Day 2 of Euro Hockey League Round 1.2 saw the home team in action for the first time, and a good sized crowd turned out to cheer them to a 4-2 victory over CA Montrouge.
The day also saw Bloemendaal break the record for biggest ever Euro Hockey League win with a 12-0 victory over Belarusians SC Stroitel Brest, with 2010 FIH Player of the Year nominee Teun de Nooijer scoring twice. It was enough to see them reach the knock-out stages of the competition.
They will be joined by East Grinstead who also record a big win, with reigning FIH Young Player of the Year Ashley Jackson netting a brace of penalty corners in an 8-1 win over Scottish champions Kelburne HC. Ireland's Glenanne kept their EHL dream alive with a superb draw against Polish champions WKS Grunwald Poznan.
The final day of Round 1 action takes place on Sunday, and it promises to be a belter. Germany's Mannheimer take on Grunwald Poznan before host club Atletic Terrassa do battle with England's Beeston. Bloemendaal and Reading then take to the field for what should be a fantastic game, with East Grinstead and RC Polo being the final match of the day. The victors of each game will confirm their place as Pool winners. More information about the tournament can be found on www.ehlhockey.tv.
Glenanne keep KO16 dream alive with Grunwald draw
Ireland's Glenanne produced a fighting display in the first game of day two here in Terrassa, holding Polish champions WKS Grunwald to a 2-2 draw.
Glenanne took an early lead when Gary Shaw produced a cool flicked finish in the first quarter of the match, with Grunwald netting an equalizer shortly after half time thanks to penalty corner expert Tomasz Dutkiewicz. However, the Dubliners re-established the advantage thanks to superb deflection from Michael McGuiness before Dutkiewicz rescued his team in the fourth quarter with another powerful penalty corner flick.
The result keeps alive their dreams of reaching KO16, with the qualifying teams from Pool G now being decided by Sunday's meeting between Grunwald and Germany's Mannheimer. A win or a draw for the Poles would be good enough to see them through, but a defeat by more than one goal would see the Irishmen reach the knock-out stages for the first time.
Montrouge eliminated by Freixa's Atl├®tic
Atl├®tic Terrassa turned on the style to thrill the home crowd with a 4-2 triumph over French champions CA Montrouge to book their place at KO16 after just one match.
The many spectators in the venue created a fantastic atmosphere as goals from Litus Ballbe, Inyaki Freixa (2) and Florian Michel gave the home side victory.
The result means that Atletic Terrassa and Beeston are the two KO16 qualifiers from Pool C, with the two teams playing against each other to decide who will win the Pool. For Montrouge, defeat spells the end of their campaign in this season's Euro Hockey League
Record-breaking Bloemendaal ease past Stroitel Brest
HC Bloemendaal made their title intentions clear with a crushing 12-0 victory against SC Stroitel Brest of Belarus. The result broke two Euro Hockey League match records, with the Dutch champions now holding the record for most goals scored and biggest winning margin.
There were no fewer than eight different goal scorers for Bloemendaal, with Ronald Brouwer (3), Teun de Nooijer (2), Olmer Meijer (2), Nick Meijer, Wouter Jolie, Rik van Kan, Rogier Hofman and Roel Bovendeert all registering.
The result confirms that HC Bloemendaal and Reading HC will go through to KO16 from Pool A, with Stroitel Brest being eliminated from the tournament. Bloemendaal and Reading will play on Sunday to decide which team will win the Pool.
Kelburne crushed by glorious Grinstead
A devastating display of attacking hockey in the first quarter saw East Grinstead effectively win the match inside 15 minutes as the English champions powered to an 8-1 triumph against Scotland's Kelburne.
East Grinstead opened up a 4-0 lead with 1st period strikes from Darren Cheesman, Mark Pearn, Mats Grambusch and reigning FIH Young Player of the Year Ashley Jackson to kill of quickly kill off the challenge from the Scottish champions, before South Africa international Gareth Carr netted a fifth just before half time. Jackson added a sixth goal in the third quarter before his brother Wesley completed a family hat-trick from open play in the fourth. Kelburne forced an own goal from the stick of Adamson Harper, but Grinstead grabbed an eighth goal thanks to another blistering penalty corner flick from Gareth Carr.
The result is enough to send East Grinstead through to KO16, but their hopes of topping Pool D rest on the outcome of their match with RC Polo. Kelburne can still qualify for the knock-out stages provided East Grinstead defeat RC Polo by more than seven goals, which may be unlikely as RC Polo will be fresh legged and full of running in Sunday's encounter.
