Inverleith Hockey Club ended Day 1 of the EuroHockey Indoor Trophy at Edinburgh Napier University with a draw and a win from their two matches. Second match of the day, Inverleith were drawn against Racing Club Bruxelles and after a tentative opening period, went one goal down after seven minutes. A couple of squandered chances from the Edinburgh side later and the Belgian team went another goal ahead, Inverleith pulled one back at the end of the first half with an overtime penalty corner to finish the half 2-1 down.
A swift exchange of goals early in the second half saw the sides level at 3-3, before the visitors draw out a two goal lead with just over 5 minutes left. Inverleith managed to pull back to 4-5 and with 5 seconds left on the clock, fired the ball up the pitch. A quick one-two left Derek Salmond to slam the shot in as the umpire was about to blow for full time (pictured). 5-5 the final score and a few fluttery hearts in the crowd.
Their second match, against AD Lousada of Portugal, turned out to be fairly one sided affair, Inverleith coming out of the encounter 8-3 ahead with the final two goals coming in the last minute. The score not really reflecting the gap between the two teams.
On Day 2 Inverleith play Slagelse HC from Denmark and HC 1972 Rakovnik from the Czech Republic, with the Danes looking particularly good.
Report and Photo – John Preece
Web – http://www.photoboxgallery.com/jlp-photography
