Scotland U18 Boys finish 6th at U18 EuroHockey Championships

Late drama saw Scotland and England U18 boys go to a shootout after a 2-2 draw, but England took the penalties win 2-1 meaning Scotland finished in a creditable 6th spot at the U18 EuroHockey Championships in Krefeld.

England got off to a great start and took the lead inside the first minute from a Jake Edwards penalty corner. Hamish Kinloch made a good save but Edwards was on hand to convert the rebound for 1-0.

By the end of the opening quarter Scotland found themselves 2-0 down. In a carbon copy of the first, Jack Alexander Webb doubled England’s advantage with another penalty corner rebound strike.

Scotland regrouped at half time and came out with their game raised a notch.

Sam Hunt dragged Scotland back into the contest towards the end of the third quarter when he slotted home a penalty corner into the bottom right corner to make it 2-1.

In the final quarter Scotland had England pegged back. They took off their keeper for the extra outfield player advantage as they peppered the England goal.

With under ten seconds remaining Johnny Bradley found a miraculous equaliser to take it to penalties. Jack Nairn slapped the ball towards goal, and after a deflection, it rolled towards the bassline where the England keeper dummied a kick to let it roll out, but Bradley chased it down, dove, and from the bassline somehow managed to put back spin on the ball to find the bottom corner of the net. 2-2.

The tense shootout saw England convert their first two penalties, before Jamie Green scored Scotland’s third to make it 2-1. The elusive equalising penalty wouldn’t come and England held on to take 5th spot.

Head Coach Gavin Byers said, “I’m really proud of the boys. That was our fifth game, and England’s fourth, and we never ran out of steam. We kept going and came so close to finishing fifth.

“We went toe-to-toe and 2-2 was a fair result; we showed we can compete at this level. The effort over the week has been incredible, and to retain our status at this level is a great achievement.”

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