25:05:2015, Brussels: After 16 games the 2015 EuroHockey Trophy winners are known! Stroitel Brest were crowned Champions, at Three Rock Rovers HC, Dublin.
Player of the tournament Artem Ozerskyi inspired SC Stroitel Brest to a 3-1 win in the final of the Tilman Brewin Dolphin EuroHockey Club Champions Trophy final, coming back from a goal down to win the competition for a second time.
The last was a decade ago when they shared the title with KS Pozctewiec but the trophy was all theirs as their corner routine proved unstoppable.
After a cagey opening, Slavia Praha went in front in breathtaking fashion when Ander Ortega picked up the ball wide on the right of the circle. He pulled it on to his left side before unleashing a brilliant reverse-stick shot to the top corner.
It was the only time Raman Vitko would be beaten as the diminutive goalkeeper proved an excellent presence for a second day running.
Brest got back on level terms by half-time with Ozerskyi – superb throughout in defence – winged home a drag-flick. He added another in the 49th minute – his sixth of the tournament – to put his side in front and they were controlled and in charge for the remainder of the tie.
The result was formally confirmed from yet another corner; this time Ozerskyi’s shot was saved but only as far as Maksim Satsiuk who bundled the rebound over the line.
That came with four minutes to go and, in spite of a last ditch Slavia corner, Brest were home and hosed with their trophy in tow.
In the third place playoff, Atasport produced a spirited closing 20 minutes to earn the bronze medal from the Tilman Brewin Dolphin EuroHockey Club Champions Trophy with a 3-2 win over hosts Three Rock Rovers.
They trailed twice but Muhammad Saleem Khalid pounced on twice to earn dramatic win, the vital third goal coming 90 seconds before the full-time whistle.
Jody Hosking had given Rovers an early lead, netting from a second minute penalty corner. Muhammad Vaqas Butt responded in kind with a corner of his own but Three Rock were 2-1 leaders at the half-time break when Luke Madeley shot home a set piece won by Ross Canning.
But, in spite of some stunning defensive work from David Kane, they could not hold on. Khalid clattered home his first from the right of the circle to level matters and he eventually volleyed home a corner rebound in the closing stages.
Earlier in the day, Hamish Imrie’s hat trick capped a fine win for Grange to beat SG Amsicora 5-0 in the fifth place playoff.
After a scoreless first half, Todd Harmsworth scored a delicious backhand finish to break the deadlock. Frank Ryan volleyed in the second before Imrie scored three in the last seven minutes to move his tournament total to seven goals.
Ukraine’s OKS SHVSM Vinnitsa picked off their first win of the competition to end seventh place with a 4-0 win over Whitchurch.
Andrii Koshelenko extended his goalscoring tally to seven, too, with a pair while Bogdan Kovalenko and Vladyslav Slobodianyk were also on the mark.
Gold medal match: SC Stroitel Brest 3 (A Ozerskyi 2, M Satsiuk) SK Slavia Praha 1 (A Ortega)
Bronze medal match: Atasport 3 (M-S Khalid 2, M-V Butt) Three Rock Rovers 2 (J Hosking, L Madeley)
Fifth place playoff: Grange 5 (H Imrie 3, T Harmsworth, F Ryan) SG Amsicora 0
Seventh place playoff: OKS SHVSM Vinnitsa 4 (A Koshelenko 2, B Kovalenko, V Slobodianyk) Whitchurch
Our Twitter # for all the events is #EHClub15 and will be tweeted @eurohockeyorg
Results will be posted also on http://ehf.ceelectwebsite.co.uk/competitions/
All games from all competitions are live from: https://eurohockey.altiusrt.com
Photographs: Irish Hockey Photographers (c)
Source material: Stephen Findlater