Hockey: Spain draw a boost for brave Scots

Published on 04/06/2012 00:00

Scotland’s men, 22nd in the international rankings, took on Spain, the world number five, in Terrassa and came away with a creditable 2-2 draw in the first of three test matches.

In what was Derek Forsyth’s debut as national coach, his new charges provided him with a very encouraging result in the initial build-up for the first round of the World League in Portugal this September.

Almost inevitably, it was Spain who had most of the possession and chances, but Sheffield goalkeeper Jamie Cachia made a string of fine saves to frustrate the Olympic-bound Spanish. The host side were given a real shock when the Scots took the lead in 24 minutes through Dan Coultas before almost immediately equalising to leave the scores level at the interval.

Spain went 2-1 ahead in the second half, but the Scots levelled again through Alan Forsyth, who shot into the roof of the net from the top of the circle.

Meanwhile, Scotland’s women lost the final test match 4-1 to South Africa at Titwood, and, in Malaysia, Great Britain’s men finished a disappointing fourth in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup after losing 3-1 to India in the bronze medal game.