August 5, 2018 Spain’s incredible journey at the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup came to a bronze-tinted end as they defeated Australia with a consummate display of creative, attacking hockey. The bronze medal match was a clash between Australia, the world number five team and 2014 silver medalists, and Spain who, with a FIH Hero World Ranking of 11, have played way beyond initial expectations. The Australian team had lost in shoot-out to the Netherlands less than 24 hours earlier, while Spain had lost to Ireland in similar fashion in the first semi-final. Australia certainly looked the more battered of the two teams contesting the bronze medal. Jodie Kenny was sporting heavy strapping on her shoulder and Renee Taylor was unable to play, so Lily Brazel had come into the squad as a replacement. Spain in contrast looked lively as they chased their best finish in a World Cup – their best previous result was fourth in 2006. Certainly it was Spain who came flying out of the blocks and were rewarded with a goal just ten minutes into the game. Maria Lopez was the scorer after yet another innovative penalty corner routine saw Lynch unable to react to the quick switch of play. Australia were still looking flat as Spain kept pushing and pushing for a second goal. Where Australia were looking to play the ball wide and up the sides, the Spain side were happy to create and push forwards through the middle of the pitch. Georgina Oliva, who has enjoyed a wonderful tournament, was able to architect several attacks with her clever passing. Both Rosie Malone and Brooke Peris showed their own determination to leave this World Cup with a medal as they made several bursting runs from the midfield but every Australia attack was met by a stoic Spanish defence. It was the strength of the defence that led to the second goal. Australia attacked but lost possession. The ball up the pitch found Beatriz Perez, who in turn found Berta Bonastre. The player, who had been so devastated after her team’s loss to Ireland the previous day, was on hand to fire home. As the team’s re-emerged into the sweltering hot Arena after the half-time break, Bonastre said: “We know it is not how we start the game but how we finish it. We are here to win a medal, we really deserve it.” The third quarter saw Spain look to increase their lead; again their defence were solid as the Australia midfield and attack tried to unpick them. The breakthrough eventually came as Emily Hurtz found Emily Smith. The Hockeyroo’s captain’s shot was goal bound but Kathryn Slattery just made sure and got a nick on the ball to halve the deficit. As the fourth quarter counted down, both teams began to look as if they were suffering from the heat and the previous day’s exertion. A crucial moment in the match however saw Alicia Magaz strike the ball home to extend the lead to 3-1. Australia’s Head Coach Paul Gaudoin removed Rachael Lynch and the Australia side ramped up the pressure. Slattery and Maddy Fitzpatrick both ran at the Red Sticks defence but found the wall impenetrable. The last chance for Australia came with just over two minutes left. A penalty corner was taken by Georgina Morgan but her shot was not strong enough to give Smith the chance of a deflection. As Australia’s most recent recruit Lily Brazel thumped the ball forwards, the excellent Rocio Gutierrez swept the ball forward and Spain were able to celebrate their first medal at a World Cup. “We didn’t put in a performance yesterday, the girls were gutted and they wanted to put it right today,” said Spain’s Head Coach Adrian Lock. “We took it to Australia. the goals went in and once they went in we weren’t going to let that go. “We talked about the opportunity to do something that no-one has ever done before. We wanted to make our own history. We have played them five times this year, we hadn’t beaten them but we drew four times. We knew we could win today,” he added. Australia’s Head Coach Paul Gaudoin said: “Spain were very good today and we weren’t quite there today. We will learn a lot from today’s performance. We can’t use yesterday’s match as an excuse for today.” A jubilant Cristina Guinea said: “It’s like a dream come true and we are so grateful that our hard work has paid off. We have a great team attitude and everyone takes responsibility for defence and attack. There are more medals to come.” #HWC2018

5 August 2018 Netherlands win eighth title with stunning final performance Ireland take silver and move into top 10 of FIH Hero World Rankings Spain make their own history by winning bronze London: Relentless and magnificent. The Netherlands have absolutely owned the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup since their opening 7-0 scoreline against Korea. The women in orange might have been slightly stunned by the reception their opponents received as they walked out for the final but then it was business as usual – except in this case, the word ‘usual’ is a synonym for unparalleled excellence. If ever a World Cup title was warranted, it was this one and the question every other coach has to be asking is “How do we beat the Dutch?” London turned green for the afternoon as Ireland women played out the final chapter of their fascinating World Cup journey. The crowd sang the Irish national anthem with a pride and a passion that moved even the most neutral of spectators and the Netherlands were, for just a moment, a sideshow to the main event. Then the action started on the pitch. Every Irish pass was greeted with a roar of approval. A heavy tackle by Caia van Maasakker was booed, albeit with an undercurrent of humour. But this is the