21st July 2018, Santander: Another full day of games with plenty at stake here in Santander at the EuroHockey U18 Championships, girls. The Pool C was wide open overnight, so both games (Spain v Belarus and Ireland v France) were crucial to determine the lineup for the next U18 Championships. The Dutch dominated the final against first-time finalists Belgium to lift the Cup for the 8th time.
Final:
Belgium v The Netherlands 0-5
The Netherlands dominated from the start with a classy display of hockey. Belgium certainly didn’t play badly and matched the Dutch in their intensity and pace, but in the D where it really mattered, the Dutch were clinical in their finishing. VAN DER VELDT opened the scoring in the 11th minute, a rebound from a pc. OMRANI in the 26th, this time a well-worked deflected corner. FOKKE in the 29th from a solo run to bring the score to 3 without reply. A scramble in the front of goal in the 39th minute saw BEETSMA with the tap in. VAN DER VEERDONK got on the scoresheet courtesy of a rocket from a pc. A deflated Belgium were disappointed with the game, but overall happy with the tournament performance to take silver for the first time in the history of the event.
Round-up
Bronze Medal game:
Germany v England 1-2
The bronze medal game was closely fought. Germany’s STOFFELSMA put them ahead at the start of the second half. A darting run along the backline and a shot with a difficult angle. England levelled the game MCCABE as she got on the end of a long pass from HAMILTON in the 4th quarter. Germany pushed forward but a turnover saw England go ahead again, a tap-in from VANDERSTICHELE. England was forced to defend deeply, as Germany took off their keeper and had the advantage of an additional field player, but held out for the win and the Bronze medal.
Pool C
Spain v Belarus 4-0
Spain was almost secure in the Championship division before the game. But the locals were determined to top pool C after the disappointment of missing the semi-finals. They took the lead via BARRIOS in the 24th minute. STRAPPATO scored a hattrick to secure a comfortable win against Belarus. Spain will stay in the first division and Belarus is relegated to the Championships II.
Ireland v France 5-3
Ireland only needed one point to finish second of pool C and play the next edition of the Championships I. An early goal from PRATT put Ireland into the lead in the first quarter. The Irish team scored the second goal in the second quarter but France pulled one back to make it 2-1 at halftime in favour of the Irish team. Ireland increased their lead in the third quarter with 3 additional goals. France got one back in the 43rd minute, while Ireland down to 10 (green card). A late goal from LE NAOUR in the last quarter gave hope to France but the final score was 5-3 for Ireland. France is relegated to the second division of the Championships.
Pool C – Final Ranking:
| Rank | Team | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 9 |
| 2 | Ireland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Belarus | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 3 |
| 4 | France | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 12 | -8 | 0 |
Final Ranking:
- The Netherlands
- Belgium
- England
- Germany
- Spain
- Ireland
- Belarus (relegated)
- France (relegated)
Best Player: Sara Barrios (Spain)
Best Goalkeeper: Juliette Grignard (Belgium)
Top Scorer: Sara Barrios (Spain) 7 goals
Live streaming
All games from Pitch 1 were streamed and available on www.eurohockeytv.org
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All photographs courtesy of World Sport Pics (c) / Arnau Martínez Benavent – you can see the galleries on our FaceBook page