Girls EuroHockey U18 Championship (Krefeld, Germany)
Germany went the distance to retain the girls EuroHockey U18 Championship title, denying Belgium a first title after a pulsating final in Krefeld.
The hosts held their nerve in a shoot-out with Julia Boehringer, Giulia Funkel and Friederike Heusgen scoring in the first three rounds while Rebecca Götz saved twice to build a 3-1 lead.
Belgian did score in round four but a subsequent miss for each side had the German hosts celebrating in front of their large home crowd.
Like the group stages, normal time saw the sides proving completely inseparable, ending as it did a couple of days before at 0-0.
The first quarter saw Germany making all the play and chances but Belgium were resolute in defence and gave nothing up easily. After that barracking, they enjoyed greater control in the second quarter with Louise Dewaet causing problems.
Klara Batschko did brilliantly to make a double save in the aftermath of Lena Keller’s drag-flick, leaving it 0-0 into half-time.
Marie Gelders, meanwhile, had to make a trio of stops from a German corner and she stuck out a brilliant foot to stop Carolin Seidel’s rasping backhand shot. The hosts continued to have the edge but could not break through while Dewaet and Lisl Denef’s raids meant there was always a threat.
The final quarter followed a similar pattern with Germany making all the moves forward with Belgian’s central defence producing a string of great tackles. The closest chance of the came with 25 seconds remaining when Seidel’s first time shot from a great position bounced off her stick and just wide of the post.
That led to the shoot-out where Germany excellent, crowning a memorable tournament.
Earlier, Spain claimed bronze as they reversed their group stage result against England to win 1-0. They had the edge in chances with English goalkeepers Isabel Field and Molly Smith – trading places each quarter – the busier with Teresa Saenz, Natalia Vilanova and Marta Alcaraz testing the defence.
In reply, England’a main openings came either side of half-time from corners which were well shut down. Alcaraz’s deflection was brilliantly dealt with by Field but the deadlock was eventually broken from a corner, a powerful sweep from Marta Armenteras.
She almost repeated the trick early in the final quarter but Smith got a long boot out to it to prevent a second. England threw everything forward in the closing phases but Spain held on to win a medal for a fourth time in this competition, adding to two earlier bronzes and the 2021 silver.
Scotland took seventh place when they defeated Ireland 2-0 with goals from Lucy McMillan and Cara Falconer in the second and third quarters, respectively.
Final rankings
- Germany
- Belgium
- Spain
- England
- Netherlands
- France
- Scotland
- Ireland
- Austria** Watch every game back here: https://www.eurohockeytv.org/en-int/page/event-pass-u18-championships
