• England Hockey Leagues

Agonising Shootout Defeats For Surbiton And Hampstead & Westminster In EuroHockey League

Both Surbiton and Hampstead & Westminster were defeated in shootouts in the EuroHockey League Men’s Ranking Cup in Belgium.

The English duo were both hoping to make it to the second round of the tournament, a feat they both achieved when they last competed in 2019/20, but came up just short against their European opponents.

Hampstead & Westminster were hoping to exact revenge on a Mannheimer side that denied them the chance to reach the prestigious Final 8 competition two years ago. With just 10 seconds to go they lead 2-1 thanks to two goals from Matt Guise-Brown, only for 2016 Olympic silver medallist Gonzalo Peillat to equalise with the last touch of the game.

That took the teams to a shootout, where Mannheimer prevailed 2-0 winners to move into the next round. With this tournament acting as a ranking event for the next edition, Hampstead will play another game tomorrow aiming to gain points to ensure England has two representatives next season.

Surbiton suffered a similar fate in their game against KHC Dragons as they were denied the chance of advancing to the next stage. Luke Taylor drew his side level shortly after Thomas Crols had given the Belgians the lead, taking the game to a shootout. David Goodfield converted his effort but it wasn’t enough as Dragons prevailed 3-1. They will not face a ranking game tomorrow though due the withdrawal of Russian side Dinamo-Ak Bars, which means they will be given a 5-0 walkover.

There was no action for Surbiton’s women today as their original opponents, Pegasus, withdrew from the Women’s Ranking Cup. This means they will face UHC Hamburg tomorrow to determine who finishes fifth in the tournament that has carried over from last season.

East Grinstead’s women have also been in action over the last three days in the EuroHockey Club Trophy. They began with an 8-1 defeat to Gantoise HC on Thursday 30 September before responding in fine style as a hat-trick from Sophie Bray saw them beat Lille 7-0. They couldn’t repeat the feat today though as they lost 4-3 to Spanish side Sanse Complutense and will hope to beat Braxgata in their final game to finish third.

The EuroHockey League Men’s and Women’s Ranking Cup matches tomorrow will be streamed on EuroHockey League TV.

Results – Men’s EHL Ranking Cup

  • 2 Oct – Mannheimer (GER) 2-2 Hampstead & Westminster (2-0 S/0)
  • 2 Oct – KHC Dragons (BEL) 1-1 Surbiton (3-1 S/O)

Results – Women’s EuroHockey Club Trophy

  • 30 Sep – Gantoise (BEL) 8-1 East Grinstead
  • 1 Oct – East Grinstead 7-0 Lille (FRA)
  • 2 Oct – East Grinstead 3-4 Sanse Complutense (ESP)

Fixtures – Men’s Ranking Cup

  • Hampstead & Westminster v Three Rock Rovers (IRL) – 3 Oct, 08:30 BST

Fixtures – Women’s Ranking Cup

  • UHC Hamburg (GER) v Surbiton – 3 Oct, 11:15 BST

Fixtures – Women’s EuroHockey Club Trophy

  • East Grinstead v Braxgata (BEL) – 3 Oct, 09:00 BST