>> Great Britain Media Guide

Times in bold = local.
Times in italics = GMT.
Chile = GMT -3hrs

>> Official Olympic Qualifiers Website
>> Final Positions

Participating Teams
Austria (AUT), Chile (CHL), Great Britain (GBR), India (IND),
Mexico (MEX), Russia (RUS)
>> Read more about the participating countries

Click on GBR to see a match report to the corresponding game.

Saturday 1 March
1430	1730	GBR	11	(2)	-	0	(0)	MEX
1630	1930	IND	8	(4)	-	0	(0)	RUS
1900	2200	CHL	3	(1)	-	4	(2)	AUT
Sunday 2 March
1600	1900	GBR	8	(4)	-	0	(0)	RUS
1800	2100	MEX	0	(0)	-	4	(1)	CHL
2000	2300	AUT	3	(2)	-	7	(2)	IND
Monday 3 March
Rest Day
Tuesday 4 March
1530	1830	MEX	1	(0)	-	18	(8)	IND
1730	2030	AUT	5	(1)	-	4	(2)	RUS
1930	2230	CHL	1	(0)	-	4	(0)	GBR
Wednesday 5 March
Rest Day
Thursday 6 March
1400	1700	IND	2	(1)	-	3	(1)	GBR
1730	2030	AUT	3	(1)	-	1	(1)	MEX
1930	2230	RUS	2	(0)	-	1	(0)	CHL
Friday 7 March
Rest Day
Saturday 8 March
1500	1800	GBR	4	(3)	-	0	(0)	AUT
1700	2000	RUS	9	(5)	-	1	(0)	MEX
1900	2200	CHL	1	(0)	-	4	(3)	IND
Sunday 9 March
1300	1600	CHL	9	(5)	-	3	(2)	MEX	5 v 6
1530	1830	AUT	3	(1)	-	6	(4)	RUS	3 v 4
1800	2100	GBR	2	(2)	-	0	(0)	IND	FINAL

Final Positions

1. Great Britain 
2. India
3. Russia
4. Austria
5. Chile
6. Mexico

Participating Countries
There are six nations battling it out for the one available Olympic spot.  Great Britain and India have the highest world rankings with only one place separating the two – GB has the edge in 8th spot over India’s 9th.  Chile, ranked 20th, are the closest team to the top two with Austria (25th), Mexico (=28th) and Russia (45th) – a late replacement for Bangladesh – following behind.  India has been a dominant force in Olympic hockey in years gone by and to date hold more gold medals than any other country in the world.  They had only one blip between 1928 and 1964 when they had to settle for silver in 1960.  In 1968 and 1972 they went home with the bronze medal but were back with gold in 1980.  This is the last time they won the gold medal and at the last two Games have only managed seventh place.  If India fail to qualify from this tournament, it will be the first time since the 1928 Games that they will not have participated in the Olympics.  Great Britain is the only other country to have won Olympic Gold with the famous 1988 win over Germany.

Host Country
Chile has never competed in an Olympic Games so they will be hoping that home advantage will give them some chance.  This venue hosted the 2005 Junior Women’s World Cup.

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Saturday 1 March 2008

GREAT BRITAIN	11	(2)
Simon Mantell 14,52 (F,F)
Richard Mantell 22 (PC)
Stephen Dick 47 (F)
Richard Alexander 51 (F)
Barry Middleton 55 (F)
Matt Daly 57,68 (F,F)
Rob Moore 61 (F)
Ashley Jackson 63 (F)
James Tindall 69 (F)
MEXICO	0	(0)
-

It was a great day at the office for Great Britain and the Mantell family in particular as brothers Richard and Simon scored a goal apiece in the first half to give the Brits a 2-0 lead at the break which was capitalised on after the interval with nine goals in the last 23 minutes – Simon bagging his brace with his second goal in the 52nd minute.  There were nine individual scorers in this dominant performance over the world’s 28th ranked side.

As the world rankings would suggest, Great Britain opened as the stronger team and were rewarded for their efforts in the 14th minute when Simon Mantell launched an unstoppable shot to take the lead.  Brother Richard joined him on the scoresheet in the 22nd minute when he hit a well-struck penalty corner which whistled past the ‘keeper.

Matt Daly was denied in the 29th minute from a penalty corner by an excellent save from Daniel Aguilar Montoya in the Mexican goal and seconds later was thwarted again by some good defensive work, leaving the Brits with a 2-0 lead at half time.

