The Netherlands and Spain will contest a EuroHockey U21 Championship final double-header as both won through to the men’s decider with 3-2 wins, emulating their female counterparts in Terrassa.
Timo Boers was the hero for the Dutch as his goal 74 seconds from the end broke German hearts, a clever switch move behind the back of Pepijn van der Heijden offering him the chance to unleash his power-push.
The first half was goalless as both sides probed each other for weaknesses but found no gaps in their opponent’s armour. That was until early in the third quarter when the brilliant Ben Hasbach swooped in on a half-stopped ball, spinning while diving to flick the ball home.
Van der Heijden’s in-to-out drag equalised two minutes later and the Dutch had the lead in the 42nd minute for the first time when Boers scored his first of the afternoon from a stroke.
Paul Glander tied it up going into the final quarter with half-switched corner and that was how it stayed until the final moments when the Dutch grabbed the result.
Bruno Avila was the star of the second semi-final with his pair of goals helping them get over the line at a roasting hot Terrassa.
Pol Cabré ghosted in at the back post to force home Xavier Barutell’s cross from the left wing to get the scoreboard ticking in the 10th minute.
Jules Decruyenaere got the final touch to the equaliser in the 23rd minute when a long ball eventually found its way to Nicolas Bogaerts on the baseline. He juggled the ball in behind the goalkeeper where his team mate was able to poke home.
But parity lasted barely a minute as Avila dragged in a ferocious shot that made the game 2-1. That is how it stayed for a long time, all the way up to the 58th minute when Avila pushed into a goalkeeper-less net while Belgium went chasing a second goal.
Hugo Labouchere responded a minute later with a corner reply but they had no time to force the issue and send the game to a shoot-out.
It guarantees Spain a first medal since 2008 after three successive fourth place finishes.
Sunday’s schedule ssee the final take place at 20.00 CET with the bronze match between Germany and Belgium at 15.30 CET. Both of those games will be broadcast live on www.eurohockeytv.org.
In Pool C, England got their first win of the competition when they defeated France 4-2 as Henry Markham’s double made the difference.
He opened the scoring in the ninth minute – the only goal of the first half – as the English side made the stronger inroads and they doubled their advantage through a Rory Penrose penalty corner.
Aristide Michaelis dribbled through to get one back but a Lewis Wilcher stroke just before the end of the third quarter kept England at a safe distance.
And when Markham got his second they had a secure lead which was not overly affected by a late concession to Hugo Verrier.
Ireland got a fright from Türkiye before eventually prevailing 6-3, setting up a big showdown with France on Saturday for the final place in the next edition of the U21 Euros.
The Irish side had their noses in front at half-time 2-1 with goals from James Clark and Louis Rowe outdoing a Mehmet Aydin corner.
Clark and a John Cunningham stroke made it 4-1 but they suffered some discomfort as Aydin and Ataş Alperen cut the gap right back to 4-3 with seven minutes to go. Cunningham and Adam McKee, however, made sure that threat was short-lived.
For Türkiye, it confirms their first Euro U21 top tier campaign ends in relegation. For Ireland, they sit top of Pool C for the moment and a draw against France will be enough for them to stay at this level.
