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28th August 2017: The EuroHockey Junior Championships got underway in Valencia today with 3 games, Netherlands v Belgium in Pool A and Germany v France and Ireland v England in Pool B:

Pool A: Netherlands 2 (R van Laarhoven, M Veen) Belgium 1 (M Ronquetti) Penalty corner goals from Renee van Laarhoven and Marijn Veen put the Netherlands on course for a 2-1 win over Belgium in their opening EuroHockey Junior Championship tie.

The first came 17 minutes in from a direct drag-flick while the latter saw Veen tipping in from a corner variation. It put them out of reach of the Belgians who fronted up well throughout the tie with goalkeeper Elodie Picard in fine form and they got a reward late on via senior international Marie Ronquetti in the final minute.

Pool B:

Germany 0 France 0 France produced a superb defensive performance to land a famous draw against Germany in their opening EuroHockey Junior Championships tie in Valencia.

For France’s Emma Ponthieu, she said it was a hugely positive start to their campaign: “It’s a very good result for us because it’s the first time we have ever had this outcome [against Germany]. We were very strong in defence; our coach told us we had to do defend hard all the match and it worked.”

Indeed, her side started well, winning a corner inside the first five minutes. For Germany, it was a frustrating affair as they produced a number of good early chances, seeing one effort saved off the line and four corners go incomplete and France clung on to their clean sheet.

Ireland 0 England 3 (H Munro, E Sanders, H Hunt) First half goals from Holly Munro, Erica Sanders and Holly Hunt set England on course for a solid victory over Ireland. Munro scored from a corner in the first two minutes before Sanders added the second before the end of the first quarter from another set piece switch.

Hunt then completed the result when she netted from mid-circle following an excellent ring-wing break. Ireland had the better of the chances in the second half, drawing good saves from Miriam Pritchard from their four corners with Hannah McLoughlin and Sarah Torrans going close.

English coach Colin Clarke said of the tie: “Really pleased. I thought the girls played really well, started strongly, very clinical in our short cor-

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ners. That gave us the breathing space to control the game with diligent passing, knowing Ireland have to push forward in tough conditions.”

Irish coach Dave Passmore, meanwhile, added: “We just got punished when we played poorly. We started nervously and made a couple of errors and England were clinical. Two corners, two goals. We had more corners, way more of the possession but you have to play at 0-0 and not 3-0.”

WOMEN’S JUNIOR EUROS: ENGLAND AND THE NETHERLANDS THROUGH TO SEMI-FINALS The Netherlands and England became the first sides to qualify for the semi-finals of the women’s EuroHockey Junior Championships as they won their second successive games in Valencia.

Pool A is now a direct battle between Spain and Belgium for the second semi-final place while Pool B could see either France or Germany advance on Thursday. Wednesday sees the men play their second series of group games.

Women’s EuroHockey Junior Championships Pool A: Netherlands 4 (Y Jansen 2, M Veen, G Zerbo) Spain 2 (B Iglesias, L Barrios) The Netherlands guaranteed they will top Pool A of the women’s EuroHockey Junior Championships following a 4-2 win over Spain in a cracking game under the lights in Valencia.

The hosts took the lead in the 10th minute when Belen Iglesias guided home at head height from Laura Brughera’s cross following some nice trickery to break into the circle. The Dutch equalised moments later in brilliant fashion as Kyra Fortuin used her speed to out-strip the cover defence down the right. She popped the ball across to Marijn Veen at the back post to score her second goal of the tournament.

Yibbi Jansen swapped the lead around when she nailed the first of her two drag-flicks to make it 2-1 at half-time for the Dutch. Ginella Zerbo extended the lead further in the 36th minute when Fortuin smashed a ball into the circle where the striker was able to switch onto her backhand and into the roof of the goal.

Jansen’s second corner made it 4-1 but Spain were not done and they scored a classy second goal when Clara Ycart laid on the perfect backhand pass to Laura Barrios. She applied a composed finish to the roof of the net.

Captain Veen said of the win: “It’s amazing to be in the semi-final. We played a good game but we can score more goals. Spain was a good team but every game we play together is nice and we enjoy it!”

Pool B Ireland 0 France 1 (Y Lhopital) Yohanna Lhopital’s 59th minute goal saw France continue their superb start to the competition, making it four points out of six and two clean sheets. She latched onto a breaking ball after Ines Lardeur fired in a leftwing cross, the 17-year-old slapping home from mid-circle to cap a fine performance.