The second-half rout began when Stephen Dick added a third to Britain’s tally with a penalty corner goal in the 47th minute as he hit a reverse stick shot after a good pass from Glenn Kirkham.  Within four minutes, Richard Alexander added GB’s fourth after he entered the circle and fired home an excellent shot and a minute later, Simon Mantell made it five when he unlocked Mexico’s defence to score his second of the match.

Barry Middleton – recently declared as the 2007 UK Hockey Player of the Year by the Hockey Writers Club – netted Britain’s sixth in the 55th minute with a good touch and two minutes later, Daly made the most of a pass from James Tindall to direct the ball into the back of the net making it 7-0.

Rob Moore added the eighth with a goal on the counter-attack following an opportunity for Mexico, but Britain regained possession and ran the length of the field where Moore was waiting to deflect home.

Ashley Jackson – the youngest member of the squad at 20-years-old – scored GB’s ninth with a deflection, Daly added the 10th (and his second of the match) and Tindall completed the victory with the 11th goal in the 69th minute.

Manager Pete Nicholson said “It took us a while to get going, but once we did, we were pretty unstoppable.  We only scored once from our 10 penalty corners though so this is an area which needs improving.  We’re pleased with a good start to the tournament, we don’t appear to have picked up any injuries, and we are now looking forward to facing Russia tomorrow”.

TEAM

Started
Jon Bleby (L’boro Stu & ENGLAND), Jonty Clarke (Reading & ENGLAND), Matt Daly (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Ben Hawes (C) (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead & ENGLAND), Glenn Kirkham (East Grinstead & ENGLAND), Richard Mantell (Reading & ENGLAND), Alistair McGregor (GK) (L’boro Stu & SCOTLAND), Barry Middleton (HGC & ENGLAND), James Tindall (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Alastair Wilson (Beeston & ENGLAND)

Used Substitutes
Richard Alexander (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Stephen Dick (Inverleith & SCOTLAND), Simon Mantell (Reading & ENGLAND), Rob Moore (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Mark Ralph (Kelburne & SCOTLAND)

Did Not Play
James Fair (GK) (Cannock & ENGLAND), Ben Marsden (Surbiton & ENGLAND)

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Sunday 2 March 2008

GREAT BRITAIN	8	(4)
Barry Middleton 6,37 (PC,F)
Glenn Kirkham 11,65 (PC,F)
Matt Daly 25,46 (F,F)
Mark Ralph 31 (PC)
James Tindall 42 (F)
RUSSIA	0	(0)
-

Great Britain continued where they left-off yesterday as Russia – late replacements in the tournament for Bangladesh – fell to their second 8-0 defeat in two days.  GB’s biggest rivals, India, also put eight past Russia when they kicked off their tournament yesterday.  Barry Middleton, Matt Daly and Glenn Kirkham all scored braces, with Mark Ralph and James Tindall chipping in with a goal apiece.   Captain Ben Hawes earned his 50th GB cap in today’s match.

The first goal came in the 6th minute from a penalty corner which was pushed out by Rob Moore.  Richard Mantell’s shot was saved, but Middleton was on hand to fire in the rebound.  Kirkham added Britain’s second with his first ever goal for GB when he was on hand to deflect home the ball from a penalty corner which was originally saved by Roman Rogov in the Russian goal.

Britain’s third came when the ball was recovered from a Russian player and was passed to Daly who struck the ball into the back of the net to make it 3-0.

The fourth goal came courtesy of Mark Ralph – also scoring his first goal for Britain – after the ball was well-received from a penalty corner and flicked home to make it 4-0 at half-time.

Middleton made it five shortly after the re-start scoring his second of the game after Ben Marsden entered the circle and passed the ball to Moore on the left who supplied Middleton and five minutes later, Marsden was involved again, this time feeding Tindall who sent the ball into the back of the net to make it 6-0.

Daly made it two braces in two days when he added Britain’s seventh in the 46th minute and shortly after that, Russia thought they had scored but after a long delay, the goal was controversially ruled out by the video umpire after he deemed the ball to have hit a foot before entering the net.

Kirkham scored his second of the match after some good play from Richard Mantell to make it 8-0 with five minutes to go.

Manager Pete Nicholson was pleased to have progressed injury-free through what are on paper, the two easiest games of the tournament.  “It was an incredibly hot afternoon today and this was a good positive performance.  We have Chile next and are looking forward to playing in front of a big crowd against the host nation”.

