Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and England all made winning starts to the women’s EuroHockey U21 Championship in the Valencia heat as the tournament began with a bang.
In Pool B, Franziska Pabsch’s 57th minute penalty corner rocket saw Germany eventually break through to beat Ireland 1-0 in the opening game of the tournament.
They had the large majority of the play but found the Junior Green Army a tough nut to crack with goalkeeper Lucy McGoldrick in inspired form.
Hollaí Quinn did have the first major chance but her chip was well blocked by Klara Batschko. The Germans fired two dangerous corner chances goalward before half-time but both were repelled and they upped the ante in the second half with McGoldrick doing brilliantly to block a string of deflection moves.
Annika Schönhoff hit the post with another before the winner eventually came from a powerful push down the leg-side of the goalkeeper.
Belgium started their campaign with a strong 7-0 win over Wales as first half goals from Alexine Matthysen and Agathe Favart set them up for success. Victoria Liessens Dujardin added a hat-trick in the second with captain Lisl Denef and Bobby Boey also chipping in.
In Pool A, the Netherlands swept past the challenge of Spain in a repeat of 2024’s final. Iris de Kemp broke the deadlock in the ninth minute with a beautiful backhand shot and it was two when Maud van den Heuvel’s shot on the turn got a far post tip for 2-0.
Lieve Wijckmans snuck in at the back post for the third in Q3 from a long pass through the circle from Imke Verstraeten. Van den Heuvel got a neat deflection to a corner for 4-0.
Natalia Vilanova’s first time finish gave Spain a lifeline with the first act of the fourth quarter but Verstraeten’s corner made those hopes short-lived. Carlota Gonzalez’s swept corner made it 5-2 but van den Heuvel had the last impact with a flick from the right baseline.
England joined the Dutch on three points after day one with a 3-1 victory over Scotland in a lively encounter.
Biba Mills got the only goal of the first half and they moved further clear in Q3 via Evie Smith. Lexie MacMillan, however, set up a big finish when she netted with 13 minutes left and the English nerves were only eased by Izzy Yonge in the closing moments.
Saturday evening sees Pool A take centre stage with England playing the Netherlands at 18.00 (all times CEST) before Spain face Scotland at 20.15. Pool B returns on Tuesday.
Both games will be broadcast live on www.eurohockeytv.org with an €8.99 event pass.
** Click here to see more of the stats from the women’s EuroHockey U21 Championship
