EuroHockey Club Trophy II Men (Rome, Italy)
Three goals in the last eight minutes from Grasshopper Club Zürich saw them land the men’s EuroHockey Club Trophy II in Rome as they defeated HK Zelina 3-0 in the decider.
In a tense encounter, there was nothing to separate the sides for the first 52 minutes until Craig Turner finally found the breakthrough for the Swiss side.
Argentine Olympian Nahuel Salis then added two more goals in quick succession to put Grasshopper three clear and en route to glory.
“We are very happy to win this tournament,” said team captain Timon Unger, hailing its wider significance.
“With this win we secure the EHL spot and promotion back to Trophy I for Switzerland. It was our big goal to win this and we made it with a solid defence over the whole tournament.
“This team performance can give us a great boost for the final weeks in the national championship. Thanks to Tevere for the organization, it was a great tournament and it was a pleasure to be there.”
HC Bra won a feisty Italian derby to win bronze ahead of hosts ASD Tevere EUR and take bronze in a shoot-out after normal time ended 4-4.
Bra made the early running, building a 3-1 lead midway through Q2 with Andrii Koshelenko scoring a hat trick.
Tevere, however, responded in kind with Felix Dionisi Vici scoring twice before half-time and then Mariano Gonzalez scored in both the 52nd and 53rd minutes for a 4-3 lead.
Priyesh Bhana, however, replied for Bra to send the game to a shoot-out where Francesco Padovani kept out four efforts while goals from Simone Raimo and Koshelenko earned a 2-1 succss.
Casa Pia won the fifth place playoff when they defeated Slagelse in a shoot-out. Normal time ended 1-1 with Laurentius Esterhues and Hector Nørgaard exchanging goals in the last eight minutes; in the shoot-out, the Portugal side won 4-3 in sudden death.
Player of the tournament: Andrii Koshelenko (HC Bra)
Top goalscorer: Andrii Koshelenko (HC Bra)
Best goalkeeper: Philipp Nitsch (Grasshopper Club Zürich)
Final rankings:
1. Grasshopper Club Zürich (SUI)
2. HK Zelina (CRO)
3. HC Bra (ITA)
4. ASD Tevere EUR (ITA)
5. Casa Pia Atlético Clube (POR)
6. Slagelse HC (DEN)
7. Selçuklu Belediye SK (TUR)
