Hard luck story as Scotland lose opening EuroHockey 2015 match against England

 

Unibet EuroHockey Championships 2015 (W)
Pool B Result
England (Kate Richardson Walsh 10’, Helen Richardson-Walsh 20’) 2 – 1 Scotland (Kareena Marshall 3’)
It was a case of history repeating itself as Scotland Senior Women were once again narrowly defeated 2-1 by hosts England in the opening Pool B match of the EuroHockey Nations Championship in London this evening.
The Scots had powered into an early third minute lead when Kareena Marshall finished off a brilliant Scottish penalty corner set-play. However, first half goals from Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh ensured that the home side claimed the maximum three points.
The stats will say that England dominated possession but Scotland more than matched their opponents on the night, registering an equal number of shots on target and earning only one less penalty corner opportunity.
Similar efforts in their remaining matches will hopefully bring better fortune.
“Obviously disappointed with the result but not with the performance”, said Scotland Senior Women Head Coach Gordon Shepherd following the match.
“I can’t fault the girls’ commitment to try and win that game and sometimes you have to stand back and take reflection on how close we came to beating a team that has qualified for the Olympics and just won seven out of seven in World League 3. They are the in-form team in the world. It is a credit to every single player in the squad that we’re able to compete with teams like this.”
“We planned that first corner, we knew we’d score from it. The end of the second period and start of the third quarter caused us concern in terms of how we were dealing with how they were playing but the rest of the game was a much more even affair.”
“It won’t be a problem to pick ourselves up from this. We knew coming into this tournament that beating England and Germany would be difficult. The third game [against Italy] was our target game. The girls played well, they competed well. There will be no problem getting up for the game against Germany on Monday.”
Scotland started the encounter in the best possible fashion with the opening goal in the third minute. A penalty corner set-play was expertly executed when Nikki Kidd returned the ball to injector Sarah Robertson to fire a dangerous cross across the face of goal where Kareena Marshall dived in at the near post to divert the ball past England goalkeeper Maddie Hinch.
England responded in typically effusive fashion, forward Alex Danson producing the home side’s first attempt on goal with a reverse stick attempt in the seventh minute, while the defensive combination of Scotland captain Leigh Fawcett and Ali Howie prevented Lily Owsley from finding an attacking colleague in the scoring circle after dancing along the baseline.
Shortly after, Scotland goalkeeper Amy Gibson was called into action to block a penalty corner attempt as England began to assert their authority on the proceedings.
The home support were not left waiting for an England reply for much longer following a penalty corner award in the 10th minute. Captain Kate Richardson-Walsh underlined her prowess from the set-play, dispatching a fierce low drive through Gibson’s legs for the equalising goal.
Gibson came to Scotland’s rescue again after the start of second quarter, diving low to her right to save Owsley’s penalty corner.
But the shot-stopper could do nothing about England’s second goal when Owsley mesmerised the away side’s defence to reach the baseline and cut the ball back for Helen Richardson-Walsh to score from a couple of yards out.
On the occasion of her 200th international match, forward Vikki Bunce almost had cause for further celebration but Hinch was alert to repel attempts on goal from the Dundee Wanderers’ star shortly before half-time.
Helen Richardson-Walsh came close to a third English goal right on half-time but the ball narrowly missed the right-hand upright to the relief of the Scots.
A goalless but fiery third period featured efforts from Sophie Bray, before Nikki Lloyd was muscled out by two defenders as she tried to execute her shot on goal.  Gibson was on hand to beat Sam Quek’s penalty corner shot to safety shortly before the end of the quarter.
As the match entered its final stages, Danson almost connected with Owsley’s shot on goal but chances in front of goal were limited as legs tired towards the end of an intense battle.
With the final hooter sounding another narrow loss for the Scots, attention now turns to the second pool match against Germany on Monday.
Commenting on Vikki Bunce’s 200th international cap, coach Shepherd said, “An amazing player who is able to produce brilliant performances. Anyone who reaches their 200th international cap, and not counting her indoor and Great Britain caps, it is an amazing achievement and without doubt one of the best players who has ever pulled on the jersey for Scotland.”

Unibet EuroHockey Championships 2015 (W)

Pool B Result

England (Kate Richardson Walsh 10’, Helen Richardson-Walsh 20’) 2 – 1 Scotland (Kareena Marshall 3’)

It was a case of history repeating itself as Scotland Senior Women were once again narrowly defeated 2-1 by hosts England in the opening Pool B match of the EuroHockey Nations Championship in London this evening.

