Euro goal for ladies

Hockey

Canterbury ladies are in the Netherlands this weekend for the Eurohockey Club Champions Cup. They face German side Hamburg tomorrow (Friday) knowing the result of that game will have a huge bearing on their final position at the tournament. Victory would send Canterbury into the top half of the draw and guarantee a finish no lower than fourth. But if they lose, Canterbury will be playing for fifth place at best – and to prevent England losing a place at European club hockey’s top table next summer. The side will be led by co-captains Helen Fagg and Sarah Kerly in Hertogenbosch. Fagg said: “It’s an amazing feeling of pride. You put such a lot into each season and to have this at the end, it’s something great to work for. “The team, since the end of our league season, have been committed and put in such a lot of effort to keep their fitness and improve it. “We’re playing some of the best hockey in training that I’ve seen all season. “To go to a tournament like this, where you’re competing with some of the best teams in Europe, it’s an honour. “We just want to go out and compete at that level.” Canterbury are involved this weekend courtesy of their domestic league position in 2015-16. They finished seventh this season so won’t play in Europe next year but Fagg insists they won’t be short of motivation in the Netherlands. She said: “We don’t want to relegate an English place so that’s something to aim for, for both the English sides (Canterbury and Surbiton). “It’s great for English hockey to have two places so we want to keep that.” Canterbury, on the back of warm-up games against Holcombe and East Grinstead and inter-club matches against Canterbury men’s teams, have travelled with a squad of 19. So what would represent a good result for Canterbury this weekend? “That’s a tricky one,” Fagg said. “Because you haven’t played against these sides in your domestic league, you never really know where you fit in terms of your ability until you get out there. “All we can do is play as well as we can and see where it gets us.” Canterbury’s under-14 girls will also be at the event, staying at the same hotel as the senior side and playing in a junior tournament.