Photos: 1) Cannock's Stuart Gooderham shaddows Dutch star Teun de Nooijer in the match between Cannock and Bloemendaal
2) Hamburg's Ricardo Nevado gets airborn in their match against Dusseldorfer.
PETER COLWILL REPORTS FROM MANCHESTER:
There were no upsets on the opening day of the Women's EuroHockey Cup Winners Cup at Bowdon with the three fancied sides all scoring convincing victories.
Bowdon Hightown had litttle difficulty disposing of the Belgium side Royal Uccle 5-1 with their captain Sally Walton slotting in two goals from penalty corners. Sam Quek was outstanding at centre half and there were goals for Jo Ellis, Julie Hope and Fay Nash.
In the other match in Bowdon Hightown's pool Alta Borispol, who arrived with just eleven players, not only suffered the worst spell of weahter when the heavens opened but also a deluge in their defence which leaked three goals in the first five minutes to an Amsterdam team who went on to win 16-0 with Fieke Holman coverting five penalty corners. Rachel Walsh, a former Hightown player got in on the act claiming a goal which was believed by the umpire but not the announcer.
Scotland's Bongrass Grove lost a close encounter 2-0 to Campo Villa de Madrid. Carla Rebecchi Madrid's Argentinean forward gave them the lead two minutes before half time with a smartly flicked penalty corner shot. With the Dundee side pressing for the equaliser Anna Schwartz was cruelly exposed in the penultimate minute when Amparo Gil set up Monteserrat Cruz for Madrid's second goal.
Rot Weiss Koln had little trouble overcoming Lorenzoni (Italy) in the first match of the day but they had considerable difficulty with their shirt numberrs. All fifteen outfield players were in different numbers from those initially submitted.
Results:
Pool A: Rot Weiss Koln 6 HF Lorenzoni (Ita) 0; Bonagrass Grove (Sco) 0 Campo Villa de Madrid 2.
Pool B: Amsterdam 14 Alta-Boriispol (Ukr) 0; Bowdon Hightown 5 Royal Uccle (Bel) 1.
PETER SAVAGE REPORTS FROM HAMBURG
The EuroHockey League was at its very best today, with four exciting matches today in Hamburg, supported by a good crowd, and all televised on EuroSport.
One of the reasons for the support, apart from the glorious sunshine, may have been that all three German sides were in action. Unfortunately, for the home supporters, that number was down to one by the end of the day. The loss of one was inevitable, by virtue of Hamburg (Uhlenhorster) and Dusseldorfer being pitted against each other. But Spanish club, Club Egara, were too strong for Der Club An Der Alster, with Egara’s star, Guillermo Schickendantz scoring a hat-trick in his side’s 4-2 win over the Germans.
Cannock’s defeat at the hands of Bloemendaal was not without honour. The English side clearly learnt some lessons from their previous meeting in Round 1a. Nick Meijer scored for the Dutch from a penalty corner after 21 minutes, but the match was in its closing stages before Bloemendaal were able to unpick Cannock’s defences, Ronald Brouwer the scorer.
Cannock were never out of the game, but briefly there was a chance that they might actually win it. With ten minutes left to play, Harry Jawanda converted a penalty corner, to close the score to 2-1. Unfortunately, the Dutch had the last say, with their supertstar striker, Teun De Nooijer, scoring from open play. Final score 3-1.
In the last match of the day Hamburg overcame Dusseldorfer 3-2 in a gripping struggle, supported by a capacity crowd.
RESULT FROM DUBLIN
In one other result today, England’s women beat Ireland 1-0 in Dublin, the goal being scored in the 12th minute by Canterbury’s Jenny Hall.
