Lille MHC defeated debutants Grasshopper Club Zurich in a shoot-out to reach the KO8 for the first time, opening the weekend of action in Surbiton with a bang.

Malo Martinache – who was the youngest player to ever play in the EHL when he lined out two years ago in Hamburg – got the winner, as he held his nerve in super style for a 4-3 success after normal time ended 1-1.

Earlier, Grasshopper had taken the lead in the first half with Oliver Habertühr touching in a rapid shot on the turn from Patrick Krüsi in the 27th minute.

But hopes of a first win for a Swiss club in the EHL were put on hold when Viktor Lockwood produced a glorious backhand shot from the left of the circle for 1-1 early in Q4.

The ensuing shoot-out saw three perfect rounds ending in 3-3 before the saves came thick and fast from José-Inaki Lafuente and Fabian Starsich. Crucially, Martinache got his one for a memorable win.

The third team for this weekend’s Euro Hockey League KO16 Men at Surbiton features a strong line-up of ten umpires with over 40 previous EHL tournaments under their belt between them.

Indeed, for Tim Meissner (GER), this will be his tenth EHL event since debuting at a ROUND1 tournament in Barcelona in 2017. Since then, he has blown the whistle in 21 matches – including the Bronze Match in 2022 – and been on video umpire duty six times.

Rebecca Edwards (ENG) will umpire at her third EHL tournament in 12 months having debuted a year ago at the KO16 in Polo and then being appointed to the FINAL8 in Amstelveen where she was VU for the women’s Grand Final and umpired the Bronze Match.

Similarly, Daniël Veerman (NED) is going to his third successive EHL KO16 since making his first appearance in Hamburg in 2022 while Shane O’Donnell (IRL) is in his fourth edition, forming part of the FINAL8 team at Easter.

Antonio Ilgrande (ITA) is the longest serving umpire from an EHL perspective; his debut dates back to 2013 and he has gone on to be at seven tournaments.

Adam Fedenczuk (SCO) is continuing a busy 2024 with his fifth EHL competition. He umpired at the EuroHockey Indoors in February and then took on the outdoor Under-21 men’s championship final in Terrassa in the summer.

Magali Sergeant (BEL) returns to the EHL after a three-year break having umpired in the FINAL4 in 2021 at the Wagener Stadium. Her compatriot Michael Dutrieux (BEL) took charge of the men’s Bronze Match last Easter and is looking forward to his fifth EHL.

The two newcomers to the Euro Hockey League are Sophie Bockelmann (GER) and Lorijn de Kraker (NED). For the former, she has previously been appointed to around 100 international fixtures across indoor and outdoor competitions while the latter is coming off the back of a hectic summer including the FIH Nations Cup, Under-21 championships and the EuroHockey qualifiers in Glasgow.

The team will be supported by umpire managers Jean Duncan (SCO) and Fred Deneumostier (BEL) and in tandem with the technical team led by Technical Delegate Leon Rutten (NED).

Officials for EHL KO16 Men (October 3-6, 2024, Surbiton Hockey Club)

AppointmentNameCountryTechnical DelegateLeon RuttenNetherlandsTechnical OfficerSue RoweEnglandJudgeMarij de Vries-ZijlstraNetherlandsJudgeBev DeakinEnglandJudgeDino DušakCroatiaJudgeRichard HullEnglandUmpires ManagerFred DeneumostierBelgiumUmpires ManagerJean DuncanScotlandUmpireSophie BockelmannGermanyUmpireShane O’DonnellIrelandUmpireDaniël VeermanNetherlandsUmpireMagali SergeantBelgiumUmpireAlex FedenczukScotlandUmpireTim MeissnerGermanyUmpireAntonio IlgrandeItalyUmpireLorijn de KrakerNetherlandsUmpireRebecca EdwardsEnglandUmpireMichael DutrieuxBelgium

The ABN AMRO EHL KO16 Men comes to Surbiton’s Sugden Road home, the first Euro Hockey League visit to England since East Grinstead hosted in 2012 at Saint Hill.

The event runs from Thursday, October 3rd to Sunday, October 6th with four matches each day as the battle to be crowned Europe’s best club begins in earnest.

Who is playing?

16 clubs from 11 different countries, seven national champions with over 50 Olympians and 100 international players on show!

You can find out more about every team here: https://ehlhockey.tv/tickets/

What is the format?

Each club has been drawn into a quadrant on the EHL KO16 Men’s drawsheet. The target for every club is to win both games in their section of the draw which will earn them a ticket to next Easter’s ABN AMRO EHL FINAL8.

The fixture list and draw can be found here: https://ehlhockey.tv/event/euro-hockey-league-men-ko16-2024-25/

Where to watch!

