Surbiton and KHC Dragons are in the driving seat in their respective groups at the women’s EuroHockey Club Trophy I in Hamburg with two wins out of two so far.
Both won hard-fought battles by a single goal, though the manner of each win was widely contrasting.
Reigning champions Dragons were made to battle all the way by MSC Sumchanka but, in the end, Alexia van Antwerpen’s single goal in the 33rd minute was vital in a 1-0 success.
It means they lead the way in the group on 10 points with Sumchanka second on six points; Dragons now need a draw against SK Slavia Prague to assure themselves of a place in Monday’s final.
Slavia drew 1-1 with Rotweiss Wettingen in their Pool A contest. Adéla Lehovcová put the Czech side in front in the first quarter but Lisa Schnyder levelled in the 37th minute for the Swiss team.
In Pool B, Hannah French scored in the very last minute to crown an amazing second half performance from Surbiton as they beat hosts Club an der Alster 4-3.
The German side looked to be flying high in the first half as they built a 3-0 lead with captain Hanna Granitzki scoring twice either side of Juliane Grashoff’s goal.
And it stayed that way until 19 minutes from the end when Meg Dowthwaite put Surbiton on the scoreboard.
It kickstarted a comeback for the ages as French added to the momentum two minutes later and then made it level at 3-3 in the 55th minute.
The London side was not done yet with French scoring her third of the game in the dying seconds to crown an outrageous comeback.
It means Surbiton need just a draw against currently pointless Butterfly Roma to advance to Monday’s final.
Alster sit on six points where they are now joined by Scotland’s Watsonians whom they play on Sunday. The Scottish side struck three times in the second half against Butterfly to win out 3-0 with Sarah Jamieson, Emily Dark and Annika Arthur on the mark.
Watsonians will now face Alster with both hoping for victory and then a big favour from Butterfly if they are to have a chance o landing a final spot.
