In a sports hall under a mountain, 8 amazing games were played out yesterday:
Match 1- Vinnitsa 5-5 Three Rock Rovers
A topsy-turvy game for both teams. Vinnitsa had the better of the opening exchanges but it was Three Rock Rovers that led 2-1 at half-time. 4 Vinnitsa goals followed without reply but dramatically, in the final 3 minutes, Three Rock Rovers pulled it back to finish 5-5 with Ross Canning scoring a Penalty Corner with the last play of the game. A thrilling start and a game of very high quality
Match 2- Bologna 3-1 Cardiff & Met
Bologna produced a very polished to see off a hard fighting Cardiff side 3-1. All of Bologna’s goals were field goals including one from very talented youngster Pietro Lago
Match 3- Inverleith 7-1 Senkvice
A very strong performance from a young Inverleith side. Senkvice would not deal with the pace and clinical passing that Inverleith had to offer. despite not scoring, Stephen Dick was the master in midfield with some neat solo skills and some magical passing. With 6 goals coming as field goals, Inverleith was indeed very entertaining to watch.
Match 4- Lousada 2-1 Kringsja
It was finally the turn of the hosts to take to the floor. They performed brilliantly against a very fast, tricky Lousada side. Some fine goalkeeping by Divyabhanu Singh and some great midfield play by the Rogeau brothers kept the Norwegians very much in the game until the end. Lousada won with a beautiful counter-attacking field goal in the last few minutes.
Match 5- Vinnitsa 4-4 Bologna
In a game where both sides kept taking the lead, Bologna scored in the penultimate minute to make a thrilling game end 4-4. A game that saw 2 very different styles of play, at one point Vinnitsa were 1-4 down but came back to lead 4-3, but a penalty stroke from Pietro Laga made it finish 4-4.
Match 6- Cardiff 2-3 Three Rock Rovers
A fast first half full of excellent goalkeeping and defending from both sides saw Three Rock go 0-1 up into the break thanks to a final play PC conversion from the very talented Eckart Geyer. The second half again was full of chances for both teams however some fine play from Three Rock saw them open up a 2 goal cushion. Cardiff pulled one back in the final minute but Three Rock took the 5 points.
Match 7- Lousada 6-4 Inverleith
Inverleith took the lead after just 2 minutes but some fine pitch-length counter attacks from Lousada saw them 4-1 up after only 7 minutes. Crazy! Inverleith had the better of the second half but Lousada did just enough to sneak it 6-4
Match 8- Senkwice 2-8 Kringsja
The stand was full for the final game of the day and Kringsja gave them a treat. In a fast, physical and sometimes chaotic game, they scored some fine goals topped off by Abishek Sigh with a fine edge of the box finish in the 38th minute to cap off a fine win and keep alive their hopes of making the promotion pool stages of the tournament