Report thanks to Czech Hockey:
Turkiye – Wales 2:1 (0:0)
Goals: Turkiye – Müslüm Ekinci 2x, Wales – Billy Collins
Whoever was looking forward to the concert of the undefeated Welsh national team would have been disappointed. Cautious hockey on the Welsh part, all this brought the spectators probably the least entertaining 45 min. game of the whole tournament. At the end of the third quarter two entrances by the Turks to the Wales defensive circle, and two penalty corners. surprise! The Turks were up 2-0! Logically, the last quarter was a wake-up call for the favorites. The Welsh finally pushed more players into the attacking quarter, simplified the transition forward and the result was a goal from the field. However, it was not enough to equalize and the Turkish team muddled the next events on the table.
Poland – Ireland 0:8 (0:3)
Goals: Ireland – Adam Walker 2, Oliver Kidd 3, Evan Jennings, Louis Rowe
The Irish team came alive in the tournament. One of the favorites of the whole tournament finally started very actively. By attacking the Polish team, they forced several penalty corners, from which Adam Walker scored twice. Both were shot along the ground, strangely enough, they fit into the Polish goal. Oliver Kidd scored the third goal before halftime, this time from a penalty stroke. The Poles didn’t know how to get out of their defensive half, the Irish pressure was beyond them.
The breakthrough didn’t come at half-time. The Irish persisted in pressuring the Polish goal, adding one goal after another. And one after another from a penalty corner. The range of finishes varied, but the sovereignty of the Irish was clear. Oliver Kidd scored the best goal of the game with a backhand shot from a great angle straight into the net.
The Polish team could not find a recipe for the Irish defense. The Irish have clearly claimed a place in the advancing pair. Let’s see if they can confirm that in the remaining two games.
Italy – Czech Republic 2:2 (2:0)
Goals: Italy – Claudio Brocco and Davide Arosio, Czech Republic – Jan Brzák and Dominik Bystřický
260 spectators
Once again, it was going to be an interesting duel that could have put Italy close to promotion, the Czechs to repair their reputation, and maybe even a small hope to play the rest of the tournament with the same in sight. Italy’s captain Claudio Brocco put the Czechs out cold in the second minute. He scored uncompromisingly from the field and Italy took the lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Italian team scored once more. Davide Arosio made it two-null again. The Czechs fought until halftime, appearing more and more often in front of Andrea Dellanna’s goal, but their finishing was unconvincing.
In the second half, the devil finally breathed some energy into the Czech team. The Czechs pushed their attack higher, which started to cause problems for the opponents. The game was spilling over from goal to goal. When the Italian team failed a penalty stroke, the Czech team got even angrier and the result was Jan Brzák reducing the score to 2-1. Even in the last minute, Dominik Bystřický completed the Czech awakening with a goal from a penalty corner. From the final point of view, the draw was fair.
Today is a rest day! The teams are back in action tomorrow.
All games are streamed live and available on demand post-game on www.eurohockeytv.org
