Scotland face South Africa internationals in Dublin as Europeans edge ever closer


Scotland Women will play South Africa in a trio of rescheduled
fixtures in Dublin this weekend, following the postponement of the
matches originally planned to take place at Forthbank Stadium in
Stirling last week. The national side will play three capped
internationals against the South Africans from 29-31 July.

Gordon Shepherd names an identical squad of eighteen players to
that which competed at the FIH Champions Challenge I last month.
Reading starlet Laura Bartlett will claim her 50th international
cap for Scotland this weekend, whilst Milne Craig Clydesdale
Western striker Holly Cram will edge ever closer to joining captain
Linda Clement, Louise Baxter, Sam Judge and Vikki Bunce in gaining
100 international caps for their country.

The South African matches will provide the Scots with vital
preparations ahead of the important EuroHockey Nations Championship
II competition in Poznan, Poland, where Scotland will be targeting
promotion back to the top European division in 2013. The
competition takes place between 8-14 August.

Discussing the matches against South Africa, Gordon Shepherd, Head
Coach, said:

“We had the perfect programme in place before last week’s
postponement of the planned matches against South Africa, so we
were eager to reschedule these matches, particularly given the high
quality of the opposition. We’ve pulled out all the stops to get to
Dublin and play at a neutral venue, as it is important for the
players to build a high level of performance going into the
European tournament in Poznan.

“The squad obviously had a fantastic result at the Champions
Challenge by winning the bronze medal, and to be honest, the
players probably hit a high level of performance slightly earlier
in the schedule than we’d anticipated. Therefore, we’ve adapted the
programme slightly to ensure that we continue to maintain this
performance level ahead of the Europeans. Results are not the most
important factor in the matches against South Africa; it’s getting
the players ready for competition conditions where we hope to make
an impact by pushing for promotion.”

The two sides recently met at the FIH Champions Challenge I last
month, when they played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the pool
stages of the competition, with Baxter and Nikki Kidd getting the
goals. Although the South Africans topped the group, it was the
Scots who went on to excel in the competition, winning the bronze
medal, whereas the South Africans could only manage a fifth place
finish following a quarter final loss in extra time to Spain.

Scotland Women: Abi Walker (Canterbury Ladies), Leigh Fawcett, Kat
Cameron, Louise Baxter, Linda Clement (c), Alison Bell, Alisa
Wylie, Nikki Kidd (all Grove Menzieshill), Amy Gibson, Catriona
Ralph, Sam Judge, Holly Cram, Morag McLellan (all Milne Craig
Clydesdale Western), Emily Maguire, Laura Bartlett (both Reading),
Vikki Bunce, Becky Ward (VWS Dundee Wanderers), Kareena Marshall
(Giffnock).

Scotland Women will play South Africa in a trio of
rescheduled fixtures in Dublin this weekend, following the
postponement of the matches originally planned to take place at
Forthbank Stadium in Stirling last week. The national side will
play three capped internationals against the South Africans from
29-31 July.

Gordon Shepherd names an identical squad of eighteen players to
that which competed at the FIH Champions Challenge I last month.
Reading starlet Laura Bartlett will claim her 50th international
cap for Scotland this weekend, whilst Milne Craig Clydesdale
Western striker Holly Cram will edge ever closer to joining captain
Linda Clement, Louise Baxter, Sam Judge and Vikki Bunce in gaining
100 international caps for their country.

The South African matches will provide the Scots with vital
preparations ahead of the important EuroHockey Nations Championship
II competition in Poznan, Poland, where Scotland will be targeting
promotion back to the top European division in 2013. The
competition takes place between 8-14 August.

Discussing the matches against South Africa, Gordon Shepherd,
Head Coach, said:

“We had the perfect programme in place before last week’s
postponement of the planned matches against South Africa, so we
were eager to reschedule these matches, particularly given the high
quality of the opposition. We’ve pulled out all the stops to get to
Dublin and play at a neutral venue, as it is important for the
players to build a high level of performance going into the
European tournament in Poznan.

“The squad obviously had a fantastic result at the Champions
Challenge by winning the bronze medal, and to be honest, the
players probably hit a high level of performance slightly earlier
in the schedule than we’d anticipated. Therefore, we’ve adapted the
programme slightly to ensure that we continue to maintain this
performance level ahead of the Europeans. Results are not the most
important factor in the matches against South Africa; it’s getting
the players ready for competition conditions where we hope to make
an impact by pushing for promotion.”

The two sides recently met at the FIH Champions Challenge I last
month, when they played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the pool
stages of the competition, with Baxter and Nikki Kidd getting the
goals. Although the South Africans topped the group, it was the
Scots who went on to excel in the competition, winning the bronze
medal, whereas the South Africans could only manage a fifth place
finish following a quarter final loss in extra time to Spain.

Scotland Women: Abi Walker (Canterbury Ladies),
Leigh Fawcett, Kat Cameron, Louise Baxter, Linda Clement (c),
Alison Bell, Alisa Wylie, Nikki Kidd (all Grove Menzieshill), Amy
Gibson, Catriona Ralph, Sam Judge, Holly Cram, Morag McLellan (all
Milne Craig Clydesdale Western), Emily Maguire, Laura Bartlett
(both Reading), Vikki Bunce, Becky Ward (VWS Dundee Wanderers),
Kareena Marshall (Giffnock).

Match Schedule:
29 July, 18.00: Scotland vs. South Africa
30 July, 14.30: Scotland vs. South Africa
31 July, 09.00: Scotland vs. South Africa

Location:

University College Dublin, Dun Laoghaire
Rathdown, Co. Dublin City, Ireland

 

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