Issue 170 May 18 2011
Season Heading for Thrilling Climax YET again the top level of English Handball looks set to produce a thrilling climax to the season - starting with this Sunday. Richard Browne reports. The final round of the English Men’s National League play-offs take place at Leyton SCORE Centre in London from 12-6, and while four teams are battling for the three European places some clubs will be hoping for an upturn in their fortunes after last week’s Cup semi finals. Despite five goals from GB men’s captain Ciaran Williams, Salford were unable to overcome league leaders Great Dane, who triumphed 22-20 in a thrilling game.
Battling Current cup holders Ruislip Eagles won away at Manchester 25-19 in the other semi to set up an all London final. That match will see one of the sides battling to do the double, with Ruislip and Great Dane also battling against each other fiercely at the top of the league.
Women’s Cup Final: It’s Ruislip Eagles versus Olympia! THE top two teams in the English Women’s League, Ruislip and Olympia will meet each other in the final of the EHA Cup final on June 4. Ruislip Eagles won through to the final with a hard-fought 18-11 victory over Great Dane, with Dreksler scoring six goals. Olympia made it to the final with a narrow 31-27 win over Deva, with their topscorer being Bourkab with an impressive ten goals, while Torgnes bagged nine. Basta and Popa both scored ten goals for Deva, but it was not enough to secure victory.
The two sides go into the final league games of the season neck and neck. Although Great Dane currently hold a goal difference advantage of 13, Ruislip can anticipate a big points tally in the day’s midday start against Nottingham University, who they thrashed 42-17 in April. With Salford looking to avenge their cup defeat, the result of their fixture against Great Dane in the day’s 4pm kick off will probably decide not only the title but also the European placings. With only the top three going into the European Cup, a win for Olympia in their 2pm game with Manchester would pile the pressure onto Salford to prevent it being an all-London top three. With the European places, the title, and local pride all at stake, this coming Sunday at Leyton promises to be an event not to be missed.
Salford’s defence try to stop Great Dane ’s Jordi Ferrer from shooting.
THE dates have been confirmed for GB Women’s two Euro 2012 clashes against Finland next month. The qualifying games will be staged on June 3 and 4. The winner of the GB v Finland matches will go into Group Three with Russia, Montenegro and Poland. The finals of the competition will be held from December 2-16 2012 in the Netherlands.
English Lge (play-offs) Great Dane Ruislip Eagles Salford Olympia Manchester Nottingham Univ
P 9 9 9 9 9 9
W 7 7 5 4 3 0
les Great Dane’s Pauline Brosset batt nce. defe es’ Eagl lip the Ruis
against
Pictures: Marek Biernacki D 0 0 0 1 1 0
L 2 2 4 4 5 9
F 266 254 242 221 183 169
A 206 207 229 202 217 274
Diff 60 47 13 19 -34 -105
Handball News is produced by Snowdon Sports Media Partners Ltd for the British Handball Association For more details please contact 0845 230 0803 or log on to BritishHandball.com or EnglandHandball.com
Pts 14 14 10 9 7 0