International success for Maltese hockey teams in Europe

First Maltese umpire officiates in Euro final

The past week has seen Maltese clubs GREE Sliema Hotsticks and Qormi Daikin achieve successful results in EuroHockey Championships organised by the European Hockey Federation.

GREE Sliema Hotsticks reached the final of the EuroHockey Club Challenge II Men championship that was held last week in Turkey.

This is the highest level of international competition a Maltese team has ever reached. Sliema won their group
outright with the least goals conceded throughout the tournament.

They faced teams from Luxembourg, Finland, and Sweden. They lost the final 2-1 against Epitok HC of Hungary with a last-minute goal.

Sliema club president Andrei Imbroll commented that the success in reaching the final at this high level shows that the Maltese game is of a high standard and galvanises the club and Malta hockey to continue to develop.

Qormi Daikin won the final of the EuroHockey Club Challenge III Men championship that was held last week in Gibraltar.

This is the second time in a row that Qormi won the Challenge III final having also won it last year. They faced teams from Gibraltar, Bulgaria, Sweden, and Finland. They beat HC Kilppari of Finland 5-1 in the final.

Coach Andre Ghio said that he was very proud of his squad. He said that the year-on-year international success was the result of the quality of the players as well as the hard work and determination of the whole squad including the support staff.

Historic feat

In another success, umpire Edward Hughes became the first Maltese umpire to officiate in an international European Hockey competition final.

Edward Hughes was appointed to officiate the second final match in EuroHockey Club Challenge III Men in Gibraltar.

The match was between Eagles HC of Gibraltar and Zuvedra Tauras of Lithuania. This prestigious appointment is a credit to Hughes’s umpiring skills and professionalism as well as the standards of the Maltese umpiring group.

Hockey Association Malta president Gordon Mifsud commented that these successes confirm the high standards that Maltese clubs and hockey have achieved.

This is the result of hard work and efforts made by all involved in the sport. He added that the sport deserves to be fully supported.