European Club Team Championship: 2013
Club European Championship: Gaining momentum
The Petroholding Squash Club team, which started today in the Italian Riccione, started with two worthy defeats. “We flew to Italy well,” said the captain of the Ukrainian quartet Konstantin Rybalchenko on the eve of the start of the European Club Championship. - The team is in a good mood, everyone is ready to fight for the top places. We set ourselves the maximum task - getting out of the group from the second place. On the first day we will have two very difficult games against the French and Irish clubs, and we will start with matches with the second seeded team of the championship ”. Such a start, of course, is like heading into a whirlpool. The French, which include such players as the 28th racket of the world rating Mathieu Castagnier or the nimble "kid" Simon Park, who knows how to make the most of his height of 152 cm, were initially considered the favorites of the group and contenders for the championship prizes. But even in this confrontation, our players looked decent. Yes, they did not manage to win a single game, but sometimes they were close to this and gave their opponents a lot of problems. It also helped a lot that the Ukrainians had time to try the courts of the local squash center before the start of the tournament, to get used to them. Let's add to this the fighting mood of our players and we get the fact that the titled Castagnier with a huge creak took every game from Rybalchenko, and the same Park and Joan Lezo, practically out of luck, pulled games from Valery Fedoruk and Denis Podvorny. Rybalchenko briefly described this confrontation: "Good experience!" It was clear that the Ukrainian squash players were already feeling their game, which gave hope for a favorable outcome of the evening meetings against the uncompromising Irish. Alas, we did not manage to achieve the final victory in the matches against Fitzwilliam representatives. Although our players looked much stronger in them, confidently entering into battles with each of the rivals. Rybalchenko, for example, won the first meeting against the first racket of the Irish club, Derek Ryan, while Podvorny and Fedoruk even lost their matches, but they did it in a stubborn struggle - each managed to take a game, and in other games the Ukrainians were often close to victories. Unless Alexander Bulgakov managed to impose his game on Rory Byrne, but here it is worth making allowances for the fact that the Dnipropetrovsk player performs at such a level for the first time, because so far he is only gaining experience in similar confrontations. Tomorrow the Petroholding Squash Club team will face the last meeting of the group stage against the Danish team Herlev / Jorten. This match will determine the team that will take the final third place in group B. Judging by how our squash players are gaining momentum, the probability of victory over the Danes is quite high. The match against Herlev / Jorten will start at 12:30 Kyiv time.
European Club Championship (Riccione, Italy)
Group stage
Group B
Mulhouse (France, 2) - Petroholding (Ukraine, 13) - 4: 0 (12: 0)
Mathieu Castagne - Konstantin Rybalchenko - 3: 0 (11: 6, 11: 8, 11: 7)
Joan Lezo - Denis Podvorny - 3: 0 (11: 3, 11: 7, 11: 7)
Rudy Rormuller - Alexander Bulgakov - 3: 0 (11: 2, 11: 1, 11: 1)
Simon Park - Valery Fedoruk - 3: 0 (11: 9, 11: 3, 11: 8)
Fitzwilliam (Ireland, 7) - Petroholding (Ukraine, 13) - 3: 1 (10: 5)
Derek Ryan - Konstantin Rybalchenko - 1: 3 (12:14, 4:11, 11: 7, 3:11)
Niall Rooney - Denis Podvorny - 3: 1 (5:11, 13:11, 11: 4, 11: 4)
Rory Byrne - Alexander Bulgakov - 3: 0 (11: 3, 11: 3, 11: 5)
Nigel Peyton - Valery Fedoruk - 3: 1 (11: 6, 11: 8, 8:11, 11: 6)
Other matches
Fitzwilliam (Ireland, 7) - Herlev / Jorten (Denmark, 10) - 3: 1 (11: 3)
Mulhouse (France, 2) - Herlev / Jorten (Denmark, 10) - 4: 0 (12: 1)
Group A
Paderborn (Germany, 1) - McVill-Harrow (Poland, 13) - 4: 0 (12: 0)
Senators (Finland, 8) - Castle Club (Belgium, 8) - 2: 2 (8: 7)
Paderborn (Germany, 1) - Riccione (Italy, 17) - 4: 0 (12: 1)
Senators (Finland, 8) - McVill-Harrow (Poland, 13) - 4: 0 (12: 2)
Castle Club (Belgium, 8) - Riccione (Italy, 17) - 2: 2 (8: 8, on points 151: 141)
Group C
Worms (Germany, 3) - Szeged Tisza (Hungary, 13) - 4: 0 (12: 0)
Union (Austria, 6) - Vaduz (Liechtenstein, 10) - 3: 1 (11: 7)
