Scotland women won 2-1 against Wales to win the EuroHockey Qualifier at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre. The Scots will compete at next summer’s EuroHockey Championships in Germany.
Amid a huge atmosphere in the stands, the two home nations Scotland and Wales faced off for qualification into the EuroHockey Championships in 2025, battling not only each other but the conditions on a rainy Scottish Sunday.
Scotland were immediately on the attack from the very first whistle as they aimed to use their home advantage – but it was Wales who earned a first penalty corner inside three minutes. The first hit the number one runner’s foot, earning Wales a redo, and the second flew wide of the post. The game then settled into a rhythm – before some thunderous runs down the right hand channel from Rebecca Daniel started to cause Scotland some defensive problems.
An immediate Scotland attack following a bully was stopped at the back post as they looked to get their game plan back on track. Some brilliant individual play from Frances Lonergan followed, forcing a stretching hand save from Ella Jackson and starting a period of Scottish pressure. However, the score remained level at 0-0 at the end of the first quarter.
At the start of the second, Wales escaped pressure of their own with an aerial out the back to apply it onto the Scotland defence. They won a penalty flick following a poor tackle within the circle – and captain Elisabeth Bingham duly slotted the ball into the bottom right corner as Wales took the lead.
They were back at it again moments later, only to be denied by Amy Costello. She played the ball onto Charlotte Watson who played the ball onto Sarah Jamieson after some brilliant individual skills – a clean reverse stick strike found its way past the goalkeeper to level the score. 1-1.
It was Scotland who came out firing in the second half, immediately piling the pressure onto Wales and winning a penalty corner – yet Costello was denied twice from the top of the circle, before Lonergan’s shot was also saved at their third retake. The pressure tolled for Wales as Hannah Diamond got a green card soon after. As the two minute advantage ran out, captain Sarah Robertson and Heather McEwan combined to force another save out of Jackson.
Seconds later, McEwan was back at it again, hitting past the right pads of the Welsh keeper. The tactical high press from Scotland kept winning them the ball high up the pitch and kept the Welsh defence under constant pressure for the majority of the third quarter. An excellent shot on the turn from Lonergan was one of the highlights of the ending plays, but the score remained at 2-1 to the home side.
Wales had the first real chance of the final quarter of the tournament, a short range hit from a narrow angle forcing a save from Buchanan. An end-to-end period of play followed as Scotland looked to build their lead and Wales looked to find an equaliser, before captain Robertson received a green card for not being five yards from a foul.
Despite the disadvantage, Scotland’s Bronwyn Shields beat multiple players with individual stick skills only to find no one waiting at the back post. Once back to 11 players, Scotland continued to press as they aimed to seal the win. More chances went begging in front of the face of goal – before Wales took off their goalkeeper to gain an outfield advantage.
The final two minutes were fuelled by an expectant atmosphere from the largely Scottish crowd hoping for their team to see out the victory – as they successfully did.
Scotland will now move into the EuroHockey Championships top division next year.
Austria 2-3 Czechia
The first match of Finals day at the Glasgow Green National Hockey Centre saw Austria face off against Czechia in the 3rd/4th playoff, with Czechia taking the victory.
From the start of the game, the Austrian coach was incredibly vocal, spurring on his side in wet and windy Glasgow conditions. It was a more patient start from the Czechs, who were holding the ball and waiting for clear cut attacking opportunities. Within five minutes, Austria stole the ball after a loose pass and took the lead following some powerful swept passes and tidy play – 18 year-old Anja Haselsteiner finished the sequence with a composed finish on the turn.
There was an almost immediate response from Czechia down the other end with a chance for Linda Nova but she was denied by the goalkeeper. Austria continued to steal passes in the middle of the pitch, helped by the conditions slowing down long Czech balls. Czechia remained patient, waiting for the right opportunities to move forward, with some notable skills and crosses in from Lucie Duchková – but the score remain 1-0 to Austria at the end of a solid first quarter from both teams.
As the rain increased in the second quarter, so did tempers with the first cards coming out with goal scorer Haselsteiner receiving a green. A tight battle for control in the middle third of the pitch followed with neither team able to build their plays as well as they could in the first period of the game. A second card quickly followed for Austrian Marianne Pultar, but Czechia were unable to capitalise on their overload.
There were few chances for either team until the 18 year-old was involved once again, finding a foot to win Austria’s first penalty corner. Their straight strike whistled past the left post.
Czechia’s best chances continued to come down the left hand side, but Stella van Rahden was largely untroubled in goals. With 30 seconds left of the half, they started their first threat down the right which led to a penalty corner. A technical routine involving a dummied flick and pass back to the injector required a first diving save, but the score remained 1-0 moving into halftime.
Penalty corners looked like Czechia’s best chance of scoring and they clearly aimed to win more outcomes as the second half began. An early take from the sideline caught the Austrian defence off-guard and earned Czechia a penalty corner. Another varied routine, this time the strike went centimetres wide of the post. Czechia were the team holding the ball better and putting pressure on the Austrian team in all areas of the pitch – and it clearly got to them. Luisa Mayer received a yellow as the game became fraught and the umpires aimed to calm down two increasingly frustrated teams. More opportunities followed for Czechia with a neat turn and shot from Veronika Decsy just missing the target. They quickly reset to win their third corner of the match but this time the drag flick was saved over the top of the bar. Czechia continued to force more saves in the following minutes as they looked to even the score, and they did soon after, with a ball fired in ricocheting off the keeper directly back to Czech striker Decsy who rolled the ball into the backboard.
Czechia were once again the more aggressive team in the early stages of the final quarter. With the match in the balance at 1-1 with 10 minutes to go, both teams aimed to find a winner and secure third place in the tournament. Czechia stole a loose pass from the Austrian defence which was held up in the growing puddles on the astroturf and Eliška Fousková won yet another penalty corner. Another rebounded shot was converted by Czechia as they turned the match around with just five minutes left – Katerina Basova found the net this time.
With Austria behind on the scoreboard for the first time in the match, it was their turn to become the attacking team again. A clumsy collision gave the team in red their first real chance of the second half, but slow pitch conditions thwarted their first corner effort. A second penalty followed shortly afterwards and Austria’s sweep from Johanna Czech deflected into the back of the net to even the score with two minutes left.
Czechia immediately took the ball from the centre spot and drove right back up the other end to steal the lead again just moments later with Decsy scoring her second of the match in an incredible finish to the game.
After a topsy-turvy final passage of play, the match ended with Czechia winning 3-2 and finishing third in the EuroHockey Championship Qualifier A.
