Day 3 – EuroHockey Club Club Challenge I

Braxgata HC, Lille MHC, Clydesdale and HC Rotweiss to play the accession game to Club Challenge I.

A morning full of promise and good games for the Pool A team, as anything was possible and HC Rotweiss, Clydesdale Western and SK Slavia Prague all had their chance to get their ticket to the accession games; Gintra Strekte Uni was looking for the third place of the pool with a first win during the tournament. On pitch 2 we saw a strong and combative Clydesdale team perform in front of their loyal fans where they offered them the necessary but short victory 1-0 against Gintra. This was enough for them to finish first of Pool A. At the same time on pitch 1, the game was more intense as SK Slavia needed a win to qualify, but none of the team was able to open the score during the first half. It was only at the end of the third quarter that HC Rotweiss opened the score which meant that SK Slavia had to double up their effort to get a win, which they did and fought back with a goal at the beginning of the 4th quarter. However, this was not enough for them and the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Final Ranking of Pool A: 1st Clydesdale Western, 2nd  HC Rotweiss Wettingen, 3rd SK Slavia Prague, 4th Gintra Strekte Uni HC.

During another glorious afternoon on the Lille HC installations, the visiting youngsters enjoyed the Tom Boon Hockey Camp putting them through their paces on technical and agility skills.

In preparation for the eventuality of shoot outs, the officials and umpires delighted our Ball Patrol team with a real life shoot out training session which drew quite a crowd on the sidelines.

During the evening matches, on pitch 1 we saw a fierce fight between Lille against Braxgata HC both looking for a win and to take first place of Pool B; Lille opened the score first and led the game until Braxgata levelled the score right after half time. Both teams offered the crowds a beautiful performance with skilful and dynamic play on both sides. In the last quarter, Braxgata took the advantage and closed the game with a  2-1 win.  On Pitch 2, the game between HC St Petersburg and Luzerner SC delivered a second goal less game of the competition.

The final ranking of Pool B: 1, Braxgata HC, 2 Lille MHC, 3 HC Luzerner 4 HC St Petersburg.

As the sun sets in Lille, the site is again calm, and we are all impatient to discover what tomorrow will deliver. The last day of the competition, in just a few hours we will find out who will get promoted to Club Challenge Trophy and which team will be relegated to the Challenge II… We are looking forward to another day of great play, great teamwork, and celebrating the great players making this such a special weekend.