Hamburg (dpa / lno) – The hockey men of HTHC and the Hamburg Polo Club are only two wins away from participating in the finals of the Euro Hockey League. Both teams are in the field of 16 and will battle it out at the HTHC facility from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 for the four spots still competing in the “Final 8” next spring. German champions Rot Weiss Koln, Athletic Teresa from Spain, HC Blumendahl from the Netherlands and Royal Racing Club de Bruxelles from Belgium have already qualified.

The Polo Men meet Wimbledon HC next Thursday (7:00pm) in their EHL premiership. Coach Matthias Witthaus stressed: “We caught the strongest opponents. But we’re happy we qualified and hope that doesn’t happen after the first match.” If the runners-up win, they face CA Montrog (France) or Lisnagarway HC (Ireland).

HTHC take on the Western Wildcats from Scotland on Saturday (5:15pm). “We had a good start in the Bundesliga. We still have two games left and then we have to familiarize ourselves with the EHL,” said coach Christoph Bechmann. If HTHC progresses, there will be a duel with Real Club de Polo or Club Egara (both Spain).

© dpa-infocom, dpa:220920-99-834726/2