15th January: following 21 games of play it’s Turkey and Italy who finish 1st and 2nd in the EuroHockey Indoor Junior Championships and earn their slot in the 2019 Championship division.
Results for the day:
Slovakia v Wales 2-1 (1-1)
Italy v Ukraine 12-1 (3-1)
Slovenia v Norway 0-1 (5-1)
Turkey v Wales 1-1 (4-3)
Slovakia v Ukraine 8-3 (4-1)
Norway v Italy 0-16 (0-8)
Turkey v Slovenia 3-2 (1-1)
Round-up:
Match 15: Slovakia v Wales
Both teams needed to win to keep their promotion hopes alive. Wales started the game patiently with a strong passing game, as they have done all tournament. Slovakia pressed high and had good chances on the counter attack. 1-1 at half time meant we were in for a fiercely competitive second half. Slovakia started strong and their physicality and passing speed meant they got the lead they deserved. Wales fought hard right to the end but the final result was 2-1 to Slovakia, keeping their promotion chances alive, but for Wales, they can no longer achieve promotion.
Match 16: Italy v Ukraine
Another important match, with Ukraine needing a win to stay alive in the competition. Ukraine took the lead but missed an open goal later in the half. This was punished by some great Italian play and they led 3-1 at half time. Ukraine played some of the second half with a kicking back, which played to the Italians advantage. A yellow card did not help the Ukraines cause. 12-1 was the final score and Italy are very much alive in the promotion race.
Match 17: Slovenia v Norway
Great game for the home team on a winnable game againt similar opposition. Slovenia were one nil down at half time and came back to score five whapping goals in the second half to win the game. Nejc Potokar scored a hat-trick and got the crowd on his side. Those were the first points for the home team Slovenia, leaving them with a tough game against Turkey in the afternoon.
Match 18: Turkey v Wales
A really tight game to decide who would get the last spot for promotion. It was a close game from start to end, only one all at half time. Hywel Jones scored twice for Wales quickly in the second half to put Wales three one ahead. Within the next three minutes Ferhat Ugur managed to score twice to put Turkey level with Wales at three three. Eight minutes left on the clock the game continued to be close but Turkey managed to squeeze one more goal in and won the game 4-3. This secures the promotion for Turkey in to the A division with one more game left to play.
Match 19: Slovakia v Ukraine
This is the match which decided if Slovakia could get the bronze medal. Unfourunately number 6 for Ukraine Bogdan Kovalenko missed this game because of receiving a yellow card in the previous two games. After a tight first 15 minutes Slovakia scored twice quickly to get a two goal lead. Ukraine scored once but Slovakia scored twice again and it was 4-1 at the half time. Slovakia continued to dominate, winning the game 8-3 and securing the bronze medal.
Match 20: Norway v Italy
The final game for both teams resulted in the complete domination of the Italian side. At half time it was 0-8 already and the same score in the second half with no reply from Norway meant Italy won the game comfortably 16-0. Simone Pagliara scored four goals in this game which made sure he won the top goal scorer of the competition. The Italian captain Luca Valentino also won the best player of the tournament, which was voted for by the other teams.
Match 21: Turkey v Slovenia
The last match of the day and the tournament was between the Turkish team and the home team. The Slovenian team showed a different attitude and surprised everyone with their offensive play. They scored after five minutes of game and shocked the favourites who had to put a lot of effort to equalize. The home team scored again with the help of their supporters. However, the Turkish players showed why they are on the top of the table and put the ball in the Slovenian net two more times. The final result 3-2, put the Turkish team on top of the table and Slovenia can be happy with the performance of their players regardless losing the final match.
Topscorer:
PAGLIARA Simone ITA
Best Player
VALENTINO Luca ITA
Best Goalkeeper
O’Sullivan Benjamin WAL
Final Ranking:
| Team | Code | Final Standing |
|---|---|---|
 Turkey |
TUR | 1 |
 Italy |
ITA | 2 |
 Slovakia |
SVK | 3 |
 Wales |
WAL | 4 |
 Ukraine |
UKR | 5 |
 Slovenia |
SLO | 6 |
 Norway |
NOR | 7 |