The first weekend of the 2013-14 Euro Hockey League season has drawn to a close in Barcelona, where a total of eight teams sealed berths at next Easter’s magnificent KO16 tournament in The Netherlands.
Polish champions WKS Grunwald Poznan and KHC Dragons of Belgium claimed the two remaining KO16 places on offer at the event in Spain, defeating Kelburne (SCO) and Dinamo Kazan (RUS) respectively.
They joined Harvestehuder (GER), Beeston (ENG), RC Polo (ESP), Surbiton (ENG), Oranje Zwart (NED) and Club de Campo (ESP) as confirmed participants at KO16, with a further eight places up for grabs at the upcoming Round 1.2 tournament in Lille, France.
Here is a quick summary of the action.
Pool D: Körper inspires Harvestehuder fight-back against Beeston
Germany’s Harvestehuder THC overturned a two goal deficit to claim a superb 3-2 victory over English champions Beeston in the first match of the day.
Austrian goal-machine Michael Körper was the star of the show, netting a penalty corner and a brilliant field goal to help the team from Hamburg claim their second win in two days.
The result means that Harvestehuder will go into the draw for KO16 as the winners of Pool D, subsequently avoiding the winners of the other pools in EHL Round 2.
KO16 Qualifiers from Pool D – 1st: Harvestehuder THC (GER), 2nd: Beeston HC (ENG)
Pool E: Padros double sinks Surbiton
In what was the 250th match in Euro Hockey League history, Spanish champions and local boys Real Club de Polo de Barcelona proved themselves to be too good for England’s Surbiton, cruising to a 3-0 win in a fiery Pool E encounter.
Roger Padros netted twice to help his team to victory and seal a first place finish in the pool ahead of their English rivals and fellow KO16 qualifiers.
Padros took his weekend tally to four goals following a double strike against Austria’s SV Arminen on Saturday.
KO16 Qualifiers from Pool E – 1st: RC Polo (ESP). 2nd: Surbiton HC (ENG)
Pool G: Mikula hat-trick sends Grunwald through to KO16
Veteran Poland striker Artur Mikula rolled back the years as WKS Grunwald Poznan sealed their place at Easter’s KO16 event with a thoroughly deserved 4-1 triumph over Scottish champions Kelburne KC.
The hugely gifted 35-year-old scored three times to confirm Grunwald’s place as runners up behind Oranje Zwart (NED) in Pool G, with Tomasz Dutkiewicz also on target for the champions of Poland.
KO16 Qualifiers from Pool G – 1st: Oranje Zwart (NED). 2nd: WKS Grunwald Poznan (POL)
Pool F: Dragons overcome Kazan to reach knock-out stages
2012-13 EHL Silver medallists secured their place at KO16 thanks to a 3-0 victory over Russian champions Dinamo Kazan in the final match of the weekend.
A stunning solo goal from Spaniard Alvaro Iglesias got the ball rolling before Loick Luypaert and a late strike from Louis Rombouts ensured that the brilliant Belgians would feature in the knock-out stages.
The Dragons victory sealed a second place finish in Pool F ahead of their Russian counterparts, with Spain’s Club de Campo finishing top of the pile courtesy of their victory over the Belgians on Saturday.
KO16 Qualifiers from Pool F – 1st: Club de Campo (ESP). 2nd: KHC Dragons (BEL)
The second phase of EHL Round 1 takes place in less than two weeks’ time at Lille MHC in France, where a further 12 teams will be fighting out for the remaining eight KO16 berths. Some of Europe's biggest clubs will be in action in Lille, including Jeroen Hertzberger’s H.C. Rotterdam (NED), EHL ever-presents Reading HC (ENG) and Germany’s Rot-Weiss Köln, a team blessed with the considerable goal scoring talents of double Olympic Gold medallist Christopher Zeller.
More information about the Euro Hockey League can be found on www.ehlhockey.tv.
Source: Euro Hockey League.
