Watsonians advance to the quarter-finals on their EHL debut

WATSONIANS 6    RAILWAY UNION (IRELAND) 1

Watsonians made a dream debut to the women`s EuroHockey League Final 12 today with an impressive and historic 6-1 win over Irish champions Railway Union. Now they will be up against Dutch hosts `s-Hertogenbosch – a win here would be quite something.

Watsonians seemed to show no baptismal nerves in their opening assignment at the elite EuroHockey League Final 12 in the Netherlands as they advanced to a 4-1 half-time lead over Railway Union.

Certainly the Scots had to survive two penalty corner scares in the opening minutes but soon had their noses in front with an opening strike from Jenna Park. Just before the end of the first period Scotland international striker Sarah Jamieson doubled their tally, also from open play.

But the Irish got one back early in the second quarter, after a series of three penalty corners Niamh Gowing finally found the net. Within seconds the Scottish champions were awarded a penalty and captain Katherine Holdgate promptly converted from the spot for a 3-1 lead. Then in an overtime penalty corner Emily Dark added a fourth for a very satisfying first half for Watsonians.

Watsonians weren`t tempted to relax, instead they advanced their tally to 5-1 through Milly Berndes-Cade, and that is how it stood at the end of the third quarter although Railway Union did have several penalty corner chances, but no goals. For good measure the same player added a sixth in the final quarter to complete a strong performance by the Scottish champions.

Watsonians` coach Keith Smith evaluated the team`s performance, “Some elements of our performance were very good today – particularly in front of goal and our PCD. I think most pleasing though was how well we covered for each other – and how hard we were willing to work to do so. That was important because it gave us a platform from which to manage the game, and to deliver in the moments it mattered most.”

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