The Boys EuroHockey U18 Championships hit full flow today with Alanya joining the party with day one of Championship II-A, adding to the already in progress events in Krefeld and Swansea.
Spain and England played out the pick of the contests in Pool B with a thrilling 2-2 draw while the Netherlands and Germany had big wins in Krefeld.
In Alanya, hosts Türkiye, Ukraine and France were all in devastating form while in Swansea, Switzerland made the big inroads. Here’s a round-up of the day’s action:
Boys
EuroHockey U18 Championship (Krefeld)
Pool A
Austria 0 Germany 12
Germany eased to their second win of the competition as Ben Hasbach scored four times against Austria, adding to his Sunday evening effort.
The Germans were in control from the second minute when Lukas Kossel scored a corner; Justus Warweg made it 2-0 in Q1 and they were out of reach by half-time at 5-0. Seven more followed in the second half.
They are now level with Belgium on points but a couple behind on goal difference; they will meet on Wednesday in a vital encounter. On Tuesday, Ireland face Scotland in a must-win game for both sides in the battle to avoid relegation.
Pool B
Spain 2 England 2
England and Spain played out a cracking opening Pool B contest, packed with drama. The Spaniards had the upper hand in the first corner but could only hit the post with the best of their efforts.
The English came on strong on Q2 and Jack Webb finished off a lovely move down the right channel for the only of the first half. It remained that way into the final quarter when Andrés Medina produced some glorious stickwork to slip the ball home.
But – with Spain down to nine players – Will Dibiase slung home a corner goal to put England back in front with seven minutes left. Again Spain replied, David Rodriguez scoring from a corner for 2-2 and they had four corners in the closing minute but the English defence clung onto their point.
Netherlands 7 Poland 0
Two Joost Tolboom penalty corners in the first nine minutes set the Netherlands up for an opening win of the tournament against Poland. Guus van den Boezem extended the lead from a close range scramble and Sam van der Weijden got the pick of the goals early in the second half from a clever piece of juggling.
Final quarter goals from Jacky van Hout, Rein Spanjaart and Jan van ’t Land closed out the victory.
Tuesday will see Spain face the Netherlands and Poland take on England.
Get your U18’s LIVESTREAM PASS HERE: https://www.eurohockeytv.org/en-int/page/event-pass-u18-championships
EuroHockey Championship II-A (Alanya, Türkiye)
Türkiye, Ukraine and France showed their strength on day one of II-A in Türkiye with strong wins over Croatia, Finland and Bulgaria, respectively.
For host side Türkiye, they scored three times in the first eight minutes to make the key difference against Croatia. Harun Yerlikaya started the run with Bekir Cigerli and Orhan Polat following up for 3-0.
Two more strikes in the second quarter opened up a five-point gap before a pair of Roko Varga pulled a couple back. But a late double from Cigerli, making it a hat trick, earned them a 7-2 win.
Ukraine were 10-1 winners against Finland with Daniil Smaliukh scoring a hat trick and Yevhen Petrenko and Nazar Katerusha scoring twice each. Elmeri Rihtilä got the reply for the Finns in their first outing at this level.
France, meanwhile, showed their difference in level in a 30-0 win over Bulgaria. Aristide Michaelis scored eight times.
Day two will see France play Finland, Ukraine against Croatia and Bulgaria against Türkiye.
EuroHockey Championship II-B (Swansea, Wales)
Switzerland made a big step toward the semi-finals as they came back from 2-0 down to beat the Czech Republic 3-2, making it two wins from two in Pool B.
It means they need just a draw from their final match against Luxembourg to assure progression while the Czechs final four hopes are dented but remain alive as a win against Slovakia could see them go through.
Jonáš Lupač gave the Czechs a dream start, scoring twice in the first four minutes but the Swiss responded well with Pascal Gremlich pulling one back quickly.
Mattia Ribaudo levelled in the second quarter before Léonard Kraxner got what proved to be the winner just after the big break.
Luxembourg, meanwhile, got a big 8-0 win over Slovakia with captain Maximillien Clarinval scoring a second successive hat trick.
Tuesday sees a vital game in Pool A with Wales facing Italy with the hosts making their first appearance of the week against the Italians who won on opening day and will ensure top spot with another victory.
** All games from Swansea will be streamed on www.eurohockeytv.org
