4 Nations Duisburg

Introduction

In preparation for all important World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa later this year, both England over 65s A and B team participated in the 4 Nations Championships in Duisburg in Germany.

It was worthwhile exercise when the A squad faced arch-rivals in Germany, Netherland and Scotland, whilst the B squad took on Germany, Netherland and Ireland.

Match Report - 19 July

England vs The Netherlands

It was great to see The Netherlands turn out at the tournament with many of their World Cup squad for Cape Town later in the year, albeit only a bare eleven of them. The bulk of their key players, recognisable from Valencia, were there.

The first ten minutes of the match was the usual cagey affair with both sides probing to gauge relative strengths and weaknesses. If the truth be told, it was a bit scrappy and affair with early tournament errors not uncommon not made any easier by an overwatered, slippery pitch. Preliminaries over we then had somewhat of a purple patch leading to two superb scoring opportunities.

A slick passing move culminated in Peter Jakobs receiving the ball on the penalty spot. His first attempt was parried by the goalkeeper straight back to him. His next shot was sent sailing over the crossbar from three yards, a feat indeed. The second opportunity was created by great movement by Mike Wingent moving right to left across the top of the circle and a truly special defence splitting pass by Jimmy Lazlett. The resultant shot did however match the buildup. Much like Mike's school reports "could do better" featured. Sadly still 0 — O.

For much of the second quarter the match remained in a pattern of good passing movements culminating in short corners for us. (Much work to be done to improve in this department before Cape Town). The Dutch in response deployed a tactic of throwing long overheads to their star man Sjef, who was very well marshalled by Robin Sampson and Nigel Baker- Brian.

Notwithstanding all the good play from us, the most notable moment of the quarter came from an unforced error which led to Sjef having a one on one with Dave Webb. Dave, as ever, was up to the task and scrapped long enough for the defence to clear.

The third quarter was undoubtedly our best. We dominated the game throughout with everyone delivering quality performances. It was after yet another prolonged series of passes that Mike Wingent popped up. With thoughts of his report card in his mind, he calmly lifted the ball over a prostrate Dutch goalkeeper to give us a deserved lead.

All that remained after that was to close the game out in the fourth quarter which we did without too much difficulty.

In summary, a very satisfying performance. A win against the Netherlands is never a foregone conclusion and everyone should take away a lot of positives. A scoreline of 3—0 up at halftime would not have flattered us. We just need to turn this into a reality through hard work in the next 12 weeks.

England vs Germany

This was our final match of the long weekend tournament and a decider with both teams unbeaten. Thankfully the intense heat had subsided a little but it was still hot and humid. Both teams started brightly but Germany pressed hard in the first 15 minutes. England weathered the storm and gradually found gaps going forward and dominate midfield. Good attacks down both flanks saw Alex Chaing and Gee Chana giving their opposite numbers a torrid time. A number of Short corners resulted and England's outines weren't quite able to break the deadlock. On one occasion a good last gasp save on the line by the defender prevented a certain goal after the keeper had gone to ground. The best chance of the first half came when Peter Jacob picked up the ball just inside Germany's half, he drove forward past three players but sadly lost his footing on one greasy surface as he was about to slot it past the keeper.

Second half saw England dominate the play transferring the ball effectively across the pitch and again cause the Germans problems down the flanks, indeed the winner came from one such attack down the right on 44 minutes. A good cross was met by David Knapp on the penalty spot. His first sweeping shot was saved by the diving keeper before he finished at full stretch on the reverse stick. Germany tried to respond to the setback but Englands defence remained solid, effectively marshalled by Graham Jackson at sweeper and David Webb in goal. Germany had been very predictive from short corners in previous games so a nil in the conceded column was good news. The last quarter saw Germany press for an equaliser but the midfield and defence held firm and with good possession across the pitch England saw the game out and could even have added to their score.