Speaking afterwards, Lhopital said it has been a memorable tournament to date for a side that featured 14 of the players that lined out in the senior European Championships II. “We are really happy to have won. At the last competition in Cardiff with the seniors was really hard so we are really happy to get the win. We are a close group inside and outside the pitch and we really feel that when we are on the pitch.”

As for what it would mean to reach the Junior semi-finals, she said: “A dream come true!”

It was an extremely close game with very few chances as the rain soaked the pitch in Valencia. France had the one corner of the first half while Abbie Russell went closest for Ireland. The second half saw Ireland take on more of the ball with Sorcha Clarke to the fore but they could not score from their two corners.

France remained patient with their counter-attack game and eventually got their reward in the closing minutes.

England 1 (C Daly) Germany 0 England became the first country to reach the semi-finals from Pool B as they clung on to a narrow 1-0 win over Germany. In the end, Charlotte Daly’s ninth minute goal was the difference It was beautifully worked with Holly Hunt and Esme Burge producing an excellent exchange in the build-up with Daly applying the finish. For Germany, they applied pressure all the way through the tie, ramping up the intensity in the second half with a series of penalty corners as England attempted to make hay on the counter-attack.

During this phase, goalkeeper Miriam Pritchard came into her own with multiple saves, keeping calm in a packed circle to save numerous times.

Holly Munro also made a series of interventions to ensure the clean sheet, though they did need help from the post to deny Maike Schaunig.

Pritchard refused to take any of the major credit for the clean sheet after her stunning performance: “The team worked bloody hard for each other. We pride ourselves on our grit and we gritted that one out completely.

Yeah, I made a few saves but I wouldn’t have done it without my defenders making some excellent tackles. Everyone worked very hard.”

And now she is looking forward to ensuring her side top the group on Thursday when they meet France.

“When we played Ireland, we thought only about Ireland; when we played Germany, we thought only about Germany. France in two days time and that’s our big focus.”

LATE GOALS GALORE SAW GERMANY AND BELGIUM SECURE WOMEN’S EURO JUNIORS SEMI-FINAL SPOTS On a crazy day in the women’s EuroHockey Junior Championships, late goals in both Pool A and B ended up deciding the semi-final places.

The latest came from Emma Puvrez, 6.8 seconds from full time, earned Belgium a place in the final four at the expense of Spain as they got the draw they needed.

In Pool B, the combination of Germany’s late third goal against Ireland and an English winner in the closing two minutes saw France eliminated.

Women’s EuroHockey Junior Championships – day three round-up Pool A Belgium 2 (L Boey, E Puvrez) Spain 2 (S Barrios, C Ycart) With just 6.8 seconds remaining, Emma Puvrez scored the most dramatic of equalisers, one which brought with it a coveted semi-final spot for Belgium and a date with England.

“That feeling is indescribable! I have seen things like it on tv but never by myself,” she said of the moment. “I barely score goals at tournaments and so to get this really important one, I am still shaking!”

For long periods, Spain held all the danger with Belgium working to protect the draw that would be good enough to put them through. The game was tense throughout but fully burst into life with less than nine minutes to go. Leylou Boey opened the scoring against the run of play with a low reverse-stick shot.

The hosts equalised almost instantly with Sara Barrios providing some magic down the right and her cross was deflected in at the near post, levelling the game. A minute later, Clara Ycart was putting Spain in front from the penalty spot to make it 2-1.

Belgium threw everything forward from there and – after three corners in the last minute – finally found Puvrez on the left of the circle where she picked out the bottom corner for a gleefully celebrated winner.

Belgian coach Simon Letchford added: “I’m really proud of the girls.

They got their noses in front against the run of play but when Spain managed to get back, we showed fight and character and thankfully that got us the draw we needed.

“You try and stay as calm as you can. When you take your goalkeeper out, we know how we are going to press and which areas of the field you want to get the ball into. It’s all very well on a whiteboard in a room but to go and implement that [is a different thing].”

Pool B Germany 3 (C Gerstenhofer, L Micheel, N Aring) Ireland 1 (A Russell) A goal each on pitch one and two in almost perfect synchronicity saw Germany land a semi-final spot in place of France, something looked far from possible with just a few minutes to go.

