There were dramatic scenes here in Hamburg this evening after East Grinstead's game against Swiss side Luzerner appeared to end in a 3-2 defeat.
Needing at least a draw to avoid relegation, East Grinstead had played a competent enough game, although some of the problems with passing that we noted yesterday were still evident. Although Luzerner took an early lead, which they increased to two in the second half, it remained a match that could go either way.
Penalty corner conversions by Dave De Prez and Ross Stott, put the sides on even terms, but in the dying seconds of the match Luzerner were awarded a penalty corner, which was converted by Maurice Cottier. The final whistle sounded and that appeared to be the end of that. East Grinstead looked doomed to certain relegation.
I was in the press room after the match when I became aware that there was something going on in the corridor outside, involving EG's manager Matt Jones, coach Richard Organ and video woman Anne Needle. On enquiring I discovered that a protest had been lodged with the Tournament Director, claiming that the penalty corner had been awarded after the final hooter. Anne's video footage seemed to confirm this.
Anyone who has read Rule 5 of the indoor rules will discover that this is anything but a straightforward matter, and we'll be covering this in the March edition of our on-line magazine HockeyTalk which is due to become available next Thursday. Fortunately for East Grinstead, the Tournament Director upheld the protest, and so both they and Luzerner emerged from the match with a draw. East Grinstead play Swedish side Partille tomorrow, with a slim chance of surviving at this level for another year.
Tomorrows final will be between Dutch side HDM and the hosts, Club an der Alster. HDM beat Club Egara 4-3, whilst Alster came back from behind to beat Dinamo Elektrostal 8-3.
Full results and pictures from today can be found on our main web site at www.talkhockeyradio.co.uk.
