Shoot-out wins for Portugal and Poland over Switzerland and Italy, respectively, were the highlights of day one of the men’s EuroHockey Championship qualifiers as big scores abounded in Vienna and Dublin.
Men’s EuroHockey Championship Qualifier A (Vienna, Austria)
Portugal won a dramatic shoot-out to reach the semi-final of the men’s EuroHockey Championship Qualifier A in Vienna as they eliminated Switzerland.
The Swiss went in front from Ben Gasser’s deflection at the end of the third quarter but Portugal fought back and from the second of three corners in the last 10 minutes, José Santos scored a drag-flick for 1-1.
In the shoot-out, Portugal scored four from four while Baltazar Portugal saved twice for a 4-3 success.
Portugal will meet Austria in the semi-final on Saturday after the hosts were too good for Hungary, running up a 24-0 win with Fülöp Losonci scoring six times.
Ukraine opened the day with a comfortable 8-0 win over Lithuania with four goals in each half. Six different players got on the score sheet with Bohdan Kovalenko and Maksym Onofriiuk scoring twice each.
Scotland overcame a first quarter scare as they ran up a 10-2 win over Croatia. Josip Krleža netted a corner for the Croats in the eighth minute but Scotland turned things around quickly through Thomas Austin and Andrew Lochrin.
It was 3-1 at half-time via Struan Walker and they eased away in the second half with seven more strikes with Andrej Zidanić getting the single reply.
Today’s Results (Vienna):
| Time | Teams | Title | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 | Ukraine v Lithuania | M1 | 8 – 0 |
| 13:15 | Scotland v Croatia | M2 | 10 – 2 |
| 15:30 | Switzerland v Portugal | M3 | 1 – 1 (3 – 4 SO) |
| 17:45 | Austria v Hungary | M4 | 24 – 0 |
Friday schedule
| 15:30 | Croatia v Lithuania | 5th/8th place (M5) | – |
| 17:45 | Hungary v Portugal | 5th/8th place (M6) | – |
Men’s EuroHockey Championship Qualifier B (Dublin, Ireland)
Luxembourg’s first ever senior international fixture proved a tough challenge as they were undone 17-0 by Wales in the opening game of the tournament.
For the Welsh, Jack Pritchard and Jolyon Morgan both scored hat tricks in the comfortable success and a place in Saturday’s semi-final.
Czechia will be their opponent thanks to their 9-1 win over Türkiye in which Lukas Plochý scored three times. They built their lead in the first eight minutes with two goals from Jan Železný and while Emre Durumuş pulled one back, the Czechs raced away in the second half.
Luxembourg will be up against Türkiye on Friday afternoon as both hope to keep up their chances of a place in Championship II in 2025. On Saturday, meanwhile, Wales will face Czechia in the semi-final.
In the second half of the draw, Poland snuck by the challenge of Italy to earn their place in the semi-finals. In a huge defensive battle, both sides had their chances in normal time but a 0-0 result meant the game went to a shoot-out.
There, Alessandro Comello made the first save of the shoot-out to hand Italy an early lead but his counterpart Mateusz Popiolkowski saved in rounds four and five, allowing the Poles to win 4-3 overall.
Hosts Ireland proved far too strong for Malta, scoring their biggest ever win in a men’s international, Ali Empey scoring six times in a 25-0.
Today’s Results
Friday schedule
| 15:30 | Luxembourg v Türkiye | 5th/8th place (M5) | – |
| 17:45 | Malta v Italy | 5th/8th place (M6) | – |
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