It was a great day for the English here in Amstelveen
yesterday. But there were a couple of
things which spoilt it.
First, and most obviously, a second English team is through
to Round 3. But this was at the expense of another English side, the two being
drawn against each other in Round 2. The draw had guaranteed at least one
English representative in Round 3, but on a day where the hockey was not always
of the greatest, Beeston and East Grinstead put on a fine display of attacking
hockey which showed English hockey in a good light. More of that in a moment.
The other thing which spoilt it was the performance of
Bloemendaal, who the winners of the all-English match will meet on Monday. Their Round 2 match against Club de Campo was
being touted as a close one, but in the final event Bloemendaal simply
overwhelmed their Spanish opponents.
Despite being reinforced by a small contingent of German
internationals, including FIH Player of the Year Moritz Furste, Club de Campo
were simply outplayed in every department.
The half time score was a relatively modest 2-0 but this had been
increased to 6-1 by the final whistle.
Playing in his final club matches before retirement, Bloemendaal’s star,
Tuen de Nooijer , failed to find the net but he was in the thick of
things. He will have another chance to round off his career tomorrow
afternoon, when his side meet the winner of the Beeston v East Grinstead match.
In a day of one-sided matches, or matches which failed to
catch fire because of the bitterly cold weather and the occasional snow, the
Beeston v East Grinstead game provided some excellent entertainment, and was
close to the finish. Beeston took a 13th
minute lead, thanks to Carl Smith, but EG’s captain Glenn Kirkhan had soon
equalised, and a second from Kirkham took his side into the second half with a
2-1 advantage.
Both sides looked equally dangerous throughout the match,
and the score could have moved in either direction. However, it fell to Beeston’s captain, Adam
Dixon to score the equaliser 13 minutes into the second half. The sides remained at stalemate until the end
of normal time, and it fell to Beeston’s Oliver Willars to settle the issue in
silver goal extra time.
So, Beeston are through to Round 3, where they meet
Bloemendaal. It will be a difficult
match for the Nottingham side. You could
argue that there will be an English interest in whoever wins the match, with ex
GB international Russell Garcia being the coach of the Dutch side.
Today’s programme starts the Round 3 knock out matches, with
Mulheim playing Rot-Wiess Koln in an all German match. English interest will focus on Reading v KHC
Dragons. And the snow flurries are with us again!
