SCOTLAND BEAT ITALY TO WIN EUROHOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS II
By Colin Pike
Scotland beat Italy 2-1 in the final of the EuroHockey Championships II final in Glasgow on Saturday to win promotion to the top flight in style.
Sarah Jamieson put Scotland ahead with a deflection in the sixth minute, but although the game was open and both teams forced several penalty corners, the real drama began in the last five minutes of the match.
Scotland were awarded a penalty stroke in the 56th minute with a shot deemed to be illegally stopped on the line, but Italian protests saw Celina Traverso banished to the sin-bin for two minutes and captain, Chiara Tiddi, yellow carded in the 49th minute, shown a red card after losing her composure.
Kate Holmes, who scored from the spot against Austria in the final pool game, pulled her shot wide of the right post t keep Italy in the match in spite of being shorthanded.
Both teams had had goals dramatically disallowed during the game. Traverso was denied at the start of the second quarter and Scotland’s Fiona Burnet’s effort was disallowed as a penalty corner was awarded instead early in the second half.
Scotland finally doubled their lead in the 57th minute, a run down the right finding Charlotte Watson who slipped the ball past Italian goalkeeper, Natalia Schinoni to seemingly clinch the title.
But Italy, back to ten players after Traverso’s return, continued to force penalty corners and in the penultimate minute, pulled a goal back with a looping shot, touched by Eugenia Bianchi.
Scotland tried to keep possession as Italy elected to field ten outfield players by pulling Schinoni, but although Italy briefly threatened, Scotland ran the clock down to win the trophy.
Surbiton’s Robyn Collins came on as a third minute substitute, the same time as former Surbiton player, Holmes. Once again, former Surbiton goalkeeper, Amy Gibson was in the starting line-up rotating by quarter with Nicola Cochrane.
The Scottish Hockey match report can be read here.
More information about the tournament can be found at the FIH TMS website.
The final can be seen again at the BBC Sport website.
Wales finished fifth in spite of losing their final Pool C game 2-1 to the Czech Republic after leading 1-0 at half time. The Ukraine and Turkey were both relegated to the third tier.