Vienna witnessed an incredible 91 goals in eight games with hosts AHTC scoring a massive 26 to kickstart the women’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Challenge I.
The festival began with the first of two matches which ended 9-8 with KPH Rača holding off Ukimerioni Kutaisi. The first half ended 3-3 before a run of five goals in four minutes for Rača put daylight between the teams at 8-4.
** Pictures by Edith Führing
And their ninth goal in the 31st minute – a seventh for Karolína Vyskočová – proved just enough to get them the win despite three goals in the closing stages from Daria Sherstiuk.
Eve Verzura was the Iris Hockey Lambersart star as her four goals helped them secure a 6-3 win against Partille, crucially sealing the victory with two in the last couple of minutes.
Pool A began with a similar bang with Bulgaria’s FHC Akademik Plus Sofia with a 4-3 success over Swansea. It was tit-for-tat throughout, going level at 1-1 and 2-2 before Polin Mikova and Ekaterina Petkova swung the result their way.
AHTC entered the fray with a 9-1 win against Copenhagen with Tessa von Velsen getting four of them and she would score six more against Swansea in the evening session in a 17-0 win. It pretty much assures them of a place in the promotion pool.
Copenhagen bounced back with a 6-2 win over Akademik, kicked off by Matilde Christensen with two first half goals. It sets up an important battle for the Danish side against Swansea on Saturday while Akademik will hope to tame the AHTC attack.
Back in Pool B, a late goal from Lenka Horáčková earned Rača a 3-3 draw against Lambersart. The result has the French side top on the group on seven points on goal difference ahead of the Slovaks.
The other tie saw Kutaisi make a couple of big comebacks from 3-1 down and 8-6 with just over 10 minutes to go before snatching the 9-8 win, Viktoriia Mazurkeych netting two in the closing quarter to land the five points.
It puts them on six points with all to play for when they face Lambersart and Rača play Partille.
Women’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Challenge I – day one results
| Teams | Title | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| RAČA – KUTAISI | Pool B | 9 – 8 |
| LAMBERSART – PARTILLE | Pool B | 6 – 3 |
| SWANSEA – AKADEMIK | Pool A | 3 – 4 |
| AHTCWIEN – COPENHAGEN | Pool A | 9 – 1 |
| KUTAISI – PARTILLE | Pool B | 9 – 8 |
| LAMBERSART – RAČA | Pool B | 3 – 3 |
| COPENHAGEN – AKADEMIK | Pool A | 6 – 2 |
| SWANSEA – AHTCWIEN | Pool A | 0 – 17 |
Pool A
| Rank | Team | Pl | W | D | L | Goal Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AHTC Wien (AUT) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 10 |
| 2 | FHC Akademik Plus Sofia (BUL) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 5 |
| 3 | Copenhagen HC (DEN) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -4 | 5 |
| 4 | Swansea HC (WAL) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -18 | 1 |
Pool B
| Rank | Team | Pl | W | D | L | Goal Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iris Hockey Lambersart (FRA) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | KPH Rača (SVK) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | Ukimerioni Kutaisi (GEO) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Partille SC (SWE) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 1 |
Saturday schedule
| Time | Teams | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | RAČA – PARTILLE | Pool B |
| 10:20 | KUTAISI – LAMBERSART | Pool B |
| 11:40 | COPENHAGEN – SWANSEA | Pool A |
| 13:00 | AHTCWIEN – AKADEMIK | Pool A |
| 16:00 | 4th Pool A – 4th Pool B | Pool C |
| 17:20 | 3rd Pool A – 3rd Pool B | Pool C |
| 18:40 | 2nd Pool A – 2nd Pool B | Pool D |
| 20:00 | 1st Pool A – 1st Pool B | Pool D |
