Author Archives: thetopofthed

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About thetopofthed

Columnist for The Hockey Paper and the man behind The Top of the D. Writer, podcaster, goalkeeper and BBC Sport man. Used to work for Great Britain Hockey and have covered the sport at every major tournament.

Scotland bounce back to take first win at Champions Challenge I.

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Nikki Lloyd, the Scotland and Canterbury star has enjoyed a fantastic season at club level, playing a pivotal role in her side finishing top of the league and securing European qualification for next season. She also grabbed a much-coveted place in The Top of the D’s Team of the Season!
Lloyd and her partner in crime, Nikki Kidd missed the domestic playoffs as they were preparing for a big summer of hockey for Scotland, starting with the Champions Challenge I and then the Commonwealth Games. Rather than me writing about the competition, I asked the 27-year-old if she’d be willing to contribute some thoughts to the site instead. So here, without further ado is her version of the win over India. Enjoy!   Continue reading →

Euro Hockey League Final: MHC Oranje Zwart 2-2 THC Harvestehuder. (1-3 after shootout.)

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2014-04-21 16.35.58A stunning goalkeeping display from Tobias Walter made the difference as THC Harvestehuder, in their debut season in the Euro Hockey League held their nerve to overcome the home side MHC Oranje Zwart in a tense shootout.
The two sides had played out a keenly contested 2-2 draw during the 70 minutes, with Walter excelling to keep his side in the game before pulling off a wonderful save from Sander Baart in the shootout to allow Michael Korper to seal the win with a calmly taken finish.

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Mink van der Weerden: More than just penalty corners.

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Oranje Zwart were crowned Dutch Champions for only the second time in their history just last weekend. They won their two playoff games against HC Rotterdam to reach the final stage where again, over two games, they saw off the challenge of HC Bloemendaal. A constant feature in the playoffs, and indeed the whole season was the importance of the goals scored by Mink van der Weerden. Continue reading →

Richie Dawson-Smith: Flying the flag for England.

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The Euro Hockey League KO16 competition may not have gone according to plan for the three English sides as Reading, Beeston and Surbiton all crashed out on the same day in their first game of the week. Despite this, there is still some English interest in the competition as we approach tomorrow’s final: Former England U21 star Richie Dawson-Smith will line up for THC Harvestehuder against MHC Oranje Zwart. Continue reading →