Brown and Lloyd fire up women’s win; Irish men denied in nine-goal thriller

Women’s Indoor International Series – game two
Ireland 8 (C Brown 5, L Lloyd 3) Scotland 3 (M Steiger, E Dark, M Justice)
Chloe Brown and Lily Lloyd inspired Ireland to a blistering 8-3 win over Scotland to make it all level going into the third and final meeting of the sides at the Antrim Forum.

It came courtesy of a ferocious final quarter which they nailed four goals having earlier trailed 3-2 but also owed a huge amount to Emma Buckley’s diving penalty stroke save when the game was still in the balance.

Millie Steiger popped in a rebound off the post in the first minute to give Scotland a great start but Brown swapped the lead around by the end of Q1 with a pair of corners.

Emily Dark’s audacious dummy and corner got Scotland back on terms by half-time and they started the second half well, going in front when Margery Justice swooped on a loose ball.

Lily Lloyd equalised with a smart finish from a corner rebound and Brown’s third had Ireland with a slight edge going into the final quarter, 4-3, with Sophie Hinds denied by the post.

But the game blew open in a wild fourth quarter in which Dark pinged the crossbar and Lucy Camlin denied Lloyd an outrageous goal. Lloyd, though, did score her second from play for 5-3 before Buckley had to dive low to keep out Justice’s stroke.

It was a turning point as Brown and Lloyd both scored within 30 seconds of that stroke save, a potential 5-4 scoreline now reading 7-3. Brown closed out the scoring in the 34th minute, completing a run of four goals in two minutes of game time with that stroke in between.

Ireland: E Buckley, S Patton, S Barnwell, O Fox, O Patton, A Benson
Subs: K Kimber, C Brown, L Lloyd, M Power, L Graham, B Maye

Scotland: J Buchanan, M Steiger, C Watson, M Justice, K Stott, E Dark
Subs: R Blaikie, C Hay, E Wilson, S Hinds, F Semple, L Camlin

Men’s Indoor International Series – game two
Ireland 4 (O Kidd 3, R Canning) Scotland 5 (C Golden 2, G Amour 2, J Golden)
Scotland made it two wins from two at the Antrim Forum as they held off a concerted fight from Ireland with Ollie Kidd firing a hat trick.

The Scots burst into an opening 2-0 lead with Cameron Golden and Gordon Amour whipping home quickfire strikes in the first five minutes to get off to a flying start.

Ireland hit back with Kidd flicking their first corner into the roof of the net to make it 2-1 at the quarter-time break. Ross Canning levelled early in Q2 from another corner from the centre and that is how it remained up to half-time.

But another double blow from Golden and Amour in the third quarter put Scotland clear once more 4-2 going into the final phase. Kidd struck once more from a corner to set up a rousing finish but Jamie Golden scored the goal of the game from the left boards for what proved the crucial goal.

Ireland withdrew their impressive goalkeeper Jakim Bernsden and used the extra man to allow Kidd to complete his hat trick from play. As Ireland pushed, Canning hit the post from a corner as did Jamie Golden with another baseline effort but the Scots held on for a 5-4 victory.

Ireland: J Bernsden, J Jackson, J Haycock, O Kidd, J Lynch, J Duncan
Subs: N Glassey, R Canning, R Patterson, M Crooks, R Couse, C Robson

Scotland: M Taylor, M Ross, A McAllister, C Golden, G Amour, J Golden
Subs: P Christie, J Stephen, S Stewart, A Lochrin, A Wilson

Men
Tuesday, December 28: Ireland 3 (M Crooks, R Patterson, R Canning) Scotland 7 (J Golden 3, C Golden 2, P Christie 2)
Wednesday, December 29: Ireland 4 (O Kidd 3, R Canning) Scotland 5 (C Golden 2, G Amour 2, J Golden); Ireland v Scotland, 2pm

Women
Tuesday, December 28: Ireland 2 (S Patton, M Power) Scotland 3 (E Dark 2, M Justice)
Wednesday, December 29: Ireland 8 (C Brown 5, L Lloyd 3) Scotland 3 (M Steiger, E Dark, M Justice); Ireland v Scotland, 3.30pm