SCOTLAND LADIES DRAW WITH KOREANS
Posted by on 30 April 2014
Women’s FIH Champions Challenge I, Pool A Result
Glasgow National Hockey Centre, Scotland
Scotland (Linda Clement 30', 49') 2-2 Korea (Ju Ok Kim 12', Eun Jong Kim 57')
Korea faced a Scotland side that was determined to give the vocal audience something to cheer about, and the team in blue didn't disappoint. While Korea started in their usual patient, composed fashion, Scotland hassled and harried in an attempt to defy the gulf that exists between the teams in terms of world ranking places.
It seemed as if the 7th-ranked team would dominate the game when, in the 12th minute, Ju Ok Kim put the ball past Nicki Cochrane in the Scotland goal. Korea continued to dominate play in the minutes following that goal, but when Eunji Cho was given a yellow card with just 13 minutes of the first half left, Scotland started to drive the ball forward with greater confidence. This pressure by the home side paid handsomely when captain Linda Clement equalised in the 30th minute.
The second half began with both teams looking sharp, and the Scotland goal certainly appeared to galvanise the team ranked 16th in the world. With Nicki Cochrane in great form in the Scotland goal, Scotland took advantage of a rare Korea mistake and Linda Clement (49') threw herself at a ball that flew across the goal and deflected the ball home to take the lead.
The final 10 minutes were frenetic and Cochrane threw herself around the goal keeping the Korea team from scoring the equaliser, but eventually the defence was breached and Korea captain Jong Eun Kim (57') scored from a penalty corner to make the final score 2-2. The result means Korea top pool A at the end of the group stage.
Speaking after the game, Scotland's goalkeeper Nicki Cochrane said that she had been delighted with her team's performance, adding: "We always knew we could do it, we just wanted to defy the ranking places."
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