WOMEN'S EUROHOCKEY INDOOR CLUB CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE
Galway (IRL), 26-28 February 2010
Single Pool
SK Slavia Praha (CZE)
Valhalla LHC (SWE)
Galway HC (IRL)
Howardian LHC (WAL)
Howardian LHC set off to represent Wales in the European Indoor Clubs Challenge with high hopes of achieving a podium finish, especially as late withdrawls and the
refusal of Visas to the Georgian representatives meant there would be only 1 pool of 4 teams at the event, although Howards would be seeded 4th based on previous
years results! The new format involved facing each of the remaining 3 opponents twice, making for a total of 6 games over 3 days, the final placings being decided
on a league basis. Clear pre-tournament favourites, for both the Gold Medals and the only available promotion spot, were Slavia Praha from the Czech Republic, who had
surprisingly lost their Trophy status the year before. Valhalla from Gothenburg, Sweden, were another side with considerable Challemge and Trophy Division experience, and they were seen as the only serious challenge to the Czechs. Hosts Galway were looking to bounce
back from the disappointment of not retaining their National title by gaining Bronze, and the schedule inevitably favoured the Hosts, especially when they faced Slavia in the
opening game of the event before Slavia had even had chance to practice on the court! The event was held at the impressive NUIG facility and played on a maximum size pitch, which allowed plenty of room for attacking play and was bound to test the fitness and
recovery of the players over the 3 days, a fact which became even more significant when Howards lost 2 players to injury during the first game, her of whom was able to
return until the last day!
DAY 1: Friday 26 February 2010
Howardians first game was a repeat of the opening fixture of the 2008 Challenge in Turkey, when they narrowly lost out 3-4 to the Swedish Champions, on that occasion the winner
being scored from a Penalty Corner after the final buzzer. The 2 teams were once again evenly matched, both sides using their memories of the previous encounter to cancel each
other out in a tactically even scoreless first half, although both sides did create chances, the best two both falling Howardians way who were unable to capitalise on the opportunity
to take the all important lead. It was the Swedes who were eventually first on the scoresheet via a Penalty Corner, but Maree Thomas managed to finally breakthrough the determined
defence to level for Howards. Injuries to Elise Rafferty and Rachel Fido placed extra pressure on the Howardian defence, and Valhalla took advantage by scoring twice in the last 10 minutes.
Although disappointed with the final scoreline, this was a good first performance and showed that the girls have the ability to seriously challenge for a medal at the event.
The schedule meant Howards faced the hosts on short rest, with the Irish full of confidence after holding Slavia Praha to a 2-5 scoreline in the opening game. However, it was the Welsh
girls who controlled this Celtic derby from the off, and really should have been more than 2 goals to the good at halftime after having much the better of possession, territory and scoring chances,
Annie Petherick and Amy Owen finally giving Howardians a deserved upper hand. A spirited second half fightback by Galway fully tested the girls resolve and fitness, especially with a short handed
bench, but Emma Olivari was in fine form in goal and kept Irish eyes from smiling until 5 minutes from time when she was finally beaten by a counter attack. Annie Petherick almost immediately
restored the 2 goal cushion, finishing off an excellent sequnce of 2 touch play by pushing the ball into an empty net. This killed off any hopes of comeback, and the remaining few minutes were
easily seen out by Howards, giving them a fine win and the upper hand in the battle for Bronze.
| 13:00 | SK Slavia Praha | 5 | Galway HC | 2 |
| 14:15 | Valhalla LHC | 3 | Howardian LHC | 1 |
| 16:45 | Galway HC | 1 | Howardian LHC | 3 |
| 18:00 | Valhalla LHC | 1 | SK Slavia Praha | 7 |
DAY 2: Saturday 27 February 2010
Day 2 started with the first of our encounters with a Czech side rapidly raising the standard of their game having recovered from their travels and adjusted to the venue. The first half saw the
Czechs completely dominate proceedings, as Howards found it difficult to cope with the greater pace of the Slavia team, the quality of their passing and finishing. Despite some fine saves by
Laura Church, the Czechs ran up a commanding 9-0 half time lead, but Howardians showed their true potential in the second half when, with the first half nerves and hesitancy gone, a much more
positive and determined performance saw them match the Czechs for long periods, forcing them to keep their stronger players on court rather than rest them and risk some embarrasment! In
fact, Howardians had the better of this 20 minutes, scoring 3 times to Slavias 2, Charlie Robbins, Michelle Daltry and Annie Petherick making the final score much more respectable from the Welsh
point of view.
