Belgium’s boys produced a crazy finish to become the first side to qualify for the semi-finals of the EuroHockey U18 championships in Krefeld as they defeated Germany. Scotland kept their hopes of staying up alive with Austria confirmed as relegated.
In Championship II-A, France and Ukraine are the last two sides standing with perfect records after they won for a third game in a row.
In Championship II-B, the Czech Republic and Switzerland made their way into the final four with strong wins. Here’s a round-up of the day’s action:
Boys
EuroHockey U18 Championship (Krefeld, Germany)
Pool A
Scotland 2 Austria 1
Scotland gave their hopes of avoiding a relegation a massive boost as they defeated Austria 2-1, a result which sees the latter confirmed to play in the second tier in 2025.
All the goals came in the closing 11 minutes after Scotland withstood a barrage of corners in a third quarter purple patch from the Austrians. The deadlock was broken by a brilliant Andrew Lobb shot from the right edge of the circle.
Two minutes later, Oliver Wilson fired a reverse into the net for a vital 2-0 lead; Austria came back via Benedikt Meisel’s goal with time running out but it was not enough.
Scotland must now await the outcome of how Ireland do against Germany to see if they stay up.
Belgium 3 Germany 2
Belgium scored twice in the last three minutes to rubber-stamp their ticket to the semi-finals and pole position for top spot in the group as they stunned Germany late on.
The Germans led twice in the fixture from Lukas Kossel goals, the first in the 14th minute, and then again in the 55th when he struck again to outdo a goal from Marin van Heel.
But Jean Cloetens levelled at 2-2 and the Hugues Molenaar scored in the final minute to earn a memorable win. For Germany, they are nonetheless almost certain to advance to the semis barring a 12-goal defeat to Ireland. They play at 3.30pm on Thursday with Austria facing Belgium at 3.45pm.
Elsewhere, Pool B will also be played a conclusion with all the semi-final spots and relegation places set to be confirmed on Thursday.
** Get your U18’s LIVESTREAM PASS HERE: https://www.eurohockeytv.org/en-int/page/event-pass-u18-championships
EuroHockey U18 Championship II-A (Alanya, Türkiye)
France continued their perfect run as they ended Türkiye’s series of wins with a 5-0 outcome in Alanya. Two goals in a minute were the game-breaking moments with Arthur Morcrette and Erwin Roussiere scoring within seconds of each other for a 2-0 lead in the 19th minute. After that, they showed composure with Roussiere adding a second and Guillaume Piole scoring two times in the closing moments.
Croatia got their first win of the competition when they beat Finland 7-0. They pulled away in the end after a reasonably tight match in the first three quarters; Fran Nemčič and Ivan Šoić gave the Croats a 2-0 half-time lead but they only fully ran away with the tie when Finland got in card trouble in the final phases.
Ukraine got their third victory in a row with an 11-1 win over Bulgaria. Three goals in the first 11 minutes – two from Dmytro Mykhalchuk – while six goals came in the last 18 minutes when Bulgaria were short-handed.
Thursday is a rest day before the sides return to action on Friday with a potential title decider between Ukraine and France first on court.
EuroHockey U18 Championship II-B (Swansea, Wales)
Switzerland and the Czech Republic confirmed their passage through to the semi-finals with wins over Luxembourg and Slovakia to conclude Pool A.
For the Swiss, they were pushed to the limit by Luxembourg, fresh from their first ever win in Under-18 competition. Ludovic Masset put the latter into the lead from an 18th minute corner and they remained in front into the second half.
A second half hat trick from Mattia Ribaudo turned things around, equalising from a stroke and then scoring corners in the 42nd and 60th minutes.
The Czechs got their place in the final four with a comfortable 14-1 win over neighbours Slovakia, scoring six times in the first quarter.
** article to be updated on completion of Wales vs Lithuania!
** All games from Swansea will be streamed on www.eurohockeytv.org
