The opening day of the ABN AMRO EHL Ranking Cups began with goals galore with Club de Campo, SV Kampong and Den Bosch all advancing in the men’s tournament in Brasschaat.
For the Madrid club, it was a truly dramatic affair as they saw off Gantoise in a shoot-out after a 4-4 draw. Earlier, they almost led a huge lead slip in a cracking contest under lights in Brasschaat. It sets up a KO8 battle with Den Bosch on Friday evening (19.30 CET).
In normal time, the Belgian side produced a remarkable comeback from 3-0 and 4-2 down to earn a draw and send the game to shoot-out. Indeed, they were down to nine players with two minutes remaining before Charles Masson and Agustin Bugallo plucked a draw out of the fire. Full report here.
Den Bosch enjoyed the perfect start to their EHL careers with a strong win over a dogged Saint Germain who kept them at bay for long periods but ultimately succumbed to the Dutch side’s greater quality.
In the end, it was goals in the 20 seconds before and after the half-time break that were the crucial moments. Full report here
SV Kampong advanced to the KO8 phase of the EHL Ranking Cup as two late goals from Bjorn Kellerman saw them eventually shake off the challenge of Dinamo Elektrostal.
It puts them through to a Friday date (15.00 CET) with Austria’s SV Arminen who were awarded a bye due to Grange not being able to travel to the event. Full report here
** Tickets are available to purchase for this tournament here.
Meanwhile, Russian side Dinamo Ak-Bars have not been able to travel to the tournament in Belgium following a number of positive Covid-19 tests prior to their flight. It means they forfeit their Saturday game with Rot-Weiss Köln.
Rot-Weiss will now play the winner of KHC Dragons and Surbiton. That game on Sunday has been moved forward to 15.00 (CET) to reduce the gap between match times.
EHL Cup 2021
Men’s Match Schedule (30 September – 3 October 2021, KHC Dragons (BEL))
Thursday 30 September
M1: Grange HC scr SV Arminen receive walkover
M2: Dinamo Elektrostal 2 (N Dvoretskii 2) SV Kampong 5 (B Kellerman 2, R Kemperman, J Janssen, S Lageman)
M3: Den Bosch 6 (K Bijen 2, T Boers 2, A Smith, D Wotherspoon) Saint Germain 0
M4: Gantoise HC 2 (A Kina) Club de Campo 3 (A Lacalle, A Tello, J Basterra), Campo win shoot-out 4-3
Friday 1 October
M6 15.00h KO8: SV Arminen v SV Kampong
M7 17.15h Ranking match: Saint Germain v Gantoise HC
M8 19.30h KO8: Den Bosch v Club de Campo
Saturday 2 October
M9 09.30h KO16 HC Minsk – Three Rock Rovers
M10 11.45h KO16 Mannheimer HC – Hampstead & Westminster
M11 Dinamo Ak-Bars scr; Rot-Weiss Köln receive walkover
M12 16.15h KO16 KHC Dragons – Surbiton HC
Sunday 3 October
M13 09.30h Ranking match Loser M10 – Loser M9
M14 11.45h KO8 Winner M10 – Winner M9
M16 15.00h KO8 Rot-Weiss Köln – Winner M12
Women’s Match Schedule (2-3 October 2021 at UHC Hamburg (GER))
Saturday 2 October
M2 14.15h Women SF2 UHC Hamburg – HC Minsk
Sunday 3 October
M4 13.15h 1st/2nd place Winner SF2 – Winner SF1
Note: Match times and schedule subject to change as determined by EHL.