The first two of the four EHL FINAL8 tickets on offer this weekend will be determined on Friday at Real Club de Polo after four decisive wins on Saturday in the KO16.
Saint Ger return in style
Three first half goals saw Saint Germain return to the EHL in style after a four-year break to defeat Slavia Prague 3-1 in the opening EHL Men KO16 game of the weekend.
Saint Ger got off to the dream start with a fourth minute goal with Thomas Assoignon’s penalty corner shot taking a heavy deflection to find the net.
Thomas Assoignon of Saint Germain HC celebrates after scoring the team’s first goal. Picture: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics
The second goal was more routine, Assoignon’s disguised push going down the barrel for François Goyet to deflect into the roof of the goal.And they were three to the good when Keenan Horne burst free down the right wing and squared for Blaise Rogeau who slammed home a shot for 3-0 at half-time.
The French side stayed clear by that margin all the way until a minute from the end when František Toms profited from a bizarre goalkeeping error, finishing off the simplest of chances.
Craig in red-hot form for Polo
Tom Craig inspired Hamburger Polo Club as they roared back from a goal down to defeat Wimbledon 4-2, setting up a KO8 date with Saint Germain on Friday. His raw speed and decisive passes were big factors for Polo as they proved too strong in the final reckoning for the English side who fought all the way.
The Londoners, indeed, took the lead in the ninth minute when Louis Tipper cleaned up off the pads from close range for a dramatic opening goal. Then Toby Reynolds-Cotterill made a string of big saves from Polo corners as the German side initially found it tough to break through.
Luca Müller leads the Hamburger Polo Club team talk. Picture: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics
They did get on terms midway through the second quarter when Lukas Kossel was deemed to get the last touch from Tim Brand’s whack across the face of goal.
It had also gone in off a defensive foot which initially had umpire Sarah Wilson pointing for a penalty corner but she correctly self-reviewed and the ball had cross over the line before her whistle, allowing her to award the goal.
Into the second half, the German side adjusted their corner routines and it allowed Kane Russell the extra avenues to find the net, doing so twice in quick succession in the third quarter.
Paul Smith then made the result safe when he latched onto Craig’s glorious pass after a speedy run down the left. Kei Kaeppeler pulled one back with an emphatic shot to cut the gap but Polo held out a couple of late corners to secure their place in the KO8.
Boon up to second on-time list
Tom Boon’s four goals in the first 18 minutes saw Royal Léopold advance to the KO8 with something to spare as they knocked out Austria’s HC Wien. In the end, the star forward ended with six goals, moving him up to second place in the all-time EHL goalscoring list on 37 ahead of Marco Miltkau who has 35 and within 13 of leader Jeroen Hertzberger.
It took just 58 seconds for the striker to get his first, dusting himself off after he was fouled to score a penalty stroke for 1-0. The second was via a lovely interchange with Tanguy Zimmer and then he added two penalty corner drag-flicks to make it 4-0.
Tom Boon scores one of his six goals. Picture: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics
Gaspard Baumgarten’s beautiful shot extended the advantage further and José Basterra added one more before half-time for a six-goal lead.The third quarter was scoreless before Léo clicked back into action with Boon scoring a stroke in between two further goals from Baumgarten.
The biggest cheer came from the sizeable Wien crowd when Franz Lindengrün got his side on the board but late goals from Basterra, Boon and Alejandro Alonso completed the 13-1 success.
Composed Campo advance
Club de Campo de Madrid are through to the KO8 as they put together a composed win over French side CAM 92, putting them through to a battle with Royal Léopold on Friday evening.
Daniel Schellinger’s goal in the first half broke the resistance of CAM late in the first half after a superb backs-to-the-wall performance in which Marius Clément was immense.
It came from a corner that was initially repelled by Thijs van Pelt recovered the ball and fired it across goal where Schellinger was waiting for a simple tap-in. Enrique Zorita’s drag-flick soon after the big break then gave the Spanish side an extra advantage from which they held on.
CAM 92 did throw everything forward in the closing quarter but they found few openings from the Spanish defence.
Friday schedule
At 13.30 CET, Saint Germain are bidding to reach the last eight for the third time when they take on Hamburger Polo Club in the KO8.
And then at 18.00, Club de Campo de Madrid are up against Royal Léopold in the KO8. The day begins with SK Slavia Prague facing Wimbledon at 11.15 CET and CAM 92 play HC Wien at 15.45 CET in the Ranking Matches.
