Czech Republic defeat Scottish Men 2-0 to qualify for EuroHockey Nations Championship II final
The Czech athletes have qualified for the final of the EuroHockey Nations Championship II being played in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, after defeating the Scottish outfits by 2-0 in the Men’s first semi-final of the day.
The match was played in a tight situation where both the teams displayed desperate efforts throughout the match providing some good scoring opportunities by moving the ball through the players but in spite of good show the first part of the game remained
scoreless while all of the two goals by the Czechs were scored in the second half of the game.
The first half started on a slow tempo but gain the pace as the time passed where a mixture of good and average intervals were presented by the both sides but they still remained goalless at the interval. It looked like as both the teams had planned to remain
on defensive mode throughout the match as no strike was made in the first half and the match reached the interval with 0-0 on the scoreboard.
In the second half, the Czech Men played more aggressively as compared to the first half and dominated the most part of the second half. They took the early lead just two minutes into the second phase of the game when Martin Babicky scored the opening goal
for Czech Republic in the 37th minute. The Czech athletes doubled their lead just four minutes after the opening goal when Stepan Bernatek scored the second Czech with open play. The Scottish Men also made some daring efforts but they were not rewarded
and remained scoreless in the entire match. The match concluded at 2-0 to Czech Republic.
"This was a disgraceful game of hockey, the worst I have seen in my forty years involved in the sport, but their keeper had an outstanding game," Eugene Connolly, the manager of the Scotland Men’s national hockey team disappointedly stated after the match.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Women defeated their Russian counterparts by 2-1 in a hard fought semi-final, played in Poznan, Poland.
The match was a tough fight between the opponents where the first thirty five minutes remained scoreless in spite of some good efforts by both the teams. However, the Scottish ladies dominated the most part of the second half and scored two goals midway
in the second half whereas the Russian ladies could manage to score only one just four minutes before the close of the play.
The Scottish Women put in a brilliant performance as they played aggressively against the Russian team. It will be interesting to see how far the Scottish Women will be able to carry their winning momentum in to their next competitive match-up.
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