The Red Panthers beat Spain (FIH-6) 2-1 in the final of the Valencia Olympic qualification tournament in Spain on Saturday. With a ticket to the Paris Olympics already in the pockets of both teams after Thursday’s semi-final success, the Belgians won this prestigious clash, pocketing their first international gold medal in a decade.
The game between Belgium, ranked 4th in the world, and the host country of the tournament remained tied in the first half, with chances on both sides, especially the 4 points won by Raoul Ehren’s players. The Panthers conceded a goal through Sara Barrios (29th) one minute before the break. Elodie Picard, who returned at halftime, kept her team in the game by making several interventions in the 3rd quarter. However, the Belgians managed to get back into the score in the last 4 minutes thanks to two goals by Louise Versavel (56th) and a corner kick by Charlotte Englebert (56th).
Ambre Ballenghien completed the Belgian success by winning the competition’s top scorer trophy with 9 goals.
The European runners-up remained unbeaten in the tournament, following a 0-0 draw with Ireland and 10-1 successes over South Korea and 13-0 against Ukraine in the group stage, before an important 3-2 semi-final victory over Great Britain.
Earlier on Saturday, Great Britain punched their third and final qualifying ticket to the Games with a 2-1 win over Ireland in the bronze medal match.
Relive the evolution of the results
End of the first quarter. Spain dominated the first 5 minutes, but the Red Panthers responded well at the end of the quarter with several PCs, unfortunately missed.
The Red Panthers concede the first match just before halftime
The equalizer for the Red Panthers who took advantage of a big mistake by the Spanish player
Charlotte Englebert scores a magnificent goal into the top corner!
final
Spain