Crefelder Crowned Champions
17 Feb 2008
Crefelder HTC finished a flawless tournament by being crowned champions of the EuroHockey Indoor Club Champions Cup at Bells Sport Centre in Perth today.
It took until extra time for them to overcome KS Pocztowiec Poznan of Poland who had pushed them hard in a scintillating final. It was a perfect season for them, not losing once, and they carried this form into the tournament by not losing a single game.
The Germans were hotly tipped to win after their season-long winning streak and long standing history of strong indoor teams. The Germans lived up to the hype in a final that was a perfect showcase for indoor hockey. The game started off fast paced and never looked like slowing, with both teams absolutely level for the entire game.
Crefelder Captain Matthias Witthaus said that the game was very hard, but they knew that they had the ability to win. He said: “We had a great tournament, we beat every team we played and scored lots of goals, so we knew we could win it. It was a hard game, but we just decided to go out and play our hockey.”
He added that winning the Cup hadn’t sunk in yet, but the feeling was still great.
Kevan Butt, Crefelder’s team manager, hailed his team’s togetherness and cited the fact that they are good friends off the court as a major factor in how well the team performed. He added: “Physical fitness is also a big factor. But to win a tournament like this you also need a bit of luck.”
Despite Crefelder getting the last goal, it was Poznan who opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a well taken goal by Tomasz Gorny. The lead was short lived though, with Oskar Deecke hitting an absolute bullet of a shot from a textbook penalty corner bringing the Germans level. Poznan responded with sustained pressure, and despite staunch defending, German goalkeeper Schulte was called into action with some crucial saves.
Crefelder then showed their attacking class with a skilful goal coming from some slick passing, finished off by Captain Witthaus. Neither team relaxed and the scores were tied at 2-2 when Poznan executed an immaculate hit from a penalty corner with six minutes to go to half time.
The scores stayed level until the end of normal time, with both teams having chances that could have easily been put away. The finalists both defended ferociously and attacked at every opportunity but neither could find the goal to edge them in front.
Extra time started with both squads knowing that it was sudden death and the next goal would see the scoring team crowned champions. Three minutes into the period and Crefelder won a penalty corner, which Witthaus - who had led from the front all game – made sure he wasn’t going to miss when the ball fell to him on the edge of the D. He sealed the win and the season with a flawless hit to secure the 3-2 win.