TEAM

Started
Richard Alexander (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Jon Bleby (L’boro Stu & ENGLAND), Jonty Clarke (Reading & ENGLAND), Ben Hawes (C) (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Glenn Kirkham (East Grinstead & ENGLAND), Richard Mantell (Reading & ENGLAND), Simon Mantell (Reading & ENGLAND), Ben Marsden (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Alistair McGregor (GK) (L’boro Stu & SCOTLAND), Barry Middleton (HGC & ENGLAND), Rob Moore (Surbiton & ENGLAND)

Used Substitutes
Matt Daly (Surbiton & ENGLAND), James Fair (GK) (Cannock & ENGLAND), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead & ENGLAND), Mark Ralph (Kelburne & SCOTLAND), James Tindall (Surbiton & ENGLAND)

Did Not Play
Stephen Dick (Inverleith & SCOTLAND), Alastair Wilson (Beeston & ENGLAND)

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Tuesday 4 March

GREAT BRITAIN	4	(0)
Richard Mantell 42 (PC)
Barry Middleton 49 (F)
James Tindall 56,66 (F,F)
CHILE	1	(0)
Esteban Krainz 48 (F)

Great Britain ended as 4-1 victors over host country Chile in what was their toughest challenge so far with all goals coming in the second half.  James Tindall netted a brace with Richard Mantell and Barry Middleton contributing a goal each to make it three wins out of three in the quest for Olympic qualification.

Britain had a number of first half opportunities with Middleton coming close in the 9th minute and four penalty corners which came to nothing.  In what transpired to be an even first half, the score remained 0-0 at the break.

It took until the 42nd minute for the first goal to come and it came courtesy of Richard Mantell who struck a good ball from a penalty corner to put the home side behind.

The advantage did not last for long and Britain conceded their first goal of the tournament when Chile levelled the score on the 48th minute after Esteban Krainz got hold of a loose ball to fire home.

However, the lead was regained just a minute later when Jonty Clarke set-up Middleton following a free hit taken by Richard Mantell just outside the circle and the man from Doncaster executed an excellent shot to make it 2-1.

The lead was further increased on the 56th minute when Simon Mantell set-up a beautiful ball for James Tindall who finished with aplomb to make it 3-1 and the Surbiton striker was on the scoresheet again 10 minutes later when he beat Matias Anwandter in the Chilean goal to make it 4-1.

Manager Pete Nicholson said “This was a much needed game of proper hockey and we came through it well.  We’re exactly where we wanted to be at this stage and we obviously face a tough match against India on Thursday before taking on Austria, and then hopefully India again on Sunday in the final.  It was a great atmosphere here today and we’re in a good position for the rest of the tournament.”

Head Coach Jason Lee – back in Chile after the birth of his baby girl – said “We made some good progression today against a well organised Chilean team.”

Earlier today, India thrashed Mexico 18-1 and Austria and Russia played out a close game which Austria just edged 5-4.  Tomorrow sees a rest day for all countries with Great Britain taking on their biggest contenders, India, on Thursday.

TEAM

Started
Jon Bleby (L’boro Stu & ENGLAND), Matt Daly (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead & ENGLAND), Glenn Kirkham (East Grinstead & ENGLAND), Richard Mantell (Reading & ENGLAND), Simon Mantell (Reading & ENGLAND), Ben Marsden (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Alistair McGregor (GK) (L’boro Stu & SCOTLAND), Barry Middleton (HGC & ENGLAND), Rob Moore (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Alastair Wilson (Beeston & ENGLAND)

Used Substitutes
Richard Alexander (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Jonty Clarke (Reading & ENGLAND), Ben Hawes (C) (Surbiton & ENGLAND), James Tindall (Surbiton & ENGLAND)

Named Substitute (did not play)
James Fair (GK) (Cannock & ENGLAND)

Did Not Play
Stephen Dick (Inverleith & SCOTLAND), Mark Ralph (Kelburne & SCOTLAND)

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Thursday 6 March

GREAT BRITAIN	3	(1)
Richard Mantell 15 (PC)
Jonty Clarke 46 (F)
Rob Moore 69 (F)
INDIA	2	(1)
V.R. Raghunath 2,65 (PC,PC)

Rob Moore was the hero in today’s feisty encounter with India which saw the Surbiton striker fire home a last minute goal to take all three points in this clash of the titans match leaving the Brits undefeated at the top of the table with one match to go before the final.

It was a bad start for Great Britain as they conceded an early blow going behind for the first time in the tournament when VR Raghunath successfully converted a penalty corner in the second minute.

India went down to 10 men when Vickram Kanth received a yellow card for an unnecessary foul during a GB attack which led to a period of pressure from Britain which was rewarded in the 15th minute when Ben Hawes and Ali Wilson linked well together to earn a penalty corner which was well converted by Richard Mantell on the 15th minute.

India were back down to 10 again when Shivendra Singh committed a messy tackle and was sent to the sin-bin as a reward. 

