KO8: Rot-Weiss Koln – AH&BC Amsterdam

vs.
2 - 2 (6 - 5 SO)
20 Apr 16:15 CET
Eindhoven, Netherlands

Match highlights

'19Jan FleckhausJ. Fleckhaus

'35Johannes GrosseJ. Grosse

HT

'47Christopher RührC. Rühr

'52Mirco PruijserM. Pruijser

'54Valentin VergaV. Verga

'57Johannes GrosseJ. Grosse

FT

SOValentin VergaV. Verga

SOJohannes GrosseJ. Grosse

SOBilly BakkerB. Bakker

SOMats GrambuschM. Grambusch

SOTom HiebendaalT. Hiebendaal

SOChristopher RührC. Rühr

SOTeun RohofT. Rohof

SOMarco MiltkauM. Miltkau

SOMirco PruijserM. Pruijser

SOThies PrinzT. Prinz

SOMats GrambuschM. Grambusch

SOMirco PruijserM. Pruijser

SOChristopher RührC. Rühr

SOValentin VergaV. Verga

SOChristopher RührC. Rühr

SOTom HiebendaalT. Hiebendaal

Watch the RWK vs AMS highlights

Match report

Rot Weiss kept alive their hopes of a second EHL title in three seasons as they won an extraordinary KO8 shoot-out against AH&BC Amsterdam.

It means there will not be a Dutch side in the FINAL4 for the first time in the history of the Euro Hockey League while there are also two new medalists guaranteed with only Rot-Weiss having stepped on the podium before.

After a scoreless first half, the tie burst into life when Johannes Grosse and Christopher Ruhr put the German side 2-0 up only for Mirco Pruijser and Valentin Verga to score in the last eight minutes and earn a draw.

The shoot-out went to the eighth round before the deadlock was broken where Ruhr scored to make it 6-5 and Victor Aly held his ground against Tom Hiebendaal to register the win.

The first half was a cagey affair with both sides trying to figure each other out. Pruijser’s rising reverse-stick shot into the side netting was the pick of the early action while Thies Prinz and Antheus Barry made some super baseline runs.

The second half opened up with Mats Grambusch controlling the tempo and Timur Oruz in particularly strong form. Rot-Weiss opened the scoring from a corner, brilliantly worked to Ruhr and then on to Grosse to sweep in from the injection zone.

Justin Reid-Ross clattered the bar with his first corner drag-flick and Aly held out another before Ruhr put the Germans two up in glorious fashion. His clever skills got him away from his marker before exchanging passes with Marco Miltkau and finishing beautifully.

But Amsterdam showed their fighting spirit and got a lifeline when Pruijser unleashed a vicious shot to beat Aly from the left of the circle. Verga then pounced on a loose ball fro Jan-Willem Buissant’s crash ball to make it 2-2 with six minutes left.

Rik van Kan could have won it soon after when he was through all on his own but Aly held him up enough to snuff out the chance.

It led to the fourth shoot-out of the day and it was a high quality one with the first five ending in a 4-4 draw. The drama continued with both sides missing in round six and scoring in round seven. Ruhr kept his nerve to rebound his own shot for 6-5 before Aly kept out Amsterdam’s eighth shoot-out for the victory.

“It was a very intense, very hard game; both sides had so many chances but we are just so happy we won it in the end,” player of the match Thies Prinz said afterwards.

“We were up 2-0 and then the draw so the emotions were very high but I am just so happy that we won! I am just too happy too talk!”

Menu