Scotland’s fired-up under-21 women’s squad face home nation Chile in their next game on Friday after securing a second straight win in the World Junior Cup, and victory would be a major scalp.
Chile are rated No 14 in the world and Scotland are at No 23.
However, the girls are buzzing after shooting down New Zealand, rated No 13 in the world, edging home 3-2 after captain, Connie Roxburgh, Mhairi Low and Ava Wadsworth all kept their cool to slot home in a nail-biting penalty shootout.
Earlier, the sides were locked at 2-2 at the final whistle, after Scotland let slip a 2-0 lead. Now, head coach Jimmy Culnane and the squad face the hosts at 23.15 British time on Friday and a noisy crowd is expected to cheer on the home side.
Victory would secure 17th place in the World Cup for Scotland who have performed well in this tough tournament. Earlier results in the pool stages of the world event were Scotland 0, Spain 2, Spain are No 9 in the world; Scotland 1, Canada 1, Canada rated No 18, a frustrating result as Culnane’s charges dominating the encounter, and Scotland 0, Australia 3, a country ranted No 5 on the planet.
The Tartan Hearts are on a mini-run having beaten Namibia 4-0 in their previous game in the Santiago-based tournament, a first win for Scotland’s women in the event for 20 years.
Chris Duncan, Scotland’s senior women’s head coach, said that if coach Culnane and the squad can pull off a win against Chile then that would be a really good result.
He added: “This tournament is all about developing players for the future and giving them access to playing tournament hockey at the highest possible level. We are doing that.
“We have played well in Chile and the only thing missing was scoring goals, but there is another game to play and they are buzzing. The Chile game will be in front of a home crowd and it is at night. It will be a huge test but they can’t wait, they are really up for it.”
Incidentally, Scottish umpire, Katie Howie, who regularly is seen officiating at matches at Peffermill, has been officiating in Chile during the event.
TALK IN: Jimmy Culnane in Scotland training at Peffermill before departing for Chile. Picture Nigel Duncan
