Although none of the matches were exceptional when compared with a history of outstanding matches, the final day of the EuroHockey League and the Women's Club Champions Cup provided a whole day of entertaining hockey in Amsterdam yesterday
Let's look at the Club Champions Cup. I feel a special affinity for this competition, because I was in Glasgow in 2000 when 's-Hertogenbosch won what was to be the first of a remarkable run of 12 consecutive Championships. 2000 was also significant, because it saw a young Martje Goderie playing in the final, having really only been there because there was a spare seat on the coach. Barely 16 at the time, she went on to become a Dutch international and captain her club. But 2012 was not to be the 13 consecutive win. A first half goal from Laren's Kim Lammers brought an era to an end and gave Laren their first win in this competition.
In the third/fourth play off match between KHC Dragons of Belgium and Rotterdam in the EuroHockey League, umpire Nathan Stagno will be haunted for some time by the memory of blowing for a penalty stroke only to see the ball roll into the back of the KHC Dragon's net. The score was 3-3 at the time and a converted corner would have given Rotterdam the win. But the award went to the video umpire who ruled that goalkeeper Emmanuel Leroy had not tripped his opponent, and so the match went into two periods of silver goal extra time. With two minutes of play remaining, Dragon's Felix Denayer found the net and gave his side the third play – a remarkable achievement for a club with virtually no big name players.
In the final, as in the semi final, the fortunes of UHC Hamburg rested on the skills of their goalkeeper, Nicholas Jacobi, who seems to have made the skill of defending shoot out deciders all his own. Hamburg had come from behind twice against Amsterdam, and the match ended after extra time at 2-2. I spoke to Jacobi after the match about the amazing skill he has in reading his opponent in these shoot outs, and his explanation seems to be that it is all guesswork.
Images from the Sunday's matches are now on our Pictures web site at www.hockeyimages.co.uk.
