Alf Dinnie, Hockey 1st team player reports on his time at the European Indoor Hockey Championships.
Alf Dinnie, Cardiff Met Hockey 1st team player as well as Assistant Coach to the Ladies 2nd and 3rd team, recently gained selection for Wales Under 21 Indoor team. The team travelled to Croatia for the European Under 21 Indoor Hockey Championship and Alf kept us updated with his daily events.
Thursday:
We landed in Zagreb and checked into the hotel. There were notable signs of snow but it was much warmer than the UK. We headed to the local Lidl for supplies and then went for a training session at the match venue. It was great to shake off the travel and get used to the pitch! First game tomorrow!
Friday:
Wake up, breakfast, team meeting, a quick physio visit and then off to the match venue.
Game 1 – Bulgaria:
Stands were pretty full of school kids, nerves were high! An early goal settled us and some good play, a few penalty corners and an assist later we were 5-1 up at half time. A solid second half secured an 8-3 win! A great start to the tournament!
Game 2 – Croatia:
There was a real buzz around, with the stands at near full capacity for our match vs the hosts. Although we put together an improved performance, the supremely clinical Croats led 5-0 at half time. Seeking to close the deficit in the second half allowed more openings and, along with a few questionable umpiring decisions, the game ended 1-10. A very disappointing result but having reviewed the video of the match we were pleased with our performance!
Saturday:
Game 3 – Norway:
The Norwegians had struggled in the first day but already showed signs of improvement! Technical aspects of our game were far from ‘on-point’ but some nice passages of play and well executed penalty corners gave us a 10-1 win! A good result, but we knew a large step-up in performance would be required to beat the Slovaks later.
Game 4 – Slovakia:
Our play was much improved from earlier, with passes being zipped around the court. A tight first half ended with us in a narrow 3-2 lead. Some accurate passes cutting open our defence, and our lacking of clinical finishing meant the match ended 6-3 Slovakia. Lots of positives still to take from the game. Bring on the last day!
Sunday:
Game 5 – Hungary:
Hungary played a very deep, structured defence, much similar to basketball. This was a new challenge for us, but some good patience and clinical passing led to a goal and assist for me, and a 3-0 lead at half time! We continued to push and a professional second half resulted in a 8-1 win!
Game 6 – Czech Republic:
Our last game saw us posed against arguably the best side at the tournament! Having scored over 35 goals in the first two days, we knew we were in for a tight contest. Two early goals left us 2-0 down at half time. However, a spirited second half performance saw some great attacks and an eventual 5-2 scoreline. This was our best team performance of the tournament and left us on a real high.
We finished the tournament in 4th place behind Czech Republic 1st, Croatia 2nd and Slovakia 3rd. It was a fantastic tournament and a real learning curve for me in European hockey.