Manchester beat Rivals to go Top of the Table

WITH both teams yet to drop a point this season, Sunday’s English League clash between Manchester and hosts Nottingham University proved to be a thrilling encounter which lived up to expectations.

Both sides were determined to get the three points at stake which allowed the winner to take the lead on the table.

The usual fast tempo implemented by these two teams got slowed down, as both defensive formations were solid and experienced.

Nottingham started this game with a high 5-1 which perturbed Manchester’s ball circulation. However the Mancunians managed to score by playing between their defensive lines.

Manchester defended as a unit, forcing Nottingham to take shots on the wings mainly. The outstanding performance of our goalkeeper Zolt Deak, allowed Karim’s men to enjoy their break with an advantage of five goals at 11-6.

After the break, Nottingham came back on the pitch with an even higher defensive system (4-2), which encouraged the Manchester halves to provoke one on one duels.

The ball was released to the wings when Manchester could not break through the centre.

A red card for a Manchester player and two two-minute suspensions for Nottingham men, the orange and black fought hard to close up the gap that was separating them on the score board. But they couldn’t overhaul the target, and Manchester ended up 24-17 winners.

In other Northern League action at Greenbank, Salford beat Deva 36-23 to remain as the only other unbeaten team and take second in the table, while Liverpool Wolves beat Merseyside rivals Wirral 21-15 and Liverpool Speke Garston lost out 41-17 to Manchester University.

And in the southern section, Great Dane won 28-23 against title rivals Olympia, and Cambridge battled to a 33-25 win over Bath University.

Univ of Manchester overwhelm Deva in National League

UNIVERSITY of Manchester overwhelmed newcomers Deva 36-13 in their English Men’s League (North) clash at the Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool on Sunday.

After a slow start to the season which saw them without a win for the first three weeks, the University of Manchester notched up their second consecutive victory to move up to third in the early league table.

Eight goals from Rudolf Balta led the way for the students, while Patryk Homa, Lucasz Berezowski and Andreas Papelia all added six each to keep the score ticking over.

Elsewhere in the North, Liverpool Speke Garston beat Wirral 24-19 in the day’s other match at Greenbank.
The Wirral side had only six players, but battled well against a strong and determined Liverpool Speke Garston team.

The game was goal for goal throughout the encounter and, when pushing to try and bring the game equal, the Wirral team were caught with a number of fast breaks which meant that Speke Garston pulled away in the closing stages to take victory.

In the Southern Section, Ruislip Eagles beat champions Great Dane 29-28,, while Olympia beat Cambridge 25-19.

English Men's League: Battling Bath Surprise Olympia

NEWLY-promoted Bath held Division One giants Olympia to a shock 23-23 draw in the National League on Sunday to announce their arrival in the top flight.

Despite facing a side who qualified for the European Challenge Cup last season, Bath were not over-awed by their opponents and were leading 12-11 at the break.

Six goals from Osle and five from Masiak helped Bath to a draw with Olympia, for whom Haddadou scored seven and Gug five. But it was not enough to avoid battling Bath taking a point.

Elsewhere in the South, Ruislip Eagles beat Cambridge 23-21 to make up for losing to rivals Olympia the previous week.

The Eagles started the game convincingly and led 11-8 at the break thanks to Stefan Bauer in goal.

In the second half Cambridge’s Zsolt Majoros tried hard to reduce the gap and almost turn the match in the last few minutes as Ruislip had to deal with two consecutive suspensions. However they ran out of time.

* In the North, an experienced Salford team beat Liverpool Speke Garston 30-10 with GB Under-21s Jake Williams scoring 12.

Nottingham University inflicted a first defeat of the season on Liverpool Wolves, running out 23-16 winners.
Leading 10-8 at half time, Nottingham continued to hold the Wolves at bay despite some shaky defending. Morad Arab and Ruben Wolff scored six each, and Guillaume Bodet added four.

