Reply With QuoteThat's got to be one of the best Welsh sporting results of the twenty first century, well done to all concerned.Originally Posted by Loramski
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Having seen the Glammy and Academy threads being banished to Sludge and Wales Bales' board, I've got my fears for this long running enormo-thread too. Let's see what happens.
Anyway, 8 years after a poorly funded Wales team were playing in the third tier of European hockey, a poorly funded Wales team started their third consecutive top division Euros today with a clash against the World Champions, Germany, in Monchengladbach. 3-1 down going into the final quarter in front of a full house was creditable enough (especially as the Germans had won the corresponding game 8-1 in 2021) but Wales managed to claw their way back into it and came up with a 3-3 draw, ruining countless accumulators in the process (possibly).
France up next. No love lost when they play, my lad got sin-binned against them in '21 for celebrating the winner in a French defender's face (when did that become a rule?). Then the World number one ranked Dutch team in the final group game followed by semis or 5-8th play offs.
Whatever happens it'll have been an adventure. The continued chronic lack of funding, in an increasingly professional sport, means that a fall back down the rankings seems inevitable at some point but the lads battle on and are always a credit to the family and friends who turn out to support them.
That's got to be one of the best Welsh sporting results of the twenty first century, well done to all concerned.
First time I’ve come across this thread and was not aware of whole story, although knew we had improved. Well done for keeping it going and very interesting. Welsh sport needs all the positive PR it can get.
Germany traditionally one of the strongest hockey nations aren't they? Good draw that.
They are back. I moved them temporarily when the board was struggling as they said they may cull old posts.
Thanks. There was another short thread here on their World Cup experience in January if you're interested.
https://www.ccmb.co.uk/showthread.ph...31-Mens-Hockey
I'm flying out in the morning to catch the next three games. Obviously hoping they can build on yesterday's result but no one will be taking them lightly again so it's going to be tough.
They won the World Cup in January, deservedly so too. TOBW's take on it might not be too far off the mark, it was a terrific result.
I remember you mentioning something about that, it's good to have them back.
It's the hope that kills you. After a fantastic draw against Germany the Welsh lads suddenly had to deal with some expectation, for once, as the French were up next in a tricky, but winnable, game. Wales have had the better of them every time over the past 6 years but a slight dip in form and the law of averages did for Wales as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat.
A heavy loss against the Dutch followed. Absolutely no shame in that, the Dutch are World number one and ended up winning this tournament, but it seemed to knock the stuffing out of the lads and a shambolic 4-1 defeat to the bus-parking Austrians left them guaranteed to finish last with one game left.
A lot of these lads got their chance at international level after the 2013 squad imploded in Vienna, now it looked like this squad would do the same 10 years later. A lot of bad feeling and arguments in the changing room after, unheard of in this tight-knit group, but a team meeting later in the day cleared the air.
Spain needed a win in the last game to guarantee a place in the 2025 Euros. Wales only had pride to play for but they showed plenty of that, fighting back from 3-1 down to equalise late on. A draw would've been very creditable but the chance to beat a top ten side was there and they pushed for a winner. Summing up the week, they got caught on the counter-attack and conceded again with 26 seconds left for a 4-3 loss.
A tough week, time will tell what the consequences will be. One lad retired after the last game, a key back-room staff member too. A few more might feel it's time to call it a day soon, especially if they continue to have to fund the programme themselves. It's dawning on them that further progress is impossible without the kind of backing that other teams are getting.
Sports funding in the UK is very much an issue which doesn’t get the attention it should because it’s set up against all but the favoured few - is the issue of funding Welsh hockey part of a UK wide situation or is it strictly a local matter?
I don't know as much about this as I should but my loose understanding is that there's a twofold problem.
Firstly, the money that comes into GB Hockey is almost exclusively filtered into the English set-up. There was a good example of the contrast between the two in the build-up to the Euros when warm-up games were arranged at Bisham Abbey (which is stunning by the way, what's the Welsh equivalent?). While the professional England team were there as part of a preparation camp, the Welsh lads had to take a half day off work then drive down from Cardiff, London or wherever two days in a row and basically step out of their cars and on to the pitch for a hardly surprising arse-whooping. The long-standing Welsh manager left to join the GB (England) set-up a few years ago because they could offer him full-time employment. As proud a Welshman as you could find but it was a no-brainer for him.
The second problem seems to be with the Welsh Hockey organisation itself. The boys were upset and demoralised to find how much they were expected to contribute this season, it felt like a real kick in the teeth considering the progress they've made on the pitch in the past few years. There's talk of Welsh Hockey going bust but, whatever the issues with funding, it's hard to believe they haven't been able to cash in on 3 Euros and a World Cup by sorting out any kind of sponsorship deals. There was a weird incident in India where a guy came over to where a few boys were sitting and said that Drakeford was keeping in touch with their progress and was trying to sort out a deal with Tata Steel but nothing came of it.
