Women’s EuroHockey U21 Championship (Valencia, Spain) – final
The Netherlands’ women made it double-dutch delight as they overcame a monumental challenge to defeat Spain 2-1 in the final, taking the title for the 12th time.
It was a huge tussle, one punctuated by over an hour’s delay due to stormy conditions in Valencia, with the hosts taking the lead in the seventh minute and then defending deep.
It took until the 44th minute for the game to turn around completely as Imke Verstraeten and Juul Sauer scored within seconds of each other to send the title their way.
The game was just over four minutes old when the storm warnings came in and the players went off for a lengthy break.
On the return, Spain won the first corner of the game which Anna Marques dragged towards goal and was deemed to have crossed the line.
From there, the hosts dug deep and sat in a low block which the Dutch could not find a way through with only a couple of half chances being created.
But they started to find more space to work with as the legs tired, Babs Reijnen cracking one shot off the frame of Carlota Alvarez’s helmet and other balls flashed across the face of goal.
And the key moment came when they got their second penalty corner; an earlier set piece was scuffed but this one was exquisite, Verstraeten picking out the bottom corner – a strike which helped her win the top goalscorer award.
Within a minute, they worked the ball to the backline and squared the ball to Sauer who was waiting in her customary position to slot home.
From there, they looked largely in control although Spain did win two more corners in the last few minutes but neither were completed and so the Dutch were left to paint Valencia orange once more.
Player of the tournament: Imke Verstraeten (Netherlands)
Best goalkeeper: Klara Batschko (Germany)
Top goalscorer: Imke Verstraeten (Netherlands) – 6 goals
Final standings
- Netherlands
- Spain
- Germany
- Belgium
- England
- Scotland
- Ireland
- Wales
