Hosts Spain and The Netherlands face eachother in the EuroHockey U18 Final

20th July 2018, Santander: First up in the boy’s event were the all-important Pool C games and the push from Ireland, Poland, France and England to save their slot in the EuroHockey Championship division.

The semi-finals were played in a very competitive manner, two very closely fought games which saw hosts Spain and The Netherlands into the Final tomorrow. But not without some drama as the Spanish keeper CALZADO pulled off some magical saves in the shootout to earn their place in the final and in a remarkable comeback the Dutch boys beat Germany so they will now face Spain in the final.

Roundup:

Pool C:

England v France 2 – 0

England secured its place in the Championship division with a 2-0 win over France. RUSHMERE was on target again with a flick from a pc, in the 36th minute. RUSSEL doubled the score in the 56th minute.

Poland v Ireland 0-5

Ireland earned much-needed points in the relegation pool to set themselves up with a date with England tomorrow to try and secure a place in the Championships.

Ireland went ahead via HAYCOCK in the 2nd minute. A rebound pc that he pounced on and batted into the back of the net. Poland did have a chance to equalise in the 8th minute, but a mis-trapped corner kept the score 0-1 in favour of the Irish. A pc for Ireland, upgraded to a stroke as the ball had hit a defenders foot on the line was well saved by the Polish keeper. Ireland doubled its score in the 26th minute, a flick from captain ROMOLI Matteo. EMPEY scored the goal of the match in the 26th minute, caught wrong-footed, EMPEY still managed to roof a reverse hit and bring Ireland’s lead to a comfortable lead of 0-3. ROMOLI was on the scoresheet again in the 30th minute, another stroke, he made no mistake this game going hit and left, leaving Polish keeper GEBLER with no chance. JOHNSON completed Ireland’s scoreline with a pc in the 50th minute.

Ranking Pool C:

	Team	GP	W	D	L	GD	P
1	England	2	2	0	0	9	6
2	Ireland	2	1	0	1	4	3
3	France	2	1	0	1	-1	3
4	Poland	2	0	0	2	-12	0

Semi-finals

Belgium v Spain 2-2 0-3 (shootout)

In a fantastic game of hockey where both teams had chances to earn the coveted place in the final, it was the hosts Spain who prevailed when the game went to a shootout.

The game opened with Spain in the ascension and was rewarded pc in the 11th minute. BONASTRE  flicked in a rocket, 0-1 to Spain. Belgium waited for patiently for the equaliser, which came from ENGLEBERT in the 28th minute. FIGA put Spain ahead with a converted stroke in the 43rd minute. Their lead didn’t last long as DE WINTER equalised for Belgium a minute later.

Both sides had chances to kill off the game in normal time, but neither defence cracked and the game went to shootout. Which Spain won 3-0.

Speaking to captain Pau JOVER, he was so proud and delighted to be in the final “It’s like a dream!” he added, “We felt that if we went to shoot out that we would win as we have an amazing keeper.”

Germany v The Netherlands 3-3 3-5 (shoot out) 

The second boy’s semi-final was a clash between Germany and the Netherlands. Germany opened the score in the 7th minute, a brilliant pass deflected into the net of the Dutch goalkeeper. VAN BIJNEN levelled the game up in the first quarter from a great spin and shot. The score was 1-1 at halftime.

Germany took the lead in the second half after the ball popped back off the post and WEIGAN converted. A rocket of a flick in the 38th minute put Germany in control. The Netherlands pulled one back with 8 minutes left in the last quarter. VAN TONGEREN converted a penalty stroke to equalize for the Dutch team. The final was decided after a shootout. The Netherlands scored their 5 shootouts with their goalkeeper making a crucial save. 

Tomorrow’s Games:

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