London GD win EHA Cup

LONDON GD were crowned EHA Cup champions after beating arch rivals Salford 28-18 in the final at Bethnal Green on Sunday.

The last time these two teams met, Salford caused upset in the London GD camp by beating them with two goals, a victory that meant they won the play offs and the national league.

To begin with, both teams looked like they were in it to win it, they were neck and neck throughout the opening minutes, and after nine minutes the score was 3-3. Soon though, London GD started pulling away, letting their experience shine through against the young Salford side.

Goals from Philip Altong, Jordi Ferrer-Torras, Krisztian Ölschleger and Remus Bugariu, coupled with saves from goalkeeper Theo Bougouin and a tough defence saw London GD pull ahead. Two quick goals from Ferrer-Torras and a fastbreak goal from Ölschleger and London GD was up 10-5.

Salford seemed to grow increasingly frustrated, missing several chances and not being able to penetrate the strong London GD defence.

London GD made some changes at the first time out, Cesc Salvado came on and quickly scored three goals putting London GD further ahead. At half time, the score was 14-8.

London GD took charge from the beginning of the second half and quickly scored three goals while Salford only managed one. Despite being down several goals, Salford had not given up, and the London GD attacks were met with tough defending. Their right wing, Ste Clarke, the game’s top scorer, got a few quick goals in behind the London GD goalkeeper early in the second half.

Hope was quickly fading for the Salford fans though, as London GD kept scoring and after a textbook attack, finished with a goal from Israel Manchi, London GD was up by 21 to 12.

Salford changed their defence play briefly, taking Altong out of the game, but this only left more room for the rest of the team to score.

Salford goals from Clarke and Jake Williams in the final minutes meant little as London GD had dominated the game since the second part of the first half. The final score was London GD 28 Salford 18.

The game’s top scorer was Ste Clarke from Salford with seven goals, while Cesc Salvado was the top scorer for the London team with six.

London GD will now start preparing to play in Europe, in the European Handball Federation’s EHF Cup starting this autumn.

* Photos by Harald Haugan

Favourites in line for EHA Cup final clash

THE two favourites in the EHA Men’s Cup have been kept apart in the semi final draw made at SportHouse in Barking last weekend, increasing the likelihood that they will play each other in the final.

London GD will play University of Manchester in their semi final on May 12/13, while Salford – who have yet to beat Liverpool in their quarter final – will play the victor from Cambridge v Bath in their semi tie.

The draw was made in the presence of referees and members of the public, while the EHA Men’s Plate semi finals will be Olympia v Manchester and Deva versus either Warwick of Liverpool Speke Garston.

London GD only just reached the semi finals after a tough match against rivals Ruislip Eagles which they won 24-27.

The previous day, Manchester University had cruised into the semi finals with a 31-17 victory over Bristol.

And in the women’s EHA Cup, Ruislip Eagles edged past Olympia 34-26 on Sunday, while Saturday saw London GB beat Warrington Wolves 32-21.

London GD keep title hopes alive

London GD maintained the push for the Men’s National League title when they beat Leeds Hornets 40-24 at the Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool on Sunday.

Second in the table, London GD will need to win their remaining two matches – and hope Salford lose both theirs – if they are to take the 2011-12 title.

Against Leeds, London GD had Juan Carrasco to thank for scoring ten goals, while Phillip Altong chipped in the eight.

Marcin Cwik scored 13 for Leeds, but it was not enough to avoid defeat for a Hornets team who had just the seven bare players for the match.

In other matches, third-placed Ruislip Eagles beat Manchester 31-24 with Christian Nguelo scoring seven goals. For Manchester, Minas Georgiou and Semit Liatouji both scored seven goals, but Manchester couldn’t overhaul their opponents.

Table-topping Salford were given a 10-0 walkover in their clash with Cambridge, who failed to raise a side for the match.

But Salford’s title is far from certain – their final two matches in the play-offs are against second-placed London GD and third-placed Ruislip Eagles.

Salford beat rivals London GD in play-offs

NORTHERN Section winners Salford beat Southern Section winners London GD 29-27 in a thrilling English National League play-off clash on Sunday.

Despite currently filling the second place spot, London GD went into the game confident. Having met Salford three times last season and winning each time, there would be no reason for them to expect anything but a victory this time round too.

