Photo: Allan Dick gives England's Adamson Harper some attention during the indoor international at the NIAIt was mixed fortunes for England in the indoor internationals at the NIA, Birmingham, where both the men and women were playing Scotland.
Looking confident, England's women cruised to a 3-1 win over Scotland, with goals from Jo Ellis, Susie Gilbert and Chloe Rogers. Vikki Bunce managed to grab a consolation goal for Scotland in the dying seconds.
The men's match was a different story. With a reduced pool to select from – England had only just finished their Champions Trophy campaign in Melbourne on Sunday – England were outplayed by Scotland, despite having taken the lead after three minutes from a Simon Egerton penalty corner. But Scotland came back in strength and England were 4-1 behind by the time the second half was five minutes old, courtesy of Adam MacKenzie, Niall Stott, Steven Dick and Chris Wilson.
England's attempt at a fightback was shortlived, with Will Naylor's 26th minute goal being matched by Niall Stott and Kenny Stibbles three minutes and nine minutes later respectively. A late second goal by Simon Egerton reduced the margin to 6-3 but an overtime penalty corner by Niall Stott finished the match 7-3 in Scotland's favour.
Not quite a rout to be sure, but not a good result. England probably have the excuse of the reduced pool to choose from and the fact that Scotland's indoor season has already started.
