EuroHockey Championship Qualifier I Men (Rome, Italy) – day 2 round-up
Italy will play in Europe’s men’s top division for the first time since 2003 while Scotland will join the in London next year after they both won emotional rollercoasters at the EuroChampionship II Qualifier in Rome today.
The hosts saw off Portugal 5-2 after a grand finale while the Scots won 6-4 against Croatia in the early thriller.
In that one, Jamie Golden was the inspiration as the Scots were the first to qualify as they held off the challenge of Croatia in a chaotic second half for a 6-4 to earn their place at EuroChamps27.
It will be their first appearance at the top table since 2019 as they back up Thursday’s 6-1 win over Türkiye in another high scoring affair.
The Scots dominated the first half, racing into a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes via Jamie Golden’s thunderous corner drag-flick and a Struan Walker back-foot strike from mid-circle.
From there, it looked like it would be plain sailing against a side they had beaten comfortably in their last three meetings, especially when Cameron Golden cashed in on a close range rebound in the 17th minute for 3-0.
But Croatia came out of the blocks like a whippet in the second half; they very quickly earned a stroke which Lucas Bachmann fired home and then Petar Bahlen caught a brilliant rebound in mid-air and backhand volleyed home in the next movement.
It cut the gap to 3-2 with Scotland needing to settle their nerves and they got that extra breathing space via Jamie Golden’s second corner strike of the day in the 41st minute.
He completed his hat trick with the pick of his trio, hitting a postage stamp in the top corner of the goal for 5-2. Mario Mucić got one back from a scrambled corner move but Tommy Orr replied instantly, cleverly lurking behind the last defender to poke in Lee Morton’s through ball.
Bachmann planted another in the backboard to keep Croatian hopes alive but they could not cash in further from a series of chances, allowing Scotland to celebrate a memorable win.
For Italy, it followed something of a similar rock and roll pattern as they flew into a three-goal lead, were pegged back to 3-2 but found the late strikes to get over the line in style.
** Scotland celebrate their success. Pictures: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics
The hosts went in front in the 14th minute via Gianluca Frascino’s delicious drag-flick to the top right corner and the lead was solidified by Davide Giuliani. Facundo Harte worked a quick free to him on the left of the D and he unleashed a great shot, 2-0 at half-time.
And they looked to be cruising when Claudio Brocco’s give-and-go passing with Felix Dionisi Vici on the baseline led to a fine team goal with 17 minutes to go.
Portugal, though, showed all the character which saw them through the quarter-final as Rodrigo Castro’s power-push arrowed into the bottom corner for a lifeline.
Tiago Ventosa then picked up the pieces from David Franco’s dribble in the circle, utting it back to 3-2 with nine minutes to go.
But Italy summoned late energy – bouyed by a lively home crowd – with Joquin Puglisi’s low drag finding the backboard for 4-2. Ladislao Gencarelli made extra certain when he swept in at the near post, sparking wild celebrations from the players and fans.
It means Italy will face Scotland for the gold medal on Sunday while Croatia play Portugal for bronze.
Saturday’s sees the fifth to eighth place playoffs with Türkiye taking on Switzerland and Czechia meeting Ukraine.
