League Champs Beaten in Final Clash

BATTLING Manchester secured a thrilling 29-28 victory over National League champions Great Dane in the final English National League play-off matches at the Greenbank Academy in Liverpool on Sunday.

The in-form side scraped past Great Dane by the narrowest of margins, and will be aiming to take that form into the EHA Cup final on June 5 when they play Ruislip at the Brentwood Centre in Essex.

Eight goals from Phillip (pictured) was not enough to stop Great Dane losing out, with Manchester’s Lasek also scoring eight and Girost seven.

In other Play-off action, Cambridge took a bare seven-man team for their clash with Nottingham, but still managed to scrape a 24-22 victory, with Kemmer scoring seven and Massimi five.

Meanwhile, Olympia ended their domestic season on a high when they beat Salford 45-29. El Hawary scored nine and Bobrowski seven to help Olympia to a comfortable victory which secures second spot for them.

East Milton Crowned Champs

EAST Milton School won the Scottish Schools Handball Tournament staged at Kelvin Hall as part of the pre-match entertainment prior to the GB v Austria clash on Wednesday.

They beat Struthers 10-4 in the final, and were presented with their Cup and medals by GB captain Lynn McCafferty, from nearby Cumbernauld.

East Milton never conceded more than three goals on their way to the final of the competition, which saw some superb handball played by the mixed teams from eight schools.

In contrast, East Milton scored a total of 83 goals in their seven games, averaging an impressive 11 goals per match.

As well as East Milton and Struthers, other schools competing were St Mary’s, Heathery Knowe, Greenhills, Baird Memorial, Caledonia and Troon.

Gracemount Add Scottish Cup to League Title

LEAGUE champions Gracemount completed double when they won the Scottish Cup on penalties on Sunday.

Tied at 23-23 after normal time, Gracemount and Tryst were level at 25-25 after extra time, leading to penalties which gave Gracemount a 31-29 win.

In other Cup action, Glasgow beat Tryst 35-16 in the Women’s Cup, while East Kilbride won both the Under-16 boys and girls events.

Overtime Thriller in EHA Cup Semi Clash

MANCHESTER reached the final of the EHA Men’s Cup after a thrilling extra-time victory over Olympia in their semi final clash at Belle Vue in Manchester on Sunday.

The victory not only gives Manchester a place in the Cup final on June 5, but gives them revenge for the narrow defeat they suffered to Olympia three weeks ago, which effectively ended their push for the National League title.

Manchester led 19-10 at half time, but Olympia clawed it back to 32-32 at the end of normal time, before the home side edged ahead in extra time.

Nine goals down at the break, Olympia’s impressive 3-2-1 defence caused many ball losses to Manchester's static attacks, and several consecutive fast breaks reduced the deficit to four before eventually equalizing with a few minutes to go.

Manchester looked stunned for much of the second half, and Olympia went two goals ahead with two minutes left.

The last few seconds of the game saw Olympia with possession with a one-goal lead, but they lost the ball and Lasek and Hammache combining on a 2 v 2 to score with just two seconds remaining.

However, Olympia had used a lot of energy to send the game into extra time, while Manchester heeded the wake-up call.

They took a two-goal lead which they kept over the first five minute half. Starting with the ball in the second half of extra time, they extended the lead to three. Although Olympia scored some important goals, Manchester replied systematically and finished the game with a Kempa.

Great Dane Preparing for Clash with Manchester

NEWLY-crowned National League champions Great Dane take on rivals Manchester in their final play-off match on Sunday.

Their clash is the last of three matches at the Greenbank Academy in Liverpool, and is also their last domestic action of the season.

The programme opens at 11.30am with Salford taking on second-placed Olympia. Both those teams lost out narrowly in Cup semi finals last weekend, and will be eager to return to winning ways.

Nottingham take on Cambridge at 1.30pm, with Cambridge hoping to make up for the disappointment of losing narrowly to Liverpool in the semi final of the EHA Plate on Sunday.

Reigning Champions Great Dane clinched the National League title once again when they beat Salford 47-14 in Northampton last week.

Their victory means they cannot now be caught with one game remaining, while the battle for second continues to rage on into the final games.

Great Dane to Play Ruislip in Women's Cup Final

In the Women’s EHA Cup, Great Dane booked their place in the final with a 38-25 victory over Deva.

Nine goals from Anne Kandler helped them to victory, along with six from Iris Manu and five from Garaloska. Lindstrom scored nine for Deva.

And in the other semi final, Ruislip Eagles booked another match against arch rivals Great Dane in the final when they overwhelmed Olympia 31-16.

Ruislip Reach Cup Final

Manchester will meet Ruislip Eagles in the final on June 5 at the Brentwood Centre in Essex, after they scraped past 31-28 in another great match in Warrington on Saturday.

Salford were ahead for much of the first half, but Ruislip edged ahead 12-13 at half time.
Both goalkeepers were in good form, but Ruislip’s had a cracking ten minute spell in the second half where he saved five six-metre shots, allowing his team to catch Salford.

To their credit Salford never gave up and closed to just one goal with three minutes to go, but some fouls cost two players a two-minute suspension, allowing Ruislip to close the game down.

Great Dane Win National League Title

REIGNING Champions Great Dane were crowned National League winners once again when they beat Salford 47-14 in the latest set of play-off matches at Moulton, Northampton, on Sunday.

Their victory means they cannot now be caught with one game remaining, while the battle for second continues to rage on into the final games.

Olympia moved up to second spot following their 29-25 win over Nottingham, while Manchester beat Cambridge 28-26 in the day’s other result.

Kent Handball Event Proves a Big Hit!

HARVEY Grammar School came out on top after the Kent Under-15 Handball Championships were staged at the Stour Centre in Ashford.

The boys remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, but faced some stiff opposition from other schools with some great skills on show.

After winning their respective groups Harvey did battle with Howard School in the final, where Harvey ran out 4-3 winners.

Third spot in the event went to Homewood School who beat Greenacre 7-5 in the third-placed play-off.

Other schools who competed were Aylesford, Maidstone Grammar, St John’s and Swan Valley.