The Scots had powered into an early third minute lead when Kareena Marshall finished off a brilliant Scottish penalty corner set-play. However, first half goals from Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh ensured that the home side claimed the maximum three points.

150822 SCO ENG 10

(Scotland’s Kareena Marshall is delighted with the opening goal. Photo Credit; Ady Kerry)

The stats will say that England dominated possession but Scotland more than matched their opponents on the night, registering an equal number of shots on target and earning only one less penalty corner opportunity.

Similar efforts in their remaining matches will hopefully bring better fortune.

“Obviously disappointed with the result but not with the performance”, said Scotland Senior Women Head Coach Gordon Shepherd following the match.

“I can’t fault the girls’ commitment to try and win that game and sometimes you have to stand back and take reflection on how close we came to beating a team that has qualified for the Olympics and just won seven out of seven in World League 3. They are the in-form team in the world. It is a credit to every single player in the squad that we’re able to compete with teams like this.”

“We planned that first corner, we knew we’d score from it. The end of the second period and start of the third quarter caused us concern in terms of how we were dealing with how they were playing but the rest of the game was a much more even affair.”

“It won’t be a problem to pick ourselves up from this. We knew coming into this tournament that beating England and Germany would be difficult. The third game [against Italy] was our target game. The girls played well, they competed well. There will be no problem getting up for the game against Germany on Monday.”

Scotland started the encounter in the best possible fashion with the opening goal in the third minute.

A penalty corner set-play was expertly executed when Nikki Kidd returned the ball to injector Sarah Robertson to fire a dangerous cross across the face of goal where Kareena Marshall dived in at the near post to divert the ball past England goalkeeper Maddie Hinch.

150822 SCO ENG 11

(Sarah Roberston sends over the cross that led to Scotland’s goal. Photo Credit: Ady Kerry)

England responded in typically effusive fashion, forward Alex Danson producing the home side’s first attempt on goal with a reverse stick attempt in the seventh minute, while the defensive combination of Scotland captain Leigh Fawcett and Ali Howie prevented Lily Owsley from picking out an attacking colleague in the scoring circle after she found a dangerous position to cross from the baseline.

Shortly after, Scotland goalkeeper Amy Gibson was called into action to block a penalty corner attempt as England began to assert their authority on the proceedings.

The home support were not left waiting for a goal for much longer following a penalty corner award in the 10th minute. Captain Kate Richardson-Walsh underlined her prowess from the set-play, dispatching a fierce low drive through Gibson’s legs to net the equalising goal.

With England searching for a second goal, Gibson came to Scotland’s rescue again at the start of second quarter, diving low to her right to save Owsley’s penalty corner.

But the shot-stopper could do nothing to prevent the Scots going behind in the 20th minute when Owsley mesmerised the away side’s defence with a mazy run to reach the baseline and cut the ball back for Helen Richardson-Walsh to score from a couple of yards out.

On the occasion of her 200th international match, forward Vikki Bunce almost had cause for further celebration when she threatened to find an equaliser but Hinch was alert to repel attempts on goal from the Dundee Wanderers’ star shortly before half-time.

Helen Richardson-Walsh came close to a third English goal right on half-time but the ball narrowly missed the right-hand upright to the relief of the Scots.

150822 SCO ENG 06

(Scotland Goalkeeper Amy Gibson repels another England attack. Photo Credit: Ady Kerry)

A goalless but fiery third period featured efforts from England forward Sophie Bray, before Nikki Lloyd was muscled out by two English defenders as she tried to execute her shot on goal. Gibson was on hand to beat Sam Quek’s penalty corner shot to safety shortly before the end of the quarter.

As the match entered its final stages, Danson almost connected with Owsley’s shot on goal but chances in front of goal were limited as legs tired towards the end of an intense battle.

With the final hooter sounding another narrow loss for the Scots, attention now turns to the second pool match against Germany on Monday.

Commenting on Vikki Bunce’s 200th international cap, coach Shepherd said, “An amazing player who is able to produce brilliant performances. Anyone who reaches their 200th international cap, and not counting her indoor and Great Britain caps, it is an amazing achievement and without doubt one of the best players who has ever pulled on the jersey for Scotland.”

150822 SCO ENG 12 (1)

(Scotland Vikki Bunce is presented wth a momento for her 200th cap. Photo Credit: Ady Kerry)

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)

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

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