SV Kampong eliminated Rot-Weiss Koln in a tense and intense 1-0 thriller to close out day one of the KO16, taking their place in Sunday’s KO8 where they join Royal Racing Club de Bruxelles, Herakles and Real Club de Polo.
Boet Phijffer’s close range tip in from a superb Robbert Kemperman backhand corner shot in the first half proved the only difference as the 2016 champions beat the reigning champions for a KO8 date with Racing Club de Bruxelles (15h00 CET).
Earlier in the day, Racing had proven too strong for Dinamo Kazan as they netted four field goals and one penalty corner for a 9-0 success against the Russian champions.
Tom Boon started the run before lovely strikes from Jerome Truyens and Tommy Willems were augmented by a Conor Harte drag-flick and a Willy Garcia smash.
Real Club de Polo won the first clash of the day with a lively 7-4 win over English side Holcombe. Nick Bandurak started and finished the scoring for Holcombe, putting them 2-0 with a rocket of a shot.
But the Barcelona outfit soon came good with Max Plennevaux scoring a stroke and Borja Llorens making it 3-2 from a corner. Field goals from Ignacio Ortiz and Alex Casasayas around the 49 minute mark made the game safe before Bandurak added another powerful finish.
Debutants Herakles got their EHL history off to the perfect start when they beat Atletic Terrassa 4-2, making full use of two field goals which outdid Roc Oliva’s penalty corner double.
Jacob Smith’s behind-the-back deflection got Herakles on the road to success before Oliva halved the deficit. Louis Hottlet’s smart finish stretched out a 4-1 lead; Oliva got Atleti back in range with 15 minutes to go but they could not reduce the gap further.
On Super Saturday, Three Rock Rovers make their return to the EHL after nine years when they take on Saint Germain (11h30 CET). They are one of two French sides contesting the KO16 – the first time this has happened – with Racing Club de France meeting Uhlenhorst Mulheim.
Hosts HC Rotterdam enter the fray at 16h00 (CET) with a mouthwatering clash against Mannheimer HC before HC Bloemendaal and KHC Dragons raise the roof at 18h15.
Results
Friday 30 March
M1 KO16: Holcombe HC 4 (N Bandurak 2 FG) Real Club de Polo 7 (M Plennevaux FG (stroke), B Llorens PC, I Ortiz FG, A Casasayas FG)
M2 KO16: Royal Herakles HC 4 (J Smith FG, L Hottlet FG) Atlètic Terrassa 2 (R Oliva 2 PC)
M3 KO16: Royal Racing Club de Bruxelles 9 (T Boon FG, J Truyens FG, C Harte PC, T Willems FG, G Garcia FG) Dinamo Kazan 0
M4 KO16: SV Kampong 1 (B Phijffer PC) KTHC Rot Weiss Köln 0
Saturday 31 March
M5 11.30h KO16: Saint Germain HC vs Three Rock Rovers
M6 13.45h KO16: RC de France vs HTC Uhlenhorst Mülheim
M7 16.00h KO16: HC Rotterdam vs Mannheimer HC
M8 18.15h KO16: KHC Dragons vs HC Bloemendaal
Sunday 1 April
M9 10.30h KO8 ranking match: Holcombe HC vs Atletic Terrassa
M10 12.45h KO8 ranking match: Dinamo Kazan vs Rot Weiss Koln
M11 15.00h KO8: Royal Racing Club de Bruxelles vs SV Kampong
M12 17.15h KO8: Real Club de Polo vs Herakles
Monday 2 April
M13 09.15h KO8 ranking match – Loser M8 vs Loser M5
M14 11.30h KO8 ranking match – Loser M6 vs Loser M7
M15 13.45h KO8: Winner M8 vs Winner M5
M16 16.00h KO8: Winner M6 vs Winner M7
Note: Match times and schedule subject to change due to the requirements of television or other factors as determined by EHL.