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The Belgium men’s hockey team continued its impressive run on the international stage, edging out defending champions and Olympic gold medallist Germany 2-1 in their opening Pool A match of the TriFinance Eurohockey championship being played in Boom near Antwerp.
It was Belgium, who started on a sloppy note, conceding an early goal after Mats Grambusch sounded the board in the 6th minute.
The Red Lions responded swiftly equalizing things through a penalty corner conversion by Loick Luypaert in the 13th minute.
The prolific Tom Boon gave the home fans plenty to cheer about, firing home another short corner two minutes later ensuring his team headed into the half-time break with a 2-1 lead and that’s how the scoreline remained at the end of regulation time.
In another Pool A match, Spain crushed Czeck Republic 6-1.
Meanwhile in Pool B, Ireland fought hard against the Netherlands before going down 1-2. England men launched their campaign on an exciting note, trouncing Poland 5-2.
In the women’s section, the Netherlands humbled Belgium 2-0, while Ireland overcame Belarus 3-2 in the second round of Pool A games.
In Pool B, Germany registered their second straight win, edging out England 2-1, while Spain got past Scotland by an identical margin.
Earlier in the first round of matches, the Netherlands crushed Ireland 6-0, while Ireland whipped Belarus 5-1 in Pool A.
In Pool B, England humbled Spain 3-0, while Germany overcame Scotland by a solitary goal.
It may be worth recalling that the inaugural men’s EuroHockey championship was held in Brussels in 1970, where Germany cornered glory.
The inaugural women’s EuroHockey championship was held in Lille in 1984, where the Netherlands annexed the crown.
Both Germany and Netherlands have dominated the EuroHockey championships in the men’s and women’s sections respectively.
German men have won it seven times, with the Netherlands winning it on three occasions. Spain have won the crown twice, while England have won it only once.
Netherlands women have won the EuroHockey championship a whopping eight times. Germany and England have won it only once.
