A fantastic day of indoor hockey here in Vienna, as UHC Hamburg and Stroitel Ekaterinburg lead the pools after 8 games.
Match 1: UHC Hamburg 10 – 1 (4 – 1) HC Rotweiss Wettingen
A ‘workmanlike’ performance in the opening game from the Germans saw UHC Hamburg take all 5 points on offer in their opening game here in Vienna. Philip SCHMID opened from UHC in the 4th minute. SCHMID (Julius) added another in the 6th. FÜRSTE converted a rocket of a ps in the 14th, putting UHC 3-0 up with no reply. Rotweiss’ captain KELLER turned over the ball in the 16th giving a beautiful pass for a diving MESSERLI to bring the score back to 3-1. UHC added another before the half.
In the second half, Hamburg dominated with both Philip SCHMID and FÜRSTE getting hattricks. KORN TESCHKE adding to the tally and a 10-1 finish.
Match 2: AH&BC Amsterdam 6 – 6 (1 – 3) Partille SC
A stunning game of indoor hockey that saw newly promoted Partille take Amsterdam to the wire over the full 40 minutes. Partille had the better of the first half with Johan BJÖRKMAN being clinical with 3 strikes from 3 from penalty corners.
Amsterdam had a blitzing start in the second half with 3 quick goals to put them on top of the game 4-3 by the 26th minute. A rollercoaster final ‘quarter’ saw both teams exchange the lead and draw level again. A pc that was taken off the line by Partille, deemed to be a foot and upgraded to a penalty stroke saw Amsterdam have a chance to take all 5 points from the game, but Partille’s keeper Karl-Oskar MOBERG denied them and the game ended a fascinating 6-6.
Match 3: Dinamo Stroitel Ekaterinburg 3 – 3 (1 – 2) HC Minsk
A ‘local derby’ of sorts as Dinamo from Russia take on Minsk from Belarus. Belarus opened the scoring in the 6th minute, HANCHAROU finishing a wonderful pass. A PC in the 8th minute with KOTKOV on stop and AZAROV on strike, but it was BORISOV finished from a clever PC routine to level the game! A toughly fought game with some hard tackling. Minsk went ahead again via LUTSEVICH in the 12th minute and the scored remained like that until half-time.
LUTSEVICH scored again early in the second half to push Minsk ahead to 1-3. But the Russians worked hard to claw it back to 3-2 via a pc strike from the inimitable AZAROV and ZAMALUTDINOV equalised in the 33rd. A tight last few minutes as neither team could break the deadlock and the game ended 3-3.
Match 4: Racing Club de Bruxelles 3 – 3 (2 – 1) SV Arminen
A real game of two halves. Tom Boon made his presence felt with a huge work rate from the start of the game, causing havoc for his markers. MARAITE put Racing ahead in the 4th minute, quickly countered by STEYRER in the 8th. TRUYENS put Racing ahead again as the Austrian’s looked a little nervous, perhaps as hosts. The score remained 2-1 at the half.
There was no shortage of chances for both teams, CORNILLIE put Racing ahead again. But Arminen caught Bruxelles off guard with 2 quick goals in the 38th and 39th minutes, levelling the game. A frantic last minute as Bruxelles pushed to find the winner but to no avail. 3-3, the final score.
Match 5: AH&BC Amsterdam 4 – 6 (1 – 5) UHC Hamburg
A tight game from 2 well-matched teams. Amsterdam needed a result from this game as the pool is very close. Hamburg raced ahead with 2 from FÜRSTE in the 11th and 13th, countered by TIGGES also in the 13th. KAPAUN and SCHMID added two more in the 14th and 19th. Halftime score 1-5.
Amsterdam came back in the second half, pressing hard to equalise. But the 1-5 deficit proved too difficult. The game ended 4-6 in favour of the Germans.
Match 6: HC Rotweiss Wettingen 2 – 8 (0 – 5) Partille SC
Partille stormed ahead in the first half Johan BJÖRKMAN with 3 in the 1st, 3rd and 5th minute. STRÖBY and LUNDQVIST added two more, game ended 0-5 at the half. STRÖBY added his second in the 21st. Johan BJÖRKMAN added a 7th. A rare moment of loss of concentration from Partille’s keeper saw KELLER claw one back for Rotweiss. They added another in the 35th minute, reducing the goal difference that Partille desperately were trying to gather to compete with UHC’s earlier score of 10-1 v Rotweiss. Johan BJÖRKMAN added his 5th of the game in the final minute. Final score 2-8.
Match 7: Dinamo Stroitel Ekaterinburg 5-3 (2-3) Racing Club de Bruxelles
Dinamo had the better start to the game going ahead via, they went two ahead with a smart finish from AZAROV over the goalkeeper. A time out for Racing and they came back with fierce. Boon was on fire as he took control of the ball on the halfway line slicing the Stroitel defence, scoring his first in the 10th. GARCIA equalised in the 15th. Boon got his second, a lethal strike from a pc in the 16th. Bruxelles was happy to have turned the scoreline to 2-3 at halftime.
A stunning piece of skill from ZAMALUTDINOV, a pirouette into the circle, beating GUCASSOFF. 3-3. Stroitel went ahead again via an interception and finish from SHYNTAR 4-3. Both teams had excellent chances, a pc from Racing in the 37th CORNILLIE hitting the side netting. Racing went for the powerplay but conceded another. 5-3, final score.
Match 8: SV Arminen 4-3 (2 – 0) HC Minsk
A lovely finish from EITENBERGER after a well-worked attack put Arminen ahead in the 8th minute. BELE calmy finished a nice team move to extend the score and the hosts cushion just before the half. 2-0
Arminen added a 3rd in the 28th again via BELE. LUTSEVICH got on the scoresheet for Minsk in the 35th minute. EITENBERGER popped the ball over the head of the keeper in a showcase goal to push their lead to 4-1 and probably beyond Minsk to come back. Minsk did score again, another rocket of a pc, again from LUTSEVICH. The 3rd goal from Minsk almost on the final whistle was too little, too late for the team from Belarus. The game ended 4-3.
Pool A:
| R | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UHC Hamburg (GER) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 10 |
| 2 | Partille SC (SWE) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| 3 | AH&BC Amsterdam (NED) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | HC Rotweiss Wettingen (SUI) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -15 | 0 |
Pool B:
| R | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dinamo Stroitel Ekaterinburg (RUS) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 2 | SV Arminen (AUT) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | HC Minsk (BLR) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Racing Club de Bruxelles (BEL) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 3 |
All photographs: World Sport Pics, Frank Uijlenbroek (C)
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