The second phase of the EHL Men KO16 weekend kicks in on Saturday morning as the battle to complete the FINAL8 line-up begins in earnest with the hosts hoping to delight Real Club de Polo.
Saturday October 11th
KO16: Western Wildcats (SCO) v Braxgata HC (BEL) – 09.45 CET
Western Wildcats will play in the EHL for a fourth successive season as they continued to rule the roost in Scotland last season, taking the national title once again.
They have lost some influential players with internationals Jamie Golden and Tommy Austin moving on, offset by the arrival of set-piece expert Iain McFadden. They are unbeaten after four games but their last build-up game last weekend was postponed due to Storm Amy.
Facing them is a Braxgata team who are making their debut in the EHL but are not short on experience in the competition with the likes of Arthur Van Doren, Loick Luypaert, Pirmin Blaak and Sébastien Dockier combining for four gold, four silver and seven bronze medals. They have helped build a three-point Belgian league lead after six games.
KO16: SV Kampong (NED) v Real Club de Polo (ESP) – 12.00 CET
A fascinating encounter with the 2016 winners playing the hosts while former Polo goalkeeper Luis Calzado makes a quick return to his home club following his summer move to Kampong.
The Utrecht side is in transition; they have five points from five games in the Hoofdklasse but there is a lot of star power in their line-up like Jip Janssen, Jonas de Geus, Lars Balk, Terrance Pieters, Derck de Vilder and Duco Telgenkamp.
For Polo, they welcomed back Marc Miralles following his spell with Real Club de Polo and also add Nicolás Alvarez and Japanese Olympian Kentaro Fukuda.
KO16: Banbridge HC (IRL) v HC Bloemendaal (NED) – 14.15 CET
The six-time winners, Bloemendaal enter the weekend on a high after a dramatic 5-4 win over Kampong with new signing Elian Mazkour scoring a peach of a winning goal. He arrived along with Belgian stars Arno Van Dessel and Max Langer and EHL legend Marco Miltkau to add to their options.
For Banbridge, it will be their first EHL meeting with Dutch opposition and they have added Irish international Adam McAllister to their panel. He joins fellow Green Machine men Peter Brown, Johnny McKee, Luke Witherow, Fergus Gibson, Luke Roleston and the Rowe twins Louis and Charlie.
KO16: Old Georgians HC (ENG) v HC Olten (SUI) – 16.30 CET
Old Georgians – the 2024 bronze medalists – will aim to regain the England Hockey league title and get back into the EHL mix with a couple of standout additions like goalkeeper James Mazarelo, striker Henry Croft and Spaniard Pablo Usoz. Sam Ward has already struck eight times in four league matches to date in England.
They meet HC Olten who will become the newest EHL side after they defied the odds to win the Swiss title last season. Since then, there have said a fond farewell to coach Chris Elste who steps away after a transformative three years in the role. The side has a healthy international outlook with Lukas Hengartner, Nico Muggli, Lorenz Gassner and Maurizio Ribaudo all part of the Swiss team
Sunday, October 12th
Ranking Match: Western Wildcats/Braxgata HC v SV Kampong/Real Club de Polo – 09.45 CET
KO8: Western Wildcats/Braxgata HC v SV Kampong/Real Club de Polo – 12.00 CET
Ranking Match: Banbridge/Bloemendaal v Old Georgians/Olten – 14.15 CET
KO8: Banbridge/Bloemendaal v Old Georgians/Olten – 16.30 CET