Ireland became the first side to advance to the semi-finals in the men’s Championship II in Dublin with a second big win while Gibraltar, Croatia and Poland all have perfect records in Skierniewice.
In Zagreb, Gibraltar created history when they played their first women’s international match; they were undone by Switzerland whose 4-0 win was matched by Türkiye’s win over hosts Croatia.
Men’s EuroHockey Championship II (Dublin, Ireland)
Pool A
Czech Republic 4 Portugal 3
Lukas Plóchy scored a 58th minute winner to ignite the Czech Republic’s chances of reaching the semi-finals, winning a cracker against Portugal.
Rodrigo Castro had Portugal in front in Q1 before the towering Ondrej Hes equalised in the second quarter. The Czechs took the lead for the first time in the second half through Jakub Klaban amid a helter-skelter phase.
Vasco Ribeiro equalised at 2-2 but Plóchy made it 3-2 within a couple of minutes. Tiago Ventosa levelled for a third time with the game’s fourth goal in an 11-minute spell but Plóchy eventually settled it.
Ukraine 0 Ireland 7
Ireland confirmed their semi-final spot as their set piece power earned them a second comfortable win of the week. Penalty corner strikes from Shane O’Donoghue and Lee Cole made it 2-0 at half-time and the same pair scored in Q3, the former from a corner, the latter from a stroke, for a 4-0 advantage.
They added three more in the last four minutes to strengthen their place at the top of the table, Ben Walker, Conor Empey and another Cole stroke making it seven. They are now three points clear of the Czechs and Ukraine who meet on Wednesday.
Men’s EuroHockey Championship III (Skierniewice, Poland)
Gibraltar 7 Lithuania 2
Gibraltar became the first side to make it six points from the first two days of the competition as they had too much in the tank for Lithuania. Julian Lopez scored from a stroke in the second minute; Lithuania levelled from a corner deflection goal via Algirdas Jackevicius but Gibraltar never looked back once they hit the front again before the end of the first quarter from Julian Hernandez’s close range goal.
A lovely Ethan Balban first-time goal stretched the lead to 3-1 and Joseph Caetano slapped in a fourth in the third quarter. Craig Bossano-Anes got the fifth after a flowing team move. Arnas Ridlauskas got one back but one more from Hernandez and Caetano closed out the win.
Serbia 0 Croatia 7
Croatia are up to two wins from two thanks to their seven goal win over neighbours Serbia. Teenager Noa Sluga set the ball rolling before Josip Krleža took over with four goals in four minutes in the second quarter including a delicious behind-the-back tap and a reverse-stick rocket.
Gregor Fujs added two more in the second half to continue their confident start to the tournament.
Poland 6 Malta 0
Poland made it two big wins from two as they got the best of Malta. Eryk Bembenek emphatically hit the top of the net in the 15th minute and they were 2-0 up from a Jacek Kurowski corner before half-time.
Mateusz Nowakowski weaved a gap down the left baseline for the third in the second half and they finished with a flourish with Bembenek adding two more either side of a Robert Pawlak goal.
Croatia and Poland put their 100% records to the test on Wednesday on day three of the competition while Gibraltar meet Serbia and Lithuania face Malta.
Women’s EuroHockey Championship III (Zagreb, Croatia)
Switzerland 4 Gibraltar 0
Switzerland showed their know-how to get the win on what was an historic day for Gibraltar, playing in their first ever women’s international fixture. They were under pressure from the start but defended well until Nathanja Verburg broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute when she followed up an initial block.
And the Swiss picked up the pieces again in the first 45 seconds of the second half from a loose clearance, Sarah Zepf cashing in. Sofie Stomps got the third from a swift right-wing attack and Nadine Pfister completed the win.
Türkiye 4 Croatia 0
Türkiye began their competition in upbeat mood with a 4-0 win over hosts Croatia to share top spot after day one in Zagreb. Corner injector Tugçe Sahiner started it off in the third minute before a run of three goals in four minutes before the end of the third quarter settled matters.
A driving run from Perihan Çinar set up Zeliha Kendir for a great goal to start that run. Fatma Songül Gültekin roofed the next on the dive and, from the next attack, Çinar was on the end of a smooth move.
The Turks meet Switzerland on day two in a battle to see who will take top spot at this early stage of the competition and put themselves in pole position for a top-two spot.
