Scotland draw with Croatia and lose to Sweden on Day 2 of indoor Euros

A draw with Croatia and a defeat to Sweden sees Scotland in third spot on day 2 in Pool C of Women’s EuroHockey Championship II.

Scotland are out to win their final match of the tournament when they play Lithuania tomorrow to ensure a top two spot in the Pool.

Croatia 1-1 Scotland

Scotland drew with Croatia in their final Pool B match of Women’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship II in Brussels on day 2. The result meant the Scots finished third in the Pool and go into Pool C with Sweden, Lithuania and Wales and play to avoid relegation to the third tier of European indoor hockey.

The first half ended goalless despite Scotland completely dominating the play. The Scots had all the ball with Croatia looking to counter.

The Scots had to wait until the second half before opening the scoring. Vikki Bunce was on target with the vital strike to put Scotland into a 1-0 lead.

It nearly went to 2-0 shortly after the Bunce strike but Scotland couldn’t make the most of a penalty opportunity to compound the lead.

Croatia opened up in the closing stages of the match and they were rewarded with a goal. Somin Anamarija equalised for Croatia on 36 minutes to level the scores.

Scotland needed a goal to secure second place in the table so played Katie Stott as kicking back for the final four minutes of the match.

An injury to Louise Campbell didn’t help matters – a dislocated shoulder looks to have put her out for the rest of the tournament.

The Scots had two over time corners but couldn’t find the back of the net. The first appeared to have been stopped by a foot on the line, while the second resulted in a Scottish mis-trap.

In the end Croatia held on for the draw, and will enter the battle for promotion, while Scotland will face Sweden next on day 2 in Pool C before facing Lithuania tomorrow.

The Scots carry three points over into the next phase for their previous victory over Wales.

Scotland Indoor Head Coach Chris Anderson said, “We’re disappointed – the girls worked really hard but experience was the difference. We controlled the game, and deserved to win, but just lacked experience.

“We’ll play Sweden next, who are not unlike Croatia in that they’ll sit back and look to hit us on the break. If we learn from the experience of this game, and cut out simple errors, then we have a great chance of taking the win.”

Scotland women’s Euro indoor championship squad selected
Photo by John Preece

Sweden 2-1 Scotland

A late comeback by Scotland was not enough to prevent a Sweden victory in the first match of Pool C on day 2 in Women’s Indoor Championship II.

It was a dominant performance from the off by Scotland who nearly found the net in the opening ten seconds.

Scotland dominated possession and Sweden attempted to hit the Scots on the counter attack, although their opportunities were few. It was on a counter attack when Sweden took the lead midway through the first half – Emilia Fantini hit the net in the 11th minute of the match.

The pattern of play continued into the second half with Scotland creating chances to score. Emily Dark hit the post and Susan Hamilton was unlucky not to convert a chance arriving at the far post.

The contest swung greatly in Sweden’s favour when Klara Moberg made it 2-0 on another counter attack in the 31st minute of the match.

Scotland played Katie Stott at kicking back for the final five minutes and was instantly rewarded with a goal. Dark was on target to pull the score back to 2-1 with four minutes remaining. It was a delightful finish by the striker, taking the ball on the penalty sport and scoring on her reverse stick.

Scotland hammered at the Swedish defence for the final few minutes but couldn’t find an equalising goal.

Scotland women’s indoor Head Coach Chris Anderson said, “This performance was significant progress by the team, we were excellent but just couldn’t score. We hammered Sweden and lost 2-1 – I’m proud despite the loss.

“We’ve set a new benchmark with that performance and we’ll be looking for more of the same against Lithuania tomorrow. We’re going for the win and another big performance.”

Fixtures

19 Jan 2018

11:20 – Scotland 5-0 Wales

18:30 – Scotland 0-5 Belgium

 

20 Jan 2018

10:20 – Croatia 1-1 Scotland

16:40 – Sweden 2-1 Scotland

 

21 Jan 2018

09:00 – Scotland v Lithuania

 

More information

More details can be found on the EuroHockey website.

To find out more about Scotland international players, click HERE.

Scotland women’s Euro indoor championship squad selected

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