Thursday, October 8 – Eindhoven, The Netherlands: Lisnagarvey Hockey Club will return to the European stage this week as they begin their Euro Hockey League (EHL) campaign at HC Oranje-Rood in Eindhoven, with the Lisburn side aiming to make their mark in a new-look competition.

Lisnagarvey’s return to the EHL comes after a remarkable 2025/26 season in which they completed a domestic treble, adding the EY Champions Trophy to their EY Hockey League and AIG Irish Senior Cup successes. That Champions Trophy triumph was secured in dramatic fashion against familiar rivals Banbridge, with Garvey first overcoming Pembroke Wanderers before holding their nerve in the final shootout against Banbridge, James Milliken producing the crucial final save to seal the title and secure their return to Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since their ninth-place finish in 2022/23.

Their return comes at an interesting time for the EHL, which has undergone a significant overhaul for the 2026/27 season. The traditional October KO16 stage followed by an Easter Final 8 has been replaced, with 12 men’s clubs now competing in Round 1 before four teams progress to an expanded Final 12 competition at Easter 2027. That makes every match in Eindhoven even more significant, with Garvey looking to negotiate their pool and secure a place among the sides who will continue their European adventure into the spring.

If early-season form is anything to go by, Lisnagarvey will travel to Eindhoven with plenty of confidence. Erroll Lutton’s side have made a perfect start to their EY Hockey League campaign, winning all three of their opening matches against newly promoted Portane, Corinthian and Monkstown, while continuing the prolific goalscoring form which was such a feature of their treble-winning campaign last season by finding the net 14 times across those three games. Their strong start has also been reflected in the Kirk Cup, where Garvey have swept aside Belfast Harlequins, CI Annadale, South Antrim and Mossley to progress from their pool with a game to spare.

The squad remains largely unchanged from the one which delivered three trophies last season, providing a valuable combination of continuity, experience and growing young talent. Lutton will once again be assisted by Steven Arbuthnot, while Mark McNellis takes up the captaincy for a second season and will be surrounded by a host of Garvey stalwarts, including Matthew, Daniel and Ben Nelson, Jonny Lynch and Peter McKibbin. There will, however, be three notable absences from last season’s squad, with young talents Milo Thompson and John Cunningham moving on for the campaign, as well as the legendary figure of Andrew Williamson who has hung up his stick after almost two decades of top-level hockey with the club.

One player who will be hoping to make his mark on the European stage is Harry Archbold, with the 21-year-old already among the EY Hockey League’s leading scorers after the opening three rounds and likely to be one of the players to watch in Eindhoven.

Garvey have been drawn in Pool D alongside Swiss champions HC Rotweiss Wettingen and French side CAM 92. Rotweiss Wettingen arrive in the Netherlands as reigning Swiss champions and will provide a stern test for the Irish champions, having also made an impressive start to their domestic campaign by winning each of their opening five matches.

French outfit CAM 92 will provide a different challenge and are expected to be one of the youngest teams competing in this year’s EHL, but they are certainly not an unfamiliar opponent for Lisnagarvey. The two sides have already met twice in European competition, with Garvey recording a 4-0 victory when they first crossed paths in the EHL in 2022, before a very different outcome when they met again last season in the EuroHockey Club Trophy I, held at Lisnagarvey. On that occasion the sides played out an entertaining 3-3 draw before CAM 92 held their nerve in the shootout to claim victory, a result which will provide an extra source of motivation for Garvey as they look to ensure the French side do not repeat their success this time around.

The Round 1 action gets underway on October 9, when CAM 92 and HC Rotweiss Wettingen face off in the opening game of Pool D. That result will give Garvey an early indication of the challenge that awaits, before they begin their own campaign the following day against the Swiss champions on October 10.

The following day will see Garvey face a familiar opponent in CAM 92, with the French side providing the final test of the pool stage on October 11. With only four of the 12 teams in Round 1 progressing to the expanded Final 12 at Easter, there will be little room for error across the three games, making every point and every goal potentially crucial.

Lisnagarvey eye European success in Euro Hockey League Round 1

Euro Hockey League – Lisnagarvey Fixtures

Saturday October 10

Sunday, October 11

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