Rotterdam’s counter-attacking masterclass saw them defeat Old Georgians 6-3 as the English side were left to rue their penalty corners in the EHL Men’s FINAL8.

Classy goals from Guus Jansen, Jeroen Hertzberger, Thijs van Dam, Dylan Lucieer and Pepijn van der Heijden made the difference.

For OGs, they ended the day with 13 corners, three of which they converted, but had they fired in any of their eight in the first half, it would have changed the game’s complexion.

As it was, they fell behind in the 23rd minute from Jansen’s virtuoso control on a long overhead ball, lobbing the ball up and over George Pinner for 1-0 at half-time.

Ashley Jackson equalised in the 37th minute from a corner move but flowing moves left Hertzberger in for goal number two and then van Dam flicked from the left baseline into the roof of the net.

James Carson scrambled in a rebound for 3-2 with 12 minutes to go but Rotterdam kept picking them off on the break with their speed a vital factor.

Hertzberger – with his 49th EHL goal – and van der Heijden stretched the lead to 5-2 before Lucieer completed their total. Sam Ward got a late consolation but Rotterdam had the spot in Sunday’s FINAL4 where they will face Gantoise.

Gantoise’s men set up a weekend to remember as they followed their men into the FINAL4, going through to that phase for the first time with a big win over their country rivals Royal Léopold.

They burst out of the blocks with a major chance inside 15 seconds before Charles Masson broke the deadlock only a couple of minutes later, ghosting in at the back post.

After the rapid start, things settled into more of a midfield battle while both goalkeepers – Romain Henet and Jaime Carr – saved at close quarters, keeping the game in the balance at half-time.

Matters, though, were all but settled in three mad minutes late in Q3. Reduced to nine players with Antoine Kina and Alexander Hendrickx in the sin bin, Gantoise won a corner on the counter.

Maico Casella whizzed a shot into the goal and then, when restored to the full 11, they won another corner which Hendrickx slammed into the backboard on his return to the fray.

For good measure, Hendrickx launched another one into the top left corner for a 4-0 final scoreline.

Gantoise produced a remarkable second half performance to reach the EHL FINAL4 for the second time as they outdid Mannheimer HC 3-0.

In the process, they made a major breakthrough for Belgium as they join Braxgata in the next phase, meaning the country will have two sides in the last four for the first time.

It was a game of contrasting fortunes with Mannheim making all the play in the first half, pinning Gantoise – wearing pink in support in breast cancer charity Think Pink – back in their own 23-metre zone.

The best chances for each side came from penalty corners while Alexi van Remortel was brilliantly denied by Chiara Vischer from another effort in a scoreless first half.

Gantoise found more room to work with in the second half and they took the lead late in Q3 when van Remortel made a great move on halfway to unlock the door. A pass to the baseline was crossed by Emilie Sinia to where Astrid Bonami eventually got the ball free to slot in.

Down the same channel, Alix Gerniers set in motion an attack which led to van Remortel’s angled shot which eluded everyone, making it 2-0.

And the win was complete when Michelle Struijk pounced on a corner rebound in the 58th minute to make the game extra safe to the delight of the large traveling support.

Railway Union picked up Ireland’s first win in EHL Women’s history as Lily Lloyd’s single goal notched a special piece of history for the Dublin club.

It earned a 1-0 win over Ukraine’s MSC Sumchanka in their Ranking Match, earning the Dubliners a ninth place finish with the latter ending in 11th overall.

They had the slight edge throughout a tight contest as Katie Mullan threatened frequently in the first half while Sumchanka’s best moments came from a pair of corners in Q1.

The goal arrived in the 33rd minute from a switch left move which was whipped to the right post where Lloyd touched in. Ali O’Leary hit the post while Lloyd almost got another when she rounded the goalkeeper but saw her shot saved off the line.

Nonetheless, they got the win 11 years on from their last top tier win in the old EuroHockey Club Cup in 2014, coincidentally in the same venue against Azerbaijan’s Atasport.

Bloemendaal just about held off Club de Campo de Madrid their ABN AMRO EHL FINAL8, surviving a huge second half onslaught to get the win.

Casper van der Veen had the sparrows flying high in the second minute when he scrambled the ball over the line from close range.

It all looked to be plain sailing when Jasper Brinkman dragged in a penalty corner just before the end of the first quarter. Indeed, they had six corners in the first half as Campo hung on at times but they rallied in the second quarter to keep alive in the game.

And the Madrid side stormed back into contention in the third quarter; they got on the scoreboard with a beautiful Cesar Curiel touch to deflect a drag-flick into the top corner.

And they were only denied an equaliser in the next minute when John van ’t Land somehow cleared off the goal line when Alvaro Portugal’s nudge went beyond Maurits Visser.

They had a series of corners in the last few minutes also but could find no way past Visser as Bloemendaal snuck through to the FINAL4.

Jip Janssen’s pair of first quarter goals put Kampong on course for another ABN AMRO EHL FINAL4 spot as they got the best of Surbiton 3-1.

It was a helter-skelter battle with the London club putting together good spells but the Dutch side nabbed goals at crucial times to stay in the clear.

Janssen’s twin cannonballs in the 10th and 12th minutes both took heavy deflections off defenders but their raw power was enough to build a two-goal lead earlier in the contest.

Matching reverse-stick shots from Stu Rushmere and Terrance Pieters at either end somehow stayed out of the goal before Surbiton got one back just before half-time.

Jacob Smith got the finishing touch from Tim Nurse’s cross from the left wing, a clever Rushmere touch guiding the ball into his pass.

But the game settled in the dying moments of the third quarter when Pieters latched onto the ball on the 23m line, setting up Duco Telgenkamp on the baseline. He controlled perfectly and launched his shot into the roof of the goal.

After that, Kampong goalkeeper Estiaan Kriek made a number of crucial saves which ensured his side stayed out of range.