Three teams came to this last day of the EuroHockey Indoor Junior Championship II 2019, Paredes, well placed to confirm the promotion to division one. Czech Republic confirmed the tournament’s first place on their first match of the day, while Slovakia took advantage of Portugal’s loss to confirm second place.
Paredes says goodbye to these fantastic players with the hope of seeing the ball roll again between the sticks in these beautiful Portuguese lands in a near future.
Ukraine 3-7 Slovakia
Slovakia started winning on this third and final day of the EuroHockey Indoor Junior Championship II, Paredes. Four goals in the first half gave the Slovaks a comfortable advantage. Despite the combative spirit of the Ukrainians, they were never able to contradict their opponents.
Czech Republic 8-1 Denmark
As predicted, this was an important game for the decisions of this EuroHockey Paredes 2019.
It had not yet been 10 minutes and the Czech team scored three unanswered goals. Afterwards, the Czech national team simply controlled the game calmly. In spite of the heavy defeat, the young Danish formation left good indications.
With this victory, the Czechs confirmed the first position of the EuroHockey Indoor Junior Championship II 2019 – Pool B, at Paredes!
Congratulations!
Portugal 2-4 Sweden
Contrary to what happened at yesterday’s meetings, Portugal scored first, in a good play of the team with Carlos Magalhães giving the last touch. The Swedes did not facilitate and replied right away. The reaction came with two goals that confirmed the turnaround.
In the second half, it was visible that the Portuguese team was under intense pressure. The home team tried with all their strength to get back to the game, but the Swedes did not allow it. With another “cold goal” the Portuguese hopes to reach the top two almost vanished.
Slovakia 4-3 Wales
After the Portuguese loss, Slovakia needed only the draw to hold the second place in this EuroHockey Paredes and the consequent qualification for the division one of the European competition. In a very balanced match, the Welsh were a great opponent and did not make it easy for their rivals. However, the individual quality prevailed and the Slovak team reached the triumph a few seconds from the final.
Slovakia is in division one. Congratulations, lads!
Denmark 3-3 Ukraine
Danes and Ukrainians came to this match with the same number of points (4) and this balance was also felt in the field. Ukraine advanced on the scoreboard five minutes into the game, successfully completing a well-constructed play. Denmark “woke up” managing to reach the draw before half-time. With each goal scored, the opposing team responded promptly with another goal, and thus, the tie proved to be a fair result.
Czech Republic 4-2 Sweden
Although the Czech Republic already had the first place guaranteed, this was a more disputed match than most probably expected. The Swedes, who arrived to this last day with just one victory, managed to surprise Portugal, and imposed many difficulties to the Czechs. In the end, with another great performance of the captain, Jan Urbanec, the Czech Republic added another victory and closed Pool A of this EuroHockey Indoor Junior Championship II in an undefeated way.
Portugal 5-2 Wales
Portugal had the third place practically guaranteed and Wales had no chance of getting out of the last position. Nevertheless, there was a lot of public at the Rota dos Móveis Pavilion on this sunny Sunday that saw a good hockey game full of goal opportunities.
Driven by the audience, Portugal managed to close this EuroHockey in the best way, with a convincing victory and securing the bronze medal.
Final Ranking:
| Rank | Team | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Czech Republic | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 12 | 19 | 18 |
| 2 | Slovakia | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 18 | 6 | 13 |
| 3 | Portugal | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 21 | 7 | 10 |
| 4 | Sweden | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 18 | -2 | 7 |
| 5 | Ukraine | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 25 | -6 | 5 |
| 6 | Denmark | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 31 | -11 | 5 |
| 7 | Wales | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 29 | -13 | 1 |
At the prize-giving ceremony the following individual prizes were awarded:
MVP: Jan Urbanec (Czech Republic)
Best Scorer: Jan Urbanec (Czech Rep.)
Best Goalkeeper: Jakub Bogár (Slovakia)