Worms (Germany, 3) - Vaduz (Liechtenstein, 10) - 4: 0 (12: 0)
Union (Austria, 6) - Szeged Tisza (Hungary, 13) - 3: 1 (9: 7)
Group D
Colets (England, 4) - Edinburgh (Scotland, 13) - 4: 0 (12: 0)
Sandweiler (Luxembourg, 5) - Hafrsfjord (Norway, 12) - 2: 2 (8: 7)
Sandweiler (Luxembourg, 5) - Edinburgh (Scotland, 13) - 3: 1 (9: 7)
Colets (England, 4) - Hafrsfjord (Norway, 12) - 4: 0 (12: 0)
Club European Championship: Long-awaited victory
In the last match of the group stage of the European Club Championship, the Petroholding Squash Club team defeated rivals from Denmark. As predicted earlier, by the second day of the continental championship among the clubs, the Ukrainian quartet of the Petroholding Squash Club gained a decent pace. Our squash players progressed from match to match - after a rather quick defeat from the second seeded club, Mulhouse gave a fight to the representatives of Ireland, and now they have already achieved their first victory in the tournament. It all started with the triumph of the first racket of the team, Konstantin Rybalchenko, over the leader of the Danish club Herlev / Jorten Thomas Pilak. In the second match, the fourth rackets fought - Alexander Bulgakov again lacked experience in order to take at least a game from Teis Hulberg, but it should be noted that in two games the Ukrainian was very close to this. In general, the Danes have a very even team in terms of skill level - here it is difficult to say with confidence which of the players is stronger and who is weaker. The confrontation between the second and third rackets of Petroholding and Herlev / Jorten therefore promised to be extremely interesting and justified expectations. Denis Podvorny, for example, began the meeting with a defeat in the first game, and only then he pulled himself together, having managed to break all the protective redoubts of Lau Ulrik Kien. And Valeriy Fedoruk did a feat at all - during the meeting the Odessa resident was inferior with a score of 0: 2, but then he took all his willpower into a fist and coped with Rasmus Petersen in the next three games. Moreover, in the fourth game he was hanging by a thread from the final defeat - there the showdown turned into a tie-break, where any missed ball could become fatal for Fedoruk. Valery did not flinch, called for all his composure and still finished off his opponent in the final game. Now Petroholding Squash Club will have to fight for the ninth place (out of a possible 17). On Friday, September 20, Rybalchenko and Co will begin their ascent to this summit by a meeting with the squash players who took fourth place in group A - the first rival will be the tournament hosts Italians from the local club Riccione, who also gained speed only by the second day of the tournament and who failed to get to the playoffs only due to the difference between won / lost (out of the three teams of this quintet with the same number of victories and losses, additional indicators were better for the “senators” from Helsinki and the Belgian “Castle Club”).
European Club Championship (Riccione, Italy)
Group stage
Group B
Petroholding (Ukraine, 13) - Herlev / Jorten (Denmark, 10) - 3: 1 (9: 6)
Konstantin Rybalchenko - Thomas Harding Pilak - 3: 0 (11: 8, 11: 9, 11: 3)
Alexander Bulgakov - Teis Hulberg - 0: 1 (8:11, 2:11, 9:11)
Denis Podvorny - Lau Ulrik Kien - 3: 1 (9:11, 11: 5, 11: 3, 11: 3)
Valery Fedoruk - Rasmus Jessen Petersen - 3: 2 (5:11, 6:11, 11: 8, 12:10, 11: 7)
Another match
Mulhouse (France, 2) - Fitzwilliam (Ireland, 7) - 4: 0 (12: 1)
Group A
Paderborn (Germany, 1) - Senators (Finland, 8) - 4: 0 (12: 1)
Castle Club (Belgium, 8) - McVill Harrow (Poland, 13) - 3: 1 (9: 3)
Paderborn (Germany, 1) - Castle Club (Belgium, 8) - 4: 0 (12: 0)
Senators (Finland, 8) - Riccione (Italy, 17) - 2: 2 (9: 6)
Riccione (Italy, 17) - McVill Harrow (Poland, 13) - 3: 1 (9: 3)
Group C
Vaduz (Liechtenstein, 10) - Szeged Tisza (Hungary, 13) - 2: 2 (9: 8)
Worms (Germany, 3) - Union (Austria, 6) - 4: 0 (12: 0)
Group D
Colets (England, 4) - Sandweiler (Luxembourg, 5) - 4: 0 (12: 0)
Hafrsfjord (Norway, 12) - Edinburgh (Scotland, 13) - 3: 1 (10: 7)
September 20 meet
Quarter finals
Sandweiler (Luxembourg, 5) - Worms (Germany, 3)
Colets (England, 4) - Union (Austria, 6)
Mulhouse (France, 2) - Senators (Finland, 8)
Paderborn (Germany, 1) v Fitzwilliam (Republic of Ireland, 7)