But Nele Aring got a perfect touch to a corner move in the 59th minute to put the Germans 3-1 up. They still needed England to beat France to get them through on goal difference and the new arrived soon after that the favour was achieved with Erica Sanders smashing home for 3-2.

With major relief, German coach Akim Bouchouchi said that it continues to be a facet of his country’s make-up.

“We work on it always; never give up, play, play, play. We have sometimes where we haven’t played our best but when we have our heads together, we have done well and I am happy where we are now.

Germany celebrate a key goal. Pic: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics “We worked hard for it over all three games. We were a little unlucky while today we had the luck we needed to win from this situation.”

Charlotte Gerstenhofer started the scoring with a strong shot from the top of the circle. Abbie Russell equalised with Ireland’s first goal of the competition, a near post touch to Ruth Maguire’s cross. But Lena

Micheel burst into the circle to make it 2-1 before half-time. It remained that way for a long time before Aring’s last ditch goal.

England 3 (H Munro, C Childs, E Sanders) France 2 (D Gaspari, V Vankemmel) Erica Sanders’ last minute goal broke France’s hearts as they looked well set for a place in the semi-finals only to be denied at the last as the combination of that strike and an effort from Nele Aring for Germany denied them.

In the first half, Delfina Gaspari and Holly Munro exchanged goals around the 17-minute mark to make it 1-1 at half-time. Charlotte Childs put France 2-1 ahead when she touched in Charlotte Daly’s cross. Victorine Vankemmel’s drag-flick to the left post made it all the way in to level it once more at 2-2, a scoreline that would have suited both.

England kept pressing, though, and struck late on from a corner with Sanders smashing in at the second attempt.

England coach Colin Clarke says the performance will serve them well for the semi-final. “Delighted; winning three from three sets us up nicely for the semi-final on Saturday. We didn’t play to the standard we had done in the previous two games althought the grit and resilience to win the game in the last 90 seconds is credit to the girls and it came through for us in the end.”

BRILLIANT BELGIUM TO MEET THE DUTCH ONCE AGAIN IN WOMEN’S UNDER-21 FINAL For the fourth time in the last week, Belgium and the Netherlands set up a European Championship final showdown with their women’s Under-21 teams set to meet in Sunday’s Junior decider after their wins over England and Germany. In the relegation pool, Spain gave their hopes of survival a big boost and will meet Ireland on Sunday to decide their – and France’s – fate.

Women’s Semi-final 1: Belgium 3 (D Gose, A Ballenghein, M Simons) England 1 (E Sanders) Belgium’s young red panthers matched their senior counterparts as they reached the final of the women’s EuroHockey Junior Championships with a 3-1 win over England.

It was a win built on a superb opening ten minutes with two goals in the early stages. Daphne Gose got the first when she got a neat deflection in the circle from Ambre Ballenghein’s ball into the circle after Gose had made the initial interception deep in the English half.

Gose also played a role in setting up Ambre Ballenghein for the second goal with less than nine minutes on the clock, a brilliant diving finish at the near post under pressure.

England had plenty of pressure in the opening half with Holly Hunt going extremely close from a corner at the injector’s spot. And they got one back eight minutes into the second half when Hunt made a beautiful dodge out of defence before laying on a great through ball for Erica Sanders. She shot home on her backhand to reduce the gap to 2-1.

But the game was made safe when Manon Simons got an awesome touch to Gose’s corner hit in front of the goalkeeper to make it 3-1.

“I’m still amazed,” said Belgium’s Damy Sistermans following the match.

“This is really awesome for the Belgian hockey women. We’ve never done wso well. Our women just achieved the same and played the final last week and we are going to do the same. We’ve worked so hard for this and I still can’t believe it.

“We’ve been defending the whole time, also in the other games. This is how we play and we really knew what was expected of us. We all did a great job and I am really proud of the team.”

And as for the final: “We are going to fight so hard and the final is going to be amazing.”

Semi-final 2: Netherlands 3 (M Veen 2, Y Janssen) Germany 1 (T-M Schubert) The Netherlands came from a goal down to make it a double Dutch-Belgium set of finals at the EuroHockey Junior Championships as they fought back from a goal down at half-time.

They had trailed 1-0 in the 22nd minute when Nicola Pluta angled a beautiful ball from the left flank on her reverse into the centre where Tessa-Margot Schubert deflected home, a quality opener to match the level of play in the game.

