EuroHockey 2015 Preview: Scotland aiming to perform in London

 

The build-up to Scotland’s participating in the EuroHockey Nations Championship in London is now gathering pace, with Head Coach Gordon Shepherd and his players fully focussed on retaining their place in the continent’s premier competition over the course of the next nine days.
Ahead of tomorrow’s crunch match with England in Pool B, we preview the side’s preparations and chances.
The Build-Up
As a number of commentators have highlighted in the lead-up to the competition, Scotland have not had the advantage of competing in the recent World League Semi-Final tournaments.
Unlike many of the sides competing in London that featured in the International Hockey Federation (FIH) flag-ship competition earlier this summer, Scotland’s last official tournament outing was as far back as the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games over a year ago.
But it would take a brave soul to suggest that their preparations for EuroHockey 2015 have lacked anything in intensity and attention to detail.
A full-time performance programme funded by sportscotland has featured matches against Wales, Czech Republic, Germany and Spain, as well as numerous sessions focussed on skills, strength and conditioning, and match analysis during their training camps in Glasgow, Hamburg and Madrid this summer.
As a result, the Scots should have no fear going into the event and having defeated both Wales and Czech Republic comprehensively in home internationals, while also beating Germany and Spain, sides who sit higher in the FIH World Rankings, the target of retaining the ‘A’ Division status is more than achievable.
The Players
Having had to manage the loss of several high quality players to retirement following the Commonwealth Games, Head Coach Gordon Shepherd and his coaching team have set about their task of remoulding the side in a meticulous manner.
Players such as Louise Campbell, Fiona Bruce and Amy Brodie, who have had previous exposure to training and playing international matches with the Senior Women’s side in recent seasons, have all staked comprehensive claims to represent their country in a senior European competition for the first time and each player will bring a new dimension to the team.
Equally, Shepherd also can call upon a number of experienced heads to demonstrate their prowess at this level, including cap centurions Leigh Fawcett, Vikki Bunce, Nikki Kidd and Great Britain Olympian Emily Maguire, as well as defensive stalwarts Becky Ward, Kareena Marshall and Becky Merchant.
With Great Britain squad members Amy Gibson and Sarah Robertson also included, there is more than enough quality in this team to worry their opponents.
Speaking in today’s edition of the Herald, captain Leigh Fawcett said, “We’re feeling really good about this tournament. We had some good results in our warm-up matches but the biggest thing for me was the performances; we were really consistent and we competed with two teams that will be aiming for the top four at the Europeans.
“Our first target is to stay up in the A Division but after our performances in the last few weeks, I think it’s given us a new confidence and belief that we can aim for the top four. Italy is our target game but we’re also confident that we can put in a couple of good performances against England and Germany, so who knows what will come of that.”
The Opposition
Any sporting contest featuring Scotland versus England is bound to generate interest.
The two sides go head-to-head in the opening Pool B match tomorrow night knowing that the last two tournament clashes have ended in narrow defeats for the Scots, but also with a nagging realisation that their opponents were there for the taking.
On both occasions, the national side gave Danny Kerry’s side a two-goal start; any hopes of causing an upset in front of a home support will be dependent on avoiding a similar repeat on Saturday night.
Monday brings a match-up with the defending champions Germany. A 4-3 win in Hamburg was a real confidence booster for Scotland but there is no doubt that the Germans will be a tough proposition next week.
The final pool B encounter is with Italy in an early afternoon push-back next Wednesday. While the Scots will be targeting maximum points, the Italians recently demonstrated reasonable results in the World League Semi-Final and could provide an upset within the group.
Prediction
It is highly likely that the Scots will need two wins from the Pool to qualify for the semi-finals; a tough task against two of Europe’s most consistent teams at in this context. But an upset is definitely within their capabilities.
Should they find themselves in the classification matches, then the pressure to retain their place in the top European division will increase markedly. But it is an achievement they met two years ago in Boom.
So, likely outcome? A difficult assignment ahead but hopefully a top 6 finish and a place in the championships for 2017

With no less than 24 hours to go until their first match, the build-up to Scotland’s participation in the EuroHockey Nations Championship in London is reaching a crescendo

Head Coach Gordon Shepherd and his players are fully focussed on retaining their place in the continent’s premier competition over the next nine days and ahead of tomorrow’s crunch match with England in Pool B, we preview the side’s preparations and chances.

ScoW_Cze_ 102

The Build-Up

As a number of commentators have highlighted in the lead-up to the competition, Scotland have not had the advantage of competing in the recent World League Semi-Final tournaments.

Unlike many of the sides competing in London that also featured in the International Hockey Federation (FIH) flag-ship competition earlier this summer, Scotland’s last official tournament outing was as far back as the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games over a year ago.

But it would take a brave soul to suggest that their preparations for EuroHockey 2015 have lacked anything in intensity and attention to detail.

