Dariusz Rachwalski, SV Arminen
WORLDSPORTPICS COPYRIGHT SANDER UIJLENBROEK
The second day of action at the EuroHockey Club Tropy in Elektrostal, Russia saw some solid performances from the front runners at this event. Rotweiss Wettingen and SV Arminen top pool A and B respectively but, while Arminen are favourites to top Pool B at the end of play tomorrow, in Pool A, there is all to play for.
Paolo Bonomi vs AHTC Wein 1-4
AHTC Wein put the previous day’s results behind them to take the game to Italian challengers Paolo Bonomi but the team will be far from happy with Mateusz Siekowski who picked up a red card in the final two minutes of the game and will now face a playing ban.
It was a feisty and frenetic first match, with neither side able to gain a breakthrough in the first half, although both Alexander Fischer in the Wein goal and Francesco Padovani in the Bonomi goal saw plenty of action.
The breakthrough came in the 35th minute when Lennard Gerhmann scored from open play. That lead was negated just three minutes later when Gonzalo Ursone out the Italian side back in the game. Dominik Monghy then scored from a penalty stroke to put the Austrian team ahead and added to his own tally eight minutes later with a well-taken goal from open play. The Austrian team’s victory was put beyond doubt when Gerhmann scored his second to give Wein an important three points.
The result leaves Paolo Bonomi at the bottom of Pool B, with Wein in third place, one point behind Grove Menzieshill.
Grove Menzieshill vs SV Arminen 1-2
SV Arminen consolidated their position at the top of Pool B with a 2-1 win over Grove Menzieshill.
The Austrian side took the lead in the 15th minute as Patrick Schmidt again proved why he is a renown striker of penalty corners. The lead was doubled on the stroke of half-time when Michael Berger took advantage of a goal mouth scramble to fire home.
The Scottish team fought back strongly in the second half but were unable to find a way past Mateusz Szmczyk in the Arminen goal. Finally, Scottish international Gavin Byers found the back of the net with a fierce penalty corner but that was the only opportunity Menzieshill had to get back on terms.
Captain Gavin Tomlinson said: “We took until the second quarter to settle into the game due to the significant difference of pace between our domestic league and the pace at this Euro Trophy event.
“Once we had got into the game, the team felt comfortable and competed well. We now move onto tomorrow and stay united as a group and go again. We are strong unit and believe we will gain a positive result tomorrow.”
The result leaves Arminen top of the pool and Menzieshill in second place, needing a win against Paolo Bonomi tomorrow.
Rotweiss Wettingen vs Minsk 1-1
Minsk are becoming draw experts as they recorded a 1-1 result against Rotweiss Wettingen of Switzerland.
Wettingen took the lead through Silvan Steimer, the result of a good passing interchange which left the Minsk ‘keeper Iaroslav Hordey wrong footed. However, Minsk are a team that will always be looking for scoring opportunities and Yauheni Mikheichyk was the man in the right place at the right time. His shot, flew past Michael Kaufeler to even the scores.
The result leaves Wettingen at the top of Pool A, with Dinamo Elektrostal one point behind them. Minsk lie in third place, ahead of Slavia Prague but in need of a good win tomorrow.
SK Slavia Prague vs Dinamo Elektrostal 1-3
Dinamo Elektrostal redeemed themselves after yesterday’s defeat to record a strong victory over Slavia Prague. The result moves the host team to second in Pool A, while Prague are firmly fixed to the bottom of the table.
The first quarter of the match was quiet as the teams sized each other up but the second quarter saw Elektrostal burst into life with two goals in as many minutes. First Georgii Arusiia put away a penalty corner and then Andrey Kuraev followed up with a goal that bounced around the circle as the defence failed to clear.
Martin Babicky brought SK Slavia Prague back into the game as he pounced on a loose ball to half the deficit but the match was all but over when Kuraev scored his second of the game.
Sunday 4 June
Fixtures (local time)
10:00 Paolo Bonomi vs Menzieshill (Pool B)
12:15 SV Arminen vs AHTC Wein (Pool B)
14:30 Wettingen vs SK Slavia Prague (Pool A)
16:45 Elektrostal vs Minsk (Pool A)
EuroHockey Club Trophy 2017 Men – Elektrostal, Russia – Day 2