Switzerland leads after day one at the men’s U21 indoor arena in Nymburk: European Hockey Federation
Switzerland were the only team to finish day one of the EuroHockey Men’s U21 Indoor Championship with six points from six, taking the lead in Group A in Nymburk, Czech Republic.
They lead their group ahead of an impressive Austria, who have won their only game, while Group B is unclear with Denmark and Poland on four points and the Czech hosts on three.
** All competition matches will be streamed live www.eurohockeytv.org with commentary by Nick Irvine. This stream is free for those registered with an account.
** The results will be published on EuroHockey’s social media accounts, while the full statistical information on the tournament is available here: https://tms.fih.ch/competitions/1466
Pelvis A
Switzerland 6 (L Kraxner 3, J Flück 2, L Stomps) Italy 3 (F Dionisi Vici, D Saoncella, M Succi)
Two skilful goals from Leonard Kraxner in the final quarter gave Switzerland the start of the championship to finally defeat Italy in the opening game in Nymburk.
A lively fight, Dario Saoncella got Itally going on the break but Lars Stomps fired in a corner and Kraxner scored his first of three goals for a narrow 2-1 half-time lead. Two more from Jens Flück gave them a 4-1 lead but Marcello Succi and Felix Dionisi Vici put Italy right back in the game before the end of Q3.
However, Kraxner calmed everyone’s nerves when the Swiss started with the front foot.
Ukraine 3 (D Zheleznyi 2, Y Dzemukh) Türkiye 3 (I Bakar 2, R Kayar)
Isa Bakar’s equalizer in the last 20 seconds gave Türkiye a point in their clash with Ukraine. Earlier, Ukraine had looked like flying high in the first quarter as Yuri Dzemukh blasted a set piece into the top corner and Dmytro Zheleznyi scored a second to make it 2-0.
They looked good on stage but Turkey had the best of the second and third quarters and created many chances, Ramazan Kayar closing the gap in the 14th minute. But they couldn’t capitalize on their chances any better and were stabbed when Zheleznyi took a corner kick from a breakaway.
That’s a conclusion for the first day here in Nymburk! Check out the results and current group standings (* represents a game played) after two action sessions!
All games available to watch https://t.co/w2QxqYCips#EHIC2023 pic.twitter.com/6Bty8Qqw6j
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That came in a span of five yellow cards – three for Ukraine, two for Türkiye – within five minutes before the big comeback came. Bakar pulled one back from a corner with five minutes left and then had the final say to make it a point each.
***
Austria 7 (Marcin Nyckowiak 2, P Brautigam 2, F Losonci, F Hackl, J Winkler) Italy 2 (M Succi, L D’Amico)
Austria put on a superb first performance of the tournament, surpassing Italy with five first-half goals that put them on the path to victory. Captain Fülöp Losonci got the ball rolling with a corner kick before Marcin Nyckowiak made it 3-0 with two brilliant goals from a spin in the first quarter.
Paul Groom made a great finish for the fourth time, then Florian Hackl hit the bottom corner to make it 5-0 at half-time. Josef Winkler added another before Italy had their best time, clawing back two in Q3 over Marcello Succi and Leonardo D’Amico, but Brautigam finished the win for Austria while Italy ended day one with two losses.
Switzerland 4 (L Kraxner, Y Hug, T Capellano, L Grandchamp) Türkiye 1 (A Alperen)
Switzerland ended the day as the only team with two wins from two as they defeated a side from Türkiye who were prevented by a red card in the 23rd minute, leaving them unable to return to the tie.
Léonard Kraxner scored the only goal of the first half as the Swiss had decent control of the game. The pattern changed when Isa Bakar received a second yellow card for drilling with 17 minutes to go, but his side found an equalizer almost immediately. Atas Alperen was driving home from the top of the circle after rolling over halfway.
Eventually, Switzerland began to exploit the gaps, taking the lead again through Yannick Hug and securing a 3-1 lead through Tommaso Capellano. Captain Loris Grandchamp completed the scoring.
basin B
Poland 17 (5th M. Wiśniewski, 3rd E. Witczak, 2nd J. Hołosyniuk, 2nd J. Mikołajczak, 2nd M. Pawlak, 2nd R. Pawlak, 2nd St. Tyranowski) Slovakia 1 (R. garaj)
Poland proved too strong for Slovakia as Mateusz Wiśniewski became top scorer with five goals and gave the 2017 champions a great start. It was a difficult start for Slovakia, who played in the top flight for the first time since 2000, before one of their current sides was born. Still, they fought to the end and only got on the scoreboard late in the game via captain Richard Garaj.
Croatia 5 (L Mesarić 3, F Zlatar, B Hrupec) Denmark 8 (H Nørgaard 3, M Thorsted, O Sørensen, U Nielsen, R Westrup, A Jacobsen)
Denmark put on an excellent performance in the second half and recorded victory over Croatia after a thrilling battle. They led four times and took the lead for the first time in the seventh minute through captain Hector Nørgaard. Luka Mesarić equalized before Nørgaard and Fran Zlatar leveled the score at 2-2 at the end of the first quarter.
Croatia took the lead via Bruno Hrpuec in Q2, but a shot from Magnus Thorsted and a corner from Nørgaard put the Danes back on top, only for Mesarić to finish 4-4 at half-time.
Denmark dominated the second half and while Val Kuhar brilliantly parried a second shot, they never looked back as Oliver Sørensen made it 5-4. Three goals in quick succession early in Q4 ended the battle with Ulrik Nielsen, Anders Jacobsen and Rasmus Westrup all hitting the mark before Mesarić completed his personal hat-trick with the final play of the session.
Poland 3 (R Pawlak, M Pawlak, J Hołosyniuk) Denmark 3 (H Nørgaard 2, O Sørensen)
Denmark held on to an important draw, leaving Poland disappointed they couldn’t end the day on full points as both ended the day on four points after two games.
The Danes led twice in the first eight minutes, with Oliver Sørensen breaking the lead after two clean passes off the boards and Hector Nørgaard scoring from a corner, trumping Robert Pawlak’s low shot. At the end of the first quarter it was 2-1.
Maksymilian Pawlak equalized to make it 2-2 and Jakub Hołosyniuk gave his team the lead for the first time in the 16th minute with a nice curl after a pass from Robert Pawlak. They had plenty of corners and chances from there but couldn’t make enough of them and the game was eventually shared when Rasmus Westrup dug the ball up for Nørgaard to score his fifth goal of the day.
Czech Republic 17 (A Vañko 4, S Klaban 3, J Trejbal 3, J Brzák 2, J Toms 2, L Stibor, M Plachy, P Dubina) Slovakia 0
The Czech Republic started the weekend with a big win in Nymburk, while Slovakia again struggled to keep up with their neighbours. Adam Vañko scored four goals as well as hat-tricks for Štèpán Klaban and Jan Trejbal as they took a 9-0 lead at half-time and then continued with eight different goalscorers in the second period.