In all weathers Hoci Cymru hosted a fantastic Easter weekend of international hockey.
4 international sides made the trip to Cardiff to challenge the Welsh U18s, Dreigiau and Senior Women squads.
Hockey fans from across the country were treated so some high quality and tense matches with further fun to be had in the Hoci Cymru fan zone where players could test their skills, strength and speed.
The Girls were the first to play their parts in tight fixtures against Canada,
a draw, a close loss and thrilling victory saw them draw the series.
Captain Rosie Jones reflected on her side’s performance:
“I’m really proud of the girls and our performance this series. We really came together as a team and showed great progression.
It has been such an honour to represent and captain Wales this week.“
The Under 18 boys were defeated by a strong Ulster side but showed fantastic progression across their three games.
Head Coach Mark Ramage commented:
“I’m disappointed with the end result, in terms of not winning a match. However, so much progress was made and I was really pleased with how we stepped up from game to game. We’re in a good place moving into the rest of our season.”
Wales Senior Women’s international campaign got off to a rocky start as Scotland claimed the Easter series victory against a spirited Welsh side.
The young Welsh sided suffered a first 3-1 defeat Scotland but they soon bounced back with Livvy Hoskins’ second goal of the weekend securing a 1-0 victory in their second match. However, a clinical Scottish side clinched the series with a 3-0 victory in the final match.
Beth Bingham, Welsh Senior Women Captain said:
“It’s obviously disappointed not to win, but we are a young squad coming into this. We’ve had one training session together this year so far, so a good start. Like I said, disappointed not to win, but onwards to the summer.”
Wales U21 Dreigiau Squad performed fantastically in a high-quality series against Austria. With close scorelines resulting in an overall series draw.
Sven Lindemann, the Austrian U21 coach noted:
“It’s very fair that the series ended in a draw. Both teams were very competitive and have demonstrated strong starts to the international season.”
Results
Under 18 Girls
Wales 2 -2 Canada
Wales 2-3 Canada
Wales 2-1 Canada
Under 18 boys
Wales 1 – 5 Ulster
Wales 1 – 4 Ulster
Wales2 –4 Ulster
Dreigiau Women
Wales 3–2 Austria
Wales 2– 3Austria
Wales 1–1 Austria
Senior Women
Wales 1–3 Scotland
Wales 1–0 Scotland
Wales – Scotland