Hosts Poland will meet Ukraine in the women’s EuroHockey 5s Championship final in Walcz as they reached the decider via very different routes in the semi-finals.
For the Poles, they eased through their final group game in the morning against Luxembourg but their semi-final against Italy was a thriller.
The Italian side – in their debut 5s event – raced into a 2-0 lead via Maria Inaudi and Sofia Vercelli but the hosts stormed back in the second half. Amelia Katerla got them on the scoreboard and Julia Balcerzak levelled with eight minutes to go.
It lead to a shoot-out which was eventually sealed in the sixth round when Katerla scored to make it 5-4 and Vercelli was denied.
Ukraine, meanwhile, saw off Wales 5-0 in the second semi-final. The Welsh side reach the semis for the first time when they held off Sweden to win 3-2, claiming second in Pool A.
And they were in contention at half-time as only Kateryna Shokalenko’s goal separated the sides. But a Kateryna Popova double helped propel Ukraine to a 5-0 success and the final spot.
Saturday’s schedule sees Luxembourg face Lithuania for eighth spot at 10am (CET) before Italy face Wales for bronze (10.45am) and the final hits the turf between Poland and Ukraine at 12.15pm on pitch 1. The tournament closes with Sweden facing Türkiye at 1pm on pitch 2.
Each game will be broadcast live on www.eurohockeytv.org
Today’s Results
| Time | Teams | Game Title | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:40 | SWE – WAL | Pool A | 2 – 3 (0 – 2) |
| 12:20 | POL – LUX | Pool A | 23 – 0 (12 – 0) |
| 18:00 | LTU – FIN | 7th/9th place (M17) | 25 – 0 (10 – 0) |
| 18:45 | POL – ITA | SF1 | 2 – 2 (0 – 2) (5 – 4 SO) |
| 20:15 | UKR – WAL | SF2 | 5 – 0 (1 – 0) |
Follow the live scores and pools here
