2019 Grand Masters European Cup and Tournament Trophy

Brasschaat, Belgium 19-29 June 2019

The 2019 Grand Masters Hockey World Cup takes place at KHC Dragons Hockey Club, Brasschaat, Belgium, where there are four pitches: three water based and one semi-sanded.

Dragons HC  Brasschaat Clubhouse

Scotland were represented by five teams: Scotland Grand Masters (Over 60), Great Grand Masters (Over 65) and Senior Grand Masters (Over 70) in the Grand Masters Hockey World Cup and by Over 60 and Over 65 Scottish Thistles team in the Grand Masters Hockey Tournament Trophy. There were ten countries entered for the Grand Masters competition: Belgium, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain and Wales. The same countries, minus Italy, made up the nine teams in the Great Grand Masters tournament. Italy did have a team in the Senior Grand Masters tournament but France and Spain were not represented among the eight participating countries. In the Grand Masters Tournament Trophy, there were eight teams competing after the late withdrawals of Ireland 2 and Welsh Dragons: Alliance, England LX, Germany 2, Netherlands 2, Scottish Thistles, Sixtiberians and Southern Cross. Ten teams played in the Great Grand Masters Tournament Trophy: Alliance, Argentina, England LX Red and White, Germany 2, Netherlands 2, Scottish Thistles, Southern Cross Blue and Red, and Welsh Dragons.
match schedule revised 8 June 2019 (PDF, new window or tab)

On the first day of the tournament, both Scotland Over 65 Men and Scotland Over 60 Women took on Wales, while Scottish Thistles Over 65 played Southern Cross Blue in the Tournament Trophy. The other sides have to wait till the second day for their first matches. Scotland Over 65 Men drew 1-1 with Wales, John Connaghan scoring the equaliser for Scotland after Wales had gone ahead. Scotland Over 60 Women lost their match against Wales by 1-0, and Scotttish Thistles Over 65 suffered a 6-0 defeat from Southern Cross Blue.

Scotland Over 60 lost 2-1 to Netherlands and Scotland Over 70 lost 6-0 to Germany on the second day of the Grand Masters European Cup tournament in Belgium. Scottish Thistles Over 60 opened their account wth a good 3-0 win against Alliance.

With all the Scottish teams having played one match going into the third day of competition, Scotland Over 60 Women went down 3-0 to Netherlands in a must-win match after both sides had lost their first round matches. In the Men's European Cup, Scotland Over 65 left it late to win 1-0 against hosts Belgium and Scotland Over 60 followed up with a tight tie against Spain, scoring in the dying seconds to claim a 2-2 draw. Scotland Over 70 had a tough task against World Bronze medallists Netherlands in their match, going down 7-0, and Scottish Thistles Over 65 lost 4-1 to Argentina to keep them at the bottom of their pool.

Only Scottish Thistles Grand Masters (Over 60) had a match on the fourth day. They could not find the net against England LX, who had recently beaten them in the Four Nations Tournament Trophy in Aberdeen, going down 5-0. A win against Germany on day 5 would give them a place in the semi final.

The fifth day in Brasschaat saw most of the group stages come to a climax and all Scottish mens teams in action. The day started with Scotland Over 70 taking on Ireland for third place in Pool B, needing at least a draw - a 2-2 draw gave them third place in the pool and a favourable draw in the 5-8 play offs. Scotland Over 60 also played Ireland, but a 0-0 draw left them depending on other teams if they are to qualify for the semi final, with a match against Italy to come. Next, both Scottish Thistles teams played Germany at the same time. The Over 60 side, needing a win to progress to the semi final in second place, did the business with a 3-1 win. The Over 65 team needed at least a draw to guarantee a place in the 5-8 play offs but sadly lost 1-0. Finally Scotland Over 65 play Netherlands looking for a win which would put them into the semi finals.