Wherever you are in the world, you can watch the EHL KO16 Men live from Surbiton Hockey Club from October 3 to 6, 2024 through one of the following broadcast options:

https://ehlhockey.tv/ehl-ko16-men-where-to-watch/

Fans at the venue

Tickets are now available for the event with daily and two-day passes with prices starting from €23 for adults and €15 for Under-15s. The venue itself is operating a cashless policy.

The third team for this weekend’s Euro Hockey League KO16 Men at Surbiton features a strong line-up of ten umpires with over 40 previous EHL tournaments under their belt between them.

Indeed, for Tim Meissner (GER), this will be his tenth EHL event since debuting at a ROUND1 tournament in Barcelona in 2017. Since then, he has blown the whistle in 21 matches – including the Bronze Match in 2022 – and been on video umpire duty six times.

Rebecca Edwards (ENG) will umpire at her third EHL tournament in 12 months having debuted a year ago at the KO16 in Polo and then being appointed to the FINAL8 in Amstelveen where she was VU for the women’s Grand Final and umpired the Bronze Match.

Similarly, Daniël Veerman (NED) is going to his third successive EHL KO16 since making his first appearance in Hamburg in 2022 while Shane O’Donnell (IRL) is in his fourth edition, forming part of the FINAL8 team at Easter.

Antonio Ilgrande (ITA) is the longest serving umpire from an EHL perspective; his debut dates back to 2013 and he has gone on to be at seven tournaments.

Adam Fedenczuk (SCO) is continuing a busy 2024 with his fifth EHL competition. He umpired at the EuroHockey Indoors in February and then took on the outdoor Under-21 men’s championship final in Terrassa in the summer.

Magali Sergeant (BEL) returns to the EHL after a three-year break having umpired in the FINAL4 in 2021 at the Wagener Stadium. Her compatriot Michael Dutrieux (BEL) took charge of the men’s Bronze Match last Easter and is looking forward to his fifth EHL.

The two newcomers to the Euro Hockey League are Sophie Bockelmann (GER) and Lorijn de Kraker (NED). For the former, she has previously been appointed to around 100 international fixtures across indoor and outdoor competitions while the latter is coming off the back of a hectic summer including the FIH Nations Cup, Under-21 championships and the EuroHockey qualifiers in Glasgow.

The team will be supported by umpire managers Jean Duncan (SCO) and Fred Deneumostier (BEL) and in tandem with the technical team led by Technical Delegate Leon Rutten (NED).

Officials for EHL KO16 Men (October 3-6, 2024, Surbiton Hockey Club)

AppointmentNameCountryTechnical DelegateLeon RuttenNetherlandsTechnical OfficerSue RoweEnglandJudgeMarij de Vries-ZijlstraNetherlandsJudgeBev DeakinEnglandJudgeDino DušakCroatiaJudgeRichard HullEnglandUmpires ManagerFred DeneumostierBelgiumUmpires ManagerJean DuncanScotlandUmpireSophie BockelmannGermanyUmpireShane O’DonnellIrelandUmpireDaniël VeermanNetherlandsUmpireMagali SergeantBelgiumUmpireAlex FedenczukScotlandUmpireTim MeissnerGermanyUmpireAntonio IlgrandeItalyUmpireLorijn de KrakerNetherlandsUmpireRebecca EdwardsEnglandUmpireMichael DutrieuxBelgium

“The very best thing about becoming champions was we are all like a family; these are all my best friends!” AHTC’s Christoph Soldat on the essence that makes European club hockey such a special thing.

He was speaking to the EHL website ahead of their return to competition after a 12-year absence following their run to the Austrian national title in June.

It sets them up for this week’s KO16 contest with Mannheimer HC in Surbiton, a dream for the player who came up through the youth system since his family moved to Germany in 2009.

There, he grew up with numerous of his team mates like Oliver Kern, Lorenzo Rizzi and team captain Florian Albrecht.

“We are all very excited because, for a small club in Austria, it’s not every day that you play such a big competition along with such a big media!

“We are very young team and most of the guys are aged between 17 and 25. I think this is a huge part of our success. We’re not just meeting for training sessions but we’re also meeting for drinks or coffee or studying or whatever.

“A huge part in how we as a team work because we’re very close to each other.”

Given that profile, there are no direct links back to their previous EHL campaigns but Soldat says the stories when he started joining the first team as a teenager still got told.

“I don’t really remember it at the time but  I got to play with some of the players who were in the squad at that time.

“Obviously this was a big talking point  at the training ground. As a young player, joining the squad at 16 or 17, you obviously listen to those stories from guys like Dominik Monghy, Fabian Zeidler and Matthias Gerö, those kind of guys.”

That early introduction is something indicative of the club with the ‘if they are good enough, they are old enough’ adage holding true.

Albrecht made his European debut in 2017 as a 15-year-old in the EuroHockey Club Trophy in Elektrostal; Kern was 17 at that same tournament.

“I think this is an issue for Austria in general. Yeah. If they are good young players, they will be introduced into the first team very early.

