WOMEN'S EUROHOCKEY CLUB CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE
9-12 May 2008, Vienna (AUT)
Pool A
HC Rotweiss Wettingen (SUI)
Wiener AC (AUT)
KPH Raca (SVK)
Athenians HC (GRE)
Pool B
Swansea LHC (WAL)
HK Beograd (SCG)
HK Moravske Toplice (SLO)
Day 1: Friday 9 May 2008
| 12.00 | B | Swansea LHC | 7 | HK Moravske Toplice | 0 |
| 14.00 | A | HC Rotweiss Wettingen | 17 | Athenians HC | 0 |
| 16.00 | A | Wiener AC | 7 | KPH Raca | 0 |
Swansea exerted all the early pressure in this first game of the tournament. Sian Fowler forced an early PC in the 3rd minute and the Danielle Jackson direct strike went just wide of the goal. In the 5th minute a desperate clearance was picked up by Emily Scudamore who fired a long ball into the circle, the ball was moved on to Nia Fowler who was blatantly impeded as she struck for goal and a stroke was awarded. Sarah Sloane confidently slotted home the first goal.
In the 12th minute Sian dribbled the ball into the circle and found Sloane free - her first time shot was just wide of the target. After spending the first 15' in their own half, the Slovenians made good progress up the right channel and Scudamore did well to clear the ball in the danger area. Swansea responded immediately and Robyn Wilford found Sian Fowleron the right side and her cross was not cleared by the defence and Nia Fowler pounced to slot home the 2nd goal from close quarters. Swansea maintained the pressure and first Clare Halliday and then the irrepressible Sloane went close to scoring. After 32 mins a poor clearance was picked up by Nia Fowler who fired the ball towards the far post and Sloane dived to push the ball home. Swansea calmly played down the clock by retaining possession for the rest of the half.
From the start of the second half Swansea placed immense pressure on the Moravske goal but the young Slovenian GK played well to deny first Nia Fowler and then Halliday. Further goals seemed to be inevitable and in the 43rd min following some fine interplay with Kat, Sian and Robyn, Nia was clear to slot home when she was again baulked and a second stroke was awarded. Sloane converted with confidence to bag her hat-trick. Robyn was distributing the ball well and a great 1 - 2 with Angharad Griffiths presented Robyn with the 5th goal on 45mins. Swansea was now laying siege on the Moravske goalmouth and when Kat found Nia with a well timed pass she needing no second bidding and crashed the ball home. Several more chances were created but failed to find the target. With great spirit the Slovenians continued to play doggedly and their talented number 15 dribbled forward into the circle and her shot was cleared from the line by Angharad. - they also managed to force 3 corners but this was the extent of their resistance and in the 65th minute Sloane scored her 4th goal after Scudamore and Robyn combined well to present her the ball. 6 - 0 remained the final score and Swansea have made a good start to the tournament.
Day 2: 10 May 2008
| 10.00 | B | Swansea LHC | 6 | HK Beograd | 0 |
| 14.00 | A | HC Rotweiss Wettingen | 7 | KPH Raca | 0 |
| 16.00 | A | Wiener AC | 7 | Athenians HC | 0 |
This second game was played at midday under a cloudless sky and in fierce heat. Swansea exerted early pressure but could not convert a number of penalty corners. The opponents were awkward and unorthodox and it took the Swansea players some time to get their measure. On 12' the first goal was scored from a PC when the direct shot from Danielle was defected to Robyn who cleanly dispatched the ball home.
After 17' Beograd broke clear up the middle and Kat Budd worked her way back to rescue the situation. Swansea didn't learn from this and 2 minutes later a long ball split the defence and keeper Llian Trew came out well to clear the danger. After 25' Nia Fowler picked up the ball in the circle, cleverly rounded the GK only to be fouled - from the resulting PC the well rehearsed reverse slip was clinically finished by Robyn. Jaynaya, playing in her first European tournament, came agonisingly close to claiming her first goal only to see it shave the post and go wide.
Swansea then had another scare close to half-time when a speculative through ball beat the defence and Trew was left facing a 1 on 1 with the Slovenian striker. She did extremely well to push the striker wide and her reverse shot sailed high over the bar.
