Belgium, Germany, Spain and England all advanced to the girls EuroHockey U18 Championship semi-finals on a day of high drama in Krefeld.
The Netherlands were edged out as England snatched a late win over Spain while Germany and Belgium came through the other group, the former breaking Irish hearts in the process.
In Swansea, Poland became the II-B champions to earn promotion for 2025 which will be nine years since their previous top tier appearance.
And in Zagreb, Lithuania’s win over Croatia means the Czech Republic are within a win of the title. Here’s the day’s round-up.
Girls
EuroHockey U18 Championship (Krefeld, Germany)
Pool A
Germany 2 Ireland 1
Katharina Becker broke Irish hearts with 55 seconds to go after a huge tussle as hosts Germany edged out Ireland 2-1.
The Irish needed a draw or better to have any chance of avoiding relegation and they looked to have snatched that opportunity when Mikayla Power guided home a penalty corner move with 120 seconds to go at the right post.
It cancelled out a first half corner goal from Lynn Krings and, with France 3-0 down at the time, it looked like the stars were aligning for Ireland. But they could not hold out for the last two minutes as the ball was scrambled in by Becker to win the game.
Germany advance to the semi-final as a result where they will meet Spain.
France 0 Belgium 5
Belgium rubber-stamped their ticket to the semi-final as three first half goals helped them see off France but both sides ended the game with something to celebrate.
For long periods, the game was extremely tense for the French with their fate potentially being decided on the other pitch. They trailed to an early Hélène Delva goal which was added to Lisl Denef and captain Perinne De Clerck for a 3-0 lead.
That scoreline, in tandem with a late Irish equaliser, briefly had France heading down to the second division until Germany grabbed a win. The French missed a stroke during this time, too, but once the pitch one game had gone their way, the final quarter proved only mathematical.
During the endgame, Denef added her second goal and Chloe Delhalle got another, meaning they will play England.
Pool B
Spain 1 England 2
In the end, the result proved a mutually beneficial one with Spain topping the group and England doing enough to get through to the semi-finals on goal difference from a hugely dramatic morning in Krefeld.
Amelie Rees was at the end of the queue of English players lining up to finish a sharp move in the seventh minute to open the scoring. Teresa Saenz responded in the second half with a sweep from mid-circle, leaving England needing to throw everything forward in the last quarter to get the win they needed.
And it eventually arrived with three minutes to go when Lilly Beer deflected in a corner move for the lead once more. There was still time for late drama when Spain earned a corner in the last minute but the defence was organised to preserve the win. It then led to a nervous but ultimately happy wait to see the result on the other pitch.
Austria 0 Netherlands 5
The Netherlands won the battle but missed out on a place in the semi-final on goal difference, the first time the Dutch have not made it to the medal matches in this competition’s history.
They knew a big win was required and they started perfectly with Iris de Kemp scoring in the second minute and she got another before half-time. Third quarter goals from Julie Smorenburg, Dymph Luttge and Iris Dominicus made it 5-0 but the news from pitch one quickly filtered over that they needed five more in the final quarter.
But they could not get any reward from 10 penalty corners and so it was England who were left to celebrate a spot in the semis. The Dutch will playoff for fifth place while Austria are in the seventh place playoffs but are already relegated.
** Get your U18’s LIVESTREAM PASS HERE: https://www.eurohockeytv.org/en-int/page/event-pass-u18-championships
EuroHockey U18 Championship II-A (Zagreb, Croatia)
Lithuania moved up to second place in the group, continuing their unbeaten run, as they defeated hosts Croatia to move up to five points in the only game to be played today.
It was a strong result, built on an early lead via Darija-Jana Zigyte in the eighth minute. Captain Rulie Daukantaite made it two in the 20th minute. Two goals from Deimante Vietrinaite in the second half earned them a 4-0 win.
That puts them within one point of leaders Czech Republic whom they meet on Saturday. Before then, the Czechs could win the tournament on Friday morning if they can get a win over Switzerland.
Croatia will complete their tournament on Friday afternoon when they play Italy.
EuroHockey U18 Championship II-A (Zagreb, Croatia)
** Report to follow later
** All games from Swansea will be streamed on www.eurohockeytv.org
