Der Club an der Alster made a brilliant return to action in the German Hockeyliga, winning 4-2 away from home over Rot-Weiss Köln, cutting the gap to their rivals to six points.
Rot-Weiss cut the gap via Nike Lorenz just after half-time via a corner but Hanna Valentin’s reply was instant, making it 3-1. Another corner from the hosts reduced the deficit once again to a single goal but Gablać settled things in the 41st minute with the killer goal.
For Alster coach Jens George, he was delighted with the final outcome after a rollercoaster ride.
“It was a bit wild at times,” he said. “After the first quarter we lost the structure a little. But I also found it good that we were able to respond perfectly after every goal we conceded. In between, however, there was a lack of security, as there were a lot of ball losses on both sides. With a view to the EHL in two weeks, we still have to improve.”
The Hamburg club went in front when Hannah Gablać’s backhand cross was turned in by Lisa Altenburg in the fourth minute. Carlotta Sippel got the next goal in the 14th minute.
Alster remain in third place in Group A with six points to make up on the sides above them over the next month.
In the Netherlands, AH&BC Amsterdam overcame the absence of Ilse Kappelle, Fay van der Elst, Freeke Moes, Marijn Veen and Eva de Goede as they got the better of SV Kampong 1-0.
The result came courtesy of Sosha Benninga tip-in goal in the 51st minute and Felice Albers told hockey.nl afterwards it was an important performance given the circumstances.
“You know that in this time it can happen that players are not there,” she said. “You have to stay calm. It was very annoying for the team, but I think we handled it well. In the second half, we fought more and scored a nice goal. All in all, we can be satisfied.”
It backed up a 3-2 win over Klein Zwitserland in midweek and sees them move back to the top of the table. That is because Den Bosch’s Sunday game against SCHC was postponed as a result of a number of positive tests for players in the Bilthoven club’s camp.
Club de Campo maintained their six-point lead in Spain with a strong 3-0 win over fourth placed Real Club de Polo. Carmen Cano and Pilar Campoy put them in pole position at half-time and Begoña Garcia closed out their victory.
Junior FC bounced back from last week’s defeat to Campo to beat RS Tenis 6-1 but they still need a number of favours in the last five games to have any chance of hitting the top spot again.