Scotland U18 Girls off to a good start against Poland

Following on from a recent series win against their Welsh counterparts, Scotland U18 Women faced Poland at Uddingston in the first of three test matches.

Photo by Mark Pugh

It was the visitors who started brightest, showing some neat individual skills as they threatened the Scottish defence in the early stages. They were rewarded with a couple of penalty corners, and it took a smart save by Rachel Strachan in the Scots goal to divert a deflected strike past the post from the first attempt. From the second shortly after, it was Kathryn Meenan who came to the Scots rescue with a vital goalline block to deny the Poles the opener. Cailin Hart then made a brave block to deflect a shot wide.

In a scrappy first half, Scotland failed to find any real rhythm and as the match progressed both sides struggled to bring any fluidity to their play. Towards the end of the half however, the home side managed to fashion some chances of their own as they fought their way back into the game. First a penalty corner opportunity was sent wide by Margery Justice. Then, Erin Stevens found space in the circle but the chance was quickly snuffed out by the onrushing keeper. Soon after, Eve Pearson found herself through one on one but she too was thwarted by the Polish keeper, before Jenny Walls showed neat footwork to get a quick shot away which was also well saved.

Scotland started the second half on the front foot and slowly started to take control of the game. Georgia Smith’s smart deflection went inches wide, while Eve Pearson twice came close to scoring after good work from Kirsten Cannon down the right hand side. As the Scots turned the screw, they started to move the ball much more intelligently, stretching the Polish defence and creating plenty of space to attack. Georgia Jones and Erin Stevens then both had reverse stick efforts saved by the goalie before Lexi Sabatelli drew yet another good save from the Polish keeper with an improvised volley. At the other end, Poland’s only real chance came from a reverse stick shot that flashed narrowly wide.

As the game moved into the final quarter, Scotland finally made the breakthrough at a penalty corner, as Emily Dark dispatched a well-taken drag flick into the side netting. The young Scots continued to harass the Polish defence, and after a succession of turnovers high up the pitch, they eventually got their reward with 5 minutes to go. Georgia Jones robbed the Polish full-back near the baseline and squared the ball to Lexi Sabatelli who squeezed it home.

“The girls showed resilience to battle their way back into the game after a nervous start, and I’m pleased at how we managed the game in the second half,” said Head Coach Keith Smith. “Despite not being anywhere near our best, we still created plenty of opportunities to score against a tricky opponent. The challenge now for the group is to raise our levels of consistency while continuing to develop our understanding of our principles of play, and how to implement them, over the remaining matches in the series”

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