East Grinstead and Reading go through to final eight in Europe

KO16: Erwan Gourdin (CA Montrouge, orange) and Mark Pearn (East Grinstead) - Frank Uijlenbroek/Euro Hockey LeagueH.C. Rotterdam, Reading HC, East Grinstead and KHC Dragons qualified for KO8 on day 2 of the KO16 in Rotterdam. Monday’s quarter finals see East Grinstead facing Rotterdam with KHC Dragons taking on Reading.
 
KO16 host H.C. Rotterdam had given away a convincing 4-0 lead against German runners-up Uhlenhorst Mülheim. After being 0-4 down Mülheim started a stunning fight-back scoring three goals in the third quarter. The 4-4 equaliser was a penalty corner goal from Thilo Stralkowski with three minutes remaining.
 
The phenomenal crowd in Rotterdam’s hockey stadium saw both teams going into a penalty shoot-out. The score was still tied 7-7 after five attempts each. As Jeroen Hertzberger and Thilo Stralkowski scored at sudden-death stage, the decision came after the 14th penalty. Nick Wilson scored for Rotterdam while Benedikt Fürk failed to equalise for Mülheim. “It was a fantastic and exciting game with a lot of goals. It is always good to come up on top of a Penalty Shoot-Out”, Wilson said.
 
Sunday’s first quarter final will see Beeston facing UHC Hamburg. This match is followed by the Dutch quarter final with the Hoofdklasse champions AH&BC taking on the runners-up from Bloemendaal. This giant meeting will also be a battle between the Dutch legends Floris Evers (Amsterdam) and Teun de Nooijer (Bloemendaal).
 
Detailed match summaries, video highlights, images and much more information on the KO16 is available on www.ehlhockey.tv , the official website of the Euro Hockey League.