Holcombe and Junior FC hold the box seat in the women’s EuroHockey Trophy in Dublin following day two of the event with two wins out of two to lead their respective groups.
In Pool A, England’s Holcombe added to their opening day win with a 4-2 win over Belarus’s Ritm Grodno who had also been seeking their second win.
The match did not disappoint and was a high tempo, skilful game in which Holcombe took the lead in the second minute with a fine corner goal from Sarah Jones.
Joanne Westwood doubled the lead in the 11th minute with an excellent counter-attack after a period of Grodno pressure. Just before the end of the quarter, Lizaveta Skurat got one back from a deflected corner and immediately into the second quarter, Grodno were level following an excellent team move, finished by Darya Belavusava.
But Holcombe retook the lead before half-time when Jone slipped in her second corner for a 3-2 advantage. The third quarter was evenly contested with opportunities for both sides but the goalkeepers Rose Thomas and Tatsiana Kechen kept everything out.
In the final quarter, Holcombe piled on the pressure and eventually got the fourth goal two minutes from the end with Heather McEwan making things safe. They sit on 10 points with Grodno on six points by virtue of their losing bonus point.
MSC Sumchanka kept alive their hopes of a medal when they beat SK Slavia Prague 4-1. A penalty corner a deflection by Natalie Novakova had given the Czechs the lead but two goals around the 29th minute changed the complexion of the game with Yuliia Shevchenko and a well worked second by Olha Honcharenko grabbing the lead.
The second half was a copy of play in the first period with the MSc controlling the game and they subsequently sealed their win with goals in Q4 by Oksana Ponomaenko and Olha Kiurovska. MSC are up to five points and a win over Grodno would see them finish in, at least, the top two with Holcombe.
In Pool B, Junior recorded their second big win of the competition with a 5-1 win over Russia’s CSP Krylatskoye. Mariona Serrahima scored in the first minute from a shot at the top of the D. It was two via Carolina Garcia in the 10th minute.
The Russians were then in trouble in the second quarter when goalkeeper Oxana Boyko was injured. She was the only recognised keeper in their panel and it left them without a player in pads for a spell but Krylatskoye did not concede from a dramatic corner.
Carlota Petchame did extend the lead to three before half-time and further goals from Anna Riba and Paz Codina made it 5-0 going into the final quarter. Bogdana Sadovaia did get one back but the Spanish side were well clear.
Hosts Monkstown won a dramatic 3-2 tie against Lille to give them a great chance of escaping relegation and give them a potential chance at playing in the medal matches.
Lyoung Hye Han’s clever deflection put the French side in front but Natalie Esteves equalised with a low corner bullet for 1-1. Sadhbh Hoban-Logan scored a beautiful second for Monkstown with a beautiful shot from a counter-attack for 2-1 after half time.
Laetitia Canon levelled once more from a corner switch but captain Rosie Carrigan won it for the hosts when she converted a stroke after the ball hit a body on the line.
It lifts Town up to five points, level with Krylatskoye but with a tough game against Junior still to come.
Picture: Monkstown’s Abbie Sarratt in possession/gpfoto.ie
Today’s results
| 10:00 | SUMCHANKA – SLAVIAPRAGUE | Pool A | 4 – 1 | ||
| 12:15 | GRODNO – HOLCOMBE | Pool A | 2 – 4 | ||
| 14:30 | MONKSTOWN – LILLE | Pool B | 3 – 2 | ||
| 16:45 | JUNIOR – KRYLATSKOYE | Pool B | 5 – 1 |
Sunday schedule
| 10:00 | HOLCOMBE – SLAVIAPRAGUE | Pool A | |||
| 12:15 | SUMCHANKA – GRODNO | Pool A | |||
| 14:30 | MONKSTOWN – JUNIOR | Pool B | |||
| 16:45 | KRYLATSKOYE – LILLE | Pool B |
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