Crucial final group matches this Wednesday

The Eurohockey Championship III (mens) enters a crucial day this Wednesday morning when the final group matches in both the Pool A and B groups are played.
The morning starts with Pool B matches with Portugal playing Slovakia at 9am whilst Croatia play Malta at 11.15.
The first match of the day could decide who goes through to the semi-finals from Pool B with both Slovakia and Portugal both having won one match each and losing the other. Both defeated at the hands of Croatia who have already qualified to the semi-finals following their two victories.
The afternoon will see Gibraltar’s Pool A group play out what will be two crucial matches to determine whether Gibraltar can successfully gain a place in the semi-finals.
First up will be Lithuania against Turkey. Lithuania who lost 11-1 against Switzerland in their first match gave themselves a lifeline after drawing against Gibraltar. With Turkey having already faced defeat at the hands of Switzerland and Gibraltar, Lithuania have the upper hand on points taking one point from the match with Gibraltar. This leaves the door open if they can snatch all three points from Turkey to pose a threat to Gibraltar’s chances of qualification into the semi-finals.
Switzerland, who guaranteed their place in the semi finals after their victory against Turkey and Gibraltar’s draw will be the only obstacle in the way of Gibraltar. A draw would be enough to provide Gibraltar with a place in the semi-finals. A win would see them top the group and possibly face Portugal or Slovakia instead of Croatia. A defeat would leave them open to a final calculation of group results depending on the score and Lithuania’s result if the latter were also to win.
A positive result would leave Gibraltar with just the semi-finals to play to gain promotion into the second division, both teams reaching the final guaranteed a promotion place.