Cargo keen to deliver for Reading

The days where an Irish club might be seen at the finals weekend of the biggest club competition in world hockey might be some way off yet, but there will nonetheless be some local interest as the EuroHockey League draws to a close this weekend. Chris Cargo and Ronan Gormley are Irish international team-mates, but they’ll be in opposition this weekend as the former’s Reading side meet the latter’s Club de Campo outfit in the last four of the EHL in The Hague tomorrow (11.30am). Among the 14 Irish squad members to ply their trade abroad this season, the duo have both enjoyed productive seasons at club level. Bangor hitman Cargo has been instrumental in Reading becoming the first English side to reach an EHL semi-final; he is the tournament’s third top scorer with four goals and is looking forward to locking horns with his international colleague.

“It will be really good to see Gormo out there, I enjoy playing with him in an Irish shirt and from training with him I know that it will be a hard battle against him,” he said. “We have had a little bit of banter online (on Twitter) but I haven’t seen him in person since a quick hello at the KO16 due to our busy schedules. “Most importantly though, I think it has been fantastic for Irish hockey as a whole in the EHL with the performance of Glennane and Pembroke plus the likes of David Ames for Beeston, Eugene Magee for Dragons and now the knowledge that there will be at least one Irish player playing in the final on Sunday. Hopefully it can really help the international side this summer.” Gormley’s Club de Campo outfit come into the game off the back of a bitterly disappointing loss to Atletic Terrassa in the Spanish league title playoffs, Terrassa gaining revenge for their defeat to the Madrid side in the EHL’s last eight. Prior to that, defender Irish international skipper Gormley had the mixed feeling of being on a Campo side that set a tournament record by beating the Dubliner’s beloved hometown club Pembroke Wanderers 11-0 in the KO16. The Irish international captain nonetheless seems to be loving life in Madrid. His Twitter handle is @spaniardireland and he is routinely the subject of good-natured abuse from his Irish team-mates along such lines; for instance, Cargo stoked the fires this week by labelling him a “Spanish gringo” who “needs a shave and a haircut”. Whoever comes out on top will become just the third Irish international to play in an EHL final, though none has yet lifted the trophy. John Jermyn, now of Cork C of I, and Iain Lewers — who has since switched his international allegiance to England and Great Britain — were both in the side for Dutch club HGC who lost the inaugural decider to Uhlenhorster. The other semi-final is an all-Dutch affair, with surprise package Oranje Zwart taking on HGC, who ended the hopes of Cookstown native David Ames’ Beeston side. The two clubs were on opposite sides of the draw but their progression to the last four invoked an EHL rule that means clubs from the same country must play each other if they reach the semi-finals. Elsewhere, Ireland will also be guaranteed a finalist in the top tier of womens’ European club action as Slough’s Hannah Bowe takes on Leicester’s Emma Clarke in the semi-final of the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup, also in the Hague. Meanwhile, Loreto will be hoping a lengthy lay-off from competitive action won’t hinder their chances as they begin their EuroHockey Club Champion’s Challenge II campaign, the fourth tier of club competition, in Lille today. The club last played 10 weeks ago, providing plenty of difficulties regarding motivation and availability of exam-tied players for training, prompting coach Gar Evans to hit out at the EHF on The Hook for scheduling a club tournament during the international season. Furthermore, Nikki Symmons and Nicci Daly both have Irish commitments in next week’s Champion’s Challenge, meaning their involvement with Loreto is likely to be limited. Loreto’s fifth-place finish in the division above last year — and Railway Union’s bronze medal in it this season — suggests the Dubliners can aim for a final berth in Lille, where the hosts, Swansea and Austria’s HTC Wien are their pool opponents. **Meanwhile, a patchy Irish performance from an inexperienced side yielded a 3-2 win at Belfield last night as first half goals from Andy McConnell, Peter Blakeney and Peter Caruth made the difference. Wales pulled back two goals back in the second half and had a trio of penalty corners but found Dave Fitzgerald in decent form to hold on for a decent win in which Richard Sykes made his debut. Despite the sketchy second half, assistant coach Arul Anthoni took the positives from the game: “Winning a capped match is always important and it gives us an extra boost and we’ll take this confidence into the next games. It’s a younger side, there are only four of the side who are regulars so it will put pressure on the established players as we build a bigger pool of quality players.” Ireland: David Fitzgerald, Gareth Watkins, David Ames, Alan Giles, Peter Blakeney, Michael Maguire, Peter Caruth, John Jackson, Andy McConnell, Ronan Flannery, Paul Gleghorne Subs: Johnny Bruton, Kenny Carroll, Richard Sykes, Jason Lynch, Davy Carson Wales: Iwan Williams, Jonny Gordon, Peter Swainson, Ben Croxall, Joe Naughalty, Lewis Prosser, Andy Cornick, Rick Gay, Gareth Furlong, Rufus McNaught-Barrington Subs: Matt Ruxton, Chris Bowen, Rhys Gowman, Mike Shaw, Ben Edge