English Quartet Ready To Resume European Club Action

English clubs will represent the country at the EuroHockey League (EHL) for the first time in nearly two years this weekend, with four sides in continental action between 30 September – 3 October.

Having qualified for the 2020/21 season, the four representatives were not able to take part as scheduled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the men’s and women’s EHL only able to run a Final 4 competition in the summer due to restrictions, Ranking Cups will be contested this weekend to determine the remaining positions in those events (i.e. places five-to-20 for the men and places five-to-seven for the women). In addition, the women’s EuroHockey Club Trophy will also return after being cancelled last year.

As well as confirming the positions for the 2020/21 seasons, the EHL Ranking Cups will also provide ranking points to determine how many English teams will take part in the 2021/22 seasons.

After claiming the Premier Division double in 2019/20, Surbiton’s men and women will both take part in their respective EHL Ranking Cups, with Hampstead & Westminster also joining in the men’s competition having finished second that season. East Grinstead’s women finished second in the Women’s Premier Division that season and will be in action in the EuroHockey Club Trophy in France.

Surbiton’s men qualified for the prestigious Final 8 stage two years ago – which was then cancelled due to the pandemic – with impressive victories over Real Club de Polo and Dinamo Kazan and will be hoping for a repeat performance this time round. They begin with a KO16 game against Belgian outfit KHC Dragons at 15:15 on Saturday 2 October, with the winner then progressing to the KO8 round the following day. 

Hampstead will also be in action that day as they take on German team Mannheimer, a side they narrowly lost 2-1 to in the KO8 round two years ago. They will be aiming to exact revenge at 10:45 BST and will take the confidence of a strong start to the season, alongside memories of upsetting HGC in their last European outing, into that fixture.

This season will be the first time an English side has taken part in the Women’s EHL, which replaced the EuroHockey Club Cup in 2020. Surbiton were due to participate in the inaugural competition before it was halted due to the pandemic. Following the withdrawal of their initial semi-final opponents Pegasus, they will contest the final on Sunday against either HC Minsk (Belarus) or UHC Hamburg (Germany), with the winner finishing fifth overall.

The women’s EuroHockey Club Trophy returns having not been contested since 2019, when Holcombe finished second. This season, East Grinstead will be hoping to put in an impressive showing in their first European competition for a number of years. They will play four group games, with the winner of the pool being crowned champions. You can see their full list of fixtures at the bottom of the page.

The EHL Men’s and Women’s Ranking Cups will be available to view on the EHL TV website.

EHL Men’s Ranking Cup

• Match 10 – Mannheimer v Hampstead & Westminster (Sat 2 Oct, 10:45 BST)
• Match 12 – KHC Dragons v Surbiton (Sat 2 Oct, 15:15 BST)
• Match 13 – Loser Match 10 v Loser Match 9 (Sun 3 Oct, 08:30 BST)
• Match 14 – Winner Match 10 v Winner Match 9 (Sun 3 Oct, 10:45 BST)
• Match 15 – Loser Match 11 v Loser Match 12 (Sun 3 Oct, 13:00 BST)
• Match 16 – Winner Match 11 v Winner Match 12 (Sun 3 Oct, 15:15 BST)

EHL Women’s Ranking Cup

• Final – Surbiton v UHC Hamburg/HC Minsk (Sun 3 Oct, 11:15 BST)

EuroHockey Club Trophy

• Thu 30 Sep, 15:30 BST – Gantoise HC (BEL) v East Grinstead
• Fri 1 Oct, 17:00 BST – East Grinstead v Lille MHC (FRA)
• Sat 2 Oct, 11:30 BST – East Grinstead v Sanse Complutense (ESP)
• Sun 3 Oct, 09:00 BST – East Grinstead v Braxgata HC (BEL)