Salford on the other hand could be far from confident. The last time these two teams met saw Salford end up on the wrong end of a 19 goal drubbing. A defeat that handed London GD last year's league title.

The game started tight with no team managing to turn their opening attacks into goals. However, London GD were first to break to deadlock and soon after had opened up a 4 goal to nothing lead.

At this stage there was a real danger of history repeating itself, but an opening goal from Salford's Aden Woodall seemed to ease the tension slightly and give the northerners the bit of a boost they needed. A few minutes later London GD were forced to call an early time out as Salford crept up on their lead and were now only trailing by two at 5-3.

The time out didn't help. With every attack that followed you could see the confidence growing in the youngsters from the north. All helped by their renowned strength in defence. As the sides grew level the turning of the tide was obvious. As the teams went in at half time Salford had returned the 4 goal deficit to go in ahead by a single goal at 12-11.

Clearly the start of the second half was going to be key now to the outcome of the game. If London GD could retake the lead and reopen their ealier advantage then the chances of Salford coming back again would be minimal. Once again crumbling to the southern superiority that had kept the title in the south for a number of years.

Salford, however, seemed to know what would be coming. Taking the time to refresh their line up, it was Salford that came out with all guns blazing, leaving their opponents shell shocked and trailing by 5 goals after just 5 minutes.

To their credit though London GD didn't give up. As true champions, they are always a threat and worked hard to try and recoup the deficit. But, Salford's greater fitness and speed just made that task impossible. Even with two late 2-minute suspensions, Salford would not succumb to London GD's pressure.

A goal to keep Salford up by three with a minute left made the outcome certain. Even with a late goal from London GD the result was now inevitable. Salford ending an entertaining match victorious at 29 goals to 27.

Salford Assistant Coach, Kristian Marsh, said after the game: “Any match against London GD is going to be tough. They are a well established club with a great record to show for it. They've been deserved champions for a number of seasons and any team that comes to play them have to be at their best, especially down here in London.

“We played well as a team today and showed that we do not rely on any one single player. This was a massive result for us, it takes us one step closer to the title and banishes the memories of last season's catastrophic final game. We do though need to keep the momentum going. This season's far from over and we are in no way guaranteed of anything. We've wounded London GD a little today, but, just like a wounded animal, that will make them all the more dangerous next time".

Notable performances on the day come once again from Salford's Rafik Tahraoui, scoring 6 goals, and London GD's Jordi Ferrer-Torras, scoring 7. With 11 assists Salford's Aden Woodall played a great supporting part and with a save rate of over 50 per cent Salford's Rob Avery showed his value in goal.

* In other play-off action, Cambridge moved up to fourth in the play-off table with a 23-17 victory over Manchester, while Ruislip Eagles were 34-25 winners over Leeds Hornets.

The play-offs resume on April 1 at Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool, where Leeds Hornets play London GD, Salford take on Cambridge and Manchester play Ruislip Eagles.

Salford book European slot

SALFORD secured their return to European competition for the first time in nearly 20 years when they beat National League play-off rivals Ruislip Eagles 32-24 on Sunday.

The victory keeps Salford top of the play-off table and extends their unbeaten run to 23 games. It also ensures they will finish in the top three, thereby giving them a spot in the European Challenge Trophy.

Salford's coach Bill Baillie said after the game: "This was a great result for us. Not only has it kept our place at the top of the league but it has also given us a great confidence boost for our next match against reigning league champions London GD. The fact that it has also secured our return to European Competition is just a massive bonus and reflects on all the hard work that has been put in this season.”

Any game against Ruislip is a tough test. Having been leaders of the southern section for much of the season and having defeated Salford on their last three meetings, Ruislip would go into the game as favourites. However, Salford were keen to exorcise past demons and come out of the game with the win they needed to secure a much prized European spot.

The game started off close with both sides swapping early goals, after 10 minutes Salford had managed to retain a slender one goal lead at 4:3. As the half progressed the crowd were entertained by some attractive handball from both sides. But, the strength of the Salford defence combined with their speed and creativity in attack meant that Salford never relinquished their early lead.

With 25 minutes gone Salford were four up, but some late mistakes in the half allowed the southerners to come back to within two at half time, Salford going in ahead 14:12.

