Austria won the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship for the third time as Fabian Unterkircher from a classic tactical battle, grabbing a 2-1 win over Germany at the Hamburg Sporthalle.
It played out in front of over 3,200 fans, bringing the noise for the final action of a thrilling week; a battle in stark contrast to their Saturday group meeting goalfest which ended 7-6 to the Austrians.
This one was cagey and tight-knit with chances at a premium. Germany controlled the ball for the first quarter and had the one moment of real penetration when Hendrik Mertgens was blocked illegally. Captain Paul Doesch’s stroke just about snuck in off Mateusz Szymczyk’s pads.
Oliver Binder hit the post at the far end while Michael Körper had a rare day where he was unable to find the target. Luis Holste was just shy on power from a key chances and Anton Boeckel also hit the Austrian goalkeeper.
The leveller arrived in the 18th minute when Binder produced a subtle drop-off pass to Unterkircher who whipped it toward the top corner with goalkeeper Anton Brinckman only getting a half touch on it en route to the net.
Niklas Bruns was the next to go within inches of the goal, his sliding touch slipping off target in the final quarter. Two Austrian corners were shut down by the German defence but it was third time lucky as Unterkircher dummied a switch move before shooting himself into the net, confirming his player of the tournament title.
Captain Xaver Hasun found it hard to sum up how special it was: “It’s fantastic! To be honest, in this moment, I am quite speechless - it’s brilliant. Doing it in this hall, in Germany, in Hamburg - a real hockey city - it’s brilliant for us.
Reflecting on the game, he said it was a typical final compared to the more open group stage meeting between the top two in the world.
“It’s always clear you are nervous in a game like this. Everyone is trying not to make any mistakes; we did it quite well. In the end, we could have scored a few more but Germany could as well. The whole tournament and also in this game, I think we deserved it and are very happy!”
As for Unterkircher, Hasun said we are witnessing a generational talent: “He’s not a bad indoor hockey player is he! He’s talent for the next few years and everyone will be happy to watch him and his personal reward was really well deserved!”
