Hockey: Hightown secure third place

Hockey

Berliner came from behind to beat HGC 2-1 and win the women's European Club Championship yesterday, while England's Hightown finished third, writes Bill Colwill from Wassenaar, Netherlands.

Hightown twice came from behind to overcome Glasgow Western 5-3 in a game which had the traditional frisson of any Anglo-Scottish contest. Glasgow's Sue MacDonald, who will play for Slough next season, opened the goal scoring spree in the ninth minute.

With the game evenly poised at 2-2, Hightown's Lucy Newcombe, who had opened the scoring for the Merseysiders, missed two chances but Yana Williams put them ahead five minutes into the second half.

MacDonald scored her second to level at 3-3 before Linda Carr, Hightown's general in defence, converted her second penalty stroke to put Hightown back into the lead. Michelle Liptrot, playing in place of the injured Maggie Soyave, cemented the game for Hightown with her first goal of the tournament.

HGC, the host club, ended a nine-year run of German victories when they beat Harvestehuder from Hamburg 4-3 in an exciting men's final.

After the Dutch had rushed into a four-goal lead, thanks to a hat-trick from the Olympic striker, Bram Lomans, the Germans got their penalty corner drill going with Kai Holensteiner scoring at their 15th attempt. He went on to complete his hat-trick in a dramatic final 10 minutes with the Dutch reduced to 10 men by the temporary suspension of Marc Delissen.

Hightown: C Reid; L Carr; M Morton, C Gilbert, K Walsh; J Aspin, F Lee, M Liptrot; L Newcombe, T Cullen (capt), Y Williams.

Glasgow Western: T Robb; L Sturrock; J Buzley, M Coutts (capt), S McKelvie; H Welch, A Menzies, J Lothian; G Crawford, S McDonald, W Fraser. Substitutes used: A Denholm, G Soutar, E Rochlin.

Umpires: M van Gemert (Neth), M Power (Irl).