The Spanish team, made up of José Luis Ballester, Luis Masaveu, Javier Barcos, Jaime Montojo, Pablo Ereño and Pablo Alperi, as well as captain José Miguel Sagnier, official Pablo Fisas and coach Salvador Luna, has said goodbye to the 2024 European Team Championship, which was held at the Royal Park & Roveri (Turin, Italy), achieving an eighth place that feels like very little after falling to England by a clear score of 3.5 – 1.5.
Live scores Spain – England
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The English superiority began with the foursomes match, where Javier Barcos and Pablo Alperi could not overcome Matthew Dodd-Berry and Dominic Clemons, and fell by 3/2.
Subsequently, in the individual matches, the Spanish team only managed to secure one victory and one draw, compared to two wins for the English.
The Hispanic victory was achieved by Pablo Ereño, after beating Harley Smith by 1 up, and the tie was achieved by Luis Masaveu against Tyler Weaver, but the defeats of Luis Ballester against Jack Bigham by 1 up, and of Jaime Montojo against Will Hopkins by 3/1, gave the victory to the British team and, therefore, the seventh place.
The winning team of this 2024 European Team Championship was finally Sweden, who eliminated the Spanish team in the quarterfinals, after defeating the Netherlands 3-2 in the final.
Last-gasp defeat against Sweden
The first tie of the Match Play phase, the quarter-final, proved an insurmountable barrier for the Spanish team after losing to Sweden by a narrow 3-4 score. The match went to the Nordic side by small details and in the final moments of the day, with the last individual matches.
Much earlier, the day began with the two usual foursomes matches, where the results recorded did not allow any team to take the lead, as the Spanish and Swedish teams shared the victories, with one for each side.
José Luis Ballester and Jaime Montojo couldn't overcome Daniel Svard and Simon Hovdal and lost by a clear score of 5/4, while Luis Masaveu and Pablo Ereño beat Jacob Melin and Albert Hanson by 1up.
With the score tied, the always crucial singles matches arrived, where Javier Barcos and Luis Masaveu took the lead with victories against Lucas Augustsson and Algot Kleen by resounding scores of 4/3 and 3/2 respectively.
However, Spain did not manage to finish the match and the three remaining games gradually fell to the Swedish side, even though the Spaniards clung to a victory that would give them the mathematical triumph that never came, since José Luis Ballester lost to Daniel Svard by 2/1, and Pablo Ereño and Jaime Montojo fell to Jacob Melin and Albert Hanson respectively by the same result: 1up.
Spain couldn't beat France in the fight for fifth place
The clash between Spain and France for fifth and eighth place was expected to serve as a balm for the Spanish players after the defeat against Sweden in the quarterfinals, but the French team proved to be a tough nut to crack.
In fact, when the day was suspended due to a storm, only two of the four singles matches had finished, with mixed results for the Spanish squad, as Pablo Ereño beat Ugo Malcor by a score of 3/2 and Luis Masaveu fell to Bastien Amat by 2 up.
The other two matches, in which Jaime Montojo faced Paul Beauvy and Pablo Alperi faced Gaspar Gaudas, were tied, while the morning foursome went to the French side.
Then, in the resumption of the two postponed matches this Saturday, the Spanish team needed to win both to beat France, but only won one, Pablo Alperi's, by a score of 3/2, while Jaime Montojo fell in the first extra hole after finishing the 18 holes in a tie.
Final Results
1. Sweden
2. Netherlands
3. Germany
4. Estonia
5. France
6. Italy
7. England
8. Spain
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