Three sides recorded 8-1 victories in a goal filled day of action in Round 1a of the Euro Hockey League. The second day of competition saw impressive wins for Club Egara, HC Bloemendaal and Amsterdam H&BC, as world class players performed to the best of their ability.
FIH World player of the Year nominee Pol Amat was in sensational form for his new team, guiding Spain's Club Egara to a stunning 8-1 triumph over KS Pocztowiec Poznan of Poland. Amat tore his opponents apart, putting in a performance that saw him score twice and assist in three other goals. Guillermo ÔÇ£WillyÔÇØ Schickendantz also contributed heavily, scoring a superb hat trick. The result put both Egara and rival pool B team Der Club an der Alster through to the second round despite both teams having only played one of their two pool matches.
The second match of the day saw Dutch champions HC Bloemendaal and their star duo of Teun de Nooijer and Jamie Dwyer in scintillating form, with both players getting on the score sheet in their 8-1 victory over Dinamo Kazan of Russia. Olmer Meijer scored twice early on, before Dwyer (2) and de Nooijer took the score to 5-0 at half time. A second half hat trick from Ronald Brouwer completed Bloemendaal's scoring, with Alexey Meyorov scoring a consolation goal for Kazan. Bloemendaal have qualified for round 2 with Cannock, and the two will meet each other in the competition on Sunday.
In the other two matches, two goals each from Taeke Taekema and Santi Freixa helped host club Amsterdam H&BC to a great win over Grunwald Poznan, while Italy's HC Bra were eliminated from the competition when they fell to defeat against Dusseldorfer HC of Germany.
The event, taking place at Amsterdam H&BC in The Netherlands, runs until Sunday, with Round 1b taking place in Lille next weekend. For extended match reports and tournament information please visit the Euro Hockey League website: www.ehlhockey.tv. We are pleased to announce that matches will now be streamed live on the website, allowing you to watch the matches on line as they happen.
Round 1a - Amsterdam H&BC, 24-26 October 2008
Match Schedule and results
Friday 24 October 2008
Pool A - KS Pocztowiec Poznan v Der Club an der Alster: 0-3 (0-2)
Pool D - Cannock HC v Dinamo 5-4 (3-3)
Pool C - Olimpia Kolos Sekvoia v WKS Grunwald Poznan 2-5 (1-2)
Pool B - HC Bra v St Germain 1-3 (0-2)
Saturday 25 October 2008
Pool A - Club Egara v KS Pocztowiec Poznan 8-1 (5-0)
Pool D - Dinamo Kazan v HC Bloemendaal 1-8 (0-5)
Pool C - WKS Grunwald Poznan v Amsterdam H&BC 1-8 (1-3)
Pool B Dusseldorfer HC v HC Bra 4-2 (2-1)
Sunday 26 October
Pool A - Der Club an der Alster v Club Egara - 10:30hrs
Pool C - Amsterdam H&BC v Olimpia Kolos Sekvoia - 12:30hrs
Pool D - HC Bloemendaal v Cannock HC - 14.30hrs
Pool B - St Germain v Dusseldorfer HC - 16.30hrs
