Hockey: Grange thumped by German champions

Published on 15/10/2012 01:20

Grange needed to beat German champions Berliner to move into the knock-out stages of the EuroLeague, but fell short when they went down 8-0 in the final pool match in Barcelona.

The Grange absorbed the early pressure, goalkeeper Sean Hadfield making several saves to keep the German forwards at bay. However, the breakthrough came in 13 minutes when Martin Haner beat Hadfield with a low shot at a penalty corner. Berliner broke loose and Richard Braun, Haner again and Kevin Lim gave the Germans a four-goal lead at the interval.

It looked ominous for the final total when Martin Zwicker, Jonas Gomoll, Haner for his hat-trick and Niklas Cartsburg doubled the German total. In the interim Grange had their first chance at goal, Cammie Fraser firing wide.

The Edinburgh side then entered their best spell of the tournament and won four penalty corners. At the final set piece Barr’s flick was saved by the goalkeeper who then appeared to commit a stick chop on a Grange forward. The umpire initially gave a penalty, but the award was overruled by the video umpire, stating that the ’keeper had in fact made direct contact with the ball.