Late Forsyth equaliser gives Scotland draw against Wales

 

Despite a superb double from striker Alan Forsyth, Scotland Senior Men were held to a 4-4 draw by Wales in the first of three international matches at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre this evening.
Captain Chris Grassick and Wei Adams were also on the scoresheet for the Scots, but goals from the visitors’ Rhodri Furlong, James Carson, Luke Hawker and Dale Hutchison ensured a share of the spoils at full-time.
Scotland took early control of the contest in the fifth minute when William Marshall’s long pass to Kenny Bain found the Scotland striker with space to power into the opposition circle. The former Kelburne forward’s cross was met by Wei Adams’ whose finish at the back post registered the opening goal.
Bain was proving to a thorn in the Welsh side in the early stages, again picking up a long-range pin-seeker from Marshall to fire a thunderous attempt on target, only for the unlucky Hamish Imrie to take a painful blow to the hip right as the ball careered towards goal.
Scottish hopes of a second goal were not to be denied for much longer however, Alan Forsyth’s close range finish giving his side a two-nil lead in the 18th minute.
Nevertheless, Wales’ regained composure shortly after to stun the Scots with two goals inside thirty seconds; Rhodri Furlong’s penalty corner drag-flick left Scotland goalkeeper David Forrester with no chance in the 22nd minute, before James Carson dragged the Welsh dragons level at 2-2 when his reverse stick shot fizzed past Forrester into the left corner.
Chances fell for both Dan Coultas and Adams before the half-time interval but the two sides went into the break level, with Wales perhaps the more satisfied with the scoreline after conceding a two goal advantage to Scotland.
The opening minutes of the second half saw captain Chris Grassick seize the initiative, having a goal disallowed in the 38th minute for an infringement, only for the Surbiton midfielder to make no mistake two minutes later, flicking the ball past Wales’ David Kettle from close range to restore his side’s lead at 3-2.
Frustration ensued for the natives only four minutes later when Luke Hawker squared the match up once again, getting the deftest of touches to turn the ball home past Forrester.
Grassick almost sealed his second goal, firing a shot on target from the right of the circle but Kettle blocked the ball with his foot, before the Wales’ ‘keeper denied Adams with a great save from a penalty corner drag-flick.
A gilt-edged opportunity was presented to Alan Forsyth in the 51st minute, but with the goal gaping the shot skewed agonisingly wide of the target.
With six minutes remaining, Wales stunned the home support by taking the lead for the first time in the contest. Furlong’s penalty corner strike was superbly saved by Forrester but Dale Hutchison followed up with a robust strike to make it 3-4.
It was left to Alan Forsyth to salvage Scottish pride just before full-time, collecting the ball on the left of the circle and gliding effortlessly along the baseline to squeeze the ball in between the near post and Kettle’s attempted save.
The two sides meet again tomorrow afternoon at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre with a 2pm pushback.

Despite a double from striker Alan Forsyth, Scotland Senior Men were held to a 4-4 draw by Wales in the first of three international matches at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre this evening.

Captain Chris Grassick and Wei Adams were also on the scoresheet for the Scots, but goals from the visitors’ Rhodri Furlong, James Carson, Luke Hawker and Dale Hutchison ensured a share of the spoils at full-time.

Scot M v Wales 04

(Wei Adams opened the scoring for Scotland /Photo Credit: Duncay Gray)

Scotland took early control of the contest in the fifth minute when William Marshall’s long pass to Kenny Bain found the Scotland striker with space to power into the opposition circle. The former Kelburne forward’s cross was met by Wei Adams’ whose finish at the back post registered the opening goal.

Bain was proving to a thorn in the Welsh side in the early stages, again picking up a long-range pin-seeker from Marshall to fire a thunderous attempt on target, only for the unlucky Hamish Imrie to take a painful blow to the hip right as the ball careered towards goal.

Scottish hopes of a second goal were not to be denied for much longer however, Alan Forsyth’s close range finish giving his side a two-nil lead in the 18th minute.

Nevertheless, Wales’ regained composure shortly after to stun the Scots with two goals inside thirty seconds; Rhodri Furlong’s penalty corner drag-flick left Scotland goalkeeper David Forrester with no chance in the 22nd minute, before James Carson dragged the Welsh dragons level at 2-2 when his reverse stick shot fizzed past Forrester into the left corner.

Chances fell for both Dan Coultas and Adams before the half-time interval but the two sides went into the break level, with Wales perhaps the more satisfied with the scoreline after conceding a two goal advantage to Scotland.

Scot M v Wales 02

(Kenny Bain on the front foot for Scotland Photo Credit: Duncay Gray)

The opening minutes of the second half saw captain Chris Grassick seize the initiative, having a goal disallowed in the 38th minute for an infringement, only for the Surbiton midfielder to make no mistake two minutes later, flicking the ball past Wales’ David Kettle from close range to restore his side’s lead at 3-2.

Frustration ensued for the natives only four minutes later when Luke Hawker squared the match up once again, getting the deftest of touches to turn the ball home past Forrester.

Grassick almost sealed his second goal, firing a shot on target from the right of the circle but Kettle blocked the ball with his foot, before the Wales’ ‘keeper denied Adams with a great save from a penalty corner drag-flick.

A gilt-edged opportunity was presented to Alan Forsyth in the 51st minute, but with the goal gaping the shot skewed agonisingly wide of the target.

With six minutes remaining, Wales stunned the home support by taking the lead for the first time in the contest. Furlong’s penalty corner strike was superbly saved by Forrester but Dale Hutchison followed up with a robust strike to make it 3-4.

It was left to Alan Forsyth to salvage Scottish pride just before full-time, collecting the ball on the left of the circle and gliding effortlessly along the baseline to squeeze the ball in between the near post and Kettle’s attempted save.

Scot M v Wales 06

(Alan Forsyth gets Scotland’s late equaliser. Photo Credit: Duncay Gray)

The two sides meet again tomorrow afternoon at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre with a 2pm pushback.

Earlier in the day, Scotland U16 Development side recorded an emphatic 4-1 win over Ulster.

Two goals from Fraser Calder, plus strikes from Jamie Golden and Kit Mackenzie gave the young Scots a winning scoreline.

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(Scotland U16 Development recorded a 4-1 win over Ulster Photo Credit: Duncay Gray)

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