Reigning champions Austria and hosts Poland made a flying start to head the table at the women’s EuroHockey U21 Indoor Championships in Wałcz with back to back wins.
Austria got the day off to a flying start as they proved too strong for Croatia in an 8-1 victory with sisters Katharina and Philippa Proksch both scoring twice as did Katharina Bauer.
Game two was a thriller with Maria Torbol’s last minute rocket into the top corner earning Italy a 4-4 draw against Türkiye.
It completed a remarkable turnaround as the Turks led 4-0 by the 17th minute as Sila Erkoç’s range of skills proved inspiring.
Italy did get on the scoreboard with the last play of the first half via Francisca Eschoyez but their comeback only really began in earnest following the red card to Aleyna Başbuğ in Q3.
The Italians fought all the way and eventually got their equaliser in the dying moments.
Poland closed out the morning session with a well constructed 3-1 win against Switzerland with Julia Rymer giving them an early lead. Maria Drozda and captain Marta Czujewicz stretched out a three-goal advantage in Q4 before Dunja Härtsch got a late Swiss reply.
Session two saw the Austrias make it two wins from two but they were pushed all the way by Italy with a 2-1 scoreline. Louisa Pelz gave the red foxes a first half lead before a pivotal penalty stroke came from Elena Lendl in Q3.
Hannah Scherf completed a beautiful team move for 2-0 only for Eleonora di Paola to reply instantly. It made for a thrilling closing quarter but Austria held on to move up to six points.
Ria Müller’s hat trick propelled Switzerland to their first win with a 3-2 win over Croatia. Her double in the first quarter gave the Swiss a dream start but the Croats stormed back, Lucija Buzjak and Lana Roginek’s quick finish levelling the game.
Müller, however, completed the victory with 11 minutes left.
The day’s action concluded with another firecracker of a match. Türkiye raced into a 2-0 in Q1 against Poland only for the hosts to fight back and build a 4-2 lead.
Corner goals from Aleyna Başbuğ and Sila Erkoç tied it up going into the final 10 minutes and they had a huge volume of chances to win it. But Poland landed a big sucker-punch with 30 seconds to go as Hanna Wochna completed her hat trick with a penalty stroke.
Saturday sees another six matches on the agenda with Croatia facing Türkiye (10.00 CET), Switzerland taking on Austria (11.25 CET) and Poland meeting Italy (12.50 CET) in the morning session.
Then, in the afternoon, the Turks play Austria (16.00 CET), Italy take on the Swiss (17.25 CET) and Poland meet Croatia (18.50 CET), all hoping their efforts keep them in the mix for the medals.
Friday results
| 10:00 | AUT – CRO | Pool A | 8 – 1 |
| 11:25 | TUR – ITA | Pool A | 4 – 4 |
| 12:50 | SUI – POL | Pool A | 1 – 3 |
| 16:00 | AUT – ITA | Pool A | 2 – 1 |
| 17:25 | CRO – SUI | Pool A | 2 – 3 |
| 18:50 | TUR – POL | Pool A | 4 – 5 |
Saturday schedule
