Scotland end Hockey World Cup with a few regrets but two notable scalps
Japan defend strongly to pip Scots for 11th place
Scotland ended the match strongly but it was too little, too late as they lost 2-1 to Japan in the Netherlands in their final game at the Hockey World Cup.
The result means Chris Duncan’s side have finished in 12th place on their return to the tournament after a 24-year absence.
Scotland had the lion’s share of possession but struggled to break down opponents who defended obdurately. Japan opened the scoring in the first quarter via a penalty flick from Miyu Suzuki and went 2-0 ahead in the final quarter through Akari Nakagomi.
The Scots finally got the goal they deserved when the impressive Ellie Mackenzie deflected home from close range after a well-worked penalty corner for her second goal of the tournament. There were only two minutes to go and Scotland sacrificed their goalkeeper in a bid to get back on terms. They had one more chance but their attempt from a penalty corner was blocked by Suzuki with 34 seconds remaining.
Two wins over higher ranked teams
“I think we left it too late, to be honest,” said captain Sarah Robertson. “We had a lot of energy with 5-10 minutes to go, but we needed more of that from the beginning of the game.”
Scotland ended with two wins from six games and Robertson felt they acquitted themselves well on their return to the World Cup.
“I think overall we've had a really good tournament,” she said. “We played some of the best teams in the world, Argentina, Germany, and had really respectable scorelines. And then we went on to beat two higher ranked teams, Ireland and New Zealand. So we're really pleased with that.
“But yeah, definitely disappointed to finish on a loss. I think we raised our game for higher opposition, and I don't think we did that today.”
Despite having 14 shots at goal to Japan’s four and seven penalties corners to Japan’s one, Scotland couldn’t turn their dominance into a victory and it was the Japanese who clinched 11th place.
The match brought the curtain down on the Scotland career of stalwart Sarah Jamieson who is stepping away from the international game.
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