Fulton names three goalkeepers in EHL squad

Craig Fulton has named three goalkeepers in his final EHL panel of 18 for this weekend’s round 1A in Barcelona as David Harte will only be available for Friday night’s game with Azzurri Kelburne.

Harte returns to Dublin after the game due to college commitments all weekend and will miss Sun day’s tie with Rotterdam.

As a result, Nigel Henderson is set for another ‘last hurrah’ against the Dutch giants with Simon Thornton acting as cover for the veteran.

Beyond that, Adam Pritchard, Stu Garrett, Mick O’Connor and Maurice Elliott are tournament newcomers with Ronan Flannery, Colin Kelly, John McInroy, Peter Priestly, Ian Symons and Craig Wilson from the 2007 vintage not involved in this time around.

Andy McConnell, meanwhile, has plenty of prior acquaintance with Rotterdam from his Hurley days, encountering the side as number of times in ‘Overgangsklasse’ – the Dutch second tier – but they are different animal these days.

Their squad include an array of international stars with Pakistan’s Wasseem Ahmed joined by Kiwi trio Ryan Archibald, Simon Child and Phil Burrows, Australian Olympic gold medalist Mark Knowles as well as their latest marquee signing, Rob van den Horst.

As such, Kelburne are obviously the more likely target with a three-goal victory a guarantee of progression. The Scots, though, match Pembroke for current internationals with eight of the panel which played Ireland last weekend lined up. A full strength ’Broke did manage to beat an Irish selection 2-1 on Monday night.

For Glenanne, Arul Anthoni has delayed naming his final 18 until his squad’s arrival in Catalonia, bringing a 20-strong panel to select from for the club’s EHL debut.

Filip Jaros has not regained fitness in time to be considered but other than that the squad is a full strength and confident they are in position to cause a few eyebrow raising results; especially after their impressive 3-1 win over Pembroke in last week’s challenge match.

They play 2008 champions Uhlenhorst Hamburg on Friday evening. While the Germans go in as clear favourites for progression, they have underwhelmed in their domestic action to date, dropping points in their first two league games.

They have since returned to form with wins over local lesser lights and their squad is without Niall Stott who has moved to England while goal-getter supreme Philip Sunkel has retired.

In total, seven players have moved out of last year’s panel. Jonas Furste will hope he does not endure more painful memories at Irish hands. His shocked image after Rovers drew with Atletic Terrassa was one of the last season’s signature photos.

He joins brother Moritz and the brilliant Carlos Nevado – a trio that guarantees a threat no matter who the opponent is.

Grunwald Poznan on Saturday is another tricky tie, especially given the proximity of the Glens opener. The Poles are five from five with an average of nine goals per game thus far. They feature many of the Poland side which won the Champions Challenge II in July – an added incentive for the Tallaght side’s Irish trio to gain revenge.

Pembroke: David Harte, Nigel Henderson, Simon Thornton, Adam Pritchard, Tim Lewis, Conor Harte, Ronan Gormley, Stu Garrett, Craig Fulton, Paddy Conlon, Alan Giles (capt), Andy McConnell, Mick O’Connor, Gordon Elliott, Maurice Elliott, Alan Sothern, Patrick Good, Justin Sherriff

Glenanne (from): Steven Doran, Gareth Carragher, Joe Brennan (capt), Clinton Murphy, Paul Fitzpatrick, David Shaw, Richie Shaw, Devin Kehoe, Stephen Butler, Graham Shaw, Gary Shaw, Shane O’Donoghue, Jonathan Kane, Johnny Goulding, Mick McGuinness, Eddie O’Malley, David Keogh, Mark Lambe, Brendan Parsons, Alan Lewis

* All matches will be screened live online at www.ehlhockey.tv.The Hook will endeavour to provide a minute-by-minute service from the stadium should internet connections allow.