The second half started well for Salford as they extended their lead to five goals. However, Ruislip weren't going to give in without a fight and brought the score back to within three. But that was the closest they were to come.

The strength of the Salford defence just proved too much for the Ruislip attack. Every goal scored had to be hard won. The Salford defence was unyielding, so much so that only four shots on the Salford goal came from the six-metre line.

Ruislip's attempts to break through being akin to King Knute trying to stop the tide. A sterling team effort combined with probably the performance of the day from Salford's Matt Lee made sure that just wasn't going to happen.

After 40 minutes of the game the constant pressure told and Salford managed to further extend their lead. After 50 minutes it was back out to 5 goals and by the end of the game the gap had grown to 8. Salford ending up deserved winners by 32 goals to 24.

Notable performances on the day came from Salford's Rafik Tahraoui and Ruislip's Ludovic Cros who both scored eight goals. But, as already mentioned, the performance of the day came from Salford's defensive stalwart Matt Lee.

* In other play-off action, London GD maintained second spot with a 31-20 victory over Manchester, while Cambridge won the clash of the bottom two, beating Leeds Hornets 29-13.

Top clash in Play-Off Race

LEADERS Salford take on Ruislip Eagles in the second round of National League play-off matches at the Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool on Sunday.

The clash between the teams lying first and third could prove crucial to both side’s hopes of winning the league and going forward to European competition this summer.

In other matches that day, second-placed London GD will be aiming to keep pace with Salford when they take on Manchester, while the play-off’s bottom two teams, Leeds Hornets and Cambridge, will meet.

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.

Salford Crowned Northern Champions

Salford Handball Club secured the northern league title for the second time in successive seasons with an emphatic 43-14 win over Deva at Pendlebury on Tuesday night.

In their first meeting Deva played the plucky underdogs to run Salford to a closer scoreline than many other more experienced teams in the north. However, Salford clearly weren't going to let that happen again and were well prepared for the return clash.

Such preparation being evident in the final score, with Salford winning the game by a massive 29 goals at 43-14.

From the start of the game the writing was on the wall for Deva. After 10 minutes of play Salford had already scored eight goals with Deva only managing to score one in return.

Once again Salford's defence was to be their biggest asset, making it extremely difficult for the Deva attack to formulate any organised routine. Three late goals in the first half did at least allow Deva to go in at half time only 12 goals down at 20-8.

The second half offered no let up for the Cheshire side. With 10 minutes gone into the half Deva still hadn't managed to increase their half time tally, such was the dominance of the Salford defence.

In the same period Salford had notched up another 9 goals and there was no sign of any let up for Deva either. It was only a strong performance from Tom Robertson in the Deva goal that gave some resistance to the Salford onslaught. Even that though wasn't enough to stop Salford notching up their biggest win of the season so far.

Top goalscorers for the game from Salford were Aden Woodall (pictured), Stuart Latchford and Ste Clarke, all with six goals each. For Deva, Ben Tyler scored five and Ste Jameson three.

Salford coach Bill Baillie said at the end of the game: "The result tonight was tantamount to all the hard work the players have put in from July last year.

“This victory was well deserved, but it’s the continued level of performance and dedication that has been put in since pre-season training last year that has been most impressive. Whilst the title for the north is now secure, there's no time to let up and relax.

“We need to keep momentum and concentration for our remaining games to put us in the best possible position for the playoffs to come. We need to make sure were keep our eye on the bigger picture and our longer term objectives."

Avery Hits Form as Salford Win

LEADERS Salford cruised to a comfortable 35-12 victory over Leeds Hornets in the English National League’s northern section, to maintain their narrow advantage at the top of the table.

The game began in the usual manner for Salford as they quickly opened up a five-goal lead. However, some great goalkeeping from Lukasz Narel in the Leeds goal gave them a spur of hope and allowed the Yorkshire side to get back to within three at the quarter hour mark.

Alas though, that was the closest Leeds were to come. Salford's almost impenetrable defence allowed Leeds to score just one more goal by half time. In comparison Salford retained their rhythm scoring a further 7 to go in at half time ahead 13-4.

The second half was to be no better for Leeds. Salford's superior fitness combined with their strong defence just made life too difficult. Even when they did manage to get a shot on target Rob Avery in the Salford goal proved to be more than a match for it.

