EuroHockey Championships Report: Day 2

The 2021 EuroHockey Championships are underway with several teams from the Home Nations in action over the first two days of the competition.

Alongside all the matches being shown live on BT Sport, each day we’ll be providing you with an in-depth update as to how each of the Home Nations teams fared.

Wales’ men were involved in the opening match of the competition on Friday, the team suffering a comprehensive 8-1 defeat to an impressive looking Germany team before bouncing back with a last-minute winner to secure an exhilarating 3-2 victory over France the following day.

England’s men emphatically downed Russia in the first game of day 2, all five goals coming in the second half as Danny Kerry’s side got off to a superb start in the tournament.

Scotland’s women started their campaign by putting in a spirited performance against Spain but ultimately fell to a 4-1 defeat.

Wales

It was a tough start to the competition for Head Coach Daniel Newcombe’s side as they slumped to an 8-1 defeat to a strong Germany side.

The team started the match well, limiting Germany to few clear-cut chances, however when the German’s did find a breakthrough just before the close of the first-quarter the goals kept coming.

Three goals inside six minutes saw Germany take a strong early advantage, Gareth Furlong’s powerful drag flick gave the team hope of a comeback before being quickly dashed minutes later by another German goal, giving the team a 4-1 deficit going into the half-time break.

Similarly to the first-quarter, the Welsh defence resiliently held the German’s at bay for large parts before conceding a costly goal at the end of the fifteen minute spell.

Sitting 5-1 down going into the final period, Germany added gloss to the scoreline with three goals inside the final three minutes of the match to consign Wales to an 8-1 defeat in their opening match of the competition.

Wales put the disappointment of that result behind them with a much-improved performance and dramatic last-minute winner against France on Saturday evening.

Whilst France took an early lead with just five minutes on the clock, Wales replied instantly through Owain Dolan-Gray’s vital touch to level the scores as the match got off to an enthralling start.

The goals kept on coming in a fast paced first-quarter, Wales taking the lead courtesy of another searing Gareth Furlong drag flick to give his team the advantage.

Incredibly, no goals followed through the next two quarters despite seeing a gluttony of chances fall to both sides with action aplenty in this fixture.

France were able to level things up at the beginning of the final quarter and looked to have gained the momentum to wrestle the tie into their favour.

However, from a clever penalty corner routine, Joe Naughalty’s last minute effort somehow found it’s way past the French ‘keeper to give Wales a thrilling 3-2 victory.

The team return to the field on Tuesday 8 June at 19:00 when they take on The Netherlands.

England

With five goals, five different scorers, a clean sheet and a victory, it was the perfect start to the EuroHockey Championships for England’s men as they thumped Russia 5-0.

After a hard-fought opening half with chances coming at a premium and neither side able to make a breakthrough, the tie was set up perfectly for a blockbuster second-half.

Having struggled to truly test the Russian defence through the first half-an-hour, England roared out of the blocks in the second-half and put the opposition to the sword.

Three minutes into the third-quarter, England found themselves two goals to the good with Liam Ansell poking home from close range before Phil Roper’s effort into the bottom corner doubled the lead immediately after.

A thundering strike on the reverse from Zach Wallace, closely followed by a tidy finish from Chris Griffiths within three minutes of each other put England four goals up with less than fifteen minutes to play as the team showed their class.

James Gall was on hand to score the final goal of the match, tapping the loose ball in from close range, to ensure Danny Kerry’s team would begin the competition with a well-earned 5-0 victory.

England’s men are back in action on Sunday 6 June against Belgium at 18:45, with the women’s team set to play their first match of the competition earlier that day against Italy at 09:30.

Scotland

It wasn’t the start to the competition Scotland's women were hoping for as they suffered a 4-1 defeat to Spain.

Starting quickly with a goal inside the opening ten minutes, Spain showed their attacking qualities from the outset.

Despite suffering the early setback, Scotland refused to roll over and battled through the remainder of the half to maintain the one goal gap, stubborn defensive resolve preventing Spain from finding another through a series of chances from penalty corners.

The Spanish weren’t to be stopped and looked lethal after the interval, recording three goals in little over five minutes after half-time. Lucia Jimenez scoring the pick of the bunch with a devastating deflection rocketing the ball into the top corner of the net in what was an incredible goal.

Though they trailed 4-0, Scotland persistently tried to get back into the game and their efforts were rewarded in the final quarter as Emily Dark’s powerful penalty corner strike forced its way under the Spanish ‘keeper to get the team on the scoreboard.

In what was a valiant performance, there was to be no further impact on the scoreline as Scotland suffered a 4-1 defeat to Spain in their opening match of the tournament.

Scotland’s next opposition comes in the form of Ireland on Monday 7 June at 11:30.