All three Eurohockey Nations awards go to Danish players after  skilled performances

The women’s national indoor field hockey team may not have topped the group at the weekend’s Eurohockey Nations Trophy, but it swept the awards for best player, best goalkeeper and top goalscorer of the tournament.

Denmark qualified for the second-tier competition after a narrow victory over England in last year’s Challenge competition final and were determined to maintain their Trophy competition status.

Teams from the top and second tier competitions have a shot at a World Cup spot, but Denmark may need a few more seasons at its current second-tier status before presenting a credible challenge to European heavyweights such as Germany and The Netherlands.

Yet their first foray into Trophy territory did not go unnoticed, with youngster Matilde L. Christensen nabbing the top goalscorer spot with 20 goals by the end of the three-day tournament. She was also awarded player of the tournament for her efforts.

Likewise, keeper Mie Pedersen overcame a niggling injury to take the award for goalkeeper of the tournament, not least for her repetitive saves on numerous short corners.

The Danes opened their group games strongly, holding both the Czech Republic and Slovakia to 2-2 draws at half time, but were eventually worn down in each second half to lose 5-2 and 10-5 respectively.

Things picked up against the Italians in the third group game. The opposition had been relegated from top tier competition last year and did not seem to display much better form against the Danes. A nervous start to the first half saw Denmark trailing 2-1, but a second-half turnaround saw the young team reverse their fortunes and run away with a 7-3 victory.

With an average age of 19, the 12-member national squad faced the might of Russia in the play-offs. The physically stronger side provided no let-up to the Danes, but performances from both Christensen and Pedersen kept the Scandinavians in the game until an eventual Russia break saw an 8-5 loss added to the Danish tally.

A final day playoff against Portugal, who were soundly trounced 13-2 by the Danes, and a surprising Russian loss to the Italians, allowed Denmark to finish a respectable fifth out of eight in the competition and hang on to their Trophy spot for next year.

National coach Martin Olsen said he was extremely proud of the team’s effort and added that it would provide a good base for the young squad to build upon.

Team manager Tine Birch had also been approached by numerous other teams, who praised the talents of the young Danish squad.

‘Many people have stopped to ask me how we can send such young players to a European championship and how they can be so good,’ she said.