INVESTEC LONDON CUP - DAY 1
9th July 2014- Women - South Africa 2-0 Scotland: South Africa take two with just 14 players.
- Women - England 8-0 Wales: England’s best result against Wales since 1954.
- Men - Ireland 4-2 South Africa: Alan Sothern scores a brace.
- Men - England 6-0 Ireland: England’s best result against Scotland since 1956.
Match 1
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SCOTLAND |
0 |
2 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
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(Half-time 0-1) |
Kathleen Taylor 15 65 (FG FG) |
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South Africa required just fifteen minutes to break the deadlock, with Kathleen Taylor scoring the first ever international goal at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, capitalising on a rebound from teammate Du Plessis’ attempt on goal with a great volley into the back of the net. Taylor scored her second of the day on 65 minutes rounding off South Africa’s opening game with a 2-0 victory.
South African captain Marsha Cox stated after the game, ‘We’re really happy with the three points but I don’t think it was close to our best performance. We’re here as preparation for the Commonwealth Games and to start off with a win given the short space of time we’ve had to prepare we’re very happy.’
Match 2
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ENGLAND |
8 |
0 |
WALES |
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Alex Danson 2, 60 (FG, FG) |
(Half-time 4-0) |
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Sophie Bray 10 (FG) |
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Susannah Townsend 25 (FG) |
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Laura Unsworth 29 (FG) |
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Ellie Watton 53 (FG) |
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Kate Richardson-Walsh 57 (PC) |
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Giselle Ansley 67 (PC) |
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Within the first two minutes England opened the scoring thanks to a goal from Alex Danson who found the target with a tap in after pressure from Nicola White and Susannah Townsend. Less than ten minutes later England increased their lead as Lily Owsley ran the ball along the baseline to find Sophie Bray waiting at the goal for an easy tap in to make it 2-0 inside 10 minutes.
25 minutes in Townsend capitalised on her space in the circle to score another for England and shortly after a deflection by Laura Unsworth put the score at 4-0 to England going into the break.
It took eight minutes for England to add to their tally in the second half, as Bray fired in a ball which found Ellie Watton who deflected in for 5-0. A minute later it was 6-0 as a penalty corner effort from captain Kate Richardson-Walsh’s bounced over the Welsh keeper and into the goal.
Danson scored her second with ten minutes left on the clock; the Reading forward picked up an aerial and drove into the circle finishing off with a trademark reverse-stick shot to the keeper’s right. England’s last came as Giselle Ansley’s accurate drag-flick was sent low and to the keeper’s left to round off an 8-0 victory and a fantastic start to the homeside’s Investec London Cup campaign. The victory margin was the highest recorded by England against Wales for 60 years [1954].
England captain Kate Richardson-Walsh spoke after the match; "I don't remember the last time we scored eight goals. We're really pleased - it's been a tough few weeks so we were keen to show we have fight and we've done that."
Debutante Lucy Wood added; "It's an honour to make my debut here, the stadium and the support is amazing."
Match 3
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IRELAND |
4 |
2 |
SOUTH AFRICA |
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Shane O’Donoghue 19 (PC) |
(Half-time 2-1) |
Taine Paton 25 (FG) |
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Michael Darling 29 (FG) |
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Lance Louw 47 (PC) |
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Alan Sothern 41 45 (FG FG) |
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The first of the men's matches in the Investec London Cup saw Ireland face South Africa in warm sunshine at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre. It was Ireland who broke the deadlock when Shane O'Donoghue scored from a penalty corner, his low drag-flick sneaking beneath Erasmus Pieterse in the South Africa goal. Taine Paton equalised from an opportunist strike, but Michael Darling restored the Ireland lead going into half time.
Two Alan Sothern goals early in the second half gave Scotland a dominant 4-1 lead. When Conor Harte received a yellow card in the 47th minute, Lance Louw scored from the resulting penalty corner to keep South Africa in with a chance, but it wasn’t enough as the final score remained at 4-2 to Scotland.
Double goal-scorer Alan Sothern commented after the match: "The boys worked very hard today. We're feeling strong and looking forward to our next couple of games - hopefully we'll finish well at the weekend."
Match 4
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ENGLAND |
6 |
0 |
SCOTLAND |
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Ashley Jackson 2 67 (PC, PC) |
(Half-time 4-0) |
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Henry Weir 11 (FG) |
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Mark Gleghorne 27 (FG) |
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Simon Mantell 31 (FG) |
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Phil Roper 60 (FG) |
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England’s men’s first game of the Investec London Cup started explosively - a penalty corner in the second minute allowed East Grinstead’s Ashley Jackson to score with his trademark drag flick and make it 1-0. Dominant in possession, it wasn’t long before England doubled their lead, this time through Henry Weir who tapped the ball in to the back of the net after a goal-line scramble.
An impressive run along the baseline by Phil Roper set up England’s third goal which was rifled home by Mark Gleghorne, then with just minutes left in the first half, England scored a further goal; an excellent team effort finished off by Reading’s Simon Mantell. Scotland were unable to capitalise and the score remained 4-0 to England at half-time.
England continued to press the Scottish defence early in the second half, but it wasn’t until the 60th minute that another goal was scored; Roper, with a rifling a shot past Scotland’s goalkeeper Gavin Sommerville, made it 5-0. With just three minutes to go Jackson added his second of the game with another penalty corner, this time a low effort past Sommerville. The final score stood at 6-0 and gave England their best result against Scotland since 1956.
England captain Barry Middleton said after the game; “We’ve been looking at trying to score goals, so it was nice to get a few today. Some were scrappy goals, obviously they’re not great to watch but they’re the goals we’re looking to score because they win tournaments.”