FHC Slavia 1921 will be the Bulgarian hosts as they welcome the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Challenge I in Sofia this weekend.
It follows the classic format with two groups of four with the top two going into the promotion pool and the bottom two in the relegation battle. All the sides are hoping to finish in the top two overall to earn a spot in the Trophy for their nation next season.
** Click here to follow the latest scores from Friday until Sunday
Pool A
Cardiff & Met (WAL)
The regular Welsh indoor national championship winners won both the national league and national cup and followed that up with some consolidatory training sessions. Though a couple of players have played in this tournament previously, they have a very young and eager side.
This squad also forms the outdoor team linked with the university at Cardiff Metropolitan – they have recently secured a playoff spot to get promoted to the highest division of University hockey in the UK.
They have been busy fundraising to be part of this competition which they have played in nine times since 2013 with their third place in 2020 – also in Bulgaria – their best performance. Last year, they ended fourth in Puconci, defeating the runners-up Three Rock Rovers.
FHC Slavia 1921 (BUL)
This year, FHC Slavia 1921 (pictured above) celebrates its ninth birthday during which time they have been champions seven times and five times in a row. The team has a symbiosis between experience and youth, as they have players with over 10 Euro indoor club events.
Coach Mr. Stefan Chavdarov says of the side: “Work and perseverance are the path to success. FHC Slavia is a successor to the first club in Bulgaria, which was established back in 1921.”
HC Bra (ITA)
The Italian club are playing in European indoor competition for a seventh time with four prior appearances at Challenge I level, their best outcome coming in 2013 when they won gold in Budapest. As for trips to Bulgaria, they came fourth in both 2017 and 2020 in Varna-Kamchia.
The shone at last weekend’s Italian championships with a 6-3 win over HP Valchisone and then a 5-2 success over ASD Bondeno.
Key men will be Dario Saoncella who top scored in the Italian championships and Ukraine’s Andrii Koshelenko who captains the team.
KPH Rača (SVK)
KPH Rača are representing Slovakia for a fifth successive year in indoor club competition and looking to emulate their gold at this level in 2024 in Ferrara. They competed well in Budapest in their Trophy debut last year but a narrow 5-4 defeat to KS Pomorzanin Torun saw them drop back down to this level.
They competed in the Czech league this year but had a tough run in the competition but they can look to the strong showing of the Slovak national team with a bronze in Sveti Ivan Zelina in January.
Regular star Adrián Augustinič has moved on to TJ Plzen Litice in the Cup this year so they look to the extensive experience of Tomas Romanec and the goals of youngster Šimon Belošovič.
Pool B
HK Triglav Predanovci (SLO)
Triglav Predanovci retained the Slovenian title last week when they got the best of HK Moravske Toplice earlier this month with a 6-2 final win with Žan Zrinski scoring on the double to underpin the win.
Nejc Potokar is another one to watch as the league’s top scorer with 15 goals to his name this term. They are playing in the third tier for the fifth successive season, finishing between fourth and sixth place in the past four editions.
Inverleith (SCO)
Coach Stuart Neave takes his Inverleith squad to Sofia (Bulgaria) with him a wealth of experience at the format and rigours of these club events. They have played three times at this level as well as in the Trophy four times, most recently ending third in the Challenge I in Puconci.
“We are fortunate to have information on all the teams in the tournament,” says coach Neave. “A combination of our own background work, previous encounters and useful information provided by Western Wildcats [who represented Scotland last year], for which we are grateful.
“As with any tournament, our aim is deal with the challenge of each game with the aim of being there on the last day of the tournament, hopefully playing for promotion.
“I firmly believe Scottish clubs are capable of playing in a higher division and see it as our responsibility to make that possible for Grove Menzieshill next season.”
Inverleith narrowly lost out to Grove in this year`s Scottish final in a shoot-out. Nonetheless, Inverleith had a successful domestic season overall although the ultimate prize eluded them.
Sirvintos Sports Club (LTU)
Širvintų sporto klubas (Sirvintos Sports Club) has won Lithuanian indoor championship for the past 13 years. All the players are from Lithuania, from the small town of Sirvintos, which has less than 6000 inhabitants with some active in the club since they were six-years-old.
Some to highlight are Lukas Janukaitis, Žygimantas Balsiukas, Algirdas Jackevičius, Darius Jackevičius and Lukas Kojala. A number of them were able to show their skills on the international stage in January as part of the Lithuania side who finished in third place in EuroHockey Indoor Championship II-B.
Soroksári HC (HUN)
The club have won the Hungarian Indoor Championship eight times in the past ten seasons, including three consecutive titles this year.
The team is a strong mix of experienced players and young talents, many of whom already have experience from major international events. Captain, Imre Farkas, plays a key leadership role, while András Hortobágyi — who has been in outstanding form throughout the season — will be crucial to their success. He finished the season as both the best player and the top scorer in the Hungarian Championship.
They are taking preparation for this tournament very seriously. At the beginning of the season, they competed in an indoor tournament in Prague, and later most of the squad was involved in preparing for the EuroHockey Indoor Nations Championship II.
Coach Marcell Álló says of their hopes: “Last year we had a taste of the Trophy division and although we were unable to secure our place, our clear goal is to return to that level. The team is continuously improving, and despite some injury setbacks, we are hopeful for a strong tournament where we can compete for promotion places.”