Dutch and it was going to take a lot more than a noisy crowd to put them off course. For Chloe Watkins and Eva de Goede, this final was a particularly special occasion as both players were representing their respective nations for the 200th time. Ireland started brightly, with the excellent Nikki Evans showing the confidence to take the Dutch on and create opportunities for her team mates. Gradually though, the Dutch felt their way into the game and, as is their style, a sweeping team move allowed Vitality Best PLayer Lidewij Welten to give them a lead in the seventh minute. After the quarter break it was again a team move that doubled that lead. Frederique Matla took the ball down the Dutch right-hand side of the pitch, before slipping to Xan de Waard. Her shot was weak and dealt with easily by Goalkeeper of the Tournament Ayeisha McFerran but the rebound fell to Kelly Jonker who made no mistake as she shot home with a clipped backhand shot. Netherlands began to turn the pressure up, winning two penalty corners in quick succession. Unusually for the world number one team, the shots failed to produce goals, but this was rectified a few minutes later as the tournament’s Top Scorer Kitty van Male pounced on a rebounded effort from van Maasakker and shot home for her eighth goal of the tournament. With just 30 seconds left on the clock, Malou Pheninckx unleashed a shot from the edge of the circle that flew into the top corner of the Ireland goal. McFerran, who has been so excellent all tournament could do nothing about the rocket of a shot – Pheninckx’s third goal for her nation and her third of this tournament. The half time break gave Graham Shaw a chance to regroup his shattered troops but it also gave Alyson Annan an opportunity to put her foot down even more firmly on the pedal. The Netherlands came out with every intention of making each attack count and just two minutes into the half, Marloes Keetels was on hand to knock the ball into the goal after another defence splitting run by Welten. Caia van Maasakker finally found her groove as she scored from the penalty corner – her third of the tournament. The shot was perfectly placed just out of McFerran’s reach. Irish hopes were lifted for a moment when a Netherlands penalty corner broke down and a quick move saw the Deirdrie Duke alone with just one Dutch defender. A lot is said about the Netherland’s attack but on this occasion it was the defence that showed its class. Irene van Assem made the tackle and the danger was averted with composure. And so to the last 15 minutes of this compelling story. The Netherlands were within touching distance of the trophy for an amazing eighth time, and for the second consecutive edition. But Ireland had played their own part in this story too. As one highly ranked team after another had fallen by the wayside, the story just got more amazing and that is why millions were tuning in across the world and the stadium was full of people determined to see how the final chapter panned out. With their total domination of the sport since 2016, harking back to a single loss in July 2017, the Netherlands are one of the best sports team in the world at the moment, but for sheer exhilaration, this World Cup also belongs to the teams that overturned the rankings and entertained the crowds for 15 glorious days of hockey. The final score of 6-0 is an all-time record for World Cup finals, and it is a signal to the hockey world that the Netherlands have set the bar very high indeed. Ireland’s inspirational captain Kathryn Mullan reflected back: “It was a tough, tough game. We prepared as we did for all the other games. The turn around time was tight and we knew it was going to be a real physical effort from us and we weren’t perhaps as fresh as we would have liked. But credit where credit is due, the Dutch are phenomenal. “We may be disappointed when we look back at the game as to how they got in, but the better team on the day won. The effort my teammates put in was brilliant. “It’s tough right now, but in a few weeks or month we will look back with pride. We came in ranked 16th and we wanted to cause an upset. I’m wearing a silver medal, so we have definitely caused an upset.” Netherlands’ Frederique Matla, said: “This is my first world cup so I am really

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4 August 2018 On Sunday 5 August, Eva de Goede of the Netherlands and Chloe Watkins of Ireland are poised to play their 200th matches for their respective nations. The match is the gold medal match between Netherlands and ireland 16:30 (UTC). A presentation will take place after the match. For further information and news from the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup, London 2018, click here. #HWC2018 -ends- NOTES TO EDITORS Event website: click here On-site Media Contact: Sarah Juggins FIH Media Operations Manager sarah.juggins@fih.ch Ph: +44(0)781 2525310 About the International Hockey Federation (FIH) The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is the world governing body for the sport of hockey, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Founded in 1924, FIH today has 137 member National Associations. For more information on the Hockey Revolution, visit: fih.ch/inside-fih/our-strategy

