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EuroHockey Youth Nations Trophy 2007 - U18 GIRLS

Prague (CZE), 9-14 July 2007

POOL A
Ukraine
France
Czech Rep
Italy

POOL B
Poland
Russia
Wales
Belarus

Match Schedule

Day 1: Monday 9 July 2007

Russia 2 Wales 0
The Welsh Women’s U18 Squad arrived in Prague two days before the start of the competition to prepare for the tournament, following an important team-bonding 3-day holding camp at WIS the week before. The tournament started on 9th July 2007 with Russia their opening opponents. The Russians began purposefully from the start and immediately pressed the Welsh team in heir defensive half with their pace, speed of passing and physical presence. Wales rotated the front-runners on a regular basis to try to unsettle the Russian defence and to save legs, so Sarah Underhill and Emma Speak came on in the 18th and 19th minute for Elin Thomas and Nicola Jones. The Welsh defence were just about coping with the pressure until the 19th minute when Alina Krasnoperova scored in open play. The Russians were efficient at turning over the Welsh attacks and breaking quickly and in the 25th minute they gained possession once more and Krisina Shumlina scored their second goal. Angela Ninian, in goal, had been making some excellent saves, keeping Wales in the game.
In the second half Wales exerted a greater degree of control in the game with the back four of Lorna Bowman, Charlotte Evans, Hannah Richardson and Jess Lewis playing telling balls down the wide channels, giving the midfield of Charlotte Rees, Sarah Jones, Alys Brooks and Emily James the opportunity to engineer some constructive patterns of play, particularly down the right channel to enable the strikers to penetrate Russia’s defensive circle. When Russia did attack, they always looked dangerous but Angela Ninian had the measure of them and continued to make important saves, the 2nd half thus being 0-0. This was a much-improved performance and one that Wales needed to repeat in both halves of their second match against Poland.

Day 2: Tuesday 10 July 2007

Poland 3 Wales 1
Poland began strongly and in the first 7 minutes the Welsh defence had to absorb a great deal of pressure. As in the previous game against Russia, it took time to adjust to the pace and physicality of the opposition. On 9 minutes Poland executed their first goal from the no. 3 Anna Granka. The Welsh girls did not allow this to affect their play and they did their best to build up attacks particularly down the right through Charlotte Rees. In the 13th minute Poland were awarded a penalty corner which was converted to a goal from their no. 11 Agata Orlowaska. Wales continued to work hard and tried to get the measure of their opposition. Poland were clinical in the attacking circle and in the 20th minute their no. 6 Malgorzata Sztybrych scored their 3rd goal from open play.
The second half again belonged to Wales. The girls played with passion and determination. Sarah Jones worked like a terrier in midfield never giving up and continually winning the ball. Alys Brooks was composed and controlled, so the two centre midfielders complemented each other well. Heather Morris came on to replace Lorna Bowman at the back in the 45th minute. It was a difficult task to settle into the game but Heather coped well with the situation. In the 50th minute Wales attacked down the right channel creating excellent patterns of play. The ball was picked up by Elin Thomas who drove into the circle, placing a shot on goal. The keeper failed to clear properly and went down, the ball rolling towards the line and Sarah Underhill on the far post made sure the ball went into the back of the net, nudging the ball over the line. It is unsure if the ball had crossed the line from Elin’s shot or if Sarah had scored the goal when she assisted it into the goal. However it was good to be on the scoreboard. In the 60th minute Hannah John came into the attack and tried hard to overcome her niggling injury. She worked hard up front but was unable to add to the score.
So, again, a much improved second half – in effect winning 1-0 but we now understood the need to play the first halves in the way we played the seconds if we were to compete against Belarus in our last pool match.

Day 3: Wednesday 11 July 2007

Wales 1 Belarus 3
This was an important game for both teams and Poland in the group because, if Wales won then Poland went through to the top classification pool and if Belarus won, they would go into the top pool. Poland would therefore join Wales in the relegation play offs. Wales also needed to earn points to take into the next round.
Belarus began with aggressive and physical hockey, determined to make their presence felt and again it took the Welsh team time to come to terms with the nature of the contest. Belarus went into the lead from a penalty corner in the 8th minute. Hannah Richardson tried to gain possession in the circle after Angela Ninian had logged to save but was pushed over, the ball going straight to the Belarus no. 9 Aliona Alshevskaya who flicked the ball into the goal. Belarus continued to attack and Wales leaked a second goal from open play by their no. 10 Darya Danilovich who had only come onto the pitch in the 6th minute of the game. Heather Morris replaced Lorna Bowman who was suffering from an injury she had aggravated in the previous match. Heather worked hard and linked well with Charlotte Rees. The score remained 2-0 at halftime
In the second half the umpires began to enforce the rules and cards began to appear. Belarus had their first player suspended on 37 minutes. Wales capitalised on this and attacked continually. Not long after the initial suspension was completed Belarus earned a second yellow card for over-robust play and continual fouling. Sarah Jones, coping well with the physicality of the game, finished off a planned penalty corner move in the 58th minute to pull the score back to 2-1, giving Wales a tangible incentive for at least a point. The crowd now audibly wanted Wales to put another goal into the net led by the Polish Squad.
Wales continued to drive down the right putting Belarus under severe pressure and took a gamble going with three defenders across the back but having an extra high striker; this tactical decision looked like it was working as Wales were attacking all of the time and retaining possession and the opposition defence was not coping. Belarus then had a break away and scored their 3rd goal from a penalty corner, converted by no.13 Yuliya Mikheichyk. Wales still kept in attack mode as Belarus seemed particularly vulnerable, especially down the right channel. Belarus were now getting desperate and their game really deteriorating under the pressure Wales were exerting. This culminated in their best player, captain and scorer of their last goal becoming the third yellow card for pushing Sarah Jones. Her behaviour as she left the pitch then earned her a red card and a one match suspension. After the final whistle one of the Belarus players assaulted Hannah Richardson but the player concerned was unable to be identified by the technical table and this would undoubtedly have been a second red card had the culprit been able to have been recognised.
Although Wales tried really hard they were unable to take full advantage of the Belarus suspensions and earn themselves at least a point, Belarus were technically superior in the tight situations which gave them an advantage. Thus Wales finished with no points in their qualifying pool and entered the relegation pool along with Poland, Ukraine and Italy.

