Spectators at the EuroHockey Indoor Club Cup, Women 2019 in Der Club an der Alster, Hamburg were lucky to attend a goal-laden first day.
Pool B
LMHC Laren top Pool B with two impressive wins. The Dutch Champions had a tight first half against Waterloo Ducks, going in at the break leading 3-2, but finished the second half with a dominant performance, scoring five within the last ten minutes and keeping a clean sheet at the other end.
Elsewhere in Pool B, Spanish Champions Club Campo de Madrid had a dominant match against HC Rotweiss Wettingen. The Swiss team had beaten Madrid twice at the 2017 edition of this event to win bronze, but today the Spanish penalty corner was crucial, with the team converting four pc’s in a 5-1 win.
In the afternoon session Wettingen celebrated a narrow 4-3 defeat against the Belgians. Waterloo Ducks were 3-2 ahead with only three minutes to go, but Wälti and Trösch pulled it back for their side with two goals in the last 100 seconds of the match.The clash between Laren and Madrid – the winners of the morning session- was thrilling and intense. The Dutch side gained the lead and Club de Campo fought back hard but failed to equalise. Laren finished the game 6-4 winners. At the end of Day 1 here in Hamburg, Laren top group B with the maximum of ten points and have secured their place in the semi-finals.
Pool A
The first day for Pool A was dominated by two teams. Russian Champions Dinamo Elektrostal won their first match 8-3 against Ukrainian side MSC Sumchanka. Iuliia Sartakova and Svetlana Eroshina in particular were very dangerous, both players earning hat-tricks of field goals. Sumchanka during their strongest phase of the match could only manage to draw the game level thanks to two goals from Olha Honcharenkova, but the physically strong Russian team regained the lead and when the Ukrainians removed their goalie, Elektrostal scored twice more to run out easy winners.
In the afternoon session the Russian side got off to a weak start, going two goals down to Belarusian Champions Ritm Grodno within two minutes. However they managed not just to equalise but to take all five points on offer, with Sartakova adding two more tournament goals to her personal tally of five. Host Club an der Alster were very efficient against Ritm Grodno in their first match of the day, though not before the half time hooter. Closing out the first half with a 1-0 lead, Alster upped the speed and pressure in the second half to win 8-0.
The afternoon match against Sumchanka was a far tenser affair for the hosts. Alster took the lead but missed their opportunity to get some breathing room early on, faileing to capitalise on nearly a dozen good chances in the first half. Sumchanka converted a penalty corner at the beginning of the second half, but der Club an der Alster soon pulled away with a goal from Viktoria Huse to finish 3-1 winners. So at the close of Day 1 in Pool A, Elektrostal and Alster have already booked their tickets for the semi-finals and their match on Saturday noon will decide which team will top the group.
Pool A
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Der Club an der Alster (GER) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| 2 | Dinamo Elektrostal (RUS) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 |
| 3 | MSC Sumchanka (UKR) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -7 | 1 |
| 4 | GHC Ritm Grodno (BLR) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -9 | 1 |
Pool B
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LMHC Laren (NED) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 10 |
| 2 | Club Campo de Madrid (ESP) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | HC Rotweiss Wettingen (SUI) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 5 |
| 4 | Waterloo Ducks HC (BEL) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -7 | 1 |
All photographs: World Sport Pics, Koen Suyk (C)
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