HK Zelina produced an amazing run of three goals in four minutes to snatch top spot in Pool A of the men’s EuroHockey Club Trophy II in Rome, putting them through to Sunday’s final.
The Croatian side needed a three-goal win over Casa Pia if they were to have a chance at overhauling hosts side ASD Tevere EUR but it looked like a tough ask before their late flurry.
They trailed 2-1 at half-time to goals from Aidan Fourie and Fabio Greco and were still level at 2-2 with 16 minutes to go.
But then came a goal-rush with Bohdan Kovalenko completing his hat trick and then efforts from Fran Nemčić and Petar Bahlen transformed their outlook. They then survived five cards in the last six minutes – two green and three yellow – but held on for the ideal result to see them through on goals scored.
In the final, they will meet Grasshopper Zurich who were 5-0 winners over Slagelse, completing the group with a perfect record of three wins from three; Imanuel Poulastrou scored a hat trick in the process.
HC Bra had briefly taken top spot in Pool B with a thrilling 6-5 win over Selçuklu Belediye SK with Andrii Koshelenko’s fourth goal of the day settling the result in the 59th minute.
They had trailed 5-4 with nine minutes left before Priyesh Bhana – with his second of the day – levelled things up.
It means Sunday’s schedule will see Zelina face Grasshopper in the final at 2.15pm (CET) while the bronze match is an all-Italian affair with ASD Tevere EUR meeting HC Bra at 12pm (CET). The day opens with Casa Pia playing Slagelse in the 5th/6th place game at 9.45am (CET).
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| EuroHockey Club Trophy II Men 2026 | 21 – 24 May 2026 | Rome, Italy |
