The match for fifth place in B Pool ended with a 2:0 win for the Cayman Islands. The evenly matched game could have gone either way.
Both France (0:5 against Lebanon) and the Cayman Islands (2:7 against Portugal) were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the B Pool. In round robin, the two teams had a close encounter, with the Cayman Islands team coming out on top. A close match was also expected in the placement match. And indeed it turned out to be one.
France was slightly more dominant in the first period and had the better opportunities. Benbekhti after just 30 seconds and Bornand, for example, failed to score from good finishing positions. The “Equipe tricolore” also missed to make the most of two powerplays despite some nice combinations. The Cayman Islands were rarely to be found in front of the French goal, but also had a few dangerous shots. The teams went into the first break goalless.
The spell was broken by the Cayman Islands less than two minutes into the middle period. Plamondon intercepted a ball from the French, which found its way to top scorer Starvert via a beautiful combination with Turner. Starvert skillfully netted with a direct shot to make it 1:0. The Cayman Islands team then failed to increase their lead when they were in powerplay – sometimes even with two plays more on the rink. They made up for this in the 38th minute. Plamondon outpaced the French defenders and slotted home alone in front of the opposing goalkeeper. A powerplay opportunity four minutes before the end of the game would have been the perfect chance for the “Equipe tricolore” to get back into the match. However, the slightly superior French could not take advantage of it.
All games of the Streethockey World Championships can also be watched on live stream at https://streethockeywc.asport.tv/.