Scotland Over 60 Men and Women, and Scottish Thistles Over 65 completed their pool programmes on the sixth day of competition. To qualify for the semi finals, the Over 60 Men had the task of beating Italy by at least four goals but were still dependent on the result of the match taking place at the same time between Spain and Ireland. It all came good when Scotland ran up nine goals against Italy without reply while Spain and Ireland drew, Scotland overtaking both to qualify for a semi final against England. Their female counterparts took on England but already knew that they could not make the Gold Medal match and will be playing for Bronze in their final match. They put on a good performance, holding their opponents until late in the first half, but ended up on the wrong end of a 5-0 score. Scottish Thistles Over 65 also took on English opposition and only a win would give them a chance of making the play offs for 5th to 8th. It was not to be - a 9-0 defeat left them to play off in a double header against Alliance for ninth place.

On the first day of second round matches, Scotland Over 70 lost out in their cross over tie with Belgium for 5th to 8th place, losing 3-0. They finish their competition with a second match against Ireland to decide 7th and 8th places after Ireland lost to Italy after a penalty shoot out. Scottish Thistles Over 65 beat Alliance 1-0 with a goal from Tim Lorimer in the dying minutes in the first of their double header matches to decide ninth place. Scotland Over 60 Women lost 2-0 in a friendly against England Over 65 Women. All the other teams had a rest day before their play off and semi final matches.

With three days left in Belgium, Scotland Over 65 began a tough run of three matches in three days in the round robin for fifth place with a 3-2 win against France at the start of the day and maintaining their 100% record in the round robin. Next, Scottish Thistles Over 60 narrowly failed to book their place in the Tournament Trophy final, losing out in a penalty shoot out after drawing 2-2 with Netherlands in their semi final. In the early evening, Scotland Over 60 were looking to avenge a narrow defeat by England in the recent Four Nations tournament in Aberdeen, with a place in the European Cup Final the prize. Sadly, the 2-0 scoreline in favour of England meant that Scotland had to settle for a place in the Bronze medal match, taking on Germany early on the last day of the tournament.

Three of the Scottish teams played their last matches of the tournament on the penultimate day. The big one was the Over 60 Tournament Trophy Bronze Medal match between Scottish Thistles and Southern Cross. Sadly for Thistles, Southern Cross claimed Bronze with a 4-0 victory, condemning them to finish just outside the medals in fourth place. At the same time, Scottish Thistles Over 65 took on Alliance in the second of their double header matches to decide ninth place, already 1-0 up after the first leg. This Thistles team made no mistake in confirming ninth place with an emphatic 6-0 win, finally finding the scoring touch which had eluded them all tournament. At the end of the day, Scotland Over 70 beat Ireland 3-1 to take seventh in the Senior Grand Masters European Cup. The other match taking place resulted in a win for Scotland Over 65 over Spain in the round robin for places 5-9 in the Great Grand Masters European Cup, with the deciding match to play against Ireland on the final day.

Scotland Over 60 win Bronze

The final day of the European Cup tournament saw both Scotland Over 60 Men and Women win Bronze, against Germany (4-3) and Netherlands (2-1) respectively. Scotland Over 65 men beat Ireland 3-0 in their crucial final match, with both sides having a 100% record in the round robin for places 5-9 but with Ireland having a better goal difference. Nothing less than a win for Scotland would give them fifth place in the Great Grand Masters European Cup and a 3-0 victory sealed it for them.

Competition Structure

As well as the three Scotland men's international teams and Scottish Thistles, Scotland Over 60 women are taking part in the tournament.

Grand Masters World Cup (Over 60)

Ten teams took part, in two pools of five teams. Scotland were in Pool A with Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and Spain.

Pool B Matches

21 June 09:30 Pitch 1 Netherlands 2 Scotland 1

22 June 12:30 Pitch 4 Spain 2 Scotland 2

24 June 09:15 Pitch 3 Scotland 0 Ireland 0

25 June 09:00 Pitch 4 Scotland 9 Italy 0

The teams finishing first and second in each pool played off for positions 1-4 in the standard semi-final/final format, and the teams finishing third and fourth played off in the same way for positions 5-8. The fifth place teams in each pool played each other twice, the aggregate result determining positions 9 and 10. Scotland qualified in second place for a semi final against England, winners of Pool A.

27 June 18:15 Pitch 2 England 2 (Jawanda 2) Scotland 0 1-4 Semi Final

Scotland could not match a strong England side which was to go on to win Gold and had to settle for a place in the Bronze Medal match against Germany.