By the 50th minute Salford's lead had grown to 20 goals at 28:8. Although the Leeds goalkeeper was still making life difficult for Salford, who had to revert to a wide variety of creative shooting techniques to beat him. By full time though, the gulf between the two teams was evident for all to see with Salford notching up another victory by more than 20 goals at 35 goals to 12.

Notable performances on the day came from Lukasz Narel in the Leeds goal, despite the final scoreline.

From Salford Aden Woodall with 10 goals and 6 assists, Josh Hampson with 6 goals and Ryan Goodwin with 5 goals and 4 blocks were the notable court players. And with a 62 per cent save rate, plaudits also must go to Rob Avery in the Salford goal.

High-flying Salford Continue Good Form

HIGH-flying Salford secured an emphatic eighth consecutive league victory on Sunday, beating Nottingham University 35-16 at Birchwood Leisure Centre, Warrington, in the English National Men’s League.

Having had a three-week break since their last game Salford were clearly eager to get playing again. Nottingham unfortunately drew the short straw and it was clear what the outcome of what this game would be after just 10 minutes when Salford led by 8 goals to 2.

Indeed, there was just no let up for Nottingham throughout the half. Even with rotation of the Salford squad, the University side found it almost impossible to penetrate the Salford defence and were forced to take many low percentage shots.

Even when they did manage to break through the defence, an on form Rob Avery in the Salford goal pulled off great saves to ensure Nottingham reaped little reward.

At half time once again the game was over as a contest with Salford leading 18-6. A similar story followed in the second half. Whilst Nottingham got off to a bit of a better start Salford were never really troubled. The final score being 35 to 16 for Salford.

Notable performances on the day for Salford have to include Rob Avery in goal with a whopping 64 per cent save rate. Plaudits also must go to Ciaran Williams who top scored with 7 and also set up 9 other goals.

Matt Lee must also be recognised for his magnificent defensive performance in making 10 of Salford's 17 blocks of Nottingham's shots. Indeed the fact that 17 of Nottingham's shots were blocked and a further 11 were forced wide or over the target is recognition of the quality of Salford's defence.

Elsewhere, Manchester edged to a narrow 25-24 victory over Deva, the Chester side having battled back from a 15-9 deficit at half time with the help of Steve Jameson who top-scored with nine goals.

And Liverpool Wolves won 30-22 over Manchester University with Christian Wiltering scoring eight of their goals.

English National League: Round-Up

SALFORD gave their hopes of winning the English National League’s Northern Section a major boost when they beat the only other unbeaten team, Manchester, 28-21 at Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool on Sunday.

The victory leaves Salford with seven wins from seven matches, and seven points clear at the top of the table.

Liverpool Wolves beat battling Deva 29-23 in their clash, while Leeds won 29-22 against Nottingham University.

The game between Liverpool Speke Garston and Manchester University got off to a slow start with both sides struggling to get going being evenly matched in the first half going in 8-8 at the interval.

Both teams never hit the heights, but the Liverpool team edged ahead in the first ten minutes of the second half with two well taken goals by Hughes and McMahon.

However both teams missed a succession of chances, but once again a time suspension at 50 minutes proved to be the home teams downfall as the University students capitalised and gained a three-goal advantage.

Chasing the game in the final minutes Kourniliou fired in three well taken gaols but was insufficient to deny Manchester University who ran out winners at 21-15.

* In the Southern Section, Ruislip Eagles ran out 33-25 winners over Bath University.

* Ruislip Eagles Ladies were also celebrating last weekend after securing a narrow 20-18 victory over old enemies London GD.

Dani Sposi scored 11 goals for the Eagles, while Ulrike Luhmeier was GD’s top-scorer with five.

Deva Give Salford Rough Ride in National League

A PLUCKY Deva side took on Salford, the current leaders of the northern section of the England National League, on Sunday.

Whilst the final score of 38-29 shows a comfortable win for Salford, congratulations must go to Deva for scoring quite so many goals. Indeed, a result that looked pretty unlikely at half time as Salford led by 11 goals.

This time though the usual Salford gear change failed to materialise. Instead of pushing on in their usual manner to open up an even greater lead, Salford simply seemed to coast along.

Deva sniffed their chance to capitalise and took it. Keeping neck and neck with Salford all the way through the half, indeed for a while the young side from Chester even managed to close the gap a little before Salford once again took it back to nine goals, finishing the game winners by 38 goals to 29.

