Scotland U21s lose Four Nations opener against Ireland

Scotland U21 Men opened their Four Nations Tournament account with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of hosts Ireland in Newtownabbey earlier this afternoon.
Glynhill Kelburne’s Jack McKenzie secured the Scottish consolation goal ten minutes into the second half, in an otherwise disappointing result for the young Scots.
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Despite holding the home side at bay for the first twenty-five minutes of the match, Scotland found themselves 3-0 down at half-time following two quick-fire goals from the Irish.
In the 25th minute, Matthew Bell registered the opening goal from a penalty corner, dispatching the ball past Sean Hadfield in the Scottish goal.
Hadfield then denied Bell with two top class saves immediately after, before Kirk Shimmins found a way past the Scottish goalkeeper to double Ireland’s advantage in the 28th minute.
Six minutes later, Scotland were penalised inside the Irish circle after good work from Jake Wright and Shimmins stepped forward to beat Hadfield from the penalty spot and leave Moodie’s side with an uphill task to get back into the match, trailing 3-0 at the interval.
Nevertheless, Scotland pulled themselves back into the contest in the 45th minute when Jack McKenzie found the back of Ben McMillan’s net with the away side’s first goal to reduce the deficit to two.
Any chance of a comeback was put beyond Scotland’s reach in the 51st minute, however, as home captain finished past Hadfield after good work by Johnny McKee to make it 4-1. Three minutes later, Ireland were home and dry after Jamie Wright deflected home a Bell drag-flick at the back post to leave the final score 5-1.
Scotland now face Germany tomorrow at 17.00.
For more information please visit the Irish Hockey website.

Scotland U21 Men opened their Four Nations Tournament account with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of hosts Ireland in Newtownabbey earlier this afternoon.

Glynhill Kelburne’s Jack McKenzie secured the Scottish consolation goal ten minutes into the second half, in an otherwise disappointing result for the young Scots.

Following the match, Scotland U21 Men Head Coach Graham Moodie said, “For the forst twenty-five minutes we competed with Ireland, and we had three or four chances to take the lead early on. However, ten minutes with lapses in concentration led to us going into the half-time break three goals down, which really killed us.

“We scored early in the second half, which I thought would give us some more momentum but Ireland responded well. I’m disappointed but this is a fairly young side so there is lots for the players to learn from.”

Despite holding the home side at bay for the first twenty-five minutes of the match, Scotland found themselves 3-0 down at half-time following two quick-fire goals from the Irish.

In the 25th minute, Matthew Bell registered the opening goal from a penalty corner, dispatching the ball past Sean Hadfield in the Scottish goal.

Hadfield then denied Bell with two top class saves immediately after, before Kirk Shimmins found a way past the Scottish goalkeeper to double Ireland’s advantage in the 28th minute.

Six minutes later, Scotland were penalised inside the Irish circle after good work from Jake Wright and Shimmins stepped forward to beat Hadfield from the penalty spot and leave Moodie’s side with an uphill task to get back into the match, trailing 3-0 at the interval.

Nevertheless, Scotland pulled themselves back into the contest in the 45th minute when Jack McKenzie found the back of Ben McMillan’s net with the away side’s first goal to reduce the deficit to two.

Any chance of a comeback was put beyond Scotland’s reach in the 51st minute, however, as home captain finished past Hadfield after good work by Johnny McKee to make it 4-1. Three minutes later, Ireland were home and dry after Jamie Wright deflected home a Bell drag-flick at the back post to leave the final score 5-1.

Scotland now face Germany tomorrow at 17.00. “The match against Germany is an opportunity for the players to play against the world champions,” said Moodie. “It’s not often that chance comes around so the experience, more than the result, is the important thing for the team.”

For more information please visit the Irish Hockey website.

 

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