitive action next week as hosts of the inaugural Champion’s Challenge II event.

Since officially taking the reins in January, Revington has been at the helm for Glendwyr and Celtic Cup successes but now gets his first opportunity to test his new side’s mettle on a fully-fledged ranking event.

His squad has changed dramatically from the one Dave Passmore took to New Zealand for the Olympic qualifiers 15 months ago - the last ranking event Ireland participated in.

With five senior retirements and two players looking into the possibility of playing for Great Britain seven of the changes are enforced ones while Phelie Maguire effectively ruled himself out due to his sojourn in Palestine.

Karl Burns, as such, is the only major name from the OQT panel to miss out in what is a new-look back four. Conor Harte and Joe Brennan’s ability to pick 70-metre passes has seen them elevated to their first major tournament while the immaculate Johnny Jackson should continue his progression, most likely at left-back.

Andy McConnell and Geoff McCabe are the newcomers in midfield, joining the experienced quartet of Shaw, Butler, Hobbs and Jermyn while up front young Leinster stars Alan Sothern (left) and Mitch Darling join the more established firepower of Mikey Watt, Eugene Magee and Timmy Cockram.

Japan are expected to be the front-runners in Ireland’s Pool A, although Poland – captained by Tomasz Dutkiewicz, their drag-flicking kingpin – could well be in the mix. Their side, many of whom are indoor experts, will aim to transfer their superb close stick skills to the outdoor form of the game. Chile complete the group, with 137-game veteran Felipe Montegu the man to watch.

In Pool B, based on two warm-up matches with the Irish this week Malaysia should prove a big draw for neutral supporters. A 2-1 loss and a 2-2 draw belied some of the technical ability at hand and their penchant for a dramatically two-tempo game.

Their initially languid style tends to explode into life when the mood takes them with stick-skills which are a joy to behold. Seasoned internationals such as Boon Huat Chua and Kumar Subramaniam, but also includes eight players under the age of 23, two of which are teenagers.
Ireland’s nemesis, France, looks a potential semi-final bet and will use a similar panel that Ireland encountered last week at the Celtic Cup.

21-year-old Christoph Amend – who starred for Euro Hockey League Finalists UHC Hamburg – is their rising star but Ireland should draw confidence from last week’s result.

Indeed, the vastly experienced Fredi Soyez had a serious battle with an Irish midfield of Michael Maguire, Alan Giles and Andy Herbert – just one cap between them at the start of play.

“We have selected a balanced side for the tournament”, says France coach Scott Goodheart. “We are still testing combinations of players, and with two or three players unavailable through injury, it is a good opportunity for all 18 to push for selection for the European Cup in August.

“Having said that, I have high expectations of this group at this tournament, and we will be working hard to find good form from the opening whistle.”

The group is rounded out by Austria and Russia. The former has four players in their line-up with over 100 caps, with veterans Robert Buchta and Peter Proksch both amassing in excess of over 150 international appearances. Meanwhile, Russia will be lead by Alexandre Platonov, and underpinned by 36-year-old goalkeeper Igor Dobizhin.

Ireland squad (club/caps): David Harte (GK, Pembroke Wanderers, 32), Iain Walker (GK, YMCA, 15), Ronan Gormley (Capt, Pembroke Wanderers, 75), Tim Lewis (Pembroke Wanderers, 41), Joe Brennan (Glenanne, 17), Conor Harte (Pembroke Wanderers, 19), John Jackson (Loughborough, 17), Graham Shaw (V/Capt, Glenanne, 129), Stephen Butler (Glenanne, 143), David Hobbs (V/Capt, Cork C of I, 128), John Jermyn (Cork C of I, 92), Andy McConnell (Three Rock Rovers, 7), Geoff McCabe (Banbridge, 40), Eugene Magee (Banbridge, 81), Timmy Cockram (Lisnagarvey, 74), Mitch Darling (Three Rock Rovers, 20), Alan Sothern (Pembroke Wanderers, 16), Mikey Watt (Grange, 49)

* Full interview with Paul Revington to appear on Sunday...

U-18s primed for Euros

Following a pair of successful series last weekend, Ireland’s U-18 boys and girls travel to Vienna and Nievelles respectively for their EuroHockey Youth Nations events which get underway on Monday.

Mary Logue has endured no late scares and so travels with the same panel that was unbeaten in their three matches with Scotland last week. The panel draws heavily from Kate Russell champions Colaiste Iognaid with four of Connacht’s quintet in the squad part of that breakthrough team.

The side is packed with Leinster league division one talent, too, with All-Ireland champions with Loreto Hannah Matthews and Ali Meeke lining up alongside the Hermes quartet of Chloe Watkins, Niamh Atcheler, Gillian Pinder and Deirdre Duke.