Matches for 9-16 places
Petroholding (Ukraine, 13) - Riccione (Italy, 17)
Herlev / Jorten (Denmark, 10) - Castle Club (Belgium, 8)
Hafrsfjord (Norway, 12) - Szeged Tisza (Hungary, 13)
Vaduz (Liechtenstein, 10) v Edinburgh (Scotland, 13)
Club European Championship: We go for confirmation
On the continental forum, it remains only to play the last matches for the places. The Petroholding Squash Club will play the final meeting against the Scottish Edinburgh. Everything goes to the fact that the Ukrainian quartet will confirm the eleventh place won a year earlier. For this Konstantin Rybalchenko. Valery Fedoruk, Denis Podvorny and Alexander Bulgakov only need to win Saturday's match against the proud Scots, representing the squash club from Edinburgh. After our squash players took only third place in the group stage, only ninth place could have become their maximum at the European club championship. This required winning the remaining three games against the other losers in the first round. The main test for composure was the morning meeting against the hosts of the tournament, who were fiercely supported by their native tribunes. For experienced Rybalchenko and Fedoruk, this factor is not a hindrance. The leaders of the quartet coped perfectly with their rivals. But the young Podvorny and inexperienced Bulgakov could not cope with the pressure of the stands. However, it was Denis who managed to catch one game with Yuri Farneti, due to which, when calculating the overall result, he had to switch to comparing goals scored and conceded. And here the price of each point affected (this is what makes club and team competitions interesting). A scrupulous calculation showed that Petroholding remains in the struggle for 9th place. But the hopes to get into the top ten clubs in Europe still had to say goodbye in the evening. The Hungarian four from Szeged stood in the way of the Ukrainians. Only Fedoruk managed to take his meeting, having argued with Mate Vashem. Rybalchenko was also close to victory, leading in games 2: 1, but he could not bring the next two games to a triumphant end with all his efforts. It is especially offensive for Bulgakov, who so far in this championship has not been able to win not only the game, but also the game. Although the Dnipropetrovsk squashist has another chance to correct the situation - the Scots are ahead.
European Club Championship (Riccione, Italy)
Matches for 9-16 places
Petroholding (Ukraine, 13) - Riccione (Italy, 17) - 2: 2 (7: 7, 126: 111 on points)
Konstantin Rybalchenko - Riccardo Santagata - 3: 1 (9:11, 11: 3, 11: 7, 11: 4)
Valeriy Fedoruk - Eugenio Cipolletta - 3: 0 (11: 5, 11: 5, 11: 1)
Alexander Bulgakov - Luca Laskiarrea - 0: 3 (7:11, 9:11, 7:11)
Denis Podvorny - Yuri Farneti - 1: 3 (2:11, 11: 6, 12:14, 3:11)
Other matches
Herlev / Jorten (Denmark, 10) - Castle Club (Belgium, 8) - 2: 2 (7: 6)
Szeged Tisza (Hungary, 13) - Hafrsfjord (Norway, 12) - 2: 2 (9: 8)
Edinburgh (Scotland, 13) - Vaduz (Liechtenstein, 10) - 3: 1 (9: 5)
Matches for 13-17 places
Castle Club (Belgium, 8) - Vaduz (Liechtenstein, 10) - 4: 0 (refusal)
Hafrsfjord (Norway, 12) - McVill-Harrow (Poland, 13) - 4: 0 (12: 2)
Castle Club (Belgium, 8) - Riccione (Italy, 17) - 3: 1 (11: 4)
Matches for 9-12 places
Szeged Tisza (Hungary, 13) - Petroholding (Ukraine, 13) - 3: 1 (10: 6)
Peter Hoffmann - Konstantin Rybalchenko - 3: 2 (11: 5, 5:11, 5:11, 11: 9, 11: 7)
Mate Vash - Valery Fedoruk - 1: 3 (9:11, 11: 6, 5:11, 6:11)
Daniel Kiss - Alexander Bulgakov - 3: 0 (11: 8, 13:11, 11: 2)
Benedek Shebok - Denis Podvorny - 3: 1 (11: 9, 11: 4, 8:11, 11: 7)
Another match
Herlev / Jorten (Denmark, 10) - Edinburgh (Scotland, 13) - 3: 1 (11: 6)
Quarter finals
Worms (Germany, 3) - Sandweiler (Luxembourg, 5) - 4: 0 (12: 0)
Colets (England, 4) - Union (Austria, 6) - 4: 0 (12: 0)
Mulhouse (France, 2) - Senators (Finland, 8) - 4: 0 (12: 2)
Paderborn (Germany, 1) - Fitzwilliam (Ireland, 7) - 4: 0 (9: 0)
Matches for 5-8 places
Fitzwilliam (Ireland, 7) - Sandweiler (Luxembourg, 5) - 3: 1 (11: 3)
Senators (Finland, 8) - Union (Austria, 6) - 3: 1 (8: 3)
1/2 finals
Colettes (England, 4) - Mulhouse (France, 2) - 3: 1 (11: 5)
Worms (Germany, 3) - Paderborn (Germany, 1) - 3: 1 (7: 4)
Club European Championship: ... And victory for a snack
