Men’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Challenge I (Sofia, Bulgaria)
Inverleith and HC Bra hold the aces after day one of the men’s Club Challenge I in Sofia after they recorded back-to-back wins on day one. Both are assured of a place in the promotion pool with a game to go in the initial group phase.
** Click here for more all the statistics from day one
Here’s a round-up from day one:
Morning session
Pool A
FHC Slavia 1921 struck twice in a manic closing minute to equalise two times, denying Cardiff & Met victory as both sides were to settle for a 5-5 draw.
The Welsh side raced into a 2-0 lead but were pegged back to 2-2 in Q2. Matt Dicker’s second of the game and a Matty George goal nudged them back in front at 4-3 with less than 60 seconds to play when Kaloyan Atanasov equalised for 4-4.
Leo Norwood restored the lead immediately but Martin Momchilov snatched one back on the final hooter for a memorable tie.
HC Bra were the big winners of the morning session, defeating KPH Rača 11-1 with hat tricks from Dario Saoncella and Simone Ghiglia.
Pool B
Inverleith and Soroksári picked up big wins over Širvintos and Triglav Predanovci, respectively, and make their mark on the morning session.
For the Scottish side, Charlie Jack scored a hat trick with captain Kyle Taylor getting two as they beat their Lithuanian opponent 7-0.
Soroksári from Hungary were 6-1 victors over Triglav with the goals shared between Imre Farkas, Martin and Alexián Csögör and Adam Losonci.
Evening session
Pool A
Cardiff & Met ended the day with two draws to their name while KPH Rača bounced back from their opening defeat to get their first points with a 3-3 result. The latter nudged 2-1 in front early in Q3 via Tomáš Vacha and Michal Blažovský with the latter also making it 3-2 with seven minutes left but Cardiff’s Hugo Corteen-Coleman levelled.
Bra then made it two wins from two to guarantee their place in the promotion pool as they swept past the challenge of hosts FHC Slavia 1921 12-4.
They led from the outset with three unanswered first quarter goals before Slavia went on a run of their own, equalising at 3-3 only for Bra to end the first half 6-3 ahead.
It was 7-3 going into Q4 before Bra raced away, Nicholas Chesa scoring four and Simone Ghiglia getting a hat trick.
Pool B
Širvintos bounced back from their morning defeat to win 4-3 against Triglav Predanovci with Darius Jackevičius’s hat trick in the first half the key impact. It helped build a 4-2 lead at the main break and while Davorin Škrilec got one back, the Lithuanian side held on for the points.
Inverleith moved into pole position overnight when they defeated Soroksári 6-4 with Kyle Taylor and Keir Robb providing the crucial goals. Prior to that, it was level four times with the Hungarian side edging in front 4-3 early in the second half before the game’s defining moment.
Taylor scored twice in a minute to swap the lead around and then Robb completed his hat trick to give extra breathing room. The Scottish side are assured of a place in the promotion pool as a result.
Results:
13 Feb
| Time | Teams | Title | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | INVERLEITH – SIRVINTOS | Pool B | 7 – 0 |
| 10:50 | SOROKSARI – PREDANOVCI | Pool B | 6 – 1 |
| 12:10 | RAČA – HCBRA | Pool A | 1 – 11 |
| 13:30 | CARDIFFMET – SLAVIA1921 | Pool A | 5 – 5 |
| 15:30 | PREDANOVCI – SIRVINTOS | Pool B | 3 – 4 |
| 16:50 | INVERLEITH – SOROKSARI | Pool B | 6 – 4 |
| 18:10 | CARDIFFMET – RAČA | Pool A | 3 – 3 |
| 19:30 | HCBRA – SLAVIA1921 | Pool A | 12 – 4 |
