French defeat sets up Chinese test in quarter-finals for Scotland

Scotland continue their torrid time in the
Champions Challenge in Lille when they lost 3-2 to France in the
final pool match yesterday, this leaves the Scots rooted  to
the bottom of the group with no points and an ominous quarter final
tie against the undefeated China from the other pool on
Thursday.
Both sides had their own agendas for this crucial
last pool match, the Scots only needed to win to leapfrog Russia
into third place, with an easier tie against Czech Republic in the
quarter finals as the reward, while the French required a four goal
win to displace Ireland at the top of the pool.  In the end,
with this scoreline neither side achieved their objective.
The early exchanges were fairly even with only half
chances available to either side.  But with two minutes to go
in the half Fergus Dunn opened the scoring for the Scots with a
drag flick into the roof of the net from a penalty corner.
After the interval the Scots had chances to go
ahead but both Chris Grassick and Kenny Bain failed to convert.
 Then the French turned the screw and sailed into a 3-1 lead
through strikes from Tom Genestet, Lucas Sevestre and Matthiew
Catonnet.   With twelve minutes remaining Russell Garcia`s
charges pulled one back with a low flick from Dan Coultas that flew
past the French goalkeeper at a penalty corner.  As the Scots
pressed for an equaliser, Iain Scholefield and captain Graham
Moodie drove into the French circle but failed to create a scoring
opportunity.

Scotland Men continued their Champions Challenge II
campaign with a 3-2 defeat to hosts France in Lille.

As a result, Scotland have finished bottom of Pool B and face a
difficult quarter final on Thursday morning against Pool A winners
China, who remain unbeaten in the competition after three
matches.

Both sides had their own agenda for this crucial last pool
match; the Scots only needed to win to leapfrog Russia into third
place, with an easier tie against Czech Republic in the quarter
finals as the reward, while the French required a four goal win to
displace Ireland at the top of the pool.  In the end, with the
final scoreline, neither side achieved their objective.

The early exchanges were fairly even with only half chances
available to either side. But with two minutes to go in the
half Fergus Dunn opened the scoring for the national side with a
drag flick into the roof of the net from a penalty corner and take
a narrow lead into the half time break.

After the interval, there was chances to go ahead with both
Chris Grassick and Kenny Bain going close.

However, the French turned the screw and sailed into a 3-1 lead
through strikes from Tom Genestet, Lucas Sevestre and Matthiew
Catonnet.

With twelve minutes remaining, Russell Garcia`s charges pulled
one back with a low flick from Dan Coultas that flew past the
French goalkeeper at a penalty corner.

As the Scots pressed for an equaliser, Iain Scholefield and
captain Graham Moodie drove into the French circle but
unfortunately the French closed the danger, and ultimately the
match out.

For fixtures, results and pool standings, please visit the FIH Champions Challenge II website.

 

 

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