Frontrunners all win in Play-Offs

AFTER just one week of the English National League play-offs, the frontrunners are already starting to pull away following matches at Leyton SCORE Centre on Sunday.

Salford are top of the table after beating Cambridge 25-19 but had a tough job in battling past their southern rivals, who were holding them 9-11 at half time. Ryan Goodwin scored five goals for Salford, while Chris Bentz also netted five for Cambridge.

Elsewhere, third-placed Ruislip Eagles beat Manchester 32-19.

Last year defeat against Manchester at the exact same stage of the competition cost the Eagles the National title.

But on Sunday the Eagles did not make the same mistake. Although the start of the game was slow and marred by several offensive mistakes and technical faults, the Eagles regrouped and started taking control of the game a few minutes before the half time break when the score was 16-12.

Without complacency, they started the second half dominantly and used the depth of their bench to increase the gap. The defence appeared focused and solid around the goalkeeper Andrius Rinkevicius who conceded only seven goals in the second half.

Christin Nguelo with seven goals finished top scorer for the Eagles, but at the end it is a good collective performance that allowed the Eagles to take a clear victory 32-19.

In other matches, London GD maintained second spot with a 36-20 victory over Leeds Hornets.

The play-offs continue on March 11 at Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool with Salford v Ruislip, Manchester v London GD and Leeds Hornets v Cambridge.

Impressive line-up for Liverpool Festival

TEAMS from across Europe will come to England in May for the ever-popular annual Liverpool International Handball Festival.

The two-day event has attracted domestic teams from Spain, Norway, Holland and Switzerland as well as several top teams from England and Scotland.

Running from May 26-27, the event will also include a four-club wheelchair handball event.

Manchester go down against Speke Garston

MANCHESTER Handball Club were left reeling this weekend as they completed the final game of the English National League’s Northern Section, going down 19-28 against Liverpool Speke Garston.

Due to traffic problems the Liverpool Speke team started with four players missing and Manchester took full advantage controlling the game throughout the first half. Liverpool Speke Garston persevered keeping in touch to finish half time 14-10 down.

Galvanised by the half time team talk, Liverpool Speke Garston came out all guns blazing and put on a gritty defensive show matching Manchester goal for goal nullifying Karim Hammache in the process.

Manchester still led with 14 minutes to go, but the Liverpool Speke team began to dominate and clawed back the deficit racking in five goals without reply to go ahead. Remarkably Manchester only scored five goals in the second half period as the Liverpool Speke Garston team improved running out worthy winners.

Hawks Celebrate Top Award

NORTH East Manchester Hawks Handball Club is celebrating after its “Hands On” project was granted the prestigious London 2012 Inspire Mark.

The Inspire Mark is the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Games.

The club, working in association with Oldham Council’s Sports Development team, is promoting the sport in several primary schools.

Players from the club, some of whom have already had international recognition at age-group levels, talk to pupils about their experiences at a special assembly and then join coaches to introduce the youngsters to the fast-flowing indoor sport.

Seb Coe, chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said: “Hands On is encouraging local schoolchildren to fulfil their potential.

“I am proud that with the help of partners such as Oldham Council’s Sports Development team and the NEM Hawks club, we are delivering our vision to use the power of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to boost participation in handball.

“The Inspire programme is ensuring the legacy of the 2012 Games starts now as projects like Hands On are enabling young people in Oldham to make positive life changes.”

Donna Hankinson, coach of NEM Hawks and also coach to the England Under 16 girls team, is the driving force for the sport in the North Manchester area.

She said: “I have played and coached handball for years and to see this recent explosion in the sport and the potential for more expansion post- London 2012 is fantastic.”

Emma Jenks, Oldham Council¹s Assistant Head of Integrated Youth Service, said: “We are all delighted to receive the Inspire mark. NEM Hawks have been pro-active in getting out to the schools in Oldham and this is a fantastic achievement for us all.”

Glasgow battle back against Edinburgh

GLASGOW battled back from a half time deficit to beat Scottish League title rivals Edinburgh by one point in a dramatic clash on Sunday.

Edinburgh led 14-17 at the break after a strong first period, but Glasgow dug deep and battled back to stay within one point of league leaders Tryst, who didn’t play.

Bottom of the league Dundee also battled back from a half time deficit to win 29-24 against EK82 – their first league victory of the season.

The Scottish League programme continues this Sunday when Glasgow and Tryst will play each other, and Edinburgh take on Dundee.

Champions beat rivals Ruislip

REIGNING English National League champions London GD are just one win away from securing the southern section title after beating rivals Ruislip Eagles 33-23 at Leyton SCORE Centre in London on Sunday.

The Eagles beat them by one point back in January, but London GD secured a revenge victory which leaves them in a strong position heading into the end of season play-offs.

Ruislip were looking to record a fourth straight win and remain undefeated in 2012, but did not have the means to stop London GD despite the return of some key players.

The first half was hotly-contested, and although London GD were ahead for most of the half the Eagles were not outdistanced and had opportunities to hit back (HT: 15-12).

However, after the break the Eagles lost concentration and were punished. They didn’t pose a threat in attack and wasted fast breaks, and Goalkeeper Reda Sebbatta was on top form for London GD stopping several seven-metre throws.

London GD increased the gap easily as the all-important discipline and team unit in defence was lacking on the Eagles side. The gap rose to double digits at the final whistle (33-23).

In other action in the southern section, Cambridge and Oxford University drew 22-22.

Oxford were just ahead by one goal at the break, and the match remained close throughout.

Seco scored six times for Cambridge, while Oxford’s best was Tim Schmidt-Eisenlohr with five.

This final match in the southern section will be between London GD and Oxford University on February 23 (8pm), following which the play-offs will begin on February 26.

* And in the Women’s National League, London GD beat Warrington Wolves 24-13.

12th consecutive victory for Salford

EIGHT goals from Jack Hennessy (pictured) helped Salford beat Manchester 31-14 on Sunday, a 12th consecutive league victory this season for the table-topping outfit.

With two games left Salford have secured the northern section, while Manchester and Leeds Hornets will join them in the end of season play-offs.

Leeds secured their spot in the 20-27 victory over Nottingham University, while they were helped by a six-point deduction imposed on Liverpool Wolves for playing an unregistered player.

That deduction is currently being appealed, as it is crucial to the make-up of the play-offs.

In other action on Sunday, Liverpool beat Deva 26-17, and University of Manchester beat Liverpool Speke Garston 32-24.