Croatian hockey team wins Gold in Gibraltar at European Champs

(Photo: Croatian Hockey Federation)

5 August 2019 – The Croatian men’s field hockey team has won the gold medal at the European Championships III division which ended in Gibraltar on the weekend. 

The victory means Croatia has been promoted to the II division which which will take place in 2021. It will be the second time in the Croatian team’s history that they will play in that division at the European Championships.  

Croatia had a 100% win record in the group stages in Gibraltar with wins over Slovakia, Portugal and Malta. 

GROUP B:

CRO – SLK  7 – 0  (Bachmann Lucas Maximilian, Vuk Zvonimir, Marković Pavel, Hršak Petar, Žlimen Filip, Krleža Josip, Fujs Anže)

CRO – POR  5 – 0  (Bachmann Lucas Maximilian, Mucić Mario x 2, Mucić Marko, Premilovac Toni)

MAL – CRO  2 – 5  (Marković Pavel, Bagur Ivan x 2, Žlimen Filip, Fujs Anže)

As the first placed side in Group B, Croatia played the runners-up in Group A, Gibraltar, in the semi-final. After the scores were locked at 1-1, Croatia would take the match in a shoot-out. 

SEMI-FINAL:

CRO – GIB  1 – 1 (4 – 1 SO)  (Fujs Anže, SO Hršak Petar, Mucić Mario, Fujs Anže, Bachmann Lucas)

Croatia would meet Switzerland in the final and would upset their more favoured opponents to record one of the biggest wins in their recent history. 

FINAL:

SWI – CRO  4 – 5 (Bachmann Lucas Maximilian x 2, Žlimen Filip, Premilovac Toni, Fujs Anže)

(Photo: Croatian Hockey Federation)

The gold medal Croatian team in Gibraltar: Zoran Jakopović, Hrvoje Fijucek, Mario and Marko Mucić, Andrija and Petar Hršak, Anže and Gregor Fujs, Lucas and Benjamin Bachmann, Zvonimir Vuk, Toni Premilovac, Christopher Zec, Ivan Bagur, Josip Krleža, Filip Žlimen, Pavel Marković and Filip Zlatar, coach and trainer Norbert Nederlof, trainer Neven Polak, assistant coach Aleksandar Lykov and physio Marissa Compier.