This was the game that would effectively determine whether Howardians would have any chance of challenging for Silver on the final day, as a win would have pulled them level on points with the
Swedes with each facing Slavia and Galway on the Sunday. Valhalla also knew the significance of the game and were fast out of the traps, securing a second minute Penalty Stroke from their first
Penalty Corner, and clamly converting via the inside of the post! Howards responded positively and did not allow the Swedes to dominate after their early breakthrough, but were unable to create any
clear chances to equalise against awell organised defence. 2 late goals in this half would ultimately prove Howards undoing, a poor 5 minute period which allowed Valhalla to stretch their half time lead
to 3-0 and which showed that any drop off in effort or concentration is heavily punished at this level. The half time break was used to good effect, as tired legs recovered and greater confidence was
instilled in the girls, reminded as they were that we had been 3-0 down at half time in 2008,and had battled back to level the scores on that occasion. History has a habit of repeating itself, and on this
day it chose to do so, as an outstanding second half display saw Howardians rattle their Swedish counterparts to such an extent that they began to lose composure, and eventually a player - albeit
only for 2 minutes! The fightback began with a Michelle Daltry goal in open play, was almost complete when Maree Thomas calmly converted a Penalty Stroke with less than 5 minutes to play, and Howards
levelled the scores when a perfectly executed Penalty Corner gave Michelle Daltry the chance to beat the Swedish keeper for a second time. Indeed Howards almost went on to take the lead when Becky
Fleck's perfectly timed deflection looped past the sliding Swedish keeper, only to see it bounce out of the corner of the post! As in 2008, Valhalla regained their composure and regained the lead inside the
last 2 minutes, only for Howards to create one last opportunity, Michelle Daltry watching her effort slide agonisingly wide having cleverly beaten the keeper. So it was that Howards suffered another
heartbreaker against a highly skilled and talented team, who had guaranteed themselves Silver as a result.
| 13:00 | SK Slavia Praha | 11 | Howardian LHC | 3 |
| 14:15 | Galway LHC | 1 | Valhalla LHC | 3 |
| 16:45 | Howardian LHC | 3 | Valhalla LHC | 4 |
| 18:00 | Galway HC | 2 | SK Slavia Praha | 16 |
DAY 3: Sunday 21 February
After the disappointment of Saturdays second game, it was a determined Howardian side who took to the court on Sunday morning, hoping to build on the second half of the first meeting with Slavia
and give a clear indication of their ability to match sides of this quality. Slavia had destroyed Galway 16-2 the previous afternoon, which, along with the Irish sides early morning defeat by Valhalla, meant
that a good Howards performance would almost assure them of Bronze ahead of their final game. The Czechs, as with every one of their games, took control almost immediately, after a second minute lead
from their first penalty corner. However, this did not serve to open the floodgates, as Howards defended resolutely and outworked their opponenets for long periods. Even a second Slavia corner goal did not
break the resistance, and when Emma Olivari saved a penalty stroke, this spurred Howards on and a period of attacking pressure was rewarded when Becky Fleck reduced the arrears, leaving the half time
score a highly impressive 1-2. Inevitably, fatigue started to take its toll as the second half wore on, but Laura Church made some fine stops to keep the score down as mistakes crept into the defensive play
and Slavia had more scoring opportunities. The final scoreline of 1-7 didn't flatter either side, as the outstanding Czech side and the determined Welsh all but sealed Gold and Bronze respectively, the
Czechs needing to lose by 20 and Howards by 5 in their final games for goal difference to go against them! To fully put this result into perspective, Slavia would go on to defeat Valhalla 14-2 in their final
game, and the combined score of 4-18 across 2 games against the Czechs was better than that by any of the other 2 teams, and Howards were the only side to improve their result in the second game!
Following the high point of the mornings game against Slavia Praha, Howards went into the final game of the tournament knowing that Galway had to beat them by 5 clear goals to claim the Bronze and
prevent Wales from winning its first Medal since Penarth had also claimed 3rd place in 2005. Galway started the game determined to try and achieve just that and, having had an extra games rest on the
final day as well as a raucous home crowd cheering them on, they got a vital early breakthrough on a counter attack. Whereas going behind in the earlier game had brought the best out of Howards, this
time it seemed to do the opposite, as the nerves and hesitancy seen during the first game against Slavia returned with a vengence. Even an equalising goal from Maree Thomas midway through the first
half did not settle the ship, and a series of mistakes in key situations allowed Galway to retake the lead and build upon it in a 5 minute period prior to half time which unfortunately saw Howards playing their
worst hockey of the weekend at the most important of times! Indeed, had Emma Olivari not saved the first of 2 Penalty Strokes the Irish were awarded in that period, Galway may have been even further
ahead than 4-1 at half time, the buzzer very definitely coming to Howards rescue. A vastly improved second half display saw Howards regain their composure, shape, control of the game and grasp on the
Bronze medal. As the half progressed, more and more pressure was heaped on the Irish team, with Laura Church coming off the bench at half time to more than meet any threat on the Howards circle and keep
an all important clean sheet. At the same time, Howards were creating more, and better, opportunities at the other end, and when Annie Petherick converted a Penalty Corner midway through the half, the
Bronze was effectively won. Although Howards kept pressing and the Irish lost their GK to a 2 minute suspension at one stage, they couldn't find the finishing touches to bring the scores level, so were left
with the strange feeling of disappointment at the final whistle rather than elation. However, Howards could take consolation from the fact that when it really mattered in those final 20 minutes, they were
able to raise their game to a standard high enough to take control of the situation and achieve the necessary outcome.
| 09:00 | Valhalla LHC | 3 | Galway HC | 0 |
| 10:15 | Howardian LHC | 1 | SK Slavia Praha | 7 |
| 13:15 | SK Slavia Praha | 14 | Valhalla LHC | 2 |
| 14:00 | Howardian LHC | 2 | Galway HC | 4 |
Overall, there is little doubt that Howards deserved the Bronze across the 3 days, particularly for their performances against Slavia and Valhalla, but there is equally little doubt that the event as a whole once again highlights how important performing to potential on a consistent basis is, as not doing so means being punished regardless of the opponent. This will be important for the club when they return next year and try to repeat, or improve on, this excellent final placing
Final rankings
1st: SK Slavia Prague
2nd: Valhalla LHC
3rd: Howardian LHC
4th: Galway HC
