Rain, wind & hail could not stop an enthusiastic capacity crowd from watching in awe as the world's best hockey players turned on the style at Euro Hockey League’s KO16 Rotterdam event. The second day of competition day saw the completion of the Quarter Final line-up, with Atlétic Terrassa (ESP), H.C. Rotterdam (NED), Bloemendaal (NED) and UHC Hamburg (GER) joining Amsterdam H&BC (NED), Rot-Weiss Köln (GER), RC Polo (ESP) and KHC Leuven (BEL) in the last eight of the competition.
Atletic hang on for victory despite late Grunwald fight-back
Spain’s Atlétic Terrassa reached the Quarter Finals of the Euro Hockey League with a narrow 4-3 victory over WKS Grunwald Poznan of Poland. Two strikes Ignasi Freixa as well as goals from Ignasi Guerrero and legendary Spanish defender Xavi Ribas were enough to seal victory for Atlétic, who managed to hang on to their advantage despite a late fight-back from the Polish outfit.
Man of the Match presented by ABN AMRO: Ignasi Freixa – Atlétic Terrassa HC
H.C. Rotterdam prove too good for Club Egara
Dutch international striker Jeroen Hertzberger scored the winning goal as H.C. Rotterdam reached the Quarter Finals for the third successive time by defeating Spain’s Club Egara 2-1. Rotterdam were deserving winners of the contest, having dominated large periods of the game. The Dutch club took the lead thanks to a goal from Rotterdam captain Willem Hertzberger before Eduard Arbos levelled the scores just before the end of the first period. However, Jeroen Hertzberger’s penalty stroke in the second quarter proved to be the winning goal. The host club will now face a second Spanish team in the Quarter Finals, with Atlétic Terrassa being their Quarter Final opponents on Monday.
Man of the Match presented by ABN AMRO: Ryan Archibald – H.C. Rotterdam
Brilliant Bloemendaal destroy Alster
Reigning Euro Hockey League champions HC Bloemendaal produced a simply magnificent display of attacking hockey to crush Germany’s Der Club an der Alster 6-2 in front of a huge crowd, sealing their place in the EHL Quarter Finals. Teun de Nooijer was the star of the show with a brilliant goal and a number of assists, while WorldHockey Player of the Year Jamie Dwyer and Ronald Brouwer also added their names to the score-sheet with spectacular strikes.
Man of the Match presented by ABN AMRO: Teun de Nooijer – HC Bloemendaal
Waterloo Ducks hit for six by UHC Hamburg
UHC Hamburg recorded a 6-2 win against Belgium’s Waterloo Ducks, a result that sets up a dream Quarter Final between the 2008 Euro Hockey League champions and current title holders HC Bloemendaal on Monday. Teenage strikers Ricardo Nevado – brother of Olympic Gold Medalist Carlos – and Marco Miltkau both scored two goals, with Patrick Breitenstein and Jonas Fürste also getting their name on the score-sheet. Following Bloemendaal’s magnificent performance in the previous game, many were watching closely to see if the Dutch giants would have serious opposition in their next match, but an outstanding performance from UHC Hamburg suggests that Monday’s contest – a rematch of the of the 2008 final – could be a game to remember.
Man of the Match presented by ABN AMRO: Ricardo Nevado – UHC Hamburg
The Euro Hockey League website is providing extensive online coverage of the tournament, including free Live Streaming and video highlights of every single game. To find out more information and watch match videos from the first two days, visit www.ehlhockey.tv
The Euro Hockey League Quarter Final line-up
Sunday 4 April 2010
12:00 (CEST) – RC Polo Barcelona (ESP) v Rot-Weiss Köln (GER)
14:30 - Amsterdam H&BC (NED) v KHC Leuven (BEL)
Monday 5th April 2010
12:00 – H.C. Rotterdam (NED) v Atlétic Terrassa (ESP)
14:30 – HC Bloemendaal (NED) v UHC Hamburg (GER)
All times listed are local (Central European Standard Time)