The Mantell brothers worked well together in the 27th minute with Richard entering the circle and supplying Simon who was unable to score.

India had an excellent chance shortly after when Prabhjot Singh received an excellent cross but could not manage to score and Ben Marsden had to stop the same player on the 34th minute when he was on the attack again leaving the scores tied at 1-1 going into half time.

The first chance of the half fell to the troublesome Pranhjot Singh, but ‘keeper Alistair McGregor managed to put a stop to the attack by putting the ball out of play.

Britain went ahead on the 46th minute when Jonty Clarke was well placed to direct the ball into the back of the net after a good pass from Richard Alexander.

India levelled the score when Raghunath deflected home a penalty corner in the 65th minute and shortly after, Marsden prevented India taking the lead when he intercepted the ball to stop a dangerous attack.

Great Britain then regained the lead when Rob Moore netted from a free hit just outside the circle with just a minute to go and despite a last gasp attempt from India, GB took all three points.

With one round-robin match to go, the undefeated Brits are now all but assured of a place in the final.  Austria play Mexico at 2030hrs tonight with Russia taking on Chile at 2230hrs.  Austria are currently sitting third in the table with six points and will be hot on India’s tails if they are victorious later today.  In the last round of games, India will have to take on hosts Chile with Great Britain playing Austria.  This was a great result for Great Britain but it will count for nothing if they are unable to defeat their opponents in the final on Sunday.

Manager Pete Nicholson said “This was a feisty encounter with India receiving two yellow cards in the first 20 minutes but our boys kept their discipline and got on with the game and we’re obviously pleased with the result”.

TEAM

Started
Jon Bleby (L’boro Stu & ENGLAND), Matt Daly (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Stephen Dick (Inverleith & SCOTLAND), Ben Hawes (C) (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead & ENGLAND), Glenn Kirkham (East Grinstead & ENGLAND), Richard Mantell (Reading & ENGLAND), Alistair McGregor (GK) (L’boro Stu & SCOTLAND), Barry Middleton (HGC & ENGLAND), Rob Moore (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Mark Ralph (Kelburne & SCOTLAND)

Used Substitutes
Richard Alexander (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Jonty Clarke (Reading & ENGLAND), Simon Mantell (Reading & ENGLAND), Ben Marsden (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Alastair Wilson (Beeston & ENGLAND)

Did Not Play
James Tindall (Surbiton & ENGLAND), James Fair (GK) (Cannock & ENGLAND)

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Saturday 8 March

GREAT BRITAIN	4	(3)
James Tindall 5 (F)
Ashley Jackson 12 (F)
Richard Mantell 22 (PC)
Rob Moore 68 (F)
AUSTRIA	0	(0)
-

Great Britain made it played five won five as they overcame third-placed Austria 4-0, a game which has confirmed India as their opponents in Sunday’s final.  Only one team will qualify from the winner-takes-all match tomorrow evening and GB’s last minute winner on Thursday against their Indian rivals will give them confidence going into the match which starst at 9pm and will be shown live on BBC Interactive.

Despite a bright opening few minutes from Austria, James Tindall made the most of a defensive mistake to open Britain’s account on the 5th minute and seconds later, GB were awarded a penalty stroke which Glenn Kirkham was unable to convert leaving the score at 1-0.  However, East Grinstead teammate Ashley Jackson was able to double Britain’s advantage when he scored with a stunning solo effort on the 12th minute and Richard Mantell made it 3-0 with a successfully converted penalty corner in the 22nd minute.

Only one goal came in the second half and it was a late one with Rob Moore cleaning up a 68th minute deflection which had come off Elma Stremitzer to make it 4-0 at the final whistle.

Manager Pete Nicholson said “Our patience was tested today as our bus was 45 minutes late picking us up from the hotel, but we got here and got on with the game.  We were already through to the final so it was just a case of getting through the match in a professional manner and without any injuries”.  When asked what the feeling in the camp is for tomorrow night’s final against India, he said “There’s a good feeling about the game – this is what we’ve been working so hard for since Manchester (Euorpeans).  We’re ready, and it’s game on.”

