Kelburne suffer pain in Spain

Top Spanish side Egara thrashed Bromac Kelburne 9-1 in the opening pool match at the Euro Hockey League in Barcelona yesterday.

The Scottish champions showed plenty of spirit but now have no real chance of making the next round.

The opener came from a penalty corner while Chris Caldwell was in the sin bin, Pau Quemada sending a low drag flick past Rory Kerr.

Xavier Aguilar then found space in the circle to spin and slot the ball past Kerr to put Egara three up, with field goals counting double in the new EHL format.

Ben Peterson fired a low shot into the Spanish net to reduce the deficit at the interval but the contest was effectively over 43 seconds after the break when Luis Mercade picked up a loose ball and fired his shot into the roof of the Kelburne net for 5-1.

Kelburne tired towards the end and the Spanish to scored two further field goals through Aguilar again and Pere Arch.