EC day 7: Slovakia beat Wales with a golden goal, Poland finish ninth

Percival and Gallagher decide it against Switzerland

The first goal only came after more than five minutes, from Cody Sargent, who had already missed a penalty. Four penalties were missed in the first half, two on each side. Captain Jennifer Devlin from a penalty and Ross Fraser made it 3‑1, but Aaliyah Gfeller brought Switzerland back to 3‑3 with two penalties. After 5‑5 Scotland went into half-time 6‑5 up, through a goal by Heather Mackintosh.

In the third quarter Devlin scored three times and Sargent made it 10‑8 just before the end of the quarter. Romain Nijenhuis kept Switzerland in the match with three goals in that quarter, including the one for 7‑7.

In the final quarter Louise Otterman brought Switzerland back to 10‑9 from a penalty, but Devlin made it 11‑9. Nijenhuis then made it 11‑10 and, from a penalty, 11‑11. Percival put Scotland 12‑11 up, and after a Scottish time-out Gallagher made it 13‑11 from close range. Devlin and Nijenhuis were top scorers with six goals each. Switzerland lost all their matches at this European Championship and finish sixteenth.

Serbia hold off a fightback from Ireland

Serbia led Ireland 2‑4 after six minutes. Stewart Mcconvery opened for Ireland after seventeen seconds, but Mina Vukic immediately made it 1‑1 and Petar Jovanovic scored three times in the first half, the first just after he had missed a penalty. Through Nemanja Stojevic, Vukic and Milica Bozic, who scored just before half-time, Serbia went into the break 3‑8 up. Charlotte Bristow scored the two Irish goals after the opener.

After half-time Ireland came back. Alf Timney, Daisy Tighe twice and Bristow made it 7‑8. Serbia, who took a time-out at 6‑8, did not score for almost seven minutes after half-time. Stojevic eventually made it 7‑9 and Milena Ignjatijevic 7‑10 in the final quarter. Daisy Tighe brought Ireland to 8‑10, but Nikola Perkovic decided it from a free pass. Bristow, Daisy Tighe and Jovanovic each scored three goals. For both countries it was their last match of the European Championship; Ireland finish fourteenth.

Kocur decides it with a golden goal against Wales

Wales led Slovakia almost the entire match from 1‑2 onwards and went into half-time 5‑6 up, after Ema Ondrejcova had missed a penalty just before the break. Matt Cross made it 5‑7 from a penalty straight after half-time, but Zuzana Hrosovska and Boris Grolmus brought Slovakia to 7‑7. Shortly afterwards Wales captain Kiera Wilcox went down after a collision; the match was halted for a few minutes and Joanne Davies came on in her place. Wilcox was later sitting up again.

After 8‑7 by Zuzana Bušíková, Wales took the lead again. Rhydian Butler-Rees, Leo Comerford and Yasmin Williams made it 8‑10, and Comerford put Wales 9‑12 up with just over four minutes to play. He was top scorer with four goals. Slovakia came back in the last three minutes: Jakub Krajc made it 10‑12, Ondrejcova 11‑12 and Oliver Ondrejec 12‑12 with one second on the clock. Captain Monika Bogdanova had already left the court in the final quarter to applause from her teammates.

In the golden goal Wales started with the ball, but a shot by Sean Berry missed. In Slovakia's attack that followed Kocur decided it: 13‑12, and Slovakia finish eleventh, Wales twelfth.

Klimczyk helps Poland to ninth place

Poland beat Hungary 12‑9 and finish ninth, Hungary tenth. Izabela Kolodziejczyk opened after seventeen seconds, but Dénes Zsombor immediately made it 1‑1. With, among others, a long shot by captain Tamara Siemieniuk, Poland pulled away to 5‑2. Jázmin Tóth and Hungary captain Diána Vaszkó brought it back to 5‑4, but Jedrzej Masztaleruk and Julia Arent put Poland 7‑4 up at half-time with two penalties. Five of the first eight Polish goals came from a penalty.

After half-time Zsombor with a long shot and Szabolcs Csernák with a short shot made it 7‑6. Natalia Klimczyk made it 8‑6 from a penalty, and after Míra Kiss had made it 9‑7 from a penalty, Klimczyk scored twice more, the last just before the end of the third quarter: 11‑7. Siemieniuk put Poland 12‑7 up at the start of the final quarter, Noémi Tóth and Csernák brought it to 12‑9. Klimczyk was top scorer with three goals.

For Hungary, Zsolt Ferenc Majer, who was injured a day earlier, was not in the starting line-up. Vaszkó was substituted with just over two minutes to play and received flowers. Both countries had already qualified at this European Championship for next year's World Championship in the Netherlands.

Saturday the final against Belgium

On Saturday Portugal play Turkey at 10:00 for 7th place, England play Catalonia at 11:45 for 5th place and Germany play the Czech Republic at 13:30 for bronze. At 15:15 the Netherlands play the final against Belgium.