Scotland U21 Men were on top goal scoring form with a sensational 9-2 victory over Czechia at U21 Men’s EuroHockey Championship II in Lausanne. The result sets up a final clash with home side Switzerland with the winner taking gold, as well as qualification for A Division and the Junior World Cup.
The first half was laden with goals as Scotland surged into a 7-0 lead at half time, the first two of which came in the opening quarter.
Four minutes into the game and Ben Galloway opened the scoring with a sublime top corner penalty corner finish.
As the quarter reached a conclusion Galloway struck again, sailing another drag flick into the top corner for 2-0.
The second quarter was raining goals. First Ali Douglas made it 3-0 before Galloway struck again for 4-0, completing his hat-trick.
Jedd Campbell added his name to the score sheet with a penalty corner to make it 5-0, before Galloway, who was a standout in midfield, fired home his fourth of the match.
Then composed rebound finish by the influential Tommy Austin made it 7-0 before the break.
The third quarter saw Czechia strike a couple of goals of their own, taking advantage of a ten minute blip in the Scots performance. First Jakub Homolka pulled one back before Janu Vojtech made 7-2 before the end of the quarter.
Scotland’s goal scoring resumed in the final quarter when Alex Marsland struck before Austin completed the scoring to make it 9-2 at the end of the match.
Head Coach Gavin Byers said, “It was a great performance and we were very clinical today, which is what we needed. We’ve been getting better each game, and today’s first half in particular was as complete a performance as it could have been.
“We’ve got a lot to play for now. Our message is pretty simple: we have to beat Switzerland. The Swiss are a good team, and they have the home support behind them, but if we play like we did today we have every chance of heading home with a gold medal, and qualifying for A Division and the World Cup. If we do that then these players will have the chance to experience that level of competition over the next few years, which will really get them ready for senior hockey. It’s a great prize to play for.”