I'll try and find out more about the situation when my youngest gets home but I'm certainly under the impression that the boys feel betrayed by the lack of support they get. The sub goalie in India did his ACL out there, only to find the proper insurance wasn't in place and he still hasn't had the surgery on it 6 months on. The team had to book pitches and organise training sessions themselves this summer because the preparation schedule for the Euros was so poor. It's not a good situation and, as I said, it wouldn't surprise me to see more of the squad dropping out if the situation doesn't improve soon.
I know that with UK funding (lottery?) the likes of cycling are doing really well because it’s successful, but sports have to keep on being successful to continue getting the level of funding they want and there are those that have lost their funding cut completely because their standards have dropped from a peak achieved years ago.
This doesn’t sound like that sort of case if Wales are suffering as much as that compared to England. The mention of Drakeford is interesting because, with football and rugby enduring something of a slump at national level, the hockey team is a success story even if the Euros didn’t go as well as hoped - seems tome that the WAG could get involved more in something like this.
I'm aware of the issues regarding lottery funding but I don't know where hockey stands there. England seem to be going from strength to strength for now (they finished runners-up in the Euros) so if funding has been cut to GB hockey it's not them that's suffered.
Drakeford was at a send-off for the boys before the World Cup and one of his sons used to play so I can believe he has a personal interest but I guess minority sports just aren't sexy enough to justify putting public money into them.
For me, the issue of sports funding is an important one. Covid showed Britain up as one of the sick men of Europe. If we cut down on the access to sport, be it in schools, grass roots or elite level, that situation is only going to get worse. If sport becomes more self-funding it's going to become harder for working class people to participate. There are all kinds of long term implications here, not that any politician thinks long term these days.
Both the Welsh hockey teams have qualified for the 2027 Euros in London, the women by finishing second in the B division in Poland while the men won their B division in Porto today by beating Ireland in the final after a shoot-out.
For the men, the week changed in the group game against Scotland when Wales were trailing 2-1 to the better side with only 5 minutes left. The Scottish players and coaches were shouting 'no cards' but one lad didn't get the memo and stupidly got sin-binned for the rest of the game. Wales immediately took their keeper off to give them an 11-9 outfield player advantage and used the extra space available to get an equaliser with 14 seconds left.
The Scots still had a goal difference advantage in the group so Wales needed a big score against Croatia to avoid finishing second and having a harder route to the final. They decided to change the warm-up routine, hoping that a more intense and aggressive session might help them get off to a good start. This seemed to work as they went 7-0 up inside 15 minutes and 12-0 by half time before winning 14-0 to give them the group.
A routine 5-0 win against Italy in the semi final ensured qualification for the next Euros, the final win against a higher ranked Ireland side was reward for a strong finish to the tournament.
Credit to the team for punching above their weight yet again despite a chronic lack of funding. They were invited to an excellent tournament in Malaysia earlier in the year but had to pay around a grand each to compete, nearly doubling the amount they have to pay already.
A former GB captain tagged along for coaching experience in Malaysia and was staggered by the lack of funding. He was only there as a one-off but cleared his diary to get out to Porto as well. Hopefully he can use his contacts to push for some sponsorship, especially after the success of both Welsh teams this week.
The coach of England and GB is now a Welshman but any hopes that he might help divert some of the lottery funding from England to Wales (and Scotland) instead seem to be wishful thinking. He tried to poach Wales' best player for England but the lad (who was with City's academy a decade or so ago) turned him down despite the big financial difference it would've made to him. He was out in Porto winning the Player of the Tournament award. Top man.
Your post is part heart warming and part sad. I reckon the lack of sponsorship is partly down to not enough people knowing about both teams’ achievements. It probably won’t help at all, but I’ll put your message in my blog piece for yesterday’s game - you never know, someone who could help in some way might get to read it.
Thank you, appreciate it. Nice day for me yesterday, watched City then got home to watch a stream of the final from Porto so it was a good afternoon.
Your post is part heart warming and part sad. I reckon the lack of sponsorship is partly down to not enough people knowing about both teams’ achievements. It probably won’t help at all, but I’ll put your message in my blog piece for yesterday’s game - you never know, someone who could help in some way might get to read it.
Tinged with frustration too, it's a farcical situation. That the lottery money going into the sport is mostly filtered to England/GB is not only unfair but will increasingly be used as a 'bribe' to poach our best players to play for England. With the money the lads are paying out now it would be hard to blame any of them if they succumb to the temptation.
Interestingly, from what I gather, the current England/GB set up is fractious and full of cliques while Wales are as tight-knit a group as you could imagine, on and off the pitch. The underdog mentality drives them on but it shouldn't be like this, surely.
Anyway, looking forward to see what you made of the City game. Promising start I thought.
I won't include what you say about the England coach and or about hoe lottery funding is allocated unless you me know you're okay with that - I can always add it in later if you're happy for it to be included.
No, probably best not to mention it. It's Chinese whispers up to a point (although I don't doubt any of it) and the England coach is as a good a man as you could find. A proud Welshman with over 100 caps who started this Welsh revival by bringing in youngsters 11 years ago (five of whom were playing yesterday) and creating a culture that still thrives to this day.
He's helped to bring Welsh lads into the GB set up (three made the Olympics last year) and, as far as I can make out, is nothing but a victim of circumstance in all this so I wouldn't want to be associated with any criticism of him.
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