EuroHockey Club Challenge II Men (Toruń, Poland)
Gibraltar’s Eagles and Polish hosts HK Pomorzanin Torun took the glory on finals day at the men’s EuroHockey Club Challenge II, earning gold and promotion for their respective countries.
In the first of the two finals, Leigh Dobinson’s 55th minute goal was all that separated Gibraltar-rivals Eagles and Grammarians as the former won 4-3 to take gold in the latest epic showdown between the teams this season.
He had also scored the first of the day, a goal counter-acted by Ethan Balban and Jacob Read to make it 2-1 to Grammarians. Axel Villa and John Fernandez switched the lead Eagles way in the third quarter but Niall Duo set up a grandstand finish with a 52nd minute equaliser.
It added to a remarkable run of success for the club, taking gold every time they have competed since 2019.
“We are extremely proud to have won five consecutive EuroHockey competitions in the last five EuroHockey appearances!” captain Julian Lopez said after the tournament.
“The final was a showcase of Gibraltar Hockey at its finest, and we are happy that we managed to get one over our old rivals in the European stage.
“We are also incredibly proud of Joe Borg who has also won five consecutive best keeper awards in his last five tournaments.”
The second final was a far more one-sided affair as hosts Pomorzanin showed a clean pair of heels to Malta’s Zurrieq Wolves Hotsticks in a 12-2 victory.
They were well on course for the win in the first quarter when they ran up three goals before the Hotsticks got on the scoreboard.
Dmytro Luppa got his first two of an eventual hat trick before half-time and then four second half goals from Adam Sobczak helped push the goal tally into double figures.
The result saw the hosts ended the competition with 39 goals from their four games and fully deserving of their success.
Dobinson, though, struck once more for a famous victory and the spoils for the orange side of Gibraltar.
An Ádám Losonci-inspired Soroksári fought back from 3-1 down in the first quarter to defeat Valhalla 6-4 in the ranking match. Jan-Olof Rydin had given the Swedes a dream start in the first 12 minutes but the Hungarian side responded with Losonci scoring four times overall.
In the second fifth place playoff, 50th minute goals from Rhys Josephn and Osian Jones won the day for Swansea as they came back to beat Lithuania’s HC Šiauliai.
Arnas Ridlauskas gave Šiauliai the early impetus but things were level when Aodhan O’Regan made it 1-1 in Q2. It remained that way until Ridlauskas put his side in front in the final quarter only for the Swans to respond in kind and snatch the victory.
Player of the tournament: Wojciech Rutkowski (HK Pomorzanin Torun)
Top goalscorer: Wojciech Rutkowski (HK Pomorzanin Torun)
Goalkeeper of the tournament: Joe Borg (Eagles)
Final rankings
1= Eagles (GIB)
1= HK Pomorzanin Toruń (POL)
3= Grammarians (GIB)
3= Zurrieq Wolves Hotsticks (MLT)
5= Soroksári HC (HUN)
5= Swansea HC (WAL)
7= Valhalla LC (SWE)
7= HC Šiauliai (LTU)