England vs Scotland

The game against Scotland proved to be lot tougher than we had anticipated. On Saturday afternoon with temperature soaring to around 31 degrees we knew that the pace of the game would be little slower. But far from it. From the very beginning, Scots unexpectedly started at a higher tempo than they have in the past. Their game plan clearly was 'the best art of defence is to attack". That took us by surprise. But we quickly not only match but increase it. That we did. They then quickly went go back to their usual tactics as in the past and that is to pack their midfield and defend. That they did very effectively.

Our forwards had to move the ball around at faster pace to dislodge their defensive mode. This did but found it difficult as the Scots kept us at bay. Their moto 'it was the man or the ball' and not both should go past their defence. They started to get 'physical' and we got frustrated. We knew we had to find a way past their defence. The only way was to score from short corners. We had several corners but just not convert them into goals. Now instead of playing two high forwards we moved to playing three and keep on bringing on the substituting the players. With our fast forwards in Wingent, Chana, Jakob and Knapp and also Chiang we started to make inroads. Our forwards did very well and won us lots of corners. But unfortunately, despite trying different options and formation, we just could not get the end result and that is to open our account. We knew once we score, the 'gates will open' and the Scots will get tired. But credit to Scots, they kept on defending extremely well. Our midfield in Laslett, and Mullins and also Chiang kept our forwards busy. But the Scots were resolute and then moved to 'man to man' working.

We started to get frustrated. At well-deserved half-time break, the coach Graham Skinner decided to play our midfield higher than we had in the past games. Laslett, Mullins, Robinson and Baker-Brian played much higher with Jackson as cover in case of any 'breakaways'. That seems to work, and the Scots could not cope with that, and we found gaps appearing in their defence. Again, we had chances to score in an open play, but luck was not on our side. Wingent was do doing some great lateral running and had a golden opportunity to score with one on one with keeper but decided to go past the keeper rather than take a shot at the goal. Just after that miss, the referee blew the whistle for the end of third quarter.

Players by now were getting tired. We could hear Scots on the high and very load in their team talk. It was now matter of 'mind over matter'. We had never drawn a game against the Scots never mind losing it.

We knew we had do something different from what we had been so far in the game. The Scots started defending even deeper and using the old phrase, 'parked a bus in front of the goal'. They were now playing for time. They knew a drawn game would be like a lottery. However, our superior fitness became to show. Now we knew it was matter of time and one of the chances offered will be taken. But still our forwards did not avail those opportunities'. Chana then took on the defence with his dazzling skills and expectedly the defender brought him down and we were awarded one of many corners. Sometimes rather than applying completed routines, it is far simpler to apply basics and come away with the result. That we did. The injector from Chiang, Laslett stick stopped and had a direct shot at goal. Simple, yet effective. 1-0 to us. Scots could not believe it. They were given false sense of security as they were expecting another over complicated routine and had they runners lined up accordingly. A direct shot surprised then totally, relief on the bench. Lessons were learned and they were many positives to take forward to the World Cup.

England B 065 v Germany B 065 — "Confusion in the Trenches"

Friday 19^th July, a sunny 23c degree day saw England B on pitch 1 at the 8:15am meet time at Club Raffelberg. The Germans, displaying traditional eagerness, were already on the pitch Brought to order by skipper/vice-skipper Graham Moore and Graeme Welch who notice that we were only 17. Who was missing? A gentle warm-up built our tempo and heart rates under the expert guidance of Steve Mumford. We attempted and largely failed to dodge the water cannons as the pitch was made ready for the first game of the SOM tournament between England, Germany, Ireland A and the Netherlands 065. The final message was "enjoy, play good hockey and avoid going into contact".

