EUROHOCKEY JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – DAY 1

CHALLENGING DAY IN GHENT

Scotland`s under-21 sides found the opening day at the EuroHockey Junior Championships in Ghent challenging. In the early afternoon the women went down 6-0 to a strong German outfit while later in the day the men were narrowly beaten 2-1 by England.

 

SCOTLAND 0 GERMANY 6 – WOMEN

It was perhaps not the result that head coach Neil Menzies was looking for in the opening pool match as his charges went down 6-0 to a very efficient German side today, and they are certainly one of the favourites for the tournament.

However, it makes Tuesday`s encounter with Ireland, who went down 5-1 to England in their opening match, crucial if the aspirations of maintaining a place among Europe`s elite and qualifying for the Junior World Cup are to remain a reality.

The Scots competed well in the first quarter and might have gone ahead at a breakaway when captain Lukjika Nyirenda advanced from the half-way to the German circle. However, she was met by the ‘keeper who was able to smother her scoring chance. The quarter ended goalless.

Although the Scots saw less of the ball in the second quarter, they maintained their discipline but succumbed to the lethal German penalty corner routine which saw Lisa Nolte and Lena Frerichs put them two up by the interval.

However, the Scots youngsters lost their way somewhat in the third quarter and conceded three further goals to penalty corners scored by Carlotta Sippel, Lilly Stoffelsma and Yara Mandel.  That knocked the stuffing out of Menzies` charges.

To their credit the Scots rallied and might have found the net but a shot from a narrow angle from Georgia Jones only hit the side board. The Germans did add another to their penalty corner tally with Stoffelsma getting her second of the match.

Head coach Neil Menzies said, “This was not a classic in terms of the scoreline but we competed with the Germans for much of the match. I thought we had a very good first quarter but gradually began to see less of the ball. We saw very little of the ball in the third quarter and lost three goals – and the heads went down.

“But to their credit the girls recovered their composure in the final quarter and we had a few chances, so it was encouraging to finish on a positive note.”

Despite losing six goals Neil had plenty of praise for ‘keepers Jess Buchanan who played for three quarters and Amber Murray who went between the posts for the last one – both made several good saves. Also mentioned in dispatches was defender Amy Salmon who had an outstanding game.

SCOTLAND 1 ENGLAND 2 – MEN

The first quarter was an even affair although just at the end Scotland ‘keeper Matt Taylor had to save from the spot to keep the scores level.

The Scots then shocked the English with the opening goal, Fraser Moran won the ball and entered into a two on one with Pete Caughey before the Grange striker fired the ball into the net.

However, just before the interval the English levelled through a penalty corner conversion by Conor Williamson.

The third quarter was also even, and the Scots had a penalty corner opportunity, but in the final minute Samuel Taylor put England 2-1 up through a set piece strike.

The Scots pressed for the equaliser but Fraser Heigh`s penalty corner effort went wide and another chance fell a-begging to Jacob Tweedie… but no equaliser materialised.

Head coach Graham Moodie said, “There is much to build on from this positive performance, I thought we defended well although did not create so much up front. But we managed to keep ourselves in the game and gave ourselves a chance to take something from it. I was pleased that we made a positive start to the tournament and we can take that into our next pool matches against Spain and Belgium.”

 

Recent posts:

Back to all news
Back to top