Field hockey – Scots hammer Italy - The Edinburgh Reporter

Grange player Luke Cranney (centre), one of the marksmen against Italy, with Derek Forsyth at a Scotland training session. Picture by Nigel Duncan Media

EuroHockey Junior Championship (under-21) II: Scotland 5, Italy 1 (in St Petersburg, Russia)

Scotland bounced back yesterday from an opening defeat to record an emphatic victory and boost confidence ahead of their final Pool A game against hosts Russia.

Coach Graham Moodie saw his under-21 quad, who lost 3-0 to Poland on Sunday, go 1-0 down from a penalty corner from Luca Valentino after five minutes.

But his bravehearts claimed five unanswered goals, three of them in seven, first-half minutes, to record a 5-1 win over Italy in St Petersburg.

Moodie, a former Olympian, had to wait eight minutes for his young lions to level through Robert Harwood.

Four minutes after that they went ahead with Kyle Gladwin, a late inclusion in the squad after an injury to Edinburgh-born Hamish Imrie, slotted home.

Luke Cranney, who teaches hockey at Loretto School near Edinburgh, made it 3-1 three minutes after that to take the stuffing out of the Italian side.

Two goals in two, second-half minutes secured the win, Harwood’s second coming in 48 minutes and Dundonian Cameron Golden slotting the final goal of the game after 50 minutes.