All in all the gap between the teams never got lower than 7 goals, so the result was never in doubt. However, Deva will take lots of positives from the game and will now go in to their remaining fixtures with a much deserved confidence boost.

In other Northern Section action, Liverpool Speke Garston continue to improve as they gave Nottingham University a hard match at Greenbank before the students ran out 35-31 winners.

Both teams were strong in defence in the opening eight minutes of this encounter as both teams defended keeping the score to 0-0. The less experienced Liverpool Speke Garston team matched Nottingham goal for goal and only by squandering a number of clear shots at goal went in at the break down at 14 -11.

The second half proved entertaining, Campillo for Liverpool Speke Garston found his shooting arm along with his counterpart, Nottingham’s Mardaras, who scored nine.

Liverpool efforts were rewarded when they took the lead and opened a two-goal difference late in the second half, they held on until the final six minutes but a two-minute time suspension to Davies turned the game in Nottingham’s favour who capitalised and pressed home the advantage ruthlessly and ran out winners at 35-31.

In other action, Manchester came out on top against University of Manchester 25-23, while Leeds Hornets also secured a narrow win, 27-26 over Liverpool Wolves.

* In the southern section, London GD and Olympia battled out a 30-30 draw, while Ruislip beat Oxford University 37-22.

English National League: Round-Up

EARLY leaders Salford take on Liverpool Wolves in a clash of two unbeaten teams at Greenbank Sports Academy in the Men’s National League Northern Section of Sunday.

Salford have won all four of their games so far while Liverpool have won three, but something must give this Sunday in what promises to be a close encounter.

Liverpool Wolves took on City rivals Liverpool Speke Garston last weekend and ran out 26-15 winners.

The opening 10 minutes of the first half were very intense from Speke Garston. Their deep 5-1 defence disturbed Liverpool Wolves attack. And to add to it, Liverpool Wolves defence was quiet and apathetic which lead to an early lead for Speke Garston. Their left back was on top form, scoring great goals from the nine-metre line.

Liverpool Wolves managed to slowly get back into the game. With a deep defence focused on Speke Garston left back, Liverpool Wolves got close in the score and after the attack got better, finally manage to overtake them.

From then on the goal difference just kept growing for Liverpool Wolves. Both individual actions and some good moves resulted in successful attacks, and by stopping their best attacking player, Speke Garston attack stalled.

Towards the end of the match Speke Garston cut a few more goals, due again to a loss of Liverpool Wolves' concentration.

In summary, the goal difference could have been greater had it not been for Speke Garston's goalkeeper, who did some tremendous saves throughout the match.

* Last weekend Salford took on Manchester University who, despite their strong form over the last couple of seasons, have proved to be a bogey team for Salford.

Indeed, last season the university side where the only team in the north that managed to take any points from Salford when they drew 31-31 last October.

This time round though Salford made no mistake and ran out 36-13 winners.

The side from the university were never really ever in the game, being 7-3 down after 10 minutes and 17-7 down at half time.

However, some good saves from Joe Hodgson in the University's goal did at least keep the Salford score below 40.

In the other match in the North last weekend Manchester beat Leeds Hornets 25-13.

* Oxford University ran out narrow 28-25 winners over Olympia in the opening set of matches in the Men’s National League Southern Section last weekend.

Eight goals from Abdullah Alshammari helped Oxford to victory, while Olympia’s top scorer was Christophe Hunault with seven.

Ruislip Eagles beat Cambridge 25-19 with Martin Kubisa scoring five for the Eagles.

And London GD ran out 21-31 winners over Bath, a strong second half comeback giving them the win after having been 12-11 down at the break.

In the Women’s National League, London GD beat Olympia 16-11 to get their league campaign off to a winning start.

Salford Notch up Another Big Win

SALFORD notched up an emphatic 41-19 victory over Nottingham University in the third round of the English National League (North) at the Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool on Sunday.

The last time these two teams met resulted in a resounding 20-goal victory for Salford. However, after a well earned victory against Manchester University last time out, and with some additional players to bolster their squad, Nottingham could approach this game with a positive outlook.

Unfortunately, that positivity didn't last long. Salford came out of the traps like a greyhound on speed and quickly opened up a lead that did nothing but grow.

