Denmark produced a four-star first half performance to set themselves up for gold at the boys EuroHockey 5s U16 Championship II, crowning a fine debut international tournament in Kutaisi, Georgia.
The Danes had drawn with Bulgaria during the group stages but a brilliant start in their rematch saw them ultimately prevail 6-3 to take the laurels.
Oliver Klarskov got the ball rolling and his second minute goal was soon backed up by efforts from Thor Brøndgaard and captain Julius Arnborg for a 3-0 lead in the seventh minute.
Brøndgaard’s second made it 4-0 before Bulgaria started their fightback on the stroke of half-time via Halil Hristov. Emil Nedkov reduced the gap further before an exchange of goals from Arnborg – the tournament top scorer with 11 goals – and Mihail Sansarov advanced the scoring to 5-3.
Bulgaria, however, could not get any closer after that and Jeppe Steinmetz added extra insurance to the scoreline in the last phases for a memorable victory.
Armenia took bronze as they won back-to-back games against Luxembourg on the final day. In their final group game, they won 5-4 with two goals from Mikayel Markosyan and they backed up that performance in the third/fourth place playoff against the same opponents 5-3.
Luxembourg did take an early lead via Quinten Van Waetermeulen but replies from Armen Martirosyan and Andranik Kostanyan swapped the lead before half-time.
David Bouillot equalised in the 22nd minute but Armenia finished strong with Markosyan scoring twice to put them in the clear.
Results:
| Time | Teams | Title | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:30 | LUX – ARM | Pool A | 4 – 5 (1 – 3) |
| 09:30 | GEO – BUL | Pool A | 1 – 7 (0 – 3) |
| 12:30 | LUX – ARM | 3rd/4th Place | 3 – 5 (1 – 2) |
| 13:40 | DEN – BUL | Final | 6 – 3 (4 – 1) |
View the final event tables and stats here
Final rankings
- Denmark
- Bulgaria
- Armenia
- Luxembourg
- Georgia
