Rotweiss Wettingen and hosts TJ Plzeň-Litice face a title showdown on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Trophy after a day of high drama in Czechia.
Earlier, Plzeň won a big tussle against Western Wildcats 5-3 to confirm their place in the top four, a result built on a strong first half where they led 3-1.
It meant they joined OKS SHVSM Vinnitsa in advancing as the Ukrainian side proved too strong for Copenhagen HC with doubles from Volodymyr Kaplinskyi and Maksym Onofriiuk.
Those results also condemned both Scotland and Denmark’s national champions to play next year in the third tier of indoor club competition next season with the realignment of divisions meaning the bottom four will go down next term.
In Pool A, Rotweiss serenely moved onto the winners pool with a 17-1 win over Roslagens but it was a far more dramatic journey for AD Lousada.
Needing a win, they held the advantage from early on against Three Rock Rovers, 2-0 at the end of Q1, 3-1 at half-time and 4-2 after Q3. But the Irish side – who only needed a draw – cut the gap to 6-5 with 30 seconds to go and then won a penalty stroke with one second on the board.
That was missed, however, and the Portugal champions qualified while Three Rock joined the sides in the relegation zone.
In that bottom pool, Copenhagen got their first win with an 11-6 win over Roslagens while Western came from 2-1 down to defeat Three Rock 9-2.
From the winners pool, the top two will earn promotion and Plzeň were the first to make their mark with a cracking 4-3 victory over Lousada.
It was nip and tuck throughout with the Czechia side leading via Eduard Gerlický in Q1 and then again in Q3 2-1 when Ondřej Sochor scored to annul a Ricardo Teixeira goal.
Two José Santos strokes swapped the lead in the 36th minute in Lousada’s favour but, bouyed by the home support, the hosts summoned ripostes from captain Adam Uhlíř, his second on the final hooter making it 5-4.
In addition to an earlier draw against OKS SHVSM Vinnitsa, it lifted them to seven points. Rotweiss joined them there – and with a better goal difference – when they also drew with Vinnista.
Michel Morard had Rotweiss in the ascendancy from a corner; OKS turned it around via Onofriiuk and Oleksandr Solomianyi to lead in the 24th minute. But Max Fischbach and Yves Morard twisted the score back in Wettingen’s favour at 3-2.
Volodymyr Kaplinskyi equalised with eight minutes left, leaving both sides to settle for a draw. For the Ukraine club, they have four points and so will need a win over Lousada to have a chance of grabbing a promotion place.
** To follow the scores from the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Trophy, click here: https://eurohockey.altiusrt.com/competitions/324
