U21 Women battle Wales to earn 3-3 draw
Scotland U21 Women entered Phase 2 of the U21 Eurohockey Championships today. The pressure was on to win to confirm their place in the top 6 and avoid relegation.
In a dramatic encounter with Wales, Scotland produced a huge comeback from a loss at half time to earn a 3-3 draw.
Despite a strong start from Scotland with majority of possession, Wales took the lead on their first attacking effort leading to a penalty corner goal and the ball unfortunately found its way through Scottish defense very early on. The remainder of the half continued under Welsh control, with a second goal coming from a long corner and taking the score to 2-0.
After half time, the Scottish found their groove, and Ava Wadsworth responded to the Welsh lead with the first goal for Scotland, a reverse stick shot that flew in off the post. Scotland continued the scoring streak with a well worked penalty corner that saw the ball return to the injector, with Mhairi Low firing a powerful strike straight into the roof of the net. The score at Q3 was equalised at 2-2.
Wales bought energy into the final quarter by working an arial straight into the circle that took the Scottish defence by surprise, ending in a frustrating moment for Scotland where they found themselves back in a deficit.
Scotland continued to push, and were rewarded by a straight slap from Wadsworth that ended straight in the bottom corner, seeing Scotland equalise once again. They pressed to try and find that winning goal, but could not find the opportunity. A late strike appeared to have secured victory for the Scots, but after review the goal was correctly ruled out.
The match finished 3-3, and leaves Scotland facing pressure as they head into their final game tomorrow against Ireland. Scotland must win to remain in the A-division of the championship and avoid relegation.
Gavin Byers, Head Coach, said: “We have the exact same task ahead of us tomorrow. It’s important that we recover, get prepped for the Ireland game. It’s win or bust. Big game ahead, and I’m confident that after all the lessons we have learned this week that we’ll get it right tomorrow and put in a good performance that gets us the win”.
Follow the game on the Scottish Hockey Instagram or Facebook as we post live scores!
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