TEAM

Started
Jon Bleby (L’boro Stu & ENGLAND), Jonty Clarke (Reading & ENGLAND), Ben Hawes (C) (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Glenn Kirkham (East Grinstead & ENGLAND), Richard Mantell (Reading & ENGLAND), Simon Mantell (Reading & ENGLAND), Ben Marsden (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Alistair McGregor (GK) (L’boro Stu & SCOTLAND), Barry Middleton (HGC & ENGLAND), Rob Moore (Surbiton & ENGLAND), James Tindall (Surbiton & ENGLAND)

Used Substitutes
Richard Alexander (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Stephen Dick (Inverleith & SCOTLAND), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead & ENGLAND), Mark Ralph (Kelburne & SCOTLAND), Alastair Wilson (Beeston & ENGLAND)

Did Not Play
Matt Daly (Surbiton & ENGLAND), James Fair (GK) (Cannock & ENGLAND)

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Sunday 9 March - FINAL
Classification Match

GREAT BRITAIN	2	(2)
Barry Middleton 4 (F)
Richard Mantell 10 (PC)
INDIA	0	(0)
-

It was mission completed in Santiago this evening as Great Britain denied India a place at the Olympic Games for the first time since 1928.  The winning goals came in the first 10 minutes with Barry Middleton and Richard Mantell scoring the goals which booked Britain their tickets to Beijing later this year.

Great Britain got off to a bright start when a nice passing move saw Ashley Jackson set-up Barry Middleton who took advantage of the goalkeeper’s poor positioning to slot home for the opener.  Richard Mantell doubled the advantage when he flicked in a penalty corner from the top of the circle to put a buoyant Britain 2-0 up in just the 10th minute.

India went down to 10 men when Sardar Singh received a yellow card in the 26th minute.  Shortly after they earned their first penalty corner of the match which ‘keeper Alistair McGregor kept out of the goal with a good save and at this stage, India were beginning to creep back into the game with the British defence being called upon on a number of occasions to keep the Indian strikers at bay.

Simon Mantell missed an opportunity to make it 3-0 shortly before half time when his shot from the right was wide of the mark after a good run and the score at the interval remained 2-0.

Britain missed a golden opportunity to go three up just after the break when they twice missed an open goal and were almost punished when India went straight up the other end and earned a penalty corner which McGregor kept out again.

India went down to 10 for the second time in the match when Prabhjot Singh was sent to the sin bin in the 43rd minute but he was not missed with the eight-time Olympic gold medallists upping the pressure as they searched for their first goal of the game.

Jonty Clarke made a nice run and hit the post in the 50th minute.  A marked Middleton tried to get another shot on goal and earned a penalty corner in the process, but the resulting routine came to nothing. 

There were some nervy moments in the 56th minute as India were awarded three penalty corners in succession, but the British defence was equal to any of their attempts on goal.

The boys at the back continued to do their job for the rest of the game and Britain recorded a 2-0 win over India and their second victory over them in four days – but most importantly, they secured their Olympic qualification.

An elated Pete Nicholson (manager) said “We got our just rewards today and the result was the consequence of six months of very hard work and a professional approach to this tournament.  This was always going to be a tough match but the boys worked hard and got exactly what they deserved.  We’re delighted”.

Countries Qualified for 2008 Olympic Games

1. China (Host)
2. Korea (Asian Games Champion)
3. Pakistan (Asian Games bronze medalist, extra quota based upon the WorldHockey team rankings after BDO World Cup 2006)
4. South Africa (Champion of the African Olympic Qualification Tournament)
5. Canada (Champion of the 15th Pan American Games)
6. Netherlands (Champion of the 11th EuroHockey Nations Championship)
7. Spain (Silver medalist of the 11th EuroHockey Nations Championship)
8. Belgium (Bronze medalist 11th  EuroHockey Nations Championship)
9. Australia (Champion of the 5th Oceania Cup)
10. New Zealand (Winner of the  Qualifying Tournament – No. 1)
11. Great Britain (Winner of the Qualifying Tournament – No. 2)
12. Winner of Qualifying Tournament – No. 3 Kakamigahara, Gifu – Japan
    (GER, ITA, JAP, MAL, POL, SWI)

TEAM

Started
Richard Alexander (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Jon Bleby (L’boro Stu & ENGLAND), Jonty Clarke (Reading & ENGLAND), Ben Hawes (C) (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Ashley Jackson (East Grinstead & ENGLAND), Glenn Kirkham (East Grinstead & ENGLAND), Richard Mantell (Reading & ENGLAND), Simon Mantell (Reading & ENGLAND), Alistair McGregor (GK) (L’boro Stu & SCOTLAND), Barry Middleton (HGC & ENGLAND), Alastair Wilson (Beeston & ENGLAND)

Used Substitutes
Matt Daly (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Stephen Dick (Inverleith & SCOTLAND), Ben Marsden (Surbiton & ENGLAND), Rob Moore (Surbiton & ENGLAND), James Tindall (Surbiton & ENGLAND)

Did Not Play
James Fair (GK) (Cannock & ENGLAND), Mark Ralph (Kelburne & SCOTLAND)

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