Women to play Dutch for bronze in European Juniors

Fixtures
Sun 24 July England 2-1 Scotland
Tue 26 July England 1-2 Belgium
Wed 27 July England 2-4 Spain
Fri 29 July England 1-3 France
Sat 30 July England 4-1 Austria

England 2-1 Scotland
England came from behind to take an important victory against Scotland in their first fixture.

After dealing with a very early green card, it was Scotland who opened the scoring in the second quarter as Pete Caughey registered a field goal on 18 minutes. Crucially though, Jon Bleby's Englishmen got back on level terms a minute before half time thanks to Conor Williamson's penalty corner.

And right at the end of the third quarter, another corner proved crucial as Sam Taylor made it 2-1 on 44 minutes. England saw the game out and look to their second match with Belgium on Tuesday.

England 1-2 Belgium
Our men suffered a cruel late defeat against the hosts in their second Pool match in Ghent.

England got off to an excellent start thanks to Ellis Robson's penalty corner in the first quarter. And they more than held their own as Belgium pushed to level matters, Louis Depelsenaire netting a field goal early in the third period. Both sides were looking for a winner but it was the Belgians who took all three points via a Victor Foubert field goal on 55 minutes.

It was a cruel end to the game, and once the dust has settled they will take pride in their display as they face Spain in their final group match on Wednesday.

England 2-4 Spain
Going into the game needing a win and also hoping for helping for a helping hand in the Belgium v Scotland match; England suffered an early blow when Manuel Rodriguez made it 1-0 to Spain in the second minute. When Pau Petchame and then Oriol Bozal gave Spain a 3-0 lead, England's chances of the semi-finals were all but gone, but they did not allow that to dampen their spirits and fought back to 3-2 thanks to goals from Rory Penrose and Alex Pendle. With England pushing, Petchame got his second in the final minute and secured a 4-2 win for the Spanish; their third victory in three games.

So the result means England finish third in the group and now face two classification matches; the first against France on Friday and then secondly versus Austria on Saturday.

England 1-3 France
After a goalless first quarter, it was Jules Verrier's penalty corner that got France on the scoresheet first with 20 minutes gone. England responded well though; Rory Penrose scoring from a penalty corner just before the interval.

However Corentin Sellier - who played in last year's senior European Championships and also helped France to third in the Junior World Cup - made it 2-1 just after half time, and when Louis Haertelmayer got a third then the French were able to secure all three points and put themselves in the box seat to finish fifth overall.

England 4-1 Austria
Jon Bleby's side ended their tournament in an upbeat fashion as they saw off Austria in their last game in Ghent. England were three goals up by half time; Conor Williamson, Stuart Kentwell and Rory Penrose on target. Florian Hackl gave the Austrians hope in the third quarter, only for Sam Taylor to restore a decisive lead.

With France beating Scotland in the other classification game; it was the French who took fifth spot and England were placed sixth, but ended the event on a positive footing.

Fixtures
Sun 24 July England 5-1 Ireland
Tue 26 July England 1-2 Germany
Wed 27 July England 6-0 Scotland
Fri 29 July Semi-Final: England 1-2 Belgium
Sat 30 July Bronze medal match: England 1-2 Netherlands

England 5-1 Ireland
England's women got off to a flying start with a big win in their opening game. It took until the second quarter for Claudia Swain to break the deadlock with a field goal, and when Maddie Axford made it 2-0 to England just before half time, Simon Letchford's side looked all set to go into the break with a healthy lead. However Siofra Murdoch made it 2-1 just before the interval to set up a tense second half.

Thankfully for the English, Vicki McCabe made it 3-1 in the third quarter before Swain got her second of the game. And when Lorna Mackenzie took it to 5-1 in the last period, the points were sealed to mark a fine opening for the women.

England 1-2 Germany
Germany took all three points but the result was cruel on the Englishwomen who gave their all in Ghent.

Lilly Stoffelsma got Germany in front after only five minutes after she fired a pass across the D; and with an attacker closing in on a certain goal, the English defender had no option but to put out a stick, only for it to divert into the net.

England kept pushing and pushing for an equaliser, and thought they'd levelled matters in the final quarter after good work from Darcy Bourne, only for it to be disallowed for a foot. Martha Le Huray did level matters with a well-hit field goal on 51 minutes, and England had the momentum. However credit to Germany and they scored with only two minutes left, and although Carlotta Sippel's drag flick was possibly angling wide when it was deflected by an English stick, the goal stood and it was heartbreak for the English.

England 6-0 Scotland
Needing a win to be sure of progression, England got off to the best possible start as Martha Taylor and Maddie Axford had Simon Letchford's side two goals ahead with only four minutes on the clock. When Vicki McCabe and Maddie Long made it 4-0 by the 16th minute, England had earned a strong position. It took until the 50th minute for England to find a fifth as McCabe notched her second, before 16-year-old Martha Le Huray made it six at the death.

The victory secured second place in the Pool for England, and they now face Pool A winners Belgium in Friday's semi final at 11:15am UK time.

England 1-2 Belgium
It proved to be a cruel defeat for England's women as they went down by a single goal to hosts Belgium.

England started well, and had probably the clearest sight of goal in a tight first quarter when Belgium went down to ten players; Darcy Bourne seeing her effort go just wide.

In the second period; Belgium began to up the ante and through sheer weight of numbers they were able to take the lead via Charlotte Engelbert; the skipper fresh from playing for the senior side in the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup.

England did not drop their heads though, and Becky Manton unleashed a brilliant backhand to make it 1-1 after 35 minutes.

It remained a tight affair, but Anne-Sophie Roels lashed home a super backhand finish that proved to be the winner in the last period.

And so England's bid for gold came to an end, but they still have the chance for a medal when they take on the Dutch in the bronze medal game on Saturday morning.

England 1-2 Netherlands
Simon Letchford's side started brilliantly when Claudia Swain netted a field goal very early on to give her nation a very welcome lead, only for Luna Fokke to level before the first quarter was out. 

Both sides then went on to hit the post in search of a goal, but it was Mette Winter who got the Dutch winner just before the end of Q3.

England were understandably saddened by the result, and having not lost any games by more than one goal, it was a tournament where the fine margins just went against them.