England claim silver at the2013 EuroHockey Championships
The 2013 EuroHockey Final between Germany and England was one that will go down in history. The first half saw seven goals in exhilarating end to end hockey.
As the sides went in at half-time England trailed by one, but they found the equaliser with just four minutes to go. With four goals apiece at the end of full-time it went to a penalty shoot-out to decide the champions.
After their shoot-out victory against the Netherlands on Thursday night there were high hopes for England, but Germany had other ideas and after scoring two from four and England failing to convert any of their chances the game was lost. It was a fantastic performance from England however and ranks as their best finish in a European Championship since 1991.
It was a rollercoaster of a first half which saw Georgie Twigg, Kate Walsh and Helen Richardson all register on the score sheet. Surbiton's Georgie Twigg got England off to a dream start when she converted a Kate Walsh Penalty Corner inside three minutes of play. But the lead didn't last long, almost immediately Germany equalised through another penalty corner and England lost their video referral after appealing the umpire's decision to give the corner in the first place.
By the eight minute there was another goal and England took the lead back from a trademark Kate Walsh penalty corner. At 1-2 the game was already turning into a bit of a spectacle and Germany were pushing hard to find the equaliser. In fact, they found both an equaliser and another, both came from Tina Bachmann who firstly fired home from a penalty corner and then a penalty stroke, both of which were dispatched with brilliant accuracy to take the score to 3-2.
All this had happened inside the first 22 minutes, and there were still two more goals to come from what was an exhilarating first-half. England drew back level to 3-3 thanks to Reading’s Helen Richardson, who capitalised on a rare mistake in the German defence. After picking up the loose pass she drove into the circle and expertly drilled home a reverse stick shot past Kim Platten in Germany’s goal. It seemed the sides would go in as they came out, with nothing to separate them, but in a cruel blow to England, Germany won a penalty corner in the final minute of the half which Hannah Kruger converted to give them a slender 4-3 lead.
Supporters in the stadium and fans at home just about had time to catch their breath before the sides came out for the second half, which proved to be a little quieter on the goal front. England searched hard for an equaliser, but Germany’s defence proved too strong for much of the half. With about 10 minutes left on the clock England enjoyed a period of sustained pressure and they were rewarded in the 66th minute with a crucial equaliser. Great play from Alex Danson and Lily Owsley led to Reading’s Susie Gilbert getting her stick to the ball to deflect the shot home. At full-time the scores were level at 4-4 so a penalty shoot-out followed.
