Coach frustrated as Eagles drop points

Ruislip Eagles coach Marc Fayemi regretted a missed opportunity as his side were beaten 28-26 by Cambridge.

As a result of the defeat, they lost ground on the leaders in the Men’s Super 8, and are now five points adrift with five matches to play.

After wins over Loughborough University in the EHA Cup and Olympia in the league, Eagles were keen to extend their unbeaten start to 2016 and the strong back-line partnership of Bennet Saumer and Hannes Mazurshots and the shots of Sven Moeckel helped them stay in contention as half-time approached, 13-14 behind.

The second half started much like the first, with both teams punishing the mistakes of their opponents and with a few minutes left, Ruislip levelled at 22-22, thanks to some good fast break running by Sam Crocker and Romas Sakovicius.

The Ruislip defence could not deal with some strong shooting from the Cambridge back-court players, however, and ended up on the wrong side of a narrow scoreline.

Fayemi said: “We knew the back three of Cambridge could do some serious damage but we just couldn’t handle them.

“We missed a good chance to stay close to the top. Let’s keep positive and striving to improve our results.”

Eagles face bottom of the league Manchester next week at the Manchester Velodrome for a chance to gain back some of the points lost in this defeat.

Ruislip Eagles: Pechlivanis (GK), Boullanger (GK); Sakovicius (4), Moeckel (6), Carstens (6), Mazur (3), Crocker (3), Barton, Ernst (2), Saumer (2), Pollino (1).