26th July 2018: Today is the rest day at the EuroHockey U18 Championship II in Cardiff, Wales. Pool A and B are complete, with Russia, Austria, Scotland and Wales completing the line-up for the semi-finals. Italy, Belarus, Czech Republic and Switzerland will battle it out over the next two days in the relegation C Pool.
Pool A:
Russia was the outright winner in this pool taking a full hand of 9 points and 3 wins! The margins were small however with their biggest win of 4-1 over Italy. Austria came second, losing only to Russia, but beating both Italy and Belarus. They now face top of the table Scotland in their semi-final tomorrow.
| Rank | Team | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 9 |
| 2 | Austria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 6 |
| 3 | Italy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Belarus | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 14 | -8 | 0 |
Pool B
Pool B was a much tighter affair at the top as hosts Wales and Scotland could only be separated by goal difference, both earned 7 points in the pool. A 3-3 draw on the opening day with a flurry of goals from Wales in the 3rd quarter after Scotland had taken a 3-0 advantage, shows the gut and determination of the Welsh boys to shine in front of the home crowd. Scotland had the better of Czech Republic with a 3-1, it could have been more had they converted pc chances. Scotland powered past Switzerland 6-1. The hosts had tighter wins but still did enough 3-2 v Czech Republic and 2-0 v Switzerland to earn their place in the semi-final.
| Rank | Team | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scotland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | Wales | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | Czech Republic | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Switzerland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | -10 | 0 |
Pool C lineup
| Rank | Team | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| 2 | Czech Republic | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 0 |
| 4 | Belarus | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 0 |
Tomorrow’s games (27th July)
| Time | Teams | Title | Scoreline | Status | Pitch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | BLR – SUI | Pool C | – | Upcoming | Pitch 1 |
| 11:45 | ITA – CZE | Pool C | – | Upcoming | Pitch 1 |
| 14:00 | SCO – AUT | SF2 | – | Upcoming | Pitch 1 |
| 16:30 | RUS – WAL | SF1 | – | Upcoming | Pitch 1 |
More information on www.hockeywales.org.uk
Photograph courtsey of: Irfon Bennett (c)