By The Hockey Paper
Surbiton were knocked out at the quarter-final stages of the EuroHockey Club Cup on Thursday night in front of a lively crowd at Sugden Road.
Bidding to reach the semi-finals for the second year running, Brett Garrard’s side were beaten 2-0 by Spanish outfit Club Campo De Madrid.
Lucia Abajo Saenz De Tejada’s stunning volley in the 10th minute proved to bethe crucial difference for the the majority of the game.
Surbiton dug deep as the game wore on with Giselle Ansley and Jo Hunter both going close. Captain Sarah Haycroft, recovering from injury, came on in the later stages as the Londoners produced a wave of attacks.
Genuinely devastated with the result tonight..thank you to everyone that came to support though an amazing atmosphere at a very special club! We now play again tomorrow night at 7pm #EHClub2018 #EHCC
— Georgie Twigg MBE (@georgietwigg) May 17, 2018
But the Spaniards sealed the win when Rebecca Grote notched a penalty corner goal with two minutes left.
Haycroft told reporters: “Campo were clinical and it’s disappointing that we dominated possession but couldn’t finish.
“It’s very special to play in front of our home crowd and it’s amazing that so many people turned up.”
Surbiton will now play for a place in the 5th-6th play off match against Victorya Smolevichi of Belarus on Friday night.
Earlier, Amsterdam eased past University College Dublin 8-0, title favourites beat Smolevichi 5-0, while UHC Hamburg edged compatriots Mannheimer 1-0.
FRIDAY
16:45 UCD v MANNHEIMER
19:00 SMOLEVICHI v SURBITON
SEMI-FINALS, SATURDAY
12:00 AMSTERDAM – UHC HAMBURG
14:15 ‘s HERTOGENBOSCH v CLUB DE CAMPO DE MADRID
Hockey eyewitness: Surbiton’s super fan, aged 10, assesses the European Cup
