Handball News, April 21 2010 by Frazer Snowdon

Issue 117 April 21 2010

Olympia March On as Champions Falter OLYMPIA men’s team inflicted a narrow 26-24 extra time defeat on reigning Cup and League champions Great Dane as they reached the semi finals of the EHA Cup on Saturday. The victory was the highlight of a great weekend for Olympia, whose women’s team also reached the semi finals of the Cup with a win over Manchester University. The men’s team started on the Saturday with the tough news that their coach was stranded in Paris and influential line player Remek Bobrowski was unavailable. And they endured a nervous wait before their only available goalkeeper arrived for the match. Great Dane made a strong start and scored several goals without reply before Aillaud settled Olympia’s nerves, and they battled back into the game to 5-3. The teams then followed each other closely until a half-time score of 10-8 in favour of Great Dane.

Following the restart however, Olympia scored a series of quick goals and Great Dane looked lost against a very aggressive 3-2-1 Olympia defence. They responded by taking out the line player and playing with four back players instead, but could not find many ways through, and Olympia ran to a 13-11 lead. With a final score of 21-21 the game was taken into extra time.

AFTER overcoming travel problems which saw them without their rented minibus to Manchester, Olympia women reached the semi finals of the EHA Cup after scraping a narrow 18-17 win over Manchester. With their travel plans scuppered when their rented minibus fell through, the team bought their own minibus to travel North - and the effort certainly paid off with a spot in the last four secured.

Manchester’s right winger Loewman ran riot in the early stages and scored repeatedly. However, after a timeout and some words from their coach, Olympia recovered in the second half and ran up a three-goal lead with only a few minutes to go. However, only some very strong defending in the last few seconds saw the team hold on to a one-goal lead and claim the game 18-17. Elsewhere in the women’s EHA Cup, Deva beat Cambridge 28-23.

Crucial During extra time both teams’ defensive skills were on display, and Great Dane were restricted to scoring only three times during the ten minutes, while Olympia scored five times. Olympia’s goal keeper led the line with a man of the match appearance, but the crucial

moment came just before the end of the game, when Olympia were one goal up and Great Dane broke for a counter attack. Superb defending from Haddadou saw him catch up and stealing the ball away, Olympia’s Haddadou, who top-scored with nine against Great Dane on Saturday. to enable Olympia to score the final goal of the The determined Eagles match and book their place in overcame a young and the semi finals on May 15-16. promising Deva team in In other Men’s EHA Cup London 34-11, with Hugo Mazel results, Manchester were top-scoring with nine for made to battle before securing Ruislip, while Steven Jameson a 30-25 victory over surprise was Deva’s best with six. round one winners Bristol, and In the Men’s EHA Plate, book their place in the semi Liverpool beat City rivals finals against Olympia. Liverpool Speke Garston 24-20 And the second semi final will be between Salford and Ruislip to book their place in the semi Eagles. finals against Cambridge.

SPORT England are appealing for the views of handball fans as they launch a major new survey of the sporting landscape of the country. They have commissioned top market research company Ipsos MORI to conduct a survey about people’s experiences of playing all sports, and it is important to the future growth of handball in this country that as many people as possible take part. For more details and to take the survey, please go to www.EnglandHandball.com

GET your 2010-11 season off to a great start! Enter the Pre-Season Tournament being staged in Nottingham on Sunday, September 5. The event will be staged at the University of Nottingham’s Sutton Bonnington Campus, and while the exact format has not yet been fixed, it will include several games and include both men’s and women’s competitions. If you’re interested, please contact Colin Wills at colin.wills@nottingham.ac.uk

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

Issue 117 April 21 2010

Race for European places Reaches Crucial Stage THIS Sunday’s matches at the Greenbank Academy in Liverpool could prove to be some of the most important of the season as the National League play-offs reach a crucial stage. Manchester’s victory over leaders Great Dane a fortnight ago has thrown the play-offs wide open, with five of the six teams in the end of season competition still

battling for a top three finish and entry into European competition. After beating Great Dane in the Cup last Saturday, Olympia will be aiming to take that form into their clash with Manchester, knowing that a victory could well see them move up from fourth to second. Currently third in the table, Cambridge play Salford and

will also be bidding to preserve their spot in the top trio. Defeat for Salford will spell the end of their play-off hopes. And leaders Great Dane will be looking to get back to winning ways and salvage the League title when they play bottom of the league Nottingham.

NEXT month sees the first of England Handball’s new courses aimed at recruiting handball match officials. The Level One courses are being staged at Siddal Moor Sports College in Rochdale on May 1 and then at Newham Leisure Centre in London on May 15 and 16. The courses are aimed at giving attendees a basic understanding of the rules of the game and what is expected of officials. By the end of the course, you will be able to referee junior matches as well as games in the Development League. For more details go to Ruislip Eagles, pictured in their new kit from Kits Direct.com after their www.EnglandHandball.com victory over Deva on Saturday.

Results, April 17-18 EHA Men’s Cup, Round Two: Manchester 30 Bristol 25, Olympia 26 Great Dane 24, Thames 24 Salford 27, Ruislip Eagles 34 Deva 11. EHA Men’s Plate, Round Two: Liverpool Speke Garston 20 Liverpool 24. EHA Women’s Cup: Deva 28 Cambridge 23, Manchester University 17 Olympia 18. Scottish League (Blackburn, West Lothian): East Kilbride 34 Ayr 52, Cumbernauld 38 Gracemount 41, Tryst 27 Glasgow 21.

Fixtures, April 24 Women’s English League (Leyton, London): Ruislip Eagles v Great Dane.

Fixtures, April 25 English League Play-offs (Greenbank, Liverpool): Nottingham v Great Dane, Manchester v Olympia, Salford v Cambridge.

Scottish League Gracemount Cumbernauld Glasgow Tryst 77 Liberton Ayr East Kilbride 82 Men’s English Lge (Play-Offs) Great Dane Manchester Cambridge Olympia Salford Nottingham

A CLOSE 41-38 victory over runners-up Cumbernauld proved a fitting way for Scottish champions Gracemount to end their league season on Saturday. With 11 wins and one draw from their 12 games, Gracemount ensured they were unbeaten through the season but it was close in Saturday’s final game at Blackburn. The lead changed hands several times in the match of the day, with Allan Stokes scoring eight for Gracemount while Alan Govan added nine for Cumbernauld. Stokes ends the season as the league’s top-scorer with 111 goals. In other action, Ayr ended their season on a high with a 52-34 win over East Kilbride. They put in a strong performance and quickly opened up a 10-goal lead which they built on until the end. Kriss Szulc top-scored with 22 goals, while Mick Lavery added 13 for East Kilbride. Tryst beat rivals Glasgow 27-21 in the day’s other game, with Nikos Tsounakis and Bora Sieng scoring five each for Glasgow. But team-mate Danos Sagias was second top-scorer in the league, with 103 goals from 10 games. For Tryst, James Jule added seven goals to help his side to win.

Diff

Pts

12 12 12 12 12 12 12

11 9 8 6 5 2 0

1 0 1 0 0 0 0

0 166 3 66 3 88 6 70 7 -28 10 -124 12 -237

23 18 17 12 10 4 0

Diff

Pts

7 7 7 7 7 7

5 5 4 4 2 0

1 0 1 0 0 0

1 2 2 3 5 7

50 39 27 36 -84 -68

11 10 9 8 4 0