Friday, April 18: Railway Union wrote their name in the history books today, recording a 1-0 victory over Ukraine’s Sumchanka to record a first ever Women’s Euro Hockey League win for an Irish club. Having won the EY Champions Trophy in 2024, the Dublin-based club secured qualification for this year’s EHL, Europe’s top hockey competition featuring the 12 best clubs from across Europe, being hosted in HC ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Having suffered defeat to professional Dutch club SCHC in their Final 12 match, Railway Union progressed to an all-important ranking game, seeded against Sumchanka. Railway dominated the game from the early stages, with Irish International Katie Mullan threatening to open the scoring on several occasions in the first half. Railway eventually broke the deadlock early in the third quarter from a penalty corner, Lily Lloyd providing the final touch to guide the ball into the back of the net.
Railway Union pushed on with Ali O’Leary hitting the post, and Lily Llyod almost getting her second, but ultimately the single goal proved enough to see Railway Union secure the win.
The historic win comes 11 years on from Railway Union’s first ever topflight European win in the EuroHockey Club Cup in 2014, the old format for top European Hockey.