The home club, HGC, walked away with the EuroHockey League title this afternoon in Wassenaar, winning by a single goal over Spain’s Club de Campo.
Earlier in the day Reading had established that Dutch clubs need not be feared. Playing in the bronze medal match they went down to a third minute goal from Oranje Zwart’s Bob de Voogd. But within minutes they had equalised thanks to a goal from Scotland international Stephen Dick.
Reading had the benefit of a 2-1 lead into half time after Richard Mantell worked his magic from a penalty corner. But hanging onto a one goal lead against the determined Dutch proved too difficult and Sander Baart equalised with 11 minutes of play left.
With extra time on the cards, it was down to another member of Reading’s Celtic fringe, former Wales captain Rhys Joyce, to restore the lead, with only two minutes remaining. And that it how it ended, with Reading earning England’s first EuroHockey League medal.
Leicester women come away from this weekend with a silver medal in the Women’s Club Champions Cup. Their opponents in the final, Den Bosch, were just too strong for them, despite Leicester starting the scoring thanks to a Crista Cullen penalty corner conversion. The final score was 3-1, but Leicester had shown flashes of class in a match against a side that has dominated European club hockey since 2000.
Images from today’s matches will appear on our www.hockeyimages.co.uk web site some time tomorrow (Monday).