2 August 2018 Netherlands defeat host nation England to secure place in semi-final Ireland continue to make their own history as they face first ever World Cup semi-final Either Spain or Ireland will make World Cup final debut London: On a remarkable day of action, Ireland and Netherlands completed the line-up for the semi-finals of the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018, booking their tickets to the final four with victories over India and host nation England respectively. Ireland yet again defied their 16th position in the FIH Hero World Rankings to claim a shoot-out victory over India, ensuring that the Green Army’s fairy-tale story would continue into the final weekend. Goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran was again a star for Ireland, conceding just once in the shoot-out to set up a semi-final meeting against Spain on Saturday 4th August at 1400 (UTC/GMT+1). The Netherlands broke the hearts of the host nation with a deserved 2-0 triumph over England in front of 10,500 fans, with Vitality Player of the Match Lidewij Welten and Laurien Leurink both on target as Oranje maintained their impressive title charge in London. The Dutch will now face Australia in this Saturday’s semi-final, which will take place at 16:30 local time. Ireland (WR:16) had already created history simply by reaching the quarter-final phase, eclipsing anything that the Green Army had achieved in previous editions of the Hockey Women’s World Cup. However, the team coached by Graham Shaw were determined to ensure that their staggering run in London was not about to end when they faced India (WR:10). Ireland’s 1-0 win over the Eves in Pool B was certainly reason to believe that they could secure a dream place in the semi-finals, although India’s excellent 3-0 cross-over play-off victory against Italy on Tuesday ensured that the Asian continental champions were justifiably confident about their own chances. The two teams cancelled each out for much of the match, with India putting in place an excellent defensive strategy to reduce the effectiveness of Ireland’s potent counter-attacking style on another hot evening in London. Irish attacker Anna O’Flanagan had two chances in quick succession in the second quarter but failed to test India’s ever impressive shot-stopper Savita, while Ireland goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran was a spectator for much of the half. India’s biggest chance to score arrived in the final quarter when India captain Rani drilled a penalty corner shot into the pads of McFerran before Elena Tice cleared the danger. It was the only penalty corner of a game, which always seemed destined to end in a shoot-out, and what a shoot-out it proved to be. McFerran, who has been one of the standout players at the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018, was sensational in the one-on-ones, denying India captain Rani and Navjot Kaur with wonderful saves while forcing Monika to shoot wide. McFerran’s goalkeeping heroics were capitalised on by Roisin Upton and Alison Meeke who both scored to make it advantage Ireland. Reena Khokhar kept India in the contest when she made the score 2-1, but Chloe Watkins made no mistake with a cool finish to trigger scenes of unrestrained joy from the Irish players, coaching staff and fans packed into the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre. “We just tried to go out and impose our style on India”, said elated Ireland international Elena Tice at the end of the match. “At times it wasn’t pretty and we could have taken a few more chances but we kept going. We wanted to put them under pressure from the start and go forward the entire game. At times it went okay and at times we were turned over but our defence is really tough. The defence is prepared to take the hits.” Referring to the atmosphere generated by the capacity crowd watching the action, Tice said: “It was absolutely unbelievable out there. It felt like it was all Ireland and when our legs began to ache, the crowd really got us going. We try to go into every game without fear. We are the underdog every time we play but we want to push on, become a top 10 team and expect to win.” Whilst it was not the outcome that India had desired, Head Coach Sjoerd Marijne felt that the experience gained in London will prove vital to their title challenge at the upcoming Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. “I think the girls will be proud of what they achieved so they will have lots of confidence [for the Asian Games]”, said Dutchman Marijne. “Now they don’t feel that, but they soon will. This has given them the experience of playing on the big stage, doing shoot-outs under high pressure. They will take all of that to the Asian Games.” The atmosphere in the stadium throughout the match between Pool A winners Netherlands and England, who had reached the quarter-finals after beating Korea in the cross-over play-offs on Tuesday, was absolutely electric. The home fans turned up in their thousands in the hope of witnessing England record what would be a famous victory over the reigning world champions, a team that had scored an incredible 26 goals in the three matches they had played ahead of this fixture. The Dutch were on fire in the opening period, putting the England defence under huge pressure. Caia van Maasakker issued a warning when she rattled England’s crossbar with a fierce penalty corner flick before 2015 Hockey Stars Player of the Year Lidewij Welten opened the scoring in the 14th minute. Xan de Waard was the creator, sending a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Welten who made no mistake with a first-time shot between the legs of Hinch. The relentless Dutch pressure continued in the second period, with Hinch again called into action before Susie Petty cleared a goal-bound shot off the line to keep the score at 1-0 going into half time. However, that all changed one minute after the break when the

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