Wales Men's Euro Hockey Qualifier Updates

Wales men get their EuroHockey Qualifiers off to an impressive start with an 8-0 victory over Switzerland in Glasgow.

Going into the match as favourites, Wales quickly lived up to the title with a goal from Rupert Shipperley in the first two and a half minutes.

Switzerland made a good save to stop the initial penalty corner drag flick from Gareth Furlong, but with the ball trapped on the line, Shipperley was just able to lift it up and over the Swiss goalie Lars Kleikemper’s stick and pop it into goal.

Wales worked hard over the first half to create chances as Switzerland were happy to sit deep in defence and force the Welsh around the sides. As they looked to further their lead in the second quarter, a good shot from Ben Francis was saved by Kleikemper.

Soon after, Switzerland’s best chance of the game came in the form of their only penalty corner, but the shot from Jonas Winkler was saved on the line by Toby Reynolds-Cotterill.

After several opportunities, Wales finally found their second goal of the game, again via a penalty corner. With play kept alive in the circle after a saved Furlong drag flick, Jolyon Morgan waited patiently on the back post and helped the ball over the line.

In the closing stages of the first half, Furlong doubled their lead with two penalty corner goals in quick succession.

The first of his drag flicks saw a slight deception in direction to get Kleikemper off balance, before the ball bounced off the goalie and into goal.

With slow running from the Swiss defence on the second penalty corner, Furlong had plenty of time to prepare and powered his flick into the top of the net.

The fifth goal for Wales and second for Shipperley was arguably the best goal of the game. A great pass from Ioan Wall was brilliantly finished by the Welsh number nine as he turned and fired it home.

As the second half continued, Switzerland struggled to break out of their own half as Wales continued to create opportunities.

A seventh Welsh penalty corner was saved by the knee of a Swiss defender, giving Wales a penalty stroke that was expertly converted by Furlong to give him is hattrick and make it 6-0.

Brave defending from Swiss captain Fabio Marelli denied Wales a seventh goal at the start of the last quarter, but they weren’t to be held back for long.

As Furlong’s drag flick from another penalty corner bounced off the post, Shipperley took advantage of an empty goal and tapped the ball into the back of the goal to join the hattrick club.

In the final 15 minutes of play, Furlong made it eight for Wales with an unstoppable penalty corner drag flick into the top-right corner.

Wales men defeat Scotland 1-0 in their second match at the Men’s EuroHockey Qualifiers in Glasgow.

As always between the two Celtic nations, it was a close and competitive game, with Gareth Furlong giving Wales the winning goal in the second quarter.

The first quarter was a very close affair with limited chances for both sides. Wales slightly edged it claiming the better of the quality possession but did not create any real chances on goal.

Scotland got the best chance of the opening 15, but Struan Walker couldn’t quite convert as his deflection went just wide.

As the second quarter got underway, James Carson won Wales the first penalty corner of the game, but it was deflected high and over the goal by the Scottish defence.

Rupert Shipperley saw a half-chance with a decent strike in the circle, but it was comfortably saved by Scotland’s goalie Tommy Alexander.

With half-time fast approaching, Gareth Furlong broke the deadlock and gave Wales the lead off a penalty corner. His low drag flick fired straight between Alexander and the Scottish post player into the backboard to make it 1-0.

Scotland came close to an equaliser just before the break with a penalty corner of their own, but Jamie Golden’s drag flick was denied with a great save from Toby Reynolds-Cotterill.

Hunting for their equaliser, a second penalty corner strike from Golden was met well and cleared by Reynolds-Cotterill to keep Wales in the lead in the third quarter.

An aerial from Jacob Draper gave Shipperley his second chance of the game. A good first touch brought the ball under control, but his shot was just off target and hit the side netting.

Wales held strong in the final quarter as Scotland piled on the pressure, taking their goalkeeper off for the last five minutes to throw everything they had in attack.

A series of Scottish penalty corners in the closing minutes were confidently dealt with by the Welsh defence and Reynolds-Cotterill, giving Wales the 1-0 victory at full-time.

Wales men now top the table in Glasgow with two wins from two. They play their final match against Gibraltar at 10:45 on Saturday 27^th August.

In their last match of the EuroHockey Qualifiers in Glasgow, Wales men maintain their clean sheet with a 7-0 win over Gibraltar.

The victory means they claim gold at the tournament and seal qualification for the Euro Championships next year.

Wales won the first penalty corner of the game two and half minutes into play. As has become the norm, Gareth Furlong’s drag flick found the back of the net giving Wales an early lead.

Gibraltar soon answered with a penalty corner of their own, but the shot fired just wide.

With Wales on the constant attack, a few good opportunities failed to convert. A decent shot from Gareth Griffiths was well met by goalie Joseph Borg while a deflection from Jolyon Morgan hit the post.

In the final seconds of the first quarter, a Furlong drag flick via a penalty corner once again found its target to give Wales a 2-0 lead.

As the second quarter got underway, Furlong claimed his second hattrick of the tournament, converting another Welsh penalty corner.

The Welsh dominated position and territory for the remainder of the quarter yet good defending from Gibraltar denied them furthering their lead until the final minutes before half-time.

A long cross from Jacob Draper was knocked into goal by James Carson to secure Wales’ fourth and first field goal of the game.

Early into the second-half, Luke Hawker made it five for Wales. A great piece of play from Morgan along the baseline, he found the space to connect with Hawker who calmly redirected the ball into the goal.

A great save from goalkeeper Henry Emmett denied Dale Hutchinson a sixth for Wales before the break as he dived to tap in a cross from Morgan.

30 seconds into the last quarter, Fred Newbold added to Wales’ tally with a reverse stick strike straight into the back of the net.

Dan Kyriakides claimed their last of the game, his touch helping the ball over the line to make it 7-0.

Gibraltar had a good chance to get on the score board in the last minutes of play with four penalty corners in quick succession, but the Welsh defence held strong to keep their clean sheet.

With three wins from three, Wales top the table to win the qualifiers and secure their place in the top tier of European hockey next year at the 2023 EuroHockey Championships in Mönchengladbach, Germany.

Wales head coach David Newcombe said: "In terms of the results we're really happy. We came here, three wins, three clean sheets, qualification for an A-division.

"We've had a brilliant summer, played a lot of hockey so [on to] the World Cup in January and then A division in Germany next summer, so yeah, proud of the boys."