The impressive regular Pembroke left-back Orla Fox completes the Leinster participation as Logue’s fourth-ranked charges take on England, Belgium and France in the group stages of the A division.

On the boy’s side, Davy Carson has lost his fitness battle after sustaining a similar hand injury that afflicted Cian Speers. Carson is replaced in the squad by Fingal’s Andrew Shekleton who made full use of his opportunity with Andy Smyth’s side to zing in two reverses in two games.

His partnership with Kyle Good and the prolific Shane O’Donoghue looked to be bearing fruit last weekend against Scotland – an A ranked side this year – if Ireland are to gain promotion back to the top tier.

For Andy Smyth, there is the rare situation of his side going into the tournament as one of the fancied though the build-up has been slightly hampered by the cancelation of a recent series of warm-up games with England due to exam pressures. Austria, Switzerland and Ukraine await in the group.

Ireland U-18 Boys: Alistair Thom (GK, Cookstown/Cookstown HS), Stephen West (GK, Three Rock Rovers/St Andrews), Phillip Brown (Banbridge/Banbridge Academy), Scott Forbes (Banbridge/Banbridge Academy), Stephen Cole (Monkstown/St Andrews), Karl Lynch (Cork C of I/Bandon GS), Stephen Hunter (Lisnagarvey/Wallace HS), Stuart Loughrey (capt, Pembroke Wanderers/St Andrews), Peter MacDonnell (Lisnagarvey/Wallace HS), Peter Purcell (Annadale/Sullivan Upper), Mark Crooks (Cookstown/Cookstown HS), Ian Sloan (Cookstown/Cookstown HS), Kyle Good (Three Rock Rovers/Wesley College), Stephen Dowds (Banbridge/Banbridge Academy), Shane O’Donoghue (Glennane/High School), Jonathan Ames (Cookstown/Cookstown HS), Stuart O’Grady (Cork C of I/Ashton), Andrew Shekleton (Dundalk GS/Fingal)

Ireland U-18 Girls: Sammy Jo Greer (GK) (Coleraine/Ballymoney), Emilie Molloy (GK) (Colaiste Iognaid/Galway), Niamh Atcheler (St Andrews/Hermes), Natalie Barr (Lurgan/Lurgan), Naomi Carroll (St Patricks Comprehensive/Catholic Institute), Katie Codyre (Colaiste Iognaid/Greenfields), Deirdre Duke (Alexandra College/Hermes), Brenda Flannery (Captain) (Colaiste Iognaid/Greenfields), Orla Fox (Mount Sackville/Pembroke Wanderers), Sarah Greene (Loreto Foxrock/Hermes), Hannah Matthews (Loreto Beaufort/Loreto), Ali Meeke (High School/Loreto ), Anna Mae Morton (Royal School Armagh/Armagh), Dora Gorman (Taylors Hill/Greenfields), Gillian Pinder (St Andrews and Hermes), Vanessa Surgeoner (Ballyclare/Randalstown), Lynsey Trainor (Colaiste Iognaid/Galway), Chloe Watkins (St Andrews/Hermes)

U-18 Boys: EuroHockey Youth Nations Trophy (July 6-11; Vienna , Austria)
Monday, July 6 (2pm GMT) Ireland v Ukraine

Tuesday, July 7 (2pm, GMT) Ireland v Austria
Wednesday, July 8 (4pm, GMT) Ireland v Switzerland
Friday, July 10 & Saturday, July 11 - Classification and finals

U-18 Girls: EuroHockey Youth Nations Championship (July 6-11, Nievelles, Belgium)
Monday, July 6 (3.30pm GMT) Ireland v Belgium
Tuesday, July 7 (3.30pm GMT) Ireland v France
Wednesday, July 8 (5.30pm GMT) Ireland v England
Friday, July 10 & Saturday, July – Classification & Finals

Autopass rule explained at Hooked!

The IHA’s annual Hooked hockey conference returns this September, Sunday 6 for a one day intensive coaching conference.

The focus will be on providing coaches with the knowledge to negotiate the new season and all the new rules that are being introduced for 2009/10. Specifically, coaches will learn how to play, use and coach the auto-pass rule.

David Passmore (IHA High Performance Director), Gene Muller (Irish Women's Coach) and Paul Revington (Irish Men's Coach) are among the tutors who will also provide sessions on the importance of developing good ball carrying position; goalscoring technique; receiving skills and games to help to develop technical and tactical understanding.

To attend, the cost is €60 (or €45 if booked before August 7). Go to www.hockey.ie or contact 01 716 3264 for more details.

In the meantime, here's a fairly interesting nine minute video on the interpretation of the auto-pass from Australia which may stimulate ideas and questions: