Men’s EuroHockey Championship Qualifier II (Helsinki, Finland)
Final quarter goals from Craig Bossano-Anes and Jack Cox saw Gibraltar copper-fasten their place at the head of Pool B ahead of Malta, earning both a final berth and a place at next year’s EuroHockey Championship II.
It sets up a Sunday final date with Lithuania for the gold medal with Malta set for a third place playoff against Luxembourg.
Going into the tie, Malta needed a three-goal win to move above their rivals and take the laurels and they made the perfect start in that pursuit.
In the second quarter, they earned several short corners, the last of which ended in a stroke which captain Thomas Degiovanni confidently finished. Just before half-time, Redeemer Rapinett extended the lead to two goals.
The third quarter was a close battle with no goals, leaving the game on a knife-edge but Gibraltar eased the tension when Bossano-Anes reduced the score to 1–2 and, with eight minutes left, Cox scored a corner to make extra certain.
Finland pulled off a big comeback to grab a draw against Greece but it ultimately proved not quite enough to qualify for the bronze medal match
They came back from 2-0 down in the last 16 minutes to earn a 2-2 draw which lifted them level on points and goal difference with Malta but with less goals scored.
Greek captain Nikolas Dierckx fired home a short corner for a half-time lead and they increased their lead through Paris Welzel with a confident finish.
Finland, however, did not give in. At the end of the third quarter, the blue and whites were awarded a penalty stroke of their own which Emil Könönen put into the net.
The goal ignited both the team and the home crowd and the hosts poured forward with the reward coming when Emil Könönen skillfully directed the ball into the goal.
Finnish captain Sampo Hirvioja praised the team’s fighting spirit. “The first half was a bit stuffy for us, just like yesterday, but luckily we got a completely different fighting spirit in the second half and it’s great that we were able to level things up in the end.
“We made this game difficult for ourselves. We should have been able to give even more today and get a slightly better result, but let’s take what we got.”
In Pool A, Luxembourg controlled their game with Hungary to win 5-0, recording their first ever win in a EuroHockey men’s competition match at the 10th attempt.
Already in the first quarter, Leopold Krampe and Lohen Verschoren gave the team a 2–0 lead and they made sure of the win in the third quarter.
First, Krampe scored his second goal of the night, followed by Léander Ulitzka and Henry Ensch. It confirmed their place in the bronze medal match with Hungary settling for a fifth place playoff against the Finns.
Photos: Ville Järvinen
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