Germany produced a near perfect shoot-out to win their ninth men’s EuroHockey Championship, ending the Netherlands’ reign after a rousing final performance at a full SparkassenPark.
They scored all four of their efforts while Jean-Paul Danneberg saved twice to provide a suitably heroic end to a classic edition of the tournament.
In the early phase, Jorrit Croon found Koen Bijen with an amazing ball down the left line and he got off a shot which went under Danneberg but bumped off the bottom of the post.
Danneberg dramatically saved from another Bijen effort a second after the end of the first quarter, one framed perfectly for the cameras.
After surviving a couple of German corners, the Dutch hit the front in the second quarter from their first corner – it was a little off-kilter at the top of the D but Tijmen Reyenga reacted perfectly to sweep a low bullet through the German defence into the backboard.
Danneberg brilliantly denied a second from Jip Janssen before Germany forced their way back into the contest with a top-class equaliser. Lukas Windfeder’s outstanding diagonal ball found Justus Weigand and he shot from the very edge of the circle with a shot that deceived Dirk Meijer; 1-1 with 14 minutes to play.
Floris Middendorp and Steijn van Heijningen combined to almost unlock the door for Terrance Pieters who just missed out at the back post and so the shoot-out beckoned.
There, Germany were pitch-perfect. Weigand, Michel Struthoff and Hannes Müller all scored while Danneberg kept out the first two Dutch efforts.
Jip Janssen scored a stroke to keep the Netherlands alive but Thies Prinz sealed the deal, making it 4-1 to crown the victory.
Men’s EuroHockey Championship – final standings:
1. Germany
2. Netherlands
3. Spain
4. France
5. Belgium
6. England
7. Poland
8. Austria
Player of the tournament: Mats Grambusch (Germany)
Goalkeeper of the tournament: Corentin Saunier (France)
U21 Talent of the tournament: Malo Martinache (France)
Top goalscorer: Gonzalo Peillat (Germany) – 6 goals