By half time Salford already had a 15-goal advantage, going in ahead 23-8.

As the second half started there was no let up for Nottingham. A succession of fast break goals from Salford's Rafik Tahraoui took the gap between the teams to 20 goals.

Nottingham did manage a bit of a mini fightback in the middle of the second period, but this couldn't be sustained and their cause was a lost one. Salford pushed on again to finish the game 22 goals to the good running out winners.

There were some notable performances for both teams. Nottingham's Mardaras (pictured) scored eight goals and Salford's Ciaran Williams 11. But, the real noticeable performance of the day was the Salford defence.

Despite scoring on average more than 30 goals per game, this is by far the strength of the team. Their ability to rapidly turn defence into attack, confidently led by their defensive commandant Matt Lee, keeps Salford as the dominant team in the North.

Elsewhere, Seven goals from Wojciech Bienias helped Leeds Hornets to a 28-18 win over Liverpool Speke Garston, while Roscoe was Speke’s top scorer with five.

Zak Dunstone scored seven for Deva, but it wasn’t enough to stop Manchester securing a 32-24 victory with Papamichael being their top-scorer with six.

And Liverpool won 31-16 against Manchester University with Carvolio hitting the net eight times.

Salford go Top of the Table

SALFORD retook top spot in the early National League (North) table when they secured a big 38-15 victory over Liverpool Speke Garston at Greenbank Academy in Liverpool on Sunday.

With a ten-goal victory for Deva in the previous round denying them top spot, Salford came out on Sunday determined to regain their status as top club in the North.

At half time, Salford already had a comfortable lead and went in 14-7 up. Some excellent goal keeping from Speke's Paul Langton keeping the gap somewhat respectable given the gulf between the two teams.

However, in the second half, and despite Speke's Peter Roscoe scoring seven goals, Salford pushed on and scored 24 more goals to Speke's eight.

Notable performances from Salford came from Jack Hennessey and Stuart Latchford who scored 8 goals apiece, and from Stephen Clarke who maintained his 100 per cent shots to goals record from the two games played so far.

In other league action, the University of Nottingham won 26-15 against the University of Manchester, with Guillaume Bodet scoring ten of their goals.

And Deva came out on top 34-31 against league newcomers Leeds Hornets. Tom Kensall scored nine for Deva, while Wojtek Biecios scored nine for Leeds.

Baptism of Fire for Newcomers Leeds Hornets

Newly promoted Leeds Hornets faced a baptism of fire as they played their first game in Division One against last year’s Northern League champions, Salford, who ran out 31-22 winners.

With Salford scoring an average of 32 goals per game and only conceding an average of 20, this was going to be a tough task for the newcomers. However, Leeds seemed to relish the task and came out confident to show that their promotion was well deserved.

Salford's defence was strong throughout the game. Only two of Leeds’ shots came from breaks through the defence and only two from fast breaks.

In attack, Salford were equally as efficient. Once again notching up more than 30 goals. Indeed, if it weren't for a number of technical errors that score could've easily been over 40!

But Leeds themselves proved to be no pushovers. Whilst the scoreline may indicate a comfortable win for Salford, in reality this was far from the case.

Leeds made Salford work hard for their victory and after a few games they will doubtless become one of the favourites to reach the end of season play-off slots and the offer of a place in next year's Super 8 League.

In the day’s other match, Liverpool Wolves beat Nottingham University 28-22.

Deva were handed a 10-0 win over the University of Manchester, who couldn’t raise a side.

* This Sunday, Liverpool Speke Garston play Salford and Manchester play Liverpool Wolves at Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool.

And at Birchwood in Warrington, Nottingham University play the University of Manchester, while Deva face Leeds Hornets.

* Pictures from Sunday's matches are available here

Salford Win East Kilbride Tournament

SALFORD were crowned champions of the East Kilbride International Tournament in Scotland last weekend, coming out on top after a thrilling weekend of matches.

Despite having an average age of just 19, Salford managed to take the title at the inaugural tournament which saw teams from both sides of the border as well as Germany do battle.

The men’s event included East Kilbride, Tryst 77 and Scotland Under-23s from north of the border, English teams included Salford and Liverpool Speke Garston and Germany outfit HSG Soest gave the event a real international flavour.