In the spirit of Masters Hockey, the Germans passed the ball to our back line, from where it quickly moved across and forward. Our movement and ability to find space immediately proved too much for the Germans - setting the tone for the match. Our first incursion into their 'D' within 2 mins of the start delivers a short corner. Would the set piece drills bear fruit? Perfection — a fast accurate push out, sharp return pass to the injector and perfect ball into the danger area beyond the far post where two were waiting. Stuart Perry deflected into an open goal. We remained focus and continued to move the ball well whilst attacking the German defenders, who proved themselves good in the tackle and as expected hit the ball accurately and with pace to clear. The German ball pace was not matched by their movement so our 4-3-3 set up with a high press, over-lapping fullbacks and a sweeper playing high meant they rarely ventured into our half. One rare advance down our left and a good cross in with men in the 'D' presented some danger. Malcolm Teasdale (splitting keeper duties with Richard Barron) managed to get a lunging kicker on the ball, danger averted. The pressure we exerted and our newly found short corner success again paid dividends in the 8^th and 1 I ^th minutes with goals from kob Hurry and Julian Smith of "you have to be there to miss them" fame, with a lovely piece of skill. England 3-0 up at the end of the first quarter.

The quarter break allowed water-breaks as the temperature was rising fast. Yes, we were playing wel but reinforcing the need for focus and maintaining the high tempo were the appropriate team talk themes. It was indeed more of the same with an "in-sync" England team exploiting space through superior movement and a high pressing approach. The short corners were coming regularly now and producing goals. After 5 minutes Bill Davidson found himself in front of the sprawling keeper and flailing defenders to lift neatly over the keeper into the net. A longer wait closer to half time saw Ian Miller scoring with a thumping strike just inside the 'D' after a superb angled pass from the right. This was after what looked like another successful short corner conversion unfortunately disallowed. No-one knew why—the German umpire spoke no English and the Scottish umpire no German, consequently there was a distinct lack of clear communication between them and therefore to the players. Just before half-time,

Smith bagged his second (officially his first! - according to the third official) after getting to the byline on the left with the ball and not crossing but slotting it in as he spotted the keeper move off his near post. England 6-0 ahead at halftime.

A longer break, wise words from the leadership team about complacency, work rate and rising temperature ensured we started the second half in the same mode. Within 5 minutes Hurry scored the coolest goal of the game with an audacious little close-range lob over the advancing keeper, with Bob McGlashan in close attendance trying hard to avoid getting a close-range final touch whilst chaperoning the ball in. Germany did not give up easily though — a couple of moves got them close to our goal and they must have sensed something as they suddenly had numbers in and around our 'D'. The England defence remained resolute and marked each man diligently, snuffing out the attacks. However, Hienz-Uwe Krummling secured an honourable mention in this report by arriving late at the top left of the 'D' and despite little time and space struck a quality shot within an inch of the near post. Germany had scored in the 36^th minute. It was time for England to get back on script when to our surprise the game was halted as we attacked in full flow down the left flank — an unplanned water-break during open play! We were a little bewildered — but not as confused as one of the umpires! It was hot and whistles dry! Hydration over there was then confusion over how and where to restart. That sorted we continued to attack and thankfully England regained dominance in style with 2 goals in the 41 ^st minute another short corner move, official scorer Graeme Moore denying any possibility of the Smith hat-trick goal. The other 41 ^st minute goal was a fine move with McGlashan getting on the score sheet from close range. It was only another 2 minutes before Smith confirmed his hat-trick, which was actually his 4^th goal of the game! The uarter ended England 10 Germany 1 with five goals being scored in an eventful 15-minute period, not what Masters Hockey is used to seeing.

The fourth quarter was never going to top the third as we looked to maintain our dominance but also preserve our fitness with tougher games and hotter weather to come over the weekend. Consequently, only two goals in the final quarter Miller getting his second In the 50^th minute. This goal demonstrated the benefits of the whole team pressing the opposition, giving no way out for the defending free hit. Hurry winning the ball back high up the pitch and driving towards goal. With further good passing moves switching from wide left to wide right Hurry completed both his hat-trick and a great game, arguably man-of-the-match to which many others, not least "4 goals-Smith", also have a clairx;. England's PC conversion rate at the end of the game settling at close to a heady 50%.

A disconsolate but extremely magnanimous German squad demonstrated what Masters Hockey is all about — competitive comradeship.

Final score England 12 Germany 1

England B 065 v Netherlands B 065 — "We went Dutch"

Game 2 at the end of Day 2 saw a return to Pitch 1, but thankfully the late slot providing slightly cooler conditions. Numerous pre-existing puddles did not prevent the organisers turning on the sprinklers, resulting in very slow ball speed during the prematch practice and for much of the first quarter.

