Men’s EuroHockey Championship II (Lousada, Portugal) – day one round-up
Wales and Scotland made the first big statements in Pool B while Ireland and Italy both fought back from half-time deficits in Pool A to record wins at the men’s EuroHockey Championship II in Lousada, Portugal.
Here’s a round-up of the action:
Pool A
Ireland 5 Czechia 3
Four third quarter goals saw Ireland salvage a 5-3 win over Czechia after they had trailed 2-0 and 3-1, Lee Cole’s pair of strokes and a Johnny McKee double doing the damage.
The Czechs burst out of the blocks with Eduard Gerkický’s deflection putting them one up and then Lukas Plochý hit home from a corner his 80th international goal.
McKee finished off a sweeping move to get Ireland back in the mix but Vit Soukup cleaned up a messy corner move in Q3 to give the lower ranked Czechs a 3-1 lead.
But then the Irish scored four times in eight minutes to turn the game around. McKee scored again when his backhand cross from the left baseline deflect in and Cole equalised with the first of his strokes.
Sean Murray produced some individual brilliance for 4-3 with Matthew Nelson credited with the final touch. Cole was then fouled for the next stroke in the 42nd minute when he flicked home, too.
Italy 2 Poland 1
Davide Arosio’s double saw Italy come back from a goal down at half-time to defeat hosts Portugal and pick up three points.
Portugal went in front from the penalty spot when Miguel Rodrigues’ push hit a foot on the line; Laurens Halfmann stepped forward to score the ensuing stroke.
Italy came back in the second half and Arosio swooped onto a loose ball 53 seconds after the restart – a long ball into the D which was never fully cleared – to level it at 1-1.
And he got the winner when Mattia Amorosini’s pass from halfway made it all the way to the striker who smartly controlled and slotted home.
Pool B
Wales 3 Switzerland 1
A strong first half performance got Wales off to the perfect start in Lousada with goals from Jack Pritchard, Rhys Bradshaw and Gareth Griffiths setting them up for a 3-1 win.
Pritchard was on the mark in the fifth minute when a raking pass from the left sideline found him in the D and he propelled a rocket of a backhand into the goal. A patient move four minutes later ended with Bradshaw tipping in and Griffiths rebounded a corner for 3-0 early in Q2.
Lukas Hengartner pulled one back in the third quarter but it was not enough to change the outcome of the contest.
Scotland 8 Croatia 3
Struan Walker scored four times as Scotland won a lively clash with Croatia 8-3 with the Tartan Sticks ending day one on three points.
The Croats did get off to a great start, winning a corner in the first minute and then went ahead via Andrej Zidanić but that advantage did not last long. Walker scored within a minute from a corner before Robert Field and Jamie Golden stretched out a 3-1 lead.
Walker got another from the penalty spot in Q2 and Golden’s second made it 5-1. Croatia fought back and – amid a spell of seven corners in Q3 – they got one back via Josip Krleža and then added another from play from Mario Ilinović.
But an Andrew McConnell goal and then two more from Walker boosted the goal difference.
| Rank | Team | Pl | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scotland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Wales | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Croatia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
Monday schedule
