Women’s EuroHockey Championship II Qualifier (Helinski, Finland)
Luxembourg won their first ever EuroHockey tournament as they took gold from the women’s Championship II qualaifier in Helsinki by the narrowest of margins over Hungary.
For a long time it looked like Luxembourg would be on their way to victory in regulation time. Late in the third quarter, the team received a short corner from which Diane Krüger finished off the opening goal of the match.
However, Hungary did not give up. Just nine minutes before the end, Sára Józan equalized the score to 1–1 and kept their championship dreams alive.
After no decisive goal was scored in regular time, the final went to a shootout where goalkeepers were largely on top. In the end, the only goals came from Luxembourg’s Amanda Steffey and Hungary was unable to respond.
Goalkeeper of the tournament Chloe Heal said of the final showdown: “We went out with everything, we scored in the third quarter right at the end, but they came back to score another one.
“We came out with the shootouts not having an exact plan but you know, one goal is enough!”
As for the tournament as a whole, she added: “I think the tournament’s been amazing. It’s been amazing playing here with a huge stadium. It’s been so much fun the whole weekend.
“The Finnish Hockey Federation has made it an amazing, unforgettable experience. Every team played amazing here and they were all champs to play against.”
In the third place playoff, Gibraltar started the match strong and took the lead in the fourth minute of play when Reighann Olivero finished off the opening goal.
At the end of the first quarter, Tara Bossano-Annes increased the lead to two goals. In the second quarter, Finland defended with discipline and no additional goals were seen. Finland also built its own attacks, but the final solutions were missing.
In the third quarter, captain Natalie Caetano confidently netted a penalty stroke before cutting loose in the final quarter with further goals from Ruby Brooks, Olivero and Alexandra Casciaro for a 6-0 win.
Looknig back on the tournament, Finnish coach Markku Heino saw a lot of positives in the tournament, even though the results were modest.
“ Overall, the team spirit was really good. Every player gave their all. When you look back at what was done in training, everyone left everything they had to give on the field. It just wasn’t enough for better results this time.”
Player of the tournament: Rio Esperanza (Hungary)
Top scorer: Rio Esperanza (Hungary)
Best goalkeeper: Chloe Heal (Luxembourg)
Final rankings
- Luxembourg
- Hungary
- Gibraltar
- Finland