A sportscotland funded full-time performance programme this summer has featured matches against Wales, Czech Republic, Germany and Spain, as well as numerous sessions focussed on skills, strength and conditioning, and match analysis during their training camps in Glasgow, Hamburg and Madrid.

As a result, the Scots should have no fear going into the event and having defeated both Wales and Czech Republic comprehensively in home internationals, while also beating Germany and Spain, sides who sit higher in the FIH World Rankings, the target of retaining ‘A’ Division status is more than achievable.

ScoW_Czech_ 222

The Players

Having had to manage the loss of several high quality players to retirement following the Commonwealth Games, Head Coach Gordon Shepherd and his coaching team have set about their task of remoulding the side in a meticulous manner.

Players such as Louise Campbell, Fiona Bruce and Amy Brodie, who have had previous exposure to training and playing international matches with the Senior Women’s side in recent seasons, have all staked comprehensive claims to represent their country in a senior European competition for the first time and each player will bring a new dimension to the team.

ScoW_Czech_ 229

Equally, Shepherd also can call upon a number of experienced heads to demonstrate their prowess at this level, including cap centurions Leigh Fawcett, Vikki Bunce, Nikki Kidd and Great Britain Olympian Emily Maguire, as well as defensive stalwarts Becky Ward, Kareena Marshall and Becky Merchant.

With Great Britain squad members Amy Gibson and Sarah Robertson also included, there is more than enough quality in this team to worry their opponents.

10557581_781970645192733_3874984453580023784_o

Speaking in Friday’s edition of the Herald, captain Leigh Fawcett said, “We’re feeling really good about this tournament. We had some good results in our warm-up matches but the biggest thing for me was the performances; we were really consistent and we competed with two teams that will be aiming for the top four at the Europeans.

“Our first target is to stay up in the A Division but after our performances in the last few weeks, I think it’s given us a new confidence and belief that we can aim for the top four. Italy is our target game but we’re also confident that we can put in a couple of good performances against England and Germany, so who knows what will come of that.”

Scotland Senior Women: Amy Brodie, Leigh Fawcett, captain (both Grove Menzieshill), Fiona Bruce, Ali Howie, Susan McGilveray, Nicki Skrastin (all Clydesdale Western), Louise Campbell, Nikki Cochrane, Becky Merchant (all Edinburgh University), Vikki Bunce, Becky Ward (both Dundee Wanderers), Aileen Davis (Clifton), Amy Gibson (Slough), Nikki Kidd (Mannheimer), Nikki Lloyd (Wimbledon), Emily Maguire (Reading), Kareena Marshall (Western Wildcats), Sarah Robertson (Holcolme)

The Opposition

Any sporting contest featuring Scotland versus England is bound to generate interest.

The two sides go head-to-head in the opening Pool B match tomorrow night knowing that the last two tournament clashes have ended in narrow defeats for the Scots, but also with a nagging realisation that their opponents were there for the taking.

On both occasions, the national side gave Danny Kerry’s side a two-goal start; any hopes of causing an upset in front of a home support will be dependent on avoiding a similar repeat against the hosts on Saturday night.

10497022_781970835192714_2295744232740535471_o

Monday brings a match-up with the defending champions Germany. A 4-3 win in Hamburg was a real confidence booster for Scotland but there is no doubt that the Germans will be a tough proposition next week.

The final pool B encounter is with Italy in an early afternoon push-back next Wednesday. While the Scots will be targeting maximum points, the Italians recently demonstrated reasonable results in the World League Semi-Final and could provide an upset within the group.

Prediction

It is highly likely that the Scots will need two wins from the Pool to qualify for the semi-finals; a tough task against two of Europe’s most consistent teams in these championships. But it is an outcome that it is definitely within their capabilities.

Should they find themselves in the classification matches however, then the pressure to retain their place in the top European division will increase markedly. But it is an achievement they met two years ago in Boom.

So, likely outcome? A difficult assignment ahead but hopefully a top 6 finish and a place in the championships for 2017.

ScotW_Czech_ 05

Match Schedule:

Saturday 22 August

Scotland v England (18.15)

Monday 24 August

Scotland v Germany (17.15)

Wednesday 26 August

Scotland v Italy (13.15)

How to follow & support Scotland

Live Coverage

BBC will provide live coverage of Scotland’s three pool matches on TV via BBC Red Button, online via BBC Sport website and streamed via their free BBC Sport smartphone app.

Social Media

Scottish Hockey will be tweeting live updates from its own Twitter account @ScottishHockey

You can also follow the team and their news via their Twitter account @SCOhockeywomen

And follow the official EuroHockey 2015 account for news, results, and updates from London @EuroHockey2015

Match images will be posted on Scottish Hockey’s Facebook account following each match.

Website

Visit the official EuroHockey 2015 website for information on the competition.

Match reports will be posted following each match on the Scottish Hockey website

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