Defending 2011/12 champions, HKFC-A won a decisive victory over arch rivals Valley-A, but still lag behind Khalsa by four points with only one match to play. Their final match next week against Khalsa—although there is no doubt that it will still be a match to savour—cannot affect the outcome of the league championship. It will, however, still be important for pride of winning and to put down a marker for the Holland Cup.
Adding to the interest in the final week of competition, Ahmed Ewis from Khalsa leads the goal scoring rankings for the HKHA Men’s Premier League. His 45 goals with one match remaining in the season puts him 4 goals ahead of Pak-A’s Ishtiaq Ahmed, so it is not yet a foregone conclusion that Ewis will win this year’s honours.
Other matches
SSSC-A pulled back three goals in the second half to achieve a rather tame draw against Punjab-A. Neither team seemed to be pressing very hard for a deciding goal.
In the other matches, Elite lost narrowly to KCC-A 1-2 and Shaheen beat HKFC-B by the same score.
Women
The vital match for this year’s Women’s league title will be between HKFC-A and Valley-A this coming Saturday March 16.
If HKFC-A secure a win or draw in this match the title will be theirs. But if they lose, Valley can snatch the title—provided they overcome KCC-A in their final match on March 20.
Valley-A are currently on 34 points as opposed to HKFC-A’s 39, but Valley have two matches to play, while Club-A have only one.
When the two teams last met in their match on Feb 28 at the Valley ground, Valley-A played exceptionally well. Although Club-A got away with a 1-1 draw they were under a lot of pressure throughout the encounter. Valley-A are definitely “on a high.” So, this coming return match at the Football Club ground should be very exciting.
In their mid-week match on March 6 (changed from March 7), HKFC-A beat KCC-A 5-1 on their home ground—which dropped KCC-A to third spot in the table on 32 points and out of contention for the league title.
Both of the top teams played lower order opponents last Saturday March 9, with HKFC-A beating Shaheen-A 3-0 and Valley-A easily defeated HKFC-B 9-0.
Jamie Dwyer visits HK
Jamie Dwyer will be in Hong Kong this month to conduct a series of training clinics and participate in the Hong Kong Football Club Easter 6’s Festival.
The 5-time FIH world Player of the Year and Olympic Gold medallist will conduct clinics between March 25 and 27 at the Hong Kong Football Club. Under 8s, 10s, 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s sessions are scheduled along with a Coach the Coaches session.
The world famous Australian will also take part, together with many other internationals, in the HKFC Easter 6’s Festival (March 29-30) that will include matches at elite and social levels.
For the internationals, a full 11 per side World Challenge will be held prior to the International Hockey 6’s. A Mini 5’s tournament will also be played by the internationals—a new format expected to gain international recognition.
To book for the Jamie Dwyer Hockey Academy visit www.jdhacademy.com and follow the clinics links for online registration and payment.
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