Day three of the 2014 IBSA Goalball European Championships Men & Women B featured the final round robin matches as well as the quarterfinals on the men’s side.
 
On the women’s side the final four still needed to be decided along with the order. Sweden confirmed themselves as the top team and the one to beat after an emphatic win over Belgium 9-1. Denmark also quickly followed their neighbours with a 2 – 0 defeat over Hungary.
 
However the one that was holding the most importance was the match between Greece andGreat Britain. Great Britain needed to win this if they were to go through to the knock out stage.
 
Not long after the start of the match Great Britain received a 10 second penalty and Greece was able to make the best of this opportunity. The remainder of the half went by without a goal. Early in the second half Greece made their second goal. Half a minute later there was another ball in the back of the net but this time it belonged to Great Britain. After this no team could score anymore and Greece took the match along with the semifinal place.
 
This means that the lineup for the semifinals is Sweden v Hungary and Denmark v Greece.
 
In the other hall were the final round robin matches for the men.
 
The day opened with a thriller between Russia and Poland. Russia took the early lead and despite Poland’s best efforts to catch up the Russians still managed to always stay a goal or two ahead. The half time score was 4-2. However a game can sometimes be of two halves and Poland was able to take command in the second half. They ended up winning but only just. The final score was 7-6.
 
Another highlight of the mornings play was the match between Italy and Sweden. Sweden did take this but the game wasn’t without its twists and turns. We recommend that you watch the YouTube film of this game.
 
After a midday pause, the teams were back for the quarter finals.
 
The first match was another formidable performance by the Israeli’s. The Israelis were strong and quick and in the end the Danish defense could not handle the Israeli power. Result was 13-3.
 
The corresponding quarter final was in total contrast to that from Israel and Denmark. It was close with constant changes of the lead and the winner was not decided until the last minute. The match was between Slovenia and Poland. Poland opened the scoring but Slovenia quickly responded and then took the lead. Poland equalized but a long ball gave the lead back to Slovenia. Poland immediately responded with an equalizer and it was 3-3. Slovenia hit back and it was 4-3 and so it stayed for the remainder of the first half. Early in the second half Slovenia had the chance to double their lead but the penalty was blocked. Shortly after Poland scored and it was 4-4. Slovenia weren’t about to roll over though. Two goals close to each other and it is 6-4. Poland stayed with the Slovenians and made it 6-5. Slovenia increased their lead once more and it was 7-5. The next two goals (second being from a long ball penalty) were for Poland and it was 7-7 in the dying minutes. With approximately a minute to go Slovenia makes their final goal and takes the match 8-7.
 
The other two quarter finals were quite similar. Both started with both teams playing well and quite close but in the end one team was just too strong and were able to move past their opponent. Sweden defeated Portugal 9-3 meanwhile Ukraine came with a 4-1 win over Hungary.
 
This means that Israel and Slovenia will play in semifinal one and semifinal two will be between Sweden and Ukraine.
 
RESULTS
Pool A
Poland 7 Russia 6
Portugal 3 Ukraine 7
Pool B
Sweden 13 Italy 8
Denmark 1 Slovenia 8
Women
Sweden 9 Belgium 1
Greece 2 Great Britain 1
Denmark 2 Hungary 0
Quarter finals – Men
Israel 13 Denmark 3
Slovenia 8 Poland 7
Ukraine 4 Hungary 1
Sweden 9 Portugal 3
Final pool standings
Pool A
Israel – 12 points
Ukraine – 9 points
Poland – 6 points
Portugal – 3 points
Russia – 0 points
Pool B
Sweden – 10 points
Slovenia – 10 points
Hungary – 4 points
Denmark – 4 points
Italy – 0 points
Women
Sweden – 13 points
Denmark – 12 points
Greece – 9 points
Hungary – 6 points
Great Britain – 4 points
Belgium – 0 points