Swansea started the second half at high tempo and Nia drew a foul to win a PC - Kat;s strike was saved by the GK but Clare pounced on the rebound and cleanly completed the move for the 3rd goal. This early goal settled the team and they began to play with more control and executed the game plan a lot better, On 44' Angharad brought the ball forward found Nia who then moved the ball on to Clare who coolly scored her 2nd of the match. The girls were now playing their best hockey and this was consolidated when Sian entered the play on the right overlap and cracked a great shot from the circle edge low and hard into the goal.
While everyone their did their best to conserve energy by keeping possession the temptation to get one more goal was too great. Clare was obstructed in the circle and from the resulting PC Danielle hit a scorching first strike that reverberated against the backboard. The team then maturely ran down the clock by keeping possession for the last 2 minutes.
Day 3: Sunday 11 May 2008
| 10.00 | B | HK Beograd | 2 | HK Moravske Toplice | 2 |
| 14.00 | A | KPH Raca | 4 | Athenians HC | 1 |
| 16.00 | A | HC Rotweiss Wettingen | 4 | Wiener AC | 0 |
Day 4: Monday 12 May 2008
| 10.15 | Athenians | 1 | HK Moravske Toplice | 3 | |
| 12.30 | Wiener AC | 0 | Swansea | 1 | |
| 14.45 | HC Rotweiss Wettingen | 11 | HK Beograd | 0 | |
This cross-over game began with both teams probing and testing each other but with Swansea getting the better of the early exchanges. However, on 3' a through ball caught the defence flat-footed and in the 1 on 1 tussle the umpire deemed that the Wiener player was deliberately obstructed and awarded a penalty stroke. The stroke-taker confidently stepped forward but the pressure told and she pushed the ball well wide of the target - an early let off for Swansea. A period of sustained pressure from the Austrians followed as they played with a high press which blocked the Swansea attempts to clear. In a rare Swansea break out Danielle Jackson overlapped well on the right but no-one was able to meet her cross. Wiener continued to pressurise and in a similar breakaway Sian Fowler was on hand to clear the danger.
On 14' Wiener won their first PC and Emily Scudamore cleared off the line - they continued to make life very uncomfortable for the Swansea players who were denied any worthwhile possession.
Sian played a magnificent Captain's role keeping the team together and focused on the agreed process - everyone in the team responded and with great commitment weathered the storm. Angharad Griffiths had a great game at the back and saved the day on several occasions with critical interceptions and clearances. On 29mins the Austrians were awarded their 2nd PC and the resulting high drag flick was impressively saved by GK Llian Trew diving high to her left. She had little time to recover before she was again faced with a through ball but she came out quickly to challenge the attacker and allowed Emily to make the final clearance. Half time could not come soon enough for the Swansea players who were suffering in the 25 degree heat.
From the restart Swansea began to assert more control with the midfield of Sian, Robyn and Jaynaya winning more possession and taking the play to Wiener. The right channel running of Clare Halliday and Nia Fowler began to cause Wiener problems and with Sian prompting from behind Sarah Sloane was also effective in taking the ball forward and committing at least 2 or 3 defenders at a time. Swansea's 1st PC came on 45' - Danielle's direct strike went just wide of the post. Swansea was now gaining momentum and a minute later Robyn passed the ball back to Angharad who drove the ball hard into the circle and Nia was on hand to deflect the ball past the stranded GK. 1 - 0 up with 24' to play!!!
Wiener pressed hard again and on 54' a direct strike from a PC narrowly missed the target. The tension was now unbearable but Kat made a number of forward runs and Clare, Sloaney and Nia worked hard to keep the ball in the Wiener half. Danielle defended confidently and linked well with Sian up the right to put pressure on the Wiener defence. Swansea was now looking more comfortable and showing great composure Angharad denied a final foray forward by the Austrian attack. The last few minutes passed agonisingly slowly and the final whistle was welcomed by all with Welsh affiliations.
The whole team gave tremendous commitment from the youngsters, Jennie and Jaynaya through to the seasoned European campaigners and gave the Coach Toby Nichols and the management team of Sue Gray and Geoff Trew every reason to be very proud of them - a great team effort.
Thanks to Rob Fowler for the report.
Final Positions
=1st: Swansea (Promoted)
=1st: Rotweiss Wettingen (Promoted)
=3rd: Wiener
=3rd: Beograd
5th: Raca
6th: Moravske Toplice
7th: Athenians
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