Scotland men booked their place in the EuroHockey Championships in London next summer after a ten-goal shootout against Croatia in their EuroHockey qualifier in Rome.
Sunday’s qualifying final is now academic and coach Neil Allan can look back on a job well done in Italy after beating Croatia in the qualifying semi-final.
The pressure was on as Scotland are ranked 24 places higher than Croatia, and their rivals made the Blue Sticks work hard for the 6-4 win in temperatures reaching over 40c.
But a glory treble from Dundee-born Jamie Golden, whose drag flick after three minutes opened the scoring, plus singles from his brother, Cammy, Tommy Orr and Struan Walker sealed the deal.
Croatia battled hard in the heat and pulled their goalkeeper late-on. The gamble paid off as, with their eighth penalty corner, they created a chance but Man of the Match, Jamie Golden, was in the right place at the right time to on hand to save on the line and secure a 6-4 win.
GOAL THREAT: Struan Walker, one of the scorers on a glory night for Scotland men in Rome. Picture courtesy of The Hockey Writers’ Club
