Squad named for 2014 EuroHockey Indoor Championships
10th January 2014Ahead of the men’s 2014 EuroHockey Indoor Championships, England [Indoor] Head Coach Andy Halliday has selected his squad of 12 players to take part in the tournament which runs from 17-19 January in Vienna, Austria. The tournament will be played under the new 5-a-side format.
With 18 members of the England centralised training squad out in India getting ready for the World League Finals the tournament provides a great opportunity for players on the fringe of the centralised group to experience indoor hockey against seven of the world’s best teams.
Speaking about the tournament ahead, Halliday said; “We go into this tournament with one clear aim which is to finish in the top six and retain our top division status. Finishing top six will also qualify us for the Indoor World Cup in Germany next year, which would be a fantastic achievement; however I do think we have to enter this tournament with realistic aspirations as well. We have a very inexperienced indoor team, with just over 50 indoor caps between the 12 selected players.”
Of the 12 athletes, eight are uncapped indoors, and four will make their international debuts; Harry Gibson and Chris Griffiths from Loughborough Students, Sam Ward from Beeston and Chris Newman from Reading.
Beeston’s Sam Ward is an out and out goal scorer, currently sitting top of both the outdoor and indoor tables with 15 and 26 goals respectively. He will be joined in attack by another prolific goal scorer, Simon Egerton, who is currently playing his club hockey for HGC in The Netherlands [outdoor] and Bowdon [indoor].
Egerton, alongside Richard Lane [Holcombe], David Cooper [Hampstead & Westminster], Richard Springham [Reading] and David Beckett [Cannock], bring some vital experience to the squad and will no doubt play a key part to England’s progress. Reading Captain Springham, who has 15 indoor caps, will take charge of England during the tournament.
Although several players will be making their indoor international debuts, the likes of Ben Arnold, Darren Cheesman, Beckett and James Bailey are all familiar names from the GB & England centralised training squad. Bailey has been in great form for Reading in the Maxinutrition Hockey 5s between the posts and with the new 5 a-side rules he will be vital to England’s chances of finishing in the top six. Finishing seventh or eighth will mean relegation from the top flight.
England has been drawn in Pool A and has an unenviable task of battling it out against current World and European Indoor Champions Germany, The Netherlands and Russia. Speaking about the draw, Halliday added: “As indoor draws go it doesn’t get much tougher than meeting these teams. The Netherlands have a separate indoor team which obviously gives them an advantage coming into the tournament because their selection is not affected by outdoor commitments. Germany’s strength in depth allows them to always field a strong team in any competition and as defending champions they will be seen as favourites to finish top. And Russia, like many of the Eastern European countries have a strong indoor hockey set-up due to the nature of their long winters.”
Ahead of the Europeans, England travel to Brussels this Friday for a Tri-Nations tournament against Belgium and Scotland who are also preparing for European competition. The matches will be capped and results and match reports for these games will be on the England Hockey website
The schedule is as follows:
|
Date |
Time |
Match |
|
11 January |
10:30 |
Scotland v England |
|
14:00 |
Belgium v Scotland |
|
|
17:00 |
England v Belgium |
|
|
12 January |
08:30 |
England v Scotland |
|
11:30 |
Belgium v England |