SLOUGH OFF TO STORMING START by Peter Colwill at the Women's Club Champions Cup in 's-Hertogenbosch

Women’s EuroHockey Club Champions Cup‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
From Peter Colwill in the Netherlands
Day 1 Friday
Pool A Den Bosch (Ned) 8 Royal Antwerp (Bel) 0;
B Berliner (Ger) 4 Ritm Azot Grodo (Bur) 0;
C Club de Campo Madrid (Spn) 5 Volga Telecom (Rus) 0;
D Slough (Eng) 2 Atasport (Aze) 0.

A storming first half by Slough was enough to give them a victory, which should guarantee. them a quarter final match against either Hamburg or Campo Madrid.

The heavily Korean flavoured Azbergin side had little answer to Slough’s thrusting play in which Harriet Cunninghm and Ashleigh Ball were outstanding. Chloe Strong fired a penalty corner wide in the opening minute but made no mistake at her second attempt three minutes later. Within a minute of the start of the second quarter they were two ahead. Alex Scott was crudely tackled whilst trying to walk the ball into the goal and scored from the resulting penalty stroke.

Slough faded somewhat in the second half and were indebted to goalkeeper Becky Duggan who made three fine saves from penalty corners and also to the central defensive partnership of the youthful Hannah Coulson and the evergreen Mandy Nicholson.

Earlier in the day Campo de Madrid’s Argentinean forward Carla Rebecchi scored three goals in a comfortable 5-0 victory against Volgo Telecom. Berliner had a less comfortable time before beating the Belarusian club. Their final goal was scored with the sweetest of strikes by Mieketine Hayn who was celebrating her 17th birthday.

In the last match of the day the host club ‘s-Hertogenbosch romped to an
8 - 0 victory over Antwerp. Maartje Paulmen showed why many consider her the best corner striker in the world with three scintillating conversions.
ends