The final day of the Pool A and B games got underway early in Gibraltar. With the semi-final line-ups still unclear these games were vital.
Match 9: Portugal v Slovakia (Pool B) 8-5
Portugal and Slovakia kick-started the fourth day of the tournament in a quick-paced match. Portugal was awarded two short corners nearly two minutes into the match but was unfortunately unsuccessful. Slovakia was the first to put a point on the scoreboard after being awarded a short corner. Shortly after, an on field goal was scored by Portugal allowing them to equalise but they soon took the lead after a short corner was awarded. The second quarter of the match saw multiple short corners being awarded to Portugal but they failed to hit the backboard twice, until they were given a penalty to which they scored, securing their lead. However, Slovakia soon started to catch up shortly after the penalty, scoring one goal before the whistle blew for half time. The third quarter of the match, in particular, was equal in play as both teams had equal possession and pace. But Slovakia soon equalised the score after a successful short corner. Not long after that, Portugal scored a field goal and so do Slovakia straight after. In the final quarter, Portugal scored four goals but Slovakia failed to catch up only having scored one in the last quarter. The final score of the match was 8 – 5 to Portugal.
Portugal’s Goalscorers:
#2 Luis Tavares (C) x 2
#3 Vasco Ribeiro
#7 Miguel Rodrigues
#19 Rodrigo Castro x2
#25 Afonso Caramalho x2
Slovakia’s Goal Scorers:
#2 Ondrej Bitter
#10 Tomáš Romanec x2
#11 Daniel Petráš
#14 Matej Krampl
Match 10: Malta v Croatia (Pool B) 2-5
Malta and Croatia battle it out for the second match of the day. Croatia quickly put themselves on the scoreboard, 10 minutes into the match with another goal coming 3 minutes later. The first quarter of the match has Malta’s defence holding back Croatia as best they can, attempting to avoid any more goals. The second quarter of the match had even play from both teams in offence and defence but Croatia managed to find their way through Malta and was able to score. In the third quarter, Croatia was strong in their attacks, scoring two goals, which allowed them to take a prominent lead in the game. In the last quarter, Malta managed to score a field goal and was awarded a short corner shortly after. The short corner was unsuccessful but was turned into a penalty stroke due to a bad tackle from the Croatian defence. This allowed Malta to gain another goal in the last two minutes. The final score of the match was 2 – 5 to Croatia.
Croatia’s Goal Scorers:
#7 Pavel Marković
#11 Ivan Bagur x2
#13 Filip Zlimen
#27 Anže Fujs
Malta’s Goal Scorers:
#16 Keith Bajada
#25 Juan Sarcia
Match 11: Lithuania v Turkey (Pool A) 2- 4
The third match of the day began with Turkey holding more possession over the ball than Lithuania, resulting in a goal for Turkey early on in the game. Despite Lithuania’s strong attempts at defence, Turkey managed to score another goal thanks to their persistent effort and thoughtful passes. In the second half of the match, Turkey scored yet another goal but Lithuania continued to fight for the ball, making every effort to stop incoming passes. Lithuania scored a goal in the fourth quarter after being awarded a short corner and another goal was followed shortly after, giving Lithuania hope for a possible tie. But unfortunately for Lithuania none of the attempts made for a goal hit the backboard, ending the game at 2 – 4 for Turkey.
Lithuania Goal Scorers:
#4 Zygimantas Balsiukas x2
Turkey Goal Scorers:
#10 Numan Poyraz x 2
#13 Yaşar Yilmaz
#17 Isa Bakar
Match 12: Switzerland v Gibraltar (Pool A) 3-0
The final game of the day was between Switzerland and hosts Gibraltar. The Swiss had control of the game from the start as they went ahead in the 18th minute. 2 goals in the second half secured a win and a place
Swiss Goal Scorers:
#27 Martin GREDER
#3 Elias BRÖNNIMANN
#25 Mirko HUG
Tomorrow is a rest day, games will resume on 2nd August.
All games are being Livestreamed on www.eurohockeytv.org