A National League Hockey Club, part of Holcombeians Sports Club

Scotland and Rob Field prepare for EuroHockey Championship Qualifier action with a win and a loss against Poland

By Lucas Ball

Scotland and captain Rob Field won one and lost one of their two Test matches against Poland as their preparations for the EuroHockey Championship Qualifier A later this month stepped up.

Both matches were drawn 2-2 in normal time, with Scotland also taking on Czechia in an uncapped match.

Scotland were victorious in the first shootout, 5-3, before losing the second 3-0.

Field, who now has 30 caps for Scotland, started both matches which followed a similar pattern.

First up, Jonny Caren’s side found themselves 2-0 up before squandering that advantage in the final quarter and going on to win the shootout, with the roles reversed next time out as Scotland bounced back in Q4 to tie the match before Poland won the shootout.

Field was one of five successful shootout takers for Scotland first time around before failing to score in the second match from the 23.

Scotland now prepare to head to Austria later this month for the qualifiers, for which they are set to welcome back Amsterdam-bound Lee Morton.

In Vienna, they begin the knockout tournament with a match against Croatia on 22 August for a place in the semi-finals on 24 August against either Ukraine or Lithuania. Finals day on 25 August concludes the tournament, with the overall winner taking their place at the EuroHockey Championships next year.