England Handball Association (EHA) National Cup

Ruislip Eagles Women 14

Olympia HC Women 24

Ruislip Eagles put up a real fight but ultimately fell short in the EHA National Cup final against London rivals Olympia at the weekend.

There had been nothing to separate these two in the run up to the showpiece event at the Copper Box, both teams having picked up seven points in the league system, but the margins were not quite as tight here in Stratford.

Milly Chebanova had a dazzling first-half and led the way with a hat-trick, Kerstin Papenfuss chipping in with a double, with Josie Esmanhoto and Judit Cross also adding one each for good measure.

Cross picked up a nasty looking ankle injury early on to dampen spirits, however Maria Seri struck right on the buzzer to leave the score at 13-8 in favour of Olympia going into the interval.

The Box saw Olympic heroes crowned at London 2012 and now was the time for a few more to step forward. Sadly for Eagles fans the shining light in the second period was the Olympia keeper, who had a storming match.

Mariana Jicmon did manage to beat her once as Ruislip got the score to 18-11 with just under 20 minutes left to play, however Olympia showed good game-management to run down the clock and it finished 24-14 in their favour.

It was Eagles coach Melanie Chowns’ final game in charge after decades of service. She was presented with flowers by the team after the game at the very venue that hosted the pinnacle of her handball career as she was part of Team GB at the Olympic Games in 2012.