Germany cruise past France to top Pool B

GER v FRA 7-2 (3-0)

Germany displayed confidence and class to ease past France in 7-2 win to top Pool B, and progress to the semi-finals of the Unibet EuroHockey Championships.

Braces from Mortiz Furste and Florian Fuchs helped Germany on their way to victory, and by finishing first in the group, the Germans will hope for a favorable draw in the next round.

Speaking on his side’s performance and progression to the semi-finals, Fuchs said: “I don’t think we played our best hockey, but in the end we won 7-2. France fought really hard especially in the first half. In the end we showed our quality and we are now ready for the semi-finals.”
“It’s always important to finish first. To win all the games is important for our confidence.”
Meanwhile the French side will be disappointed with losing all three of their games in the Championships, but can take optimism from their goal scoring efforts.

Germany started the game positively and displayed the same air of confidence that saw them win their previous group stage games against Ireland and Belgium.

Markus Weise’s side took an early lead through Florian Fuchs (3’), who scored a reverse stick shot past French goalkeeper Corentin Saunier.

Only minutes later, Francois Goyet came close to grabbing an equaliser, but was denied by ‘keeper Nicolas Jacobi.

France continued to look threatening on the break, and utilised their pace to earn a penalty corner in the 11th minute. Charles Masson’s resulting drag flick-came close, but was cleared off the line by the German defence.

The second quarter began with Germany grabbing a larger percent of possession and taking more control of the game.

Fuchs nearly doubled his tally in the 19th minute, but Lockwood blocked his reverse stick shot.

However, the Germans extended their lead shortly after, with Niklas Wellen (24’) tapping-in at the back post following a pinpoint reverse-stick cross.

Seconds before the end of the first half, Moritz Furste (30’) guaranteed that Germany went into the break with a comfortable lead, firing a powerful drag-flick into the roof of the net.

At the beginning of second half, France fought hard to get back into the game and committed a greater number of players to their probing attacks. And they got their rewards for doing so, with Simon Martin Brisac (36’) going on a fantastic individual run, before taking it around Jacobi and smashing the ball into an empty net.

Although France’s short numbers at the back cost them in the 43rd minute, with Christopher Ruhr hitting a reverse stick cross for Fuchs to tap-in, which ultimately ended all hopes of a comeback.

Moments after the start of the fourth quarter, Oskar Deecke (48’) made it 5-1 by dispatching a penalty flick past Saunier – which was given for a stick foul.

Just two minutes later, Mats Grambusch (50’) added to France’s misery, by pouncing on a rebound to slot home.

In the 53rd minute, Germany earned a penalty flick due to a push by a French player in the circle, and Moritz Furste fired the shot into the left-hand side of the net.

With four minutes left in the game, France showed they still had fighting spirit, as a clever penalty corner routine allowed Martin Brisac (56’) to slot past Jacobi.

After a final 7-2 scoreline to Germany, French goalkeeper Edgar Reynaud remained disappointed in his side’s performance, but is hoping for an improvement in the classification games.

“It was a difficult performance. We didn’t play well for the whole game, and you need to that in hockey,” he said, adding “It’s disappointing to finish with three losses in the group stages. The first group stage game we were unlucky against Ireland, and against Belgium we had a good team performance.”