Semi-finalists confirmed after Spain tame Red Panthers and England defeat Germany

ESP v POL 10-0

BEL v NED 0-5

SCO v ITA 3-1

ENG v GER 4-1

Spain booked their place in the Unibet EuroHockey Championships courtesy of a comprehensive 10-0 victory over Poland. The Red Sticks place wasn’t confirmed until later in the day when the Netherlands put paid to a brave attempt by the Belgium Red Panthers to force a draw against the world number one team.

The result means Spain will now play England in the semi-finals. Coach Adrian Lock said: “We made it through to the semi finals which will give us a boost. It backs up the philosophy that if we work hard then the results will take care of themselves. That keeps our motivation high. Obviously we are still hoping to qualify for the Olympics so it keeps us on our toes and keeps us working and looking forward to what’s to come.”

In the second match of the day, Scotland overcame a slow start to beat Italy and take third place in the pool. Kareena Marshall, Scotland’s top scorer in the tournament said: “Shep (head coach Gordon Shepherd) told us to keep it simple, have confidence in our ability and to keep the ball. We’ve played two games against really tough opposition (Germany and England) where we had to chase the ball a lot, so this was our opportunity to keep the ball and show what we can do with it. So the team talk was about playing a patient game, be confident going forwards and back ourselves in the circle. Our target is a top six finish.”

The Netherlands were in imperious form as they strode past Belgium by a 5-0 scoreline. The Dutch started slowly by their own supreme standards, but as Kelly Jonker said: “We have had a couple of days off, so we found it difficult to get straight back into it at pace.” The striker added that the Netherlands were unconcerned about who they played in the semi-final, saying the Netherlands always looked to play ‘showcase’ hockey.

The final match of the day was a feisty affair between the host nation and Germany. Both teams had already sealed their semi-final spot, but honour and a favourable draw were the dual incentives for a mammoth encounter. The result, a 4-1 win for England, was well-received by the crowd, although Luisa Steindor said after the game that she was pleased to have drawn the Netherlands because the world number one side had cruised through so far.

England’s opening scorer, Sophie Bray said that she was delighted that England had finally played the way they knew they could. “That was a good performance in front of the home crowd.”