The Netherlands brought their usual high-pressing physical game which England attempted to counter with speed of movement and ball. In comparison to the previous day, chances on goal were infrequent for both teams, not helped by a still very soggy surface. Netherlands relying on soaking up pressure and launching long balls from defence. England forwards on the other hand provided width on both sides and at times demonstrated great patience by working back through the midfield pivots of Welch and Moore. At he rear, we read the game well and exercised control through excellent positioning by the entire defensive unit.

A game of ttrition throughout featured numerous personal duels which the umpires did well to manage — appeals and nudges (some not so subtle!) were largely ignored though not the final quarter tangle with a Dutch defender that earned Hurry a green card. Also evident was the introduction of a new rule for this game that saw England penalised (twice) after a Dutch player fell over the ball without any assistance! More shouldershrugging and finger-wagging but certainly no clarity.

England's self-policed substitution pod system worked well throughout the game - slick personnel exchanges confusing the Dutch occasionally— though some clearly within earshot conveniently ignored the call when it came!

We had our chances (PCs, deflections in the 'D' and a few strikes) but nothing came to fruition. After the previous day's goal-fest it was always going to be a challenge against a well organised defensive opponent. The game finished as it started, points split— frustrations in the England camp, relief in the Dutch but warm handshakes all round and a joint photo at the end.

Much to digest and apply for the next game but equally much satisfaction to take from the game — discipline and application from the entire squad.

Final score England 0 Netherlands O

England B 065 v Ireland A 065 - "Irish Doc'd a P(o)int"

And so, to the final game early on Day 3 and a first visit to Pitch 2. At the pre-game meet in clubhouse marquee after the previous evening's fabulous Raffelberg buffet evening we were tol to expect a fast surface with the ball running true which would suit our pass and move game. The squad was primed, starting positions and strategies settled, but we were only 17. Who was missing?

A strong Irish 'A' Team had arrived very early and were already on the pitch working on their set routines. Some familiar faces and good friends in the opposition squad promiseq a hard-fought but fair challenge ahead.

The gamy started at pace with very tight marking by each side. Space in the midfield being limited, England were forced to make use of the width but with good effect. Frequent excursions into the heart of the Irish defence in the first quarter resulted in a number of opportunities, but alas a decisive blow remained elusive. A third game on consecutive days hadn't dented enthusiasm for either team — hard running and hard tackling on display everywhere during an end-to-end first half. Ireland playing some very direct hockey through the middle using great pace and guile to find space behind our midfield press. Fortunately, the England defence remained focused with particularly timely interceptions from Messers Salmon, McConnell and Grossmith.

Half-time presented a welcome respite, time for a breather and recalibration. The main message from the leadership group being one of continuous movement, patience and ensuring each pass finds its target. England's pod-based substitutions yet again prove to be a telling advantage as our superior fitness showed — midfielders and forwards alike going the extra mile and more — something both the German and Irish team managers commented on after each game. Ireland continued to play for breakaway opportunities with a few dangerous forays causing angst amongst the English backline but thankfully no lasting pain. With a clock running through the final quarter and game hanging in the balance, England secured yet another PC. Tony 'Doc' Elston injected and in the chaos that followed around the penalty spot, calmly stepped in to slot in the opening goal.

Jubilation in the dugout ran alongside resolve on the pitch — we cannot let this slip. Three points being essential to secure overall success. The manner with which England managed t e final minutes, calmly and as a squad bodes well for Cape Town.

England and Ireland hockey friends embraced at the final whistle and looked forward to clubhouse beers. Ireland had hoped to hold out for at least a point to celebrate in the bar but Dr Elston had administered a timely remedy.

Final score England 1 Ireland 0

Our sincere thanks to Raffelberg Hockey Club for use of their excellent facilities and for the superb social dinner event on Saturday evening — great food and wonderful company.

Congratulations also to the joint leadership group and our manager Imtiaz on a successful tour and for their on-pitch and off-pitch management.