A hat trick Celtic Cup Championship title was deservedly awarded to a strong Scottish senior women’s team, after they pummeled Ireland A 7-1 at Peffermill in Edinburgh.

Keith Joss must have said something right in the teams’ morning meeting as the squad came out ready to score with Emily Maguire (Porcelanosa Kelburne) getting things rolling in the sixth minute from a penalty corner.

Joss commented: 'Today's win was fantastic.  We took our chances at the start and after that confidence kicked in and goals kept coming.  We had to be patient towards the end of the match but it's great to get a hat trick title in front of a home crowd.

'There's still work to do for the Europeans but this is a good confidence booster.'

Then Emma Rochlin (Olton & WW) stepped up to nail a penalty stroke a few minutes later.  The next attack came off a sharp pass from skipper Linda Clement to Louise Munn (Bonagrass Grove) who took a shot but it was Julie Bryce (Porcelanosa Kelburne) who netted the ball after it was deflected off a defender.

Next to score for Scotland was Aimee Clark (Bongrass Grove) from a field goal in the 27th minute to put the home team up by four just before half time.

After the break Ireland managed to get on the board with a goal from Katherine Steenson in the 43rd minute.  But Olympian Laura Bartlett (Milne Craig Western) answered back within six minutes with a shot placed to the back left corner.

Quickly following up was Vikki Bunce (Bonagrass Grove) who showcased skill by weaving passed three Irish defenders to slot the ball home for a 6-1 score line.  Emily Maguire netted her second for the day and the final goal for Scotland from a penalty corner in the 62nd minute for Scotland to hold on to the championship title. 

Scotsmen finish behind Ireland

Scotland’s men were unable to step up a spot to win the Celtic Cup, drawing with Ireland to finish in second place again today at Peffermill.

The Scotsmen didn’t get off to a great start as they went down by two in the first six minutes, the first goal from a reverse stick shot from Gareth Watkins, then two minutes later Watkins again struck gold from close range. 

Scotland then seemed to recover and dominated play with six penalty corners but were only able to convert one goal with a drag flick from Mark Ralph (Klein Zwitserland) to bring the score line to 2-1 going into the break.

The first goal of the second half belonged to Scotland after the ball fell to Chris Grassick (Inverleith) who passed it on to Gavin Byers (Menzieshill) who slammed it home to equalise.

But Ireland answered back quickly when Brain Docherty put another one past Ali McGregor (Loughborough) to push Ireland ahead.  The match seemed to fall into a lull but Scotland made a push in the final minutes with two more penalty corners.

Mark Ralph struck another one but Irish keeper Iain Walker, who made several great saves throughout the game, stopped the ball yet again.  In the 70th minute, Mark Ralph took a reverse stick shot which rebounded for Fergus Dunn (FC Barcelona) who lobbed it into the roof of the net for a final score of 3-3, leaving Ireland to win by two points.

Source: Scottish Hockey Union