Scotland U18 Girls beat Ireland to secure seventh spot

A 2-0 victory saw Scotland U18 Girls beat Ireland to finish seventh at the U18 EuroHockey Championships, and secure vital ranking points for the future.

Scotland played their best half of the tournament in the first half, and were excellent in the press; winning turnovers and enjoying good possession.

The effort paid off when Lucy MacMillan made the breakthrough in the second quarter to put Scotland 1-0 up. The Scots stole the ball and worked it to Cat Nelli on the bassline who picked out MacMillan at the far post for the finish.

Having played six games in a week, the Scots were always going to tire, and Ireland came out fighting in the second half. They found a very capable Scots deep defence, and goalkeepers Lucy Harris and Ruby Crawford in top form.

Despite the Irish stronghold, it would be Scotland who scored next. The ball was zipped along the D for Cara Falconer to strike on the reverse, and double Scotland’s lead midway through the third quarter. 2-0.

Ireland took off their goalkeeper for the final quarter and threw everything at Scotland. Harris made some quite tremendous saves to keep them at bay, and it was Scotland’s day as they held on for a deserved 2-0 win.

Head Coach Kelly Fillingham said, “We’ve played six games this week, more games than other teams, and the players were really tired. We knew we’d be under the cosh in the second half due to fatigue, so we had to start strong, and we were brilliant in the first half.

“The effort in the second half was fantastic, and our goalkeepers were exceptional. We wanted to finish the tournament on a high, and get some ranking points for the next U18s group coming through, so we’re delighted to finish up with such a good 2-0 win.”

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