The Ukrainian quartet won on the last day of the European Championship and thus defended its eleventh place, won last year. The level of the European club championship is growing from year to year - at least, this statement will be true if we take the period of time when Petroholding Squash Club joined the struggle for the right to be called the strongest club in Europe. This year, a considerable number of players from the elite of the world squash came to play in Italian Riccione. For example, only from the side of the ancestor of this sport, England, such racket and ball masters as Chris Simpson, Simon Park, Jonathan Kemp, Tim Garner and even the representatives of the Top 10 PSA rating Nick Matthew and James Willstrop, who met each other in the championship final, entered the courts ... Matthew's unconditional victory in three games after Davide Bianchetti destroyed Park in the first match initially reduced all the French Mulhouse's chances of a final victory to a minimum. Therefore, when in the third match David Palmer easily won the first game against Mathieu Castagnier, it was decided to declare the final meeting over. Interestingly, the fourth meeting, if there was one, would have been between the Italian Marcus Berrett and the German Rudi Roermüller. Thus, the German club "Worms" put up two Italians, an Englishman and an Australian, for the final - but not a single native of Germany. And due to this, he was able to win the title of the strongest club in the Old World for the second time in a row. While Mulhouse's bid included only two Frenchmen (Castagnier and reservist Joan Lesot), one German was found. As a result, the hegemony of clubs from Germany continued at Euro 2013. Since 2003, after the German "Paderborn" in Odense took over from the French "Capitol Saint-Cloud", only once the title of European champion went not to Germany. This was when the Scottish "Aberdeen" in Gothenborg beat "Worms", which at that time still included German squash players - Jens and Carsten Shoory). Yes, this is the peculiarity of the European club championship - the club can declare anyone, dispensing even without the citizens of the country it represents. From this perspective, the Petroholding Squash Club, which this year made a decision to form a team exclusively of Ukrainians, may well call itself the owner of not the eleventh place, but at least a place in the top ten. As for the final confrontation between our quartet and the Scots, after an unpleasant defeat from the Hungarian “Szeged” in the match for 9-12 places, the Ukrainians only picked up sports anger, due to which they managed to deal with the highlanders ahead of schedule. Yes, Konstantin Rybalchenko had to tinker with the first racket of Edinburgh Simon Boton, finishing it only in the fifth game, but Valeriy Fedoruk and Denis Podvorny, who then went to court, quickly removed the question of the winner of this fight from the agenda. It’s a pity that Alexander Bulgakov didn’t have time to feel the taste of personal victories in this championship, but, I think, he is still ahead. And the experience gained in Riccione will only help the Dnipropetrovsk squash player in future games at the international level.
European Club Championship (Riccione, Italy)
Match for 15th place
Vaduz (Liechtenstein, 10) - McVill-Harrow (Poland, 13) - 3: 1 (10: 4)
Match for 13th place
Castle Club (Belgium, 8) - Hafrsfjord (Norway, 12) - 2: 2 (8: 8, on points 149: 142)
11th place match
Petroholding (Ukraine, 13) - Edinburgh (Scotland, 13) - 3: 1 (9: 5)
Konstantin Rybalchenko - Simon Boton - 3: 2 (11: 9, 9:11, 11: 8, 4:11, 11: 3)
Valery Fedoruk - Jacques Laas - 3: 0 (11: 3, 11: 5, 13:11)
Denis Podvorny - Ross McHul - 3: 0 (11: 6, 11: 5, 11: 9)
Alexander Bulgakov - Colin Stirrat - 0: 3 (6:11, 4:11, 7:11)
Match for 9th place
Herlev / Jorten (Denmark, 10) - Szeged Tisza (Hungary, 13) - 3: 1 (10: 4)
7th place match
Union (Austria, 6) - Sandweiler (Luxembourg, 5) - 3: 1 (11: 7)
5th place match
Senators (Finland, 8) - Fitzwilliam (Ireland, 7) - 3: 1 (9: 6)
Match for 3rd place
Paderborn (Germany, 1) - Colets (England, 4) - 4: 0 (11: 3)
The final
Worms (Germany, 3) - Mulhouse (France, 2) - 3: 0 (7: 0)
Final position
"Black & White RC Worms e.V." (Germany, 3)
Mulhouse Squash Club (France, 2)
Paderborner Squash Club (Germany, 1)
….
"Petroholding Squash Club" (Ukraine, 13)
...
"Mc-Wil Harrow Squash 4you Krakow" (Poland, 13)