Maike Schaunig and Nele Aring combined beautifully to almost score another but Karlijn Adank palmed away the high shot as Germany enjoyed a great spell leading up to half-time.

Elisa Grave fired another shot over the bar for the Germans but the Dutch were always in aggressive, fast-paced form and able to cause serious problems. And the tide started to turn when Marijn Veen was unmarked on the 23-metre line, turning onto her left, beating the keeper and firing into the goal.

Adank kept the Dutch on level terms with a world class save from Schaunig from Katharina Kiefer’s cross. It proved a key moment as Veen put the Dutch in front for the first time with nine minutes to go from a slickly worked long corner move, taking in a pass from Sanne Koolen and rolling in on her backhand.

Yibbi Jansen then made sure of the final spot when she directed a low drag-flick to the corner for 3-1 and there was no way back for the Germans.

Speaking afterwards, double goalscorer Veen said her side really stepped up their game in the second half to turn the game: “We said to each other at half-time that the team that works the hardest is going to win the game and that was us.”

It sets up yet another date with Belgium in a European final, something she cannot wait for.

“Belgium and us are very good so it is going to be a tough final. Belgium are really a team and they work very hard so it’s up to us to play as well as we can.”

Sunday 3 September 2017 15.00 Women’s 3rd/4th England v Germany Pitch 1 * 20.00 Women’s Final Belgium v Netherlands Pitch 1 *

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Pool C: Spain 3 (F Amundson, C Ycart, L Brughera) France 1 (V Vankemmel) Spain took a big step toward women’s EuroHockey Junior Championship safety as they beat France in the first game of Pool C in Valencia.

After a series of Mathilde Petriaux saves in the opening quarter, the Spanish pressure eventually told when Florencia Amundson rebounded a penalty corner in the 20th minute.

France replied from a rare break-out, winning a corner which Victorine Vankemmel fired home at mid-height to make it 1-1 before half-time.

The reply was instant, though, as Spain restored their one-goal advantage in the 26th minute when Clara Ycart’s drag-flick took a wicked deflection off number one runner Delfina Gaspari.

Laura Brughera then made the game safe three minutes into the second half when she snapped up a rebound off Petriaux’s pads, popping into the middle of the goal for 3-1.

Spain had chances to extend the lead while France closed out their tournament with a pair of corners in the final minutes. They went incomplete and so now the French must wait to see if they stay in the top tier when Ireland meet Spain on Sunday morning.

For the French to be in danger, it would require Ireland beating Spain; the Spanish need to avoid a three-goal defeat from that game to ensure their place is retained.

3rd September 2017: The EHF regrets to announce that under advice from the Tournament Medical Doctor, the Spanish teams are not allowed to play either of their final games of the EuroHockey Junior Championships.

After consultation with the TDs and the EHF Representative it was agreed that these circumstances are not provided for in the Regulations and therefore EHF Regulations for EuroHockey Championships (Outdoor) Item D6 applies. In the Men’s EuroHockey Junior Championship, the 3rd/4th Bronze medal game was not played and Germany is awarded the Bronze medal. In the Women’s EuroHockey Junior Championship, Spain will not play their final Pool C v Ireland.

Given these unprecedented circumstances the two TDs and the EHF Representative have agreed to defer any further decisions to the EHF Executive Board We fully understand the importance of these decisions for all teams affected.

We wish all players a full recovery.

BURGE SEALS BRONZE FOR ENGLAND’S JUNIOR STARS

Women’s EuroHockey Junior Championships Bronze medal match: England 3 (E Sanders, H Munro, E Burge) Germany 2 (N Aring, E Grave) England produced an incredible comeback, scoring twice in the closing four minutes, to land the women’s EuroHockey Junior Championships bronze medal in Valencia, beating Germany 3-2.

The Germans looked to be in pole position with just five minutes left when they went ahead via Elisa Grave’s touch at the right post to Alisa

Vivot’s delivery.

It gave them a 2-1 lead with time running out but England summoned a quick equaliser within a minute from a corner as Holly Munro slapped home from a clever switch move.

