In games of fluctuating fortunes, Spain and Belgium held their nerve to set up a summit clash in the European Cup Hockey for Men at Antwerp. While Spain survived some anxious moments to win 4-3 against the Netherlands, Belgium scored thrice in the last and fourth quarter to beat Germany 4-2 in the other semi-final.
Spain started with a flourish and ran up a comfortable 4-0 lead by the time the game was 50 minutes old. But in the last seven minutes, it was the Netherlands all over as it scored three goals, including last of its two goals in the last two minutes.
Spain had taken the lead through veteran Pau Quemada who struck twice, first in the second minute and again in the 19th minute. Four minutes into the second half, Josep Romeo made it 3-0 before Ricardo Sanchez completed the tally for Spain in the 50th minute. Though the Netherlands enjoyed both territorial and game superiority - it had 37 circle entries against 18 by its opponents and 10 penalty corners against four by Spain - it could not convert its opportunities into goals.
Only last seven minutes saw the Netherlands attacking with purpose and converting its efforts into goals. Starting with Billy Bakker in the 53rd minute, it added two more through Jip Jansen in the 59th and 60th minute. This late second-half rally, however, fell short of expectations and the Netherlands had to console itself with a 3-4 defeat.
The story was almost the same in the second semi-final where Germany took the lead in the 21st minute through Christopher Ruhr which was further consolidated five minutes later by Florian Fuchs in the 26th minute.
Belgium got its first goal in the 42nd minute through reliableTom Boon who converted a penalty corner and then in the last and fourth quarter, Nicholas de Kerpel (54th minute), Victor Wegnez (56th minute) and Cedric Charlier (57th minute) carried the team to the gold medal match. The winner of the Spain-Belgium game will directly qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
-PTC News
