Both semi finals of the EuroHockey League in Bloemendaal (The Netherlands) ended with shoot-out deciders this afternoon.
In the first semi-final between Rot-Weiss Koln and KHC Dragons, Rot-Weiss dominated the first half with a goal from Christopher Menke and a penalty stoke conversion by Christopher Zeller. A penalty corner by Dragons, fired in by captain Jeffrey Thys, looked more like a brief respite than a revival, but Dragons came out for the second half looking more as if they were going to make a match of it.
Dragons were rewarded for their efforts with a 52nd minute goal from Matthew Cobbaert, putting the sides on level terms. 14 minutes later, Koln's Andrin Rickli made amends for two green cards in the first half by slotting home what appeared to be the winner, but less than 60 seconds elapsed before Thierry Stumpe equalised for the Dragons.
We've seldom seen a goal scored in silver goal extra time which has not won the match, but this was the exemption that proved the rule. 11 minutes into extra time Dragons seemed to have it sewn up after Felix Denayer gave them a 4-3 lead, but Zeller scored his second, forcing the match into a one-on-one shoot out decider.
The shoot-out proved to be a bad one for both keepers, with the tally standing at 4-4 until Benjamin Wess was unsuccessful in his attempt, and it was just left to Thys to score to give Dragons the match.
The second semi final had much in common with the first. Amsterdam seemed to have the match by the throat, with Mirco Pruyser scoring twice in the first half. The match was well into the second half before their opponents, Bloemendaal, got back into the game with a penalty corner conversion by Eby Kessing.
As the match progressed, Bloemendaal seemed able to assert themselves and pull themselves back into the game and, with seven minutes remaining, Fergus Kavanagh, scored the equaliser.
Extra time produced no goals and so the match progressed to a penalty shoot out. In sharp contrast with the previous game, the 'keepers seemed to have more success, in particular Jaap Stockman in the Bloemendaal goal. Denying Billy Bakker, Valentin Verga and Nicki Leys, the final tally in the shoot out stood at 3-1 in Bloemendaal's favour.
It is reputed that a Belgian coach was once asked when he thought Belgian hockey would be as good as Dutch. His answer was "2013". Tomorrow we'll have a chance to find out if he was right!
PICTURES FROM TODAY'S MATCHES IS ON OUR PICTURES WEB SITE AT www.HockeyImages.co.uk.