Any thoughts of a shoot-out were also quickly banished when Esme Burge powered home from the direct route at corner time in the 58th minute. “Amazing, it was just such a team effort,” Burge said after the tie. “To come out with the win after all the hard work over the last six months is just the best feeling and we couldn’t wish for any more from a bronze medal game. “One thing we have as a team is belief and we knew we could pull it out of the bag. We have such a strong culture within our squad and that really shone through. Whoever we play, we go out with the same attitude but it is nice to beat Germany to be honest!”

In the opening minutes, Lily Wolstenholme embarked on a striding run but her reverse-stick shot just slipped beyond the right post. Erica Sanders put them in front with her fourth goal of the tournament before the end of the first quarter, tidying up a messy corner move with a sharp finish in mid-circle.

And England continued to have the cleaner of the chances with Holly Hunt’s touch through for Wolstenholme unlocking the gate. The striker fired inches wide of the right post.

They held their lead for a long time until deep into the third quarter.

Nicola Pluta made a wonderful first effort, diving at the back post to turn the ball onto the post and the danger was never averted, falling to Nele Aring to pop in the second phase.

That came with 16 minutes to go and they were in front ten minutes later from a beautifully worked corner, swept to the right post where Grave touched in. England were not done, however, and they kept the faith, won two more corners and landed another bronze medal to go with their senior men and women last weekend.

Umpires: Y van Slooten (NED), S Adell (ESP) Pool C: There was no action on the final day of Pool C as, under advice from the Tournament Medical Doctor, the Spanish teams were not allowed to play either of their final games of the EuroHockey Junior Championships.

After consultation with the TDs and the EHF Representative, it was agreed that these circumstances are not provided for in the Regulations and therefore EHF Regulations for EuroHockey Championships (Outdoor) Item D6 applies. In the Women’s EuroHockey Junior Championship, Spain did not play their final Pool C v Ireland. Given these unprecedented circumstances, the two TDs and the EHF Representative have agreed to defer any further decisions to the EHF Executive Board.

NETHERLANDS HIT BELGIUM FOR SIX OF THE BEST TO RETAIN WOMEN’S EURO JUNIORS TITLE Women’s EuroHockey Junior Championships final Netherlands 6 (F Moes 2, G Zerbo, M Renders, I van der Hoek, Y Jansen) Belgium 0

The Netherlands claimed their fourth successive EuroHockey Junior Championships title with a breathtaking display of speed and attacking flair that proved too much for a Belgian side playing in the final for the first time.

It took them just five minutes to get on the scoreboard as Imme van der Hoek set Freeke Moes on the charge on the right hand side. She delivered the ball to Ginella Zerbo a metre out to score a superb first goal.

It set the tone and they were soon in for goal number two, Moes robbing the last defender and flicking over goalkeeper Elodie Picard’s head – a classy finish. Marie Ronquetti went close to pulling one back soon after when she smashed the post but it was the closest Belgium would come to a goal. Moes made it 3-0 before half-time with a first time finish from Hester van der Veld’s ball across from the right wing.

For Moes, she was among a number of players who won their second European title in two years having helped the Under-18s win in Cork last summer and she was delighted with her contribution.

“We trained so hard for this and it’s lovely that it now all comes together. The whole tournament I was this close to scoring so in the final they finally went in!”

Any chance Belgium had of coming back was quickly put to bed early in the second half when Famke Richardson’s ball into the centre was eventually turned in by Maud Renders.

Imme van der Hoek knocked in the sixth goal on the rebound and Yibbi Jansen – making her the joint top tournament goalscorer with Marijn Veen and Erica Sanders – completed the win in the final minutes from a penalty corner.

For coach Rick Mathijsen, it was the perfect performance: “I’m really glad for the girls. They worked really hard for it and it’s a really young group because we had a couple of injuries before the tournament in the six weeks of the preparation. And I think they did a great job winning this tournament, with the 6-0 especially.”

It was a big change from their first meeting of the tournament against Belgium which the Dutch edged 2-1.

“We did also play a good performance in the first match as well but didn’t score the chances. Today we did score them and I think that was the difference.”

And he added the semi-final win over Germany was the toughest battle of the campaign.

“The Germans did a great job against us; they analysed us really well but the girls fought back really well and I think we won the tournament there.”

Umpires: S Bockelmann (GER), R Woodcock (ENG) Award winners Player of the tournament: Marijn Veen (NED) Top scorers: Marijn Veen (NED), Erica Sanders (ENG), Yibbi Jansen (NED) – 4 goals Best Goalkeeper: Elodie Picard (BEL)

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