Türkiye are in dreamland this evening as they won the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championships II-B in Budapest, propelling them to promotion to the top tier for the very first time.
They won all six of their battles, crucially defeating both Italy and Slovakia on the final day of the competition to see off the two sides that had the capacity to take them down in a superb finish to the competition.
In the morning, the Turks scored a huge win in the opening match of the day, ending Italy’s 100% record with a 4-3 victory, built around three goals in the first nine minutes.
Müslum Elagöz got two of them before Italy worked their way back into contention but a Furkan Ataş goal kept the Turks out of range.
Slovakia moved up to four wins with a 15-1 win over Greece, giving them a chance of lifting the title if they could get the better of Türkiye in the third last game of the event.
Hungary continued their progress with a 6-0 win against Bulgaria before Italy concluded their competition with an 18-1 win over Serbia.
That result lifted them to five wins and the highest goal difference in the tournament but meant they needed Slovakia to get a win over the Turks.
And that looked a possibility in the first half when Slovakia created a 3-2 advantage. But a blistering third quarter from Türkiye changed the complexion of the game as they scored the next five goals – Müslum Elagoz getting three – to race away to an 8-4 success.
That allowed them plenty of time to celebrate before the trophy was presented. Bulgaria scored their first win of the competition with a 7-5 win over Greece, giving them a fifth place finish overall.
Hungary then closed out the competition with a 6-0 win against Serbia to take fourth spot overall.
Men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship II-B, Budapest
- Turkiye
- Italy
- Slovakia
- Hungary
- Bulgaria
- Serbia
- Greece
