Tuesday was decision day for the women's competition in Boom, determining which teams would be semi-finalists and which teams would have to battle it out in the relegation pool. At the end of the day, Thursday's semi-finals were confirmed as Germany versus Belgium and Netherlands versus England. The relegation pool includes Ireland, Spain, Belarus and Scotland.
England – Scotland 2-1 (1-0)
England had qualification for the semi-finals in their own hands, with the ability to secure their ticket with a win in the first match of the day. Scotland proved a tough opponent however, fighting fiercely but missing the killer instinct in front of the goal. A goal less than two minutes from the break eventually gave England the halftime advantage after Hannah Macleod tipped a loose ball over the line.
Nikki Kidd finally was able to make a penalty corner count for Scotland, midway through the second half, to level the scores, but England reclaimed the lead only minutes later when Sam Quek pushed the ball over the line in a crowded circle. Scotland had a string of late chances but ran out of time. England had thus secured their place in the semi-final independent of the result of the other Pool B match.
Spain – Germany 0-2 (0-0)
The subsequent encounter between Spain and Germany thus became a direct duel for the top four, with a slight edge for Germany for whom a draw was going to be sufficient. In an exciting, balanced battle over most of the 70 minutes, Germany had the better chances but were denied several times by a well-playing Maria Lopez de Eguilaz.
At the end of the day however, Germany prevailed, getting on the scoreboard with four minutes on the clock as Eileen Hoffmann deflected a penalty corner into the net. Little later, Lydia Haase piled on a last minute goal from another penalty corner effort for Germany's 2-0 win. The result put Germany in the semi-final and confined the Spanish girls to a non-top-four finish, their first since European Championships since 1999.
Ireland – Belgium 0-3 (0-1)
In Pool A, with the Netherlands confirmed as semi-finalists ahead of time, the match between Ireland and Belgium became the all-important clash. Belgium were going to come out on top with a win or draw, while Ireland needed to win.
Much to the delight of the sizeable crowds, after a balanced start, the Red Panthers soon took charge. Anouk Raes opened the scoring with a penalty corner goal in the 22nd minute, and the home team dominated the second half, scoring two more from set pieces through Anne-Sophie De Scheemaekere and Erica Coppey. Ireland's best chance came in the form of a penalty stroke, but Lisa Jacob could not make it count, hitting the post.
The Belgian women thus joined the Netherlands as Pool A's semi-finalists, a historic first: never before has a Belgian women's team made the top four in European Championships.
Netherlands - Belarus 7-0 (2-0)
The final game of the day was a one-sided affair as the defending European champions left the Belarussian team without a chance. A hattrick from Maartje Paumen, a double from Kim Lammers and a goal a piece from Sabine Mol and Roos Drost tallied up to a comprehensive 7-0 win. Their impressive pool stage performance of 3 wins without any goals conceded confirmed the Dutch women as top of Pool A and England's opponent in Thursday's semi-finals, leaving Germany to take on Belgium.
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