Austria fired their way to a fourth men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship as they won a dramatic shoot-out against Poland in the final at a full house in the SNP Dome in Heidelberg.
They fought back from 3-1 down in normal time to draw 3-3 and earn a shoot-out chance where the red capricorns were near flawless, winning 3-2.
In normal time, Poland took the lead when Jacek Kurowski latched onto a loose ball in his own half and went the distance past the last defender and slotted home.
Gracjan Jarzyński doubled the lead from a corner a minute later as the Poles bossed the early phases of the contest.
But Austrian – as they have done all week – hung tough and kept in the game long enough to get their first corner from Losonci spun and swept into the goal.
Mikolaj Gumny poked in the third goal to restore the two-goal gap in the third quarter but Austria would go on to dominate the remaining phases with Sebastian Eitenberger and Losonci both finding the net in Q3 to make it 3-3.
The final quarter was tight with precious little to separate the sides; Poland did have a stroke from Jarzyński which Mateusz Szymczyk saved with his feet; Austria, meanwhile, had two corners but Poland charged them down.\
It led to the shoot-out where the Austrians put in a flawless set of three while Szymczyk denied Jarzyński in the final round to send the red capricorns into rapturous celebrations.
Roman delight as Spain end 20-year wait
Pablo Roman stunned the SNP Dome into silence with a remarkable winning goal for Spain in the bronze medal match with just 5.8 seconds left on the stadium clock as they beat Germany 6-5.
Incredibly, it means the Germans end without a medal for the first time in the competition’s 50-year history, encompassing 22 editions.
In the first half, Spain led by two twice, going two up in the first six minutes and then 4-2 in Q2 with Ferran Muñoz and Ignacio Abajo scoring two each.
Germany, though, were level by the big break with great goals from Sten Brandenstein and Vincent Scholz for 4-4. Brandenstein then put his side ahead for the first time just before the end o Q3.
Spain, though, finished strong with Abajo scoring a stroke to make it 5-5 and the Roman raced down the right boards to sling home the winning goal.
Classification showdowns
Belgium just about clung on for fifth place with a 7-6 win over Switzerland after a crazy endgame saw eight goals come in the last eight minutes.
The indoor red lions seemed to be cruising at 4-1 going into the final quarter but both teams tactically removed their goalkeepers to set up an enthralling finish.
Switzerland scored four times in under three minutes to level the game at 5-5 before the Belgians recovered with Sam Poncelet and Dorian Thiéry putting them two clear. Yves Morard cut the gap once more but the Belgians were just about to hold the fort for the win.
Portugal finished strong to win the seventh place playoff against Czechia 6-3 with three goals in the last three minutes settling the game. It meant Portugal equalled their best ever finish in the top division.
It was nip and tuck throughout, 1-1 at half-time and 2-2 after Q3. Czechia went in front for the first time with nine minutes to go but David Franco’s double saw Portugal score the next four for the victory.
Both nations will play in the top division next season.
Türkiye took ninth place with their first ever win in the top division of the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship, defeating Ireland 4-3.
Ireland led early through a Ross Canning corner before Celal Aydin and Vakif Kilinc swapped the lead in Q2. James Walker levelled for 2-2 at half-time but the Turks pulled away in the second half via Volkan Başer and Müslüm Elagöz; Canning’s second came too late to change the outcome.
Both sides will compete in Championship II in 2028.
Player of the tournament: Gracjan Jarzyński (Poland)
Goalkeeper of the tournament: Mateusz Popiołkowski (Poland)
Young player of the tournament: Vincent Scholz (Germany)
Final standings
- Austria
- Poland
- Spain
- Germany
- Belgium
- Switzerland
- Portugal
- Czechia
- Türkiye – relegated to Championship II for 2028
- Ireland – relegated to Championship II for 2028