And for the women, East Kilbride took on Glasgow and Tryst 77.

Salford went unbeaten throughout the tournament, which saw them face some determined and experienced opponents.

In the final on Sunday they faced Tryst, whose line-up included some talented and very experienced players.

But Salford opened up an early lead and never looked back, eventually winning 15-11.

Season Heading for Thrilling Finale

Yet again the top level of English Handball looks set to produce a thrilling climax to the season - starting with this Sunday. Richard Browne reports.

The final round of the English Men’s National League play-offs take place at Leyton SCORE Centre in London from 12-6, and while four teams are battling for the three European places some clubs will be hoping for an upturn in their fortunes after last week’s Cup semi finals.

Despite five goals from GB men’s captain Ciaran Williams, Salford were unable to overcome league leaders Great Dane, who triumphed 22-20 in a thrilling game.

Current cup holders Ruislip Eagles won away at Manchester 25-19 in the other semi to set up an all London final. That match will see one of the sides battling to do the double, with Ruislip and Great Dane also battling against each other fiercely at the top of the league.

The two sides go into the final league games of the season neck and neck. Although Great Dane currently hold a goal difference advantage of 13, Ruislip can anticipate a big points tally in the day’s midday start against Nottingham University, who they thrashed 42-17 in April.

With Salford looking to avenge their cup defeat, the result of their fixture against Great Dane in the day’s 4pm kick off will probably decide not only the title but also the European placings.

With only the top three going into the European Cup, a win for Olympia in their 2pm game with Manchester would pile the pressure onto Salford to prevent it being an all-London top three.

With the European places, the title, and local pride all at stake, this coming Sunday at Leyton promises to be an event not to be missed.

Rivals Set for Cup Clash

IN a warm-up for their play-off clash next week, Great Dane and Salford do battle this Saturday in the semi final of the EHA Cup at Leyton SCORE Centre in London.

The winners of the match, which begins at 4pm, will go through to the final on June 4 at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.

The other semi final sees Manchester play Ruislip at Greenbank Academy in Liverpool on Saturday (3pm start).

Meanwhile, in the Women’s EHA Cup Olympia play Deva at Crystal Palace on Saturday (12noon start), while newly-crowned league champions Ruislip Eagles take on former champions Great Dane at Leyton (2pm start).

And in the Men’s Plate competition, Cambridge play Oxford University at Moulton near Northampton at 12noon, following which Warwick University play Bristol at 2pm.

Arch Rivals Set for Semi Final Clash

A STRONG second half performance helped Great Dane overcome rivals Olympia 32-24 and reach the semi finals of the EHA Cup.

The two teams met at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre on Saturday, and Great Dane were only 14-12 ahead at half time following a close first 30 minutes.

But Great Dane won the second period convincingly, 18-12, to take the overall win with Philip Altong top-scoring with eight goals. The win books their spot in the semi finals on May 14/15 against Salford.

Salford reached the final four of the competition with a 45-31 win over Leeds at the Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool.

Jack Hennessy scored ten goals to help Salford to victory, while Aden Woodall and Rafik Tahroui both scored six.

Leeds battled well, but were 11-21 down at half time. But they only lost the second half 20-24, and finished with Damian Derkecz scoring nine and Maran Cwik eight goals.

The second semi final will be between Ruislip and Manchester.

Ruislip reached the last four with a 29-26 win over Liverpool, Christin Nguelo scoring nine times and Arzedine Messis eight to help them scrape a close victory.

The two sides were close at half time with Ruislip winning 11-13, and Liverpool kept them close through the second period too but just couldn’t overhaul the deficit.

And Manchester won 25-18 over Liverpool Speke Garston in their quarter final clash, despite only having eight players available, as opposed to the 14 that Speke Garston brought.

Both Rafal Rybak and Felipe Piccardo scored six goals for Manchester, while Peter Roscoe was the best for Speke Garston, netting four times.

Finally, in the Women’s EHA Cup, Ruislip Eagles beat Cambridge 29-14, with their Great Britain international Dani Sposi top-scoring with 11 goals.

Currently top of their group in the EHA Cup, Ruislip Eagles’ final match in the group stages is a crucial clash with Deva, who are second in the group and level on points with two wins from two matches so far.

The leading pair are due to clash on May 8 at Sugden Sports Centre in Manchester.