Scots in optimistic mood ahead of weekend World League matches

There is definitely a buzz about the Scotland camp after yesterday’s dramatic penalty shoot-out win over the USA in the FIH World League Round 2 in Rio.
Scotland Women Head Coach Gordon Shepherd said, “I was delighted with the performance yesterday.   The lack of recovery time compared to the Americans from the previous day was a worry going into the game, but it was Scotland that were running hard at the end of the game.   The Scottish girls are the fittest here.”
The national side now sit second in the pool standings, one point behind Chile but the Chileans still have to play USA tomorrow and Scotland on Sunday, by far their toughest two matches. Crucially, the Scots are a point ahead of the Americans and that could prove vital on the final day.
“We are in a good position to qualify for round three of the World League, but there is still a lot of work to be done”, said Shepherd. “We still need to beat Chile as any two from three can still qualify by simply winning their games, so we have to be well prepared and professional.
“I am confident we can take the six points, but our opposition are both capable teams and we will give them the respect they deserve.”
Shepherd is too long in the tooth to take victory for granted, even against tomorrow’s opponents Uruguay, a side 50th in the world rankings. Uruguay have already lost to both USA and Chile, but they picked up their first three points in a 6-1 demolition of Trinidad & Tobago.  They certainly belie their lowly ranking and are dangerous going forward, but Shepherd will have measures in place to counter that threat.
The crucial game tomorrow is the head to head between USA and Chile, and any result here is bound to benefit the Scotland cause.   USA, favourites for the tournament, cannot afford defeat, which would almost certainly put them out of the coveted top two qualifying places.   Alternatively, if Chile were to lose, Scotland would probably only need a draw against the South Americans to progress.
But such permutations are not really in the mind of Shepherd, he believes that Scotland`s destiny is very much in their own hands, “The girls are very motivated to win this tournament and will give everything they have to achieve this.”

There is definitely a buzz about the Scotland camp after yesterday’s dramatic penalty shoot-out win over the USA in the FIH World League Round 2 in Rio.

Scotland Women Head Coach Gordon Shepherd said, “I was delighted with the performance yesterday.   The lack of recovery time compared to the Americans from the previous day was a worry going into the game, but it was Scotland that were running hard at the end of the game.   The Scottish girls are the fittest here.”

Linda Clement vs. USA FIHWLR2

The national side now sit second in the pool standings, one point behind Chile but the Chileans still have to play USA tomorrow and Scotland on Sunday, by far their toughest two matches. Crucially, the Scots are a point ahead of the Americans and that could prove vital on the final day.

“We are in a good position to qualify for round three of the World League, but there is still a lot of work to be done”, said Shepherd. “We still need to beat Chile as any two from three can still qualify by simply winning their games, so we have to be well prepared and professional.

“I am confident we can take the six points, but our opposition are both capable teams and we will give them the respect they deserve.”

Nikki Kidd/Holly Cram vs. USA FIHWLR2

Shepherd is too long in the tooth to take victory for granted, even against tomorrow’s opponents Uruguay, a side 50th in the world rankings. Uruguay have already lost to both USA and Chile, but they picked up their first three points in a 6-1 demolition of Trinidad & Tobago.  They certainly belie their lowly ranking and are dangerous going forward, but Shepherd will have measures in place to counter that threat.

The crucial game tomorrow is the head to head between USA and Chile, and any result here is bound to benefit the Scotland cause.   USA, favourites for the tournament, cannot afford defeat, which would almost certainly put them out of the coveted top two qualifying places.   Alternatively, if Chile were to lose, Scotland would probably only need a draw against the South Americans to progress.

But such permutations are not really in the mind of Shepherd, he believes that Scotland`s destiny is very much in their own hands, “The girls are very motivated to win this tournament and will give everything they have to achieve this.”

Scotland Huddle FIHWLR2

Please visit the FIH World League Round 2 website for more information on the match schedule, results and pool standings.

 

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