The first day of the EuroHockey Indoor Championships II in Espinho 2016 began with a tie between England and Scotland (2-2). It was a very balanced game, not always well played, but with a lot of passion.
The second game, France v Croatia, ended with a victory to the French by 6-4. The game was very even with the final result being a reflect of what happened in this game.
Ukraine and Belgium were the main characters of the first game relative to the pool B, the third game of the day. The Belgian team dominated the match from the beginning and reached the end of the first half leading by 3-1. The Belgians confirmed their superiority in the second half, finishing the game with a victory of 8-3.
Portugal, the host team, debuted against Denmark, in the fourth game of the day. Denmark came in strong and scored in the early moments of the game. Portugal pushed ahead controlling the game and managed to score the equalizer, finishing the first half 1-1.
The second half started the same way. Denmark entered very strong and, like in the first half, managed to score in the first moments. Ricardo Oto, with only nine minutes left to play, levelled the game. The game was very even, and, when the clock was counting 3 minutes until the end of the game, Denmark, benefiting from a short corner, scored again. Portugal risked it all with a player with goalkeeper privileges but it was not enough. Denmark broke the Portuguese defense and scored again, settling the final result of 4-2.
The evening opened with the match from Pool A between Scotland and Croatia. The Croats ended the first half wining by 1-4 and everyone believed that they were done for. The second half proved us all wrong. Scotland came in with a very different attitude and posed a strong threat to Croatia. However, it was not enough, and the Croats secured the victory by 7-5.
Still in the pool A, France and England gave the most balanced show of the day. The two teams showed a very equal level of Hockey and the game was resolved by the little details. The end of the game smiled to England that conquered the victory with the result of 5-4.
Back to the pool B and Denmark confirmed it’s presence in the next phase by beating Ukraine for 6-3. The Danish gave a good exhibition and controlled the game.
Portugal and Belgium played the last game of the day. Playing in front of their fans, the Portuguese team was not able to come out with the victory. The match was very disputed, with Portugal always running from behind. The hosts, apparently very nervous, could not maintain the cold blood during the most important moments, with errors that allowed their opponents to score in multiple counterattacks.
Results Day 1:
| 19:30 | BEL – POR | Pool B | 9 – 6 (5 – 4) | |
| 18:20 | DEN – UKR | Pool B | 6 – 3 (3 – 2) | |
| 17:10 | FRA – ENG | Pool A | 4 – 5 (2 – 2) | |
| 16:00 | SCO – CRO | Pool A | 5 – 7 (1 – 4) | |
| 13:30 | DEN – POR | Pool B | 4 – 2 (1 – 1) | |
| 12:20 | UKR – BEL | Pool B | 3 – 8 (1 – 3) | |
| 11:10 | FRA – CRO | Pool A | 6 – 4 (3 – 1) | |
| 10:00 | ENG – SCO | Pool A | 2 – 2 (1 – 0) |
Today’s Games:
England vs Croatia
Scotland vs France
Ukraine vs Portugal
Belgium vs Denmark
Full gallery – click here