In the final of the Euro Hockey League, UHC Hamburg, last year's winners, came up against Dutch champions Bloemendaal. Bloemendaal showed their intent after seven minutes when Ronald Brouwer scored from a penalty corner. He swiftly followed this up with another after a superb run and cross by Jamie Dwyer. And two minutes later Dwyer scored an almost identical goal to yesterday when he picked up the ball on the left and fired it into the net past hapless goalkeeper, Jacobi. Jacobi made a great save from Teun de Nooijer on twenty minutes but de Nooijer followed up to make it 4-0 to Bloemendaal.
UHC finally got on the score sheet with a goal from Philip Sunkel, and then Olmer Meijer scored from a penalty corner to restore the four goal difference before Marco Miltkau scored for UHC also from a penalty corner to make it 5-2 at half time.
In the second half Bloemendaal sat back and after seven minutes Patrick Breitenstein of UHC scored from another penalty corner. And when Miltkau scored his second of the game with 13 minutes remaining UHC must have thought they were still in with a chance to retain their title. But it was not to be and Bloemendaal held out with one or two chances of their own, notably one which fell to Brouwer who failed to complete his hat-trick when the keeper pushed him wide. Bloemendaal were the deserved winners here but it could have been so different if /East Grinstead had managed to hold on in the 3rd round.
The winner of the supporters award must go to the Germans once more. They travelled from far and wide to see their team play. One lady with her baby came from near Frankfurt because she heard there was going to be some good hockey. How right she was.
In the third place play off at the EHL finals, Rotterdam came out with all guns blazing as they took an early lead through Jeroen Hertzberger, one of three brothers playing in the Rotterdam side.
Leuven's efforts of yesterday seemed to overtake them as Rotterdam scored two more goals through Phil Burrows to take them to a 3-0 lead before Leuven's liveliest player, Pau Quemada, bagged a goal which made the score look a little more presentable. But Rotterdam hit back again before the half-time break through Simon Child.
Leuven tried hard in the second half but it was all Rotterdam as they rattled in four more goals in the second half through Ryan Archibald, Guidio Van Buul, Peter Taylor and another from Jeroen Hertzberger. A thoroughly deserved win for Rotterdam even if the 8-1 score line was a bit crushing for a Leuven side who had given all the day before in their attempt to beat the Germans.
The two goalkeepers were substituted towards the end of the second half, the Rotterdam goalkeeper to join his colleagues in Malaysia for a warm up game for the U-21 World Cup and the Leuven goalkeeper, into retirement.
