Scotland and Ireland battle out a draw in EuroHockey Championships

Scotland v Ireland test match, November 2016 Photo – John Preece

Scotland and Ireland women battled out a goalless draw in RABO EuroHockey Championship 2017 in Amsterdam. The result sees both sides equal on one point and goal difference after two games with Scotland facing England in their next game.

The first chance of the match fell for Ireland; a loose pass allowed Deirdre Duke to shoot at goal but Amy Gibson was equal to it and saved well with her feet.

Scotland settled into the match and good pressure by the Scots saw a cut-back by Kate Holmes blocked by the Ireland goalkeeper, as Scots attackers lined up to finish the move off.

Ireland enjoyed some good possession at the start of the second quarter but found the Scots defence very compact and difficult to break down.

The Irish were then awarded a penalty corner, the injection was bobbly and mis-trapped and allowed the Scots defence to deal with the danger well.

Then as the half neared a conclusion a spin and pass by Ireland’s Duke just evaded the diving Sinead Loughran in the Scottish circle.

Some great running down the right by Millie Brown won a penalty corner for Scotland early in the second half. The resulting routine saw Nikki Lloyd come close at the far post after a nice dummy in the build-up to create the chance, but it bounced wide of the mark.

Then a penalty corner was awarded to Ireland after a bobbly ball into the Scotland D ricochet off a foot. The danger was averted by a brilliant block from the penalty corner by Ali Howie. Howie charged out at full pace to bravely block the smash with her stick.

Scotland women line-up ahead of the Euros versus France. Photo – Duncan Gray

As the quarter drew to a close more brilliant running by Brown, this time down the left, created an opportunity for Scotland but the ball was swept clear at the far post.

Ireland won a penalty corner at the start of the fourth quarter and it was deflected wide of the Scotland top right corner. An excellent block on the line kept the Scotland clean sheet.

The some smart play by Sarah Robertson won a penalty corner for Scotland. The shot by Amy Costello was deflected into the air and Ireland escaped with the ball and won a penalty corner of their own. Somehow the ball stayed out of the Scotland net when the ball found Kathryn Mullan waiting at the far post to finish but it hit her foot and bounced clear.

Scotland pressed for a winner in the final minutes of the game but the match ended in a very even draw.

Scotland Head Coach Gordon Shepherd said, “It was a tough physical game, and we knew it would be, and it could have went either way. I think the draw was a fair result in the end. We played very well in the third quarter and could have taken advantage of being a player up in the fourth, but the girls gave it everything – I’m really proud of the players, nothing was left behind.

“We’re looking forward to the England game now. We’re playing a lot of Olympic gold medallists and it’ll be a very tough match, but we’re not scared of them and we’ll be well prepared and give it everything we have.”

Scotland’s Sarah Robertson said, “That was a match that could have went either way, we wanted the three points but a point is better than a defeat. It’s always a close game against England, we’ll recover well over the next 48 hours and give it everything we’ve got in the next match.”

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