WELSH HOCKEY UNION

In the cooler conditions of late afternoon, Wales played their first match of the Tournament and showed much determination throughout the match. It was essential that Wales should get off to a good start and this they did in lively manner. At the beginning of the match there were several near misses at both ends, but in general the first twenty minutes of the game were dominated by Wales. In fact there were several attacking moves down the right side of the field, but the Swiss goalkeeper managed to thwart the Welsh attacks. However, shortly before half time Carys Hopkins slotted in two quick goals in succession to give Wales a deserved lead.

The second half saw Wales go further ahead when Leah Wilkinson scored the third goal to give the Welsh team a comfortable lead. Undaunted, Switzerland rallied and gained a penalty corner after 20 minutes. They converted this into a goal and closed the gap. But not long afterwards, Leah Wilkinson deflected the ball into the goal following a free hit just outside the circle. Just when one thought Wales was in the ascendancy, the Swiss were awarded a penalty stroke which they scored from and then scored again with a deflection, to pull Wales back to 4 – 3. With time ticking out nerves were becoming somewhat fraught, but Leah Wilkinson popped up yet again to score her hat-trick with a shot on the reverse side. A well fought victory for Wales.

Monday 3 September 2007

14.30	B	Poland	10	Serbia	0
16.30	B	Slovakia	8	Turkey	1
18.30	A	Croatia	1	Switzerland	6

Tuesday 4 September 2007
Rest Day

Wednesday 5 September 2007

14.30	B	Serbia	1	Turkey	1
16.30	B	Poland	3	Slovakia	2
18.30	A	Wales	3	Croatia	0

Wales 3 Croatia 0
This was never going to be an easy match for Wales against the home team, an early evening time schedule and playing under floodlights. However Wales maintained their discipline and carved out openings, which resulted in them being worthy winners.

The first half saw Sarah Thomas making several runs down the right side, but the ball failed to make the back of the net in spite of several shots at goal. An injury to Pippa Jones ten minutes into the game meant that Wales had to readjust to the absence of one of their key players. From a front marking position Claire Lowry picked up the ball in the defending 25 and made a piercing run down the left, which almost resulted in a textbook goal, but the Croatian GK made a good save to deny Wales taking the lead. Wales were again unlucky not to score just before half time from a goalmouth scramble and one began to wonder if Wales could make their attacks pay off.

During the half time team talk Wales clearly needed to identify how to break down the pressing tactics of the Croatians. They did in fact begin very positively and had three successive corners, but still the ball wouldn’t go into the net. However a free hit just outside the circle resulted in Sarah Thomas deflecting the ball high into the net to break the deadlock. Wales had gone into a deserved lead at last. Shortly afterwards Sophie Robinson followed up with a cracking shot which unfortunately hit the post. Leah Wilkinson however was able to put Wales into a 2 – 0 lead when she used a reverse side shot. Emma Winch scored the third goal for Wales with a neatly executed lift over the Croatian GK who had really played her part in keeping the score down.

This was a patient and professional team performance by Wales with Ellie Mumford having an outstanding game on the right side. This enabled Wales to counteract the defensive tactics of the Croatians, who spent the majority of the second half locked in their defending half of the pitch.

Thursday 6 September 2007
Rest Day

Friday 7 September 2007

14.30	C	Croatia	2	Turkey	0
16.30	SF	Switzerland	4	Poland	5
18.30	SF	Wales	4	Slovakia	1

Wales 4 Slovakia 1
Conditions for this important game for Wales were ideal; gloomy, wet and dark! Definitely home from home and no chance of returning with a sun tan. However the hockey was good and both sides played their part in a well fought encounter.

Wales opened the scoring after 10 minutes when Tina Evans scored from a penalty corner. Four minutes later the Slovakians were awarded a penalty corner and they too deflected the ball into the goal to equalise. For the remainder of the half, Wales continued to press hard and made repeated attacks on the Slovakian goal, but could not ease their way into the lead. However just before half time, a free hit on the edge of the circle led to Carys Hopkins slamming in a hard shot to make the score 2 – 1. With minutes ticking down another free hit allowed Sarah Thomas to deflect the ball into the goal. This was a very apt time for Wales to go into a 3 – 1 advantage and was probably the turning point in the match...

The second half saw Wales in the ascendancy and Slovakia rarely came out of their defending half, but they continued to battle hard in defence. The next goal for Wales was a classic piece of play when Sarah Thomas broke down the right side, teased the goalkeeper at the edge of the circle, swerved round her to pass the ball neatly to Carys Hopkins, who made no mistake in scoring the fourth goal.
When the final whistle went, the Welsh players were able to celebrate promotion into the 'Trophy' Division and also look forward to the final against Poland on Saturday. This was another disciplined and professional performance by Wales.

Saturday 8 September 2007

12.30	C	Croatia	7	Serbia	0
15.00	3/4	Switzerland	1	Slovakia	0
17.30	Final	Wales win 4-2 aps	2	Poland	2

FINAL POSITIONS

1st   Wales (Promoted)
2nd  Poland (Promoted)
3rd   Switzerland
4th   Slovakia

Based on information available at: 27/07/2007: Match Schedule subject to amendment at the discretion of EHF or the Tournament Director.

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