Captain is unhappy despite Eagles win

Ruislip Eagles captain Hannes Mazur has admitted his team suffered a hangover from their recent European exploits.

Having almost caused a huge upset against Spartak Varna in Bulgaria, they secured a 28-25 victory at home to Manchester HC in the National Super 8 Handball League on Saturday.

But Muzur was unhappy with their performance, which was marred by sloppy passing and lapses in concentration.

He said: “I thought after such a strong show in Bulgaria everybody would come back with their head held high.

“However, it seems as though the trip had the opposite effect and players struggled to get the motivation for league fixtures.”

Coach Marc Fayemi made his feelings clear in the dressing room at half-time and the Eagles responded, scoring four goals without reply and forcing Manchester into using their two time-outs early in the second half. But the home team closed the gap and Ruislip were left hanging on.

The following day they were in London League action, drawing 30-30 at Carshalton Titans.

Coached by Great Britain winger Mark Hawkins and with a reputation as a physical team, Carshalton were always likely to be tough opponents.

Eagles left-back Sam Crocker (nine goals) and line player Val Georgita (10 goals) began to find their range and they managed to open up a four-goal lead early in the second half.

The loss of Aaron Lapworth to an ankle injury hampered their efforts though, and Carshalton carried on fighting to set up a nervy finale before Oliver Bray, just 16, scored three goals on his senior competitive debut.

Both teams fought hard at the death, but with only a one-goal lead going into the final seconds the Eagles were always vulnerable and Carshalton levelled the game with the final throw.

Ruislip, who go into the Christmas break in fourth place, know an improvement is needed.

They will face tough games against Thames and Brighton Seahawks before the league splits in February.

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