Day 4: Thursday 12 July 2007 - REST DAY

Day 5: Friday 13 July 2007

Ukraine 2 Wales 1
On Thursday the team took advantage of a morning practice session slot to put in place a number of key matters and then used the remainder of the rest day for some relaxation in the historic city centre of Prague. An evening meal in a Bohemian restaurant complete with violinists was also part of the cultural recreation in preparation for the following day against a strong Ukrainian team where points on the board to avoid relegation could be vital.
Yet again a disappointing start as Ukraine opened the scoring in the 3rd minute when their no. 15 Karnay Matviyenko put the ball into the back of the net in open play.
To their credit the Welsh side fought back immediately and looked as though they could score as they had considerable possession, particularly through midfielders Sarah Jones and Alys Brooks. From this pressure in the 11th minute, a hard hit into the circle rebounded off a defender’s stick to Sarah Underhill whose quick reactions then deflected the ball first time past the keeper for her second goal of the tournament.
Sarah Richards replaced Sarah Jones for her first pitch time of the tournament due to an ankle injury sustained at the holding camp at WIS just prior to flying out to Prague. She began to link effectively with Charlotte Rees down the right channel. Half-time score 1-1.
An even second half ensued with both teams creating chances but on 54 minutes Ukraine converted a penalty corner for the winning goal of the match and Wales were unable, despite frantic efforts to take a point from the game.
 

Day 6: Saturday 14 July 2007

Italy 3 Wales 4
An absolutely crucial game as the loser would be relegated to the Challenge Division. Wales held an advantage as only a draw was required to be ahead of Italy in the final rankings as Wales went into the game with a superior goal difference.
For the first time Wales began decisively and pressed the Italians in their weak areas of wide defence. Italy had several flurries down their right channel with some telling individual play from a couple of talented Italian players but the defence was solid and then the consistent pressure on the Italian back four began to tell. A swift passing move down the right hand side saw Charlotte Rees hold her nerve in the circle and calmly slot the ball past the advancing keeper to open the scoring.
This was the first time that Wales had gone into a lead in the tournament. Shortly after, Hannah Richardson’s mishit shot at a penalty corner deceived the Italian keeper to take Wales into a 2-0 lead. The Italians now had to play catch up. Just before half time a quick break after a turnover through an absent Italian defence saw Emma Speake deliver an accurate pass to Nicola Jones who managed to force the ball under the diving keeper and then nip round behind to whip it over the line. This was a well-deserved goal because the team had adhered to the game plan most conscientiously and therefore vital to the morale of the squad. Half time 3-0 to Wales.
In the second half Italy really turned on the skill with nothing to lose and in the first few minutes the Welsh side conceded their first goal. Not long after the Italians brought the game back to 3-2 with a drag flick at a penalty corner, Wales finding it difficult to maintain composure on the ball with the Italians rampant.
However their all out attacking was their downfall as Wales scored again on the break. Emma Speake drove through the central area and as no-one came to challenge, she kept going and kept her head and whacked the ball into the back of the net past the stranded keeper from the edge of the circle. Italy then closed the gap to 4-3 with another unstoppable drag flick at a penalty corner that went in off the underside of the bar to create further anxieties among the valiant supporters.
Wales, however, managed to run the clock down for the last five minutes in exemplary fashion without further alarms to obtain their first victory of the tournament and maintain their place in the prestigious Trophy competition for 2009.
The players developed immeasurably, both individually and collectively, during the tournament. A quite different set of players emerged at the end from those that began – more worldly wise and cogniscent of the demands of playing international hockey at this level.

Positions:

1st     Russia (Promoted)
2nd    France (Promoted)
3rd     Belarus
4th     Czech Republic
5th     Poland
6th     Ukraine
7th     Wales (Retain place in Trophy)
8th     Italy (Relegated)   

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