Pro League 2024 (London)
01.06.2024
Day One
Written by; Tao MacLeod
Fixtures & Results
Germany 0 – 3 India (Men)
Great Britain 5 – 1 Ireland (Men)
Great Britain 3 – 2 USA (Women)
Germany 3 – 1 India (Women)
What Happened Today
Germany 0 – 3 India (Men)
The opening match of this mini-tournament saw the World Cup winners Germany take on the Asian champions India this morning. It was the Europeans who started incisively, winning several short corners in the first quarter. However it was the Indians who opened the scoring early in the second period. After Sukhjeet Singh was brought down in the circle, Harmanpreet Singh sent the ball low and to the right of the goalkeeper. After half time there had still been very few open play chances, with the Indians defending well. They then scored two in quick succession after attacking the baseline and playing drop passes both times. Sukhjeet made it two nil, with Gurjant having scored the third. The cautiousness of the Germans held them back slightly. They had loads of possession, but not many clear cut chances in open play. The Indians ran out deserved winners
Great Britain 5 – 1 Ireland (Men)
The British-Irish derby started enthusiastically, with both teams going player to player in their set up. Henry Croft opened the spring with a well taken field goal. Phil Roper doubled the tally with a nice reverse tomahawk. The Irish called for a back stick, which was turned over. The British had lost theirs earlier in the match, so fans watched the remainder of the match without video referrals. However, this doesn’t deter the lads from the Emerald Isle. An attack down the right wing saw a pull back off the baseline. Ben Walker rode a challenge from the Welsh keeper, Toby Reynolds-Cotterill, to pull one back. John McKee got a ten minute yellow for a coming together with Lee Morton. Sam Ward took advantage of this power play with a back post finish to make it three goals to one. Sam Ward got himself a brace in the second half, after he scored directly from a short corner. The Irish looked to get back in to the game in the fourth quarter, having gained a bit of possession higher up the pitch and even got a couple of short corners. This was to no avail, as Britain added a fifth from their own set piece with Gareth Furlong the goalscorer.
Great Britain 3 – 2 USA (Women)
The first of the women’s matches saw the hosts Great Britain take on the USA. It also saw GB goalkeeping legend Maddie Hinch return to Lee Valley for the first time since she joined the United States hockey programme as a coach. She has been listed as Team Manager on the team sheet. The Brits dominated possession, but conceded a short corner early on after pushing up too high and the Americans went long and direct. Beth Yeager duly opened the scoring, after a reward was given for a foot in the circle. The home team then equalised through a wonderful solo effort by Lily Owsley. She beat two defenders before scoring past the goalkeeper’s left shoulder. The first half ended with one goal apiece.
In the third quarter it looked as if Hannah French got a deflection off of a Grace Balsdon short, corner but it was given to the drag flicker. In the 44th minute Fiona Crackles finished off a good team move after her team mates had worked the ball to the right hand baseline, before feeding her a cutback. The tourists reduced the deficit after a pushed shot from close range deflected off the goalie and trickled over the line before the defender could clear. Sophia Gladieux got the all important final touch. The Americans showed some ambitions shortly afterwards by taking their goalie off and played with eleven outfielders. They were denied by a good save from Miriam Pritchard, not once, but twice after winning short corners. However, they couldn’t find an equaliser. The Brits wine by three goals to two.
Germany 3 – 1 India (Women)
The Germans thought the they had opened the scoring after six minutes, after a nice bit of team play, but it was disallowed for a back stick in the circle. In the 13th minute Charlotte Stapenhorst found herself in space and unleashed a ripper to make it one – nil to Die Danas. The Germans moved with a fluidity that other teams haven’t shown as much today. The Indians played a structured purposeful game. This brought around several good attacking chances for either side. The Asians finally levelled terms from a short corner scored by Deepika in the 23rd minute. Unfortunately for them this was short lived after the Germans re-took the lead through Sonja Zimmerman, a minute later. Nike Lorenz added another in the third quarter. This was definitely the best game of the day. Both teams zipped the ball about and created good attacking chances.
Star Player
The Indian men’s goalkeeper had a good game; Sreejesh got into several good positions to keep the Germans from scoring. Nathalie Kubalski of Germany also showed the good footwork that comes from having played a lot of indoor hockey. Sam Ward’s two goals against the Irish puts him in contention for this today. I also thought that the German men’s captain Martin Zwicker had a decent match, spraying passes from a half back position. Lily Owsley was also good, with her ball carrying skills and ambition to go forward. Her equaliser against the Americans was definitely something to write home about. Nike Lorenz showed plenty of hustle and bustle in midfield demonstrating how a captain should play. She also added a goal from a penalty corner, as well as having provided the shot that her team mate Zimmerman scored a deflection from. However, I am going to choose Savita, the Indian women’s goalkeeper as the Star Player for today. She made several top notch saves, without which the Germans would have won by a greater margin. She is a world class goalie.
Goal of the Day
Great Britain’s first goal was pretty nice. An attack down the left saw Henry Croft receive the left at a 45 degree angle to the goal at the top of the circle. His first touch set him up for a pile driver past the Irish goalie which opened the scoring. Sam Ward’s back post reverse was pretty good, as was Phil Roper’s reverse tomahawk. However, I’m going to have to give it to the GB ladies attacking player Lily Owsley. She received the ball slightly in from the left wing, spun the first defender, glided past the second, advanced on the goalkeeper and then stuck it past her left shoulder to level the game against the USA. A trademark goal from the two time Olympic medalist.
Moment of the Day
Towards the end of the German women’s match against India goalkeeper Nathalie Kubalski made the save of the day. Having tracked the opposition forward across the goal like to her right, she had to make a quick adjustment and change of direction to her left, putting out a big deflector pad to stop a shot that looked certain to go in. Gareth Furlong (who even scored from a penalty corner), Connor Wiliamson & Henry Croft all made their debuts for Great Britain today. This has been a long time coming for Furlong who has been playing for Wales for years. However, my favourite moment of the day has to go to when the young Beeston player Henry Croft who also got his first goal today. It was a well taken shot from the edge of the circle.