Manchester beat city rivals Manchester University 30-25, after a spell during the second half where the University side were left with just the goalkeeper and one outfield player on court.

Girost scored ten for Manchester, Karas seven and Hammache four.

English League Dates Set

THE English National League season begins on September 26, it has been announced.

The first matches in both the Women’s League and Division One of the Men’s League will start on that date - with university clubs being exempt from playing.

After champions Great Dane, Olympia and Manchester play their European Challenge Cup matches on October 1-3, the league resumes on October 10 with a second round of Men’s Division One games, while the Women’s Development League also begins then.

For more details of the English League calendar, please go to http://www.englandhandball.com/

Tight at the Top After Thrilling Play-Off Matches

After beating leaders and reigning champions Great Dane in the Cup the previous week, Olympia continued their good form with a 33-30 victory over Manchester.

Olympia are now level on points with Manchester but ahead on goal difference and stand a very good chance of securing a European spot in the final two games of the season.

Ten goals from Lindberg underpinned their victory, while Haddadou scored eight for Olympia. Lasek scored ten for Manchester and Girost seven, but it was not enough for victory.

Cambridge overtook Manchester after beating a battling Salford side 36-27.

Nine goals from Fernandez helped Cambridge control the match, while for Salford Garthman, Tauraoui and Woodall all scored five.

Great Dane cruised to a 33-17 win over bottom of the play-off table Nottingham University, with all but four of their players getting on the scoresheet. Remus Bugariu scored eight and Philip Altong five for Great Dane, while Nottingham’s best was Bodet with six.

The play-offs resume in two weeks time on May 9 at Moulton in Northampton, where the match of the day looks set to be the clash between Cambridge and Manchester.

Olympia will be aiming to maintain third spot in the league with a win over Nottingham, while Great Dane play Salford.

Great Dane Keep Title Hopes Alive

GREAT Dane ensured the outcome of the English Women’s League would go down to the last game of the season when they beat arch rivals Ruislip Eagles 27–21 at Leyton on Saturday.

Danes knew that they had to win in order to keep their title hopes alive, whilst Ruislip would win the league if they beat Danes in this penultimate game.

Both sides fielded a full strength side and as expected the first half was a closely contested affair with both defences strong but Ruislip missed several golden opportunities and found Danes keeper Ida Griffith in fine form.

Things were all square at half time but Danes produced a devastating 10-minute spell in the second half which saw them open up an unassailable lead.

The defending champions regained their composure to finish strongly in the last five minutes but by then the game was lost and Great Danes had a deserved victory under their belt and the momentum very much back with them for the last game on May 8.

Iris Manu (pictured) top scored for Great Danes with nine, whilst Dani Sposi scored five for Ruislip.

Manchester End Great Dane's Unbeaten Run

MANCHESTER threw their National League title hopes a lifeline on Sunday when they beat reigning champions Great Dane, bringing an end to their two-season domestic unbeaten run.

The thrilling 26-25 victory leaves Manchester just one point behind Great Dane. While both sides have three play-off matches remaining, the Manchester v Great Dane match scheduled for May 23 could well turn out to be the title decider.

Both sides began with strong defences and a physical approach, but the Manchester goalkeepers Deak and Belus (pictured) gave them an edge in the first and second halves respectively.

There was never more than a couple of goals between the two sides as the lead changed hands frequently, but Manchester led 12-10 at the break.

The closing stages of an intense match led to a player being sent off for both sides, but Manchester thought they had done enough for the win with Lasek wrong-footing the Danes keeper while under pressure.

Great Dane hit back in search of an equaliser with 30 seconds left, however, the Manchester defence held out well to secure a one-point victory.

In the day’s other match, an under-strength Salford took on Olympia with just five players as much of their team was held up because of an accident on the motorway.

Olympia ran out convincing and predictable 50-14 winners, but Salford should be back to full strength for the next set of play-off matches on April 25, which are due to be held at the Greenbank Academy in Liverpool.