Kane Russell’s penalty corner quartet propelled Hamburger Polo Club into next Easter’s FINAL8 of the EHL Men’s competition as they pulled clear of Ireland’s Lisnagarvey 7-1.
It completed a perfect week in Hamburg for the club as they backed up their 4-0 victory over Wimbledon with another strong win in their debut campaign, much to the delight of their noisy green and red fans.
Russell had them on the scoreboard within two minutes with a typical penalty corner goal. The New Zealander was at it again before the end of the first quarter, making it 2-0 to build a commanding lead which they held until half-time.
Player of the Match – Kane Russell #EHL
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Garvey, though, fought hard and were back in the game early in the second half when Ollie Kidd scrambled in from close range, cutting the gap to 2-1.
But a spectacular Russell third goal in the 35th minute from yet another corner restored a comfortable wedge, 3-1 going into the final quarter.
Kane varied the move for a fourth goal from a set piece, dummying past the first runner before flicking in from mid-circle. After that, the Irish side ran out of legs and Polo took advantage.
Hugo Inglis got their first from open play and Jan-Hendrik Bartels added another a couple of seconds later. Constantin Staib scored his third of the competition to close out the 7-1 success.
Wimbledon netted four times in an 11-minute second half spell to land the Ranking Points from their encounter against CA Montrouge, winning out 5-3.
Noah Darlington had opened the scoring in the first quarter for the English club but two goals in quick succession from Fabien Mazurier and Lucas Montecot swapped the lead in the moments before half-time.
Ben Hooper’s sharp touch got Wimbledon back level only for Louis Poupee to whip in a penalty corner for a 3-2 Montrouge lead. The Londoners, however, built up a head of steam with Ben Francis, Ed Horler and David Condon all netting to win a frenzied fixture.
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EHL Men’s KO16 will be available for broadcast across the globe from September 29 to October 2, 2022 via the following outlets