“There’s not so many players around compared to other countries so if you’re any good or at a certain level, it’s usual to get to the first team at a very young age like we did.”

By that stage, the then 17-year-old Soldat had already been capped at senior level but his international career has been a slow-burner until this year when he has been an ever-present in the Olympic and EuroHockey qualifiers.

In the interim, he spent a season with Harvestehuder THC after coming into contact Christoph Bechmann who was doubling as T2 for the Austian national setup.

Soldat did find opportunities in the first team in Hamburg limited but he did return with renewed zeal to AHTC; he was named the Austrian MVP for the championship winning season.

Picture: Manfred Szieber

“I feel like the one year training wise – because I got to train with the first team all year long – improved my game. But also, it was like coming home and there was less pressure, to be honest, in terms of everyone was very welcoming.

“Maybe that combination of being in a good hockey shape and the mental part was huge I guess.”

For this season, the panel has new additions in Ben Kramer (Münchner SC), Tom Seidensticker (Düsseldorfer HC), Paul Baier, Maximilian Fink and Leopold Breitmayer (all from their own youth section).

But, for the most part, AHTC are likely to keep faith with much of the side Lukas Staniczek coached to glory last term.

“Concerning EHL, I think we’ve decided as a team that we would like to play with the championship side of last year, to give all of the guys who played a big role in that the opportunity to play on such a stage.”

Having drawn Mannheim in the KO16, he is well aware of the size of the challenge ahead.

“If you are a German champion, you’re probably one of the best three or four in Europe and obviously they have one or two who just won the silver medal at the Olympics. I think this is a great opportunity for us to play against such a team of such high quality.

“And to show them that we’re not bad either! So, yeah, we’re looking forward to it. Obviously we know it’s a tough, tough challenge and we are realistic, but we’ll give it our best and push for the best outcome possible.”

The well-travelled Jamie Golden looks set to be a key figure for Western Wildcats on EHL KO16 weekend as he returns to one of his former Surbiton stomping grounds.

Despite being just 22, it will already be his third EHL campaign having had a tough debut with Groze Menzieshill before storming to bronze with Surbiton in 2022.

He returns to Scotland this year for his studies having spent last season with another KO16 side, Hamburger Polo Club, helping the Wildcats get off to a flying start with three wins from three with no goals conceded.

“I’ve settled in really well and everyone’s now locked in and looking forward to the EHL,” he told the EHL website. “They have been really successful in Scotland in all competitions and were really keen to have me come and play so it was a great option for me.”

The transition was aided by the presence of fellow Scotland internationals AJ Lochrin, Andrew McAllister, Fraser Moran and another new arrival, Tommy Austin from Kelburne.

Reflecing on his wandering ways, he says it was something his father encouraged him to do having broken through with the Grove Menzieshill youth setup in Dundee.

“My dad was just like ‘I think you need to do it’ once I finished school. The standard of hockey and little bit more money and funding is available.

“I wanted to see what opportunities came, what I could do and where I could get to with my game and it ended up being pretty successful.

“Dad said you can always come back and do your studies later on. I’m glad I took the advice, got the experience, met lots of cool people and done a lot of cool things.

“I had a great time in Germany and maybe now it’s time to come back and get my head down!”

With Menzieshill, he got his first taste of the EHL, a particularly rough one where they faced AH&BC Amsterdam in the KO16 and then SV Kampong in a ranking match.

“I was still pretty young at that point but it did make me realise I want to do something and see where I can take it, playing against those teams and just realising the standard that’s out there. As soon as I played against Amsterdam, I knew it was what I wanted to do.”

In action for Surbiton against KHC Dragons in the EHL Ranking Cup in 2021. Picture: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics

Those games did coincide with some iconic moments in the stand, DJ Marij’s Scottish medley leading to a 10-minute Simple Minds salvo from the large travelling support in Eindhovenn.

“Obviously, the games were going to be very hard but the lads were like ‘if it’s one thing that we could do well, it is support’ and they absolutely nailed it. Seeing the boys on the side, being part of it all was just an experience I’ll never forget.”

After he finished school, London called for a two-year spell.

“On to Surbiton and it was obviously a big difference, working hard and getting the EHL bronze which I think was a fair reward. We did the right things and everything went our way.

“It definitely felt like home; I know I was only there for two years but the way the guys brought me in and looked after me, I just couldn’t ask for anything more. I am excited to go down again and get to see everyone.”

They could be a potential second opponent but, first, they have a KO16 date with Wimbledon on Saturday, October 5 to take on.

“With Surbiton, meeting Wimbledon was always a pretty big game. It was always close. For us [at Western], we’re pretty excited to get going and I think it’s going to be a very competitive game.

“It will come down to who wants it more on the day. Right now, we’re pretty informed about how they play and we’ve played three league games and not conceded a goal yet.

“We’re in the best possible shape we could be for this game.”

** Find out more about Western Wildcats here