The opening match was a battle royal between Beeston and Club de Campo. The Spanish side were first to score with a field goal from Gonzalo Lasso towards the end of the second quarter.
It was however in the fourth quarter that the game really burst into life, with a field goal from Beeston’s Ben Arnold levelling the score at 1-1. Their opponents made a video appeal to establish whether or not the award of a free hit on the sideline which lead to the goal was a correct decision; their appeal was unsuccessful.
With nine minutes left to play, the Spanish were reduced to ten men as Eduard Tubau received a yellow card. Beeston made the most of the opportunity and Carl Smith’s shot on goal from open play put the score at 2-1. Club de Campo then lost Oliver Markowsky to a yellow card and for a few minutes this meant the Spanish were down to nine players.
The excitement reached fever pitch for the crowd when Club de Campo earned a penalty corner within seconds of Eduard Tubau’s return to the field, and with just two minutes left to play, fans of both clubs held their breath. Beeston’s video appeal against the award of the corner was unsuccessful, as was Club de Campo’s attempt to convert it, the final score of 2-1 propelling Beeston into the quarter finals.
