Women’s EuroHockey Indoor Championships (Prague, January 19): The Czech Republic produced a scintillating second half comeback to beat Germany 4-3 in Prague in the final game of day one of the women’s EuroHockey Indoor Championships, ensuring Pool B goes down to a final game decider on Saturday morning.
The Netherlands lead the way in Pool A as the only team in the competition with two wins from two but all four sides can still finish in top two or bottom two depending how Saturday’s final group games go.
Pool A
Match one: Poland 1-2 (1-0) Switzerland
Switzerland came back from a 1-0 half-time deficit to open up their campaign with a strong win over Poland. Amelia Katerla fired home from the left of the circle to give the Poles an early lead but goals from Tamara Trösch and Stephanie Wälti turned the game around and they held on for the win.
Czech Republic celebrate their win over Germany. Copyright: Frank Uijlenbroek/EHF/World Sport PicsMatch two: Netherlands 7-2 (4-0) Belarus
The Netherlands began their title defence with a comfortable 7-2 win over a Belarus side coached by Dutchman Herman Kruis. A Pin van Nes penalty stroke got them rolling before Elin van Erk and two efforts from Felice Albers stretched out a 4-0 half-time lead. Two more goals early in the second half made the game safe despite Krestina Papkova and Yuliya Mikheichyk goals.
Pool B
Match three: Germany 5-1 (3-0) Ukraine
A youthful Germany got their campaign off to a confident start as they built a 4-0 lead by the 32nd minute and never looked back to beat Ukraine in the first Pool B game. Corners from Pia Grambusch and Luisa Steindor came either side of a Julia Meffert field goal for a three-goal advantage at half-time. Steindor added another in the second half before Maryna Khilko put Ukraine on the board. Hannah Gablac completed the German win.
Match four: Czech Republic 3-4 (1-2) Russia
Valeriia Borisova’s hat trick gave Russia an excellent win over the hosts. She started the scoring in the seventh minute and Bogdana Sadovaia put them 2-0 ahead. Czech skipper Adela Lehovcova got one back on th half-time hooter but another couple of Borisova corners put Russia 4-1 up with eight minutes to go. Barbora Haklova and Lehovcova reduced the gap but they could not force an equaliser.
Pool A
Match five: Belarus 6-1 (2-0) Switzerland
Belarus bounced back from their opening loss to beat Switzerland and reignite their chances of reaching the semi-finals. Corners from Sviatlana Bahushevich and Ryta Batura put them two goals clear at half-time and a double from Yuliya Mikheichyk in the second half propelled them to a five-goal win.
Match six: Poland 1-4 (0-3) Netherlands
The Netherlands put themselves on the brink of the semi-final spots with a 4-1 win over Poland. Once again, they were well clear by the break with Pien van Nes, Donja Zwinkels and Imme van der Hoek made it 3-0. Zwinkels’ second put them further clear before Oriana Walasek got a consolation at the end for Poland. The Dutch need to avoid defeat against Switzerland to guarantee their place in the next round. Poland will need to win by over two goals against Belarus to have a chance of progressing.
Pool B
Match seven: Ukraine 8-4 (3-1) Russia
Fortunes reversed for Ukraine and Russia as they both ended the day on three points as the former won the highest scoring game of the day. Oksana Ponomarenko ensured Ukraine led from start to finish, scoring the first two goals. Valeriia Borisova got one back but Yana Vorushylo’s pair extended a 4-1 advantage. Borisova scored two more to reduce the lead to 4-3 but the crucial spell came with Vorushylo netted the next two and Yevheniya Moroz got a third in succession for Ukraine, making it 7-3 with two minutes left. Borisova scored her fourth of the game, cancelled out by Viktoriya Stetsenko on the final whistle.
Match eight: Czech Republic 4-3 (1-1) Germany
Adela Lehovcova’s spectacular corner flick in the 34th minute earned the Czech Republic a memorable 4-3 win over Germany, coming back from 3-1 down to ensure all of Pool B are level on three points overnight. Klara Kyndlova gave the Czechs the lead in the 14th minute but two goals from Amelie Wortmann and another from Luisa Steindor had the Germans flying high. Renata Capouchova stopped them in their tracks with two goals in two minutes and soon after Lehovcova had the crucial say. Germany head the table on goal difference but anything can happen on Saturday.
| 20 Jan | 09:00 | 9 | Netherlands | – | Switzerland | Upcoming | Pool A |
| 10:10 | 10 | Belarus | – | Poland | Upcoming | Pool A | |
| 11:20 | 11 | Germany | – | Russia | Upcoming | Pool B | |
| 12:30 | 12 | Ukraine | – | Czech Republic | Upcoming | Pool B |
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