Scotland U18 Boys lose late to Ireland in Krefeld

Two late goals saw Ireland beat Scotland U18 Boys 3-2 at the U18 EuroHockey Championships in Krefeld.

Scotland started well; the defence was strong and restricted Ireland to shots from poor angles, while the Scots enjoyed good controlled possession from the outset.

It took Scotland ten minutes to take the lead and the goal came courtesy of Murray Griffiths. An attack down the left side found Jamie Green, who went past two defenders before picking out Griffiths at the far post for a tap-in. 1-0.

A Jonny Bradley penalty corner flick, right down the middle, saw Scotland surge into a two-goal lead midway in the second quarter.

Ireland struck one back quickly, and it was James Evans who found the net to make it 2-1. A penalty corner late in the half for Scotland came close, as they went hunting for a third to advance their control on the match.

Ireland came back into the game in the third quarter and the match took on a very even complexion. It was the final quarter where things began to change.

Scotland were down to ten men with seven minutes to go and it turned the tables in favour of Ireland. The Irish equaliser came two minutes later from the penalty spot when Matthew McKee converted for 2-2, following a penalty corner hitting a Scots body on the line.

Then, a minute later, Ireland took the lead through Evans. 3-2.

In the final stages Scotland narrowly missed the target from another corner opportunity, and Ireland took the win.

Head Coach Gavin Byers said, “It’s a hard one to take. We had good control for the first half, and were in a good position until the latter stages of the game. It’s disappointing to end up the losing side.

“It’s still in our hands. We have to go out and beat Austria, and if we can do that with our goal difference, we’ll have a decent chance of third spot.”

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