29 June 09:15 Pitch 3 Germany 3 Scotland 4 Bronze Medal match.

In a ding-dong battle, Scotland came out on top by one goal in seven, winning the Bronze Medal - the first for a Scotland Over 60 side since 2006, when they had won Bronze in Italy in the predecessor tournament, the European Superveterans Tournament.

full results and reports     Altiusrt results and team information

Great Grand Masters World Cup (Over 65)

Nine teams competed in this tournament in one pool of five teams and one pool of four teams. Scotland were in Pool B along with Belgium, Netherlands and Wales.

Pool B Matches

20 June 09:15 Pitch 2 Wales 1 (Chapman) Scotland 1 (Connaghan)

22 June 11:00 Pitch 2 Belgium 0 Scotland 1 (Bishop)

24 June 18:00 Pitch 2 Netherlands 0 Scotland 0

The teams finishing first and second in Pool B played each other again after the pool matches were completed, the aggregate score with their pool match deciding the final placing. The winner played the team finishing second in Pool A and the loser the team finishing first in that pool in the Semi Finals; the winners of these matches played in the Final and the losers played off for third place. The teams finishing third and fourth in Pool A played in a round robin to determine places 5-9 with the teams finishing third, fourth and fifth in Pool B, carrying forward the results of matches already played in the respective pools. Scotland lost out to Netherlands and Wales on goal difference and played France, Ireland and Spain in the round robin with Belgium whom they had already beaten.

The Scots won the first two of their three matches in the round robin, beating France 3-2 and Spain 1-0 and securing at least sixth place. They were level on points with Ireland, who had a superior goal difference, and needed to beat the Irish in the last match to finish in fifth place in the Great Grand Masters European Cup. They rounded off an unbeaten tournament with a fine 3-0 win to clinch that fifth place.

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Senior Grand Masters (Over 70)

The eight Over 70 teams played in two pools of four teams. Scotland were in Pool B along with Germany, Ireland and Netherlands.

Pool B Matches

21 June 11:30 Pitch 4 Germany 6 Scotland 0

22 June 14:30 Pitch 2 Netherlands 7 Scotland 0

24 June 09:00 Pitch 1 Scotland 2 Ireland 2

The teams finishing first and second in each pool played off for positions 1-4 in the standard semi-final/final format, and the teams finishing third and fourth played off in the same way for positions 5-8. Scotland finished in third place in Pool B and played Belgium, fourth in Pool A, for a place in the 5-6 final. A 3-0 loss left them playing Ireland, who lost to Italy in a penalty shoot out, in their last match. They finally recorded a win, the 3-1 result giving them seventh in the Senior Grand Masters European Cup.

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Grand Masters Tournament Trophy (Over 60)

With the late withdrawal of both the Ireland B and Welsh Dragons sides which were drawn in Pool A, the tournament was reduced to eight teams and Sixtiberians were moved from Pool B to Pool A. The remaining eight teams played in two pools of four. Scottish Thistles were in Pool B with Alliance, England LX and Germany. The revised programme published on 9 June 2019 removed the scheduled match against Sixtiberians and retained all the other scheduled pool matches.

Pool B Matches

20 June 14:30 Pitch 2 Scottish Thistles v Sixtiberians - cancelled

21 June 13:45 Pitch 3 Scottish Thistles 3 (Bateson 2, Gadd) Alliance 0

23 June 15:45 Pitch 2 Scottish Thistles 0 England LX 5

24 June 12:30 Pitch 1 Scottish Thistles 3 (Lees, Bateson, Docherty) Germany 1

The teams finishing first and second in each pool played off for positions 1-4 in the standard semi-final/final format, and the teams finishing third and fourth played off in the same way for positions 5-8. Scottish Thistles finished second in Pool B behind England LX and qualified to play Netherlands, winners of Pool A, in the semi final.

27 June 12:00 Pitch 1 Netherlands 2(5) Scottish Thistles 2(4) 1-4 Semi Final
Netherlands won 3-2 in a penalty shoot out

The narrow defeat meant that Scottish Thistles went into the Bronze Medal match against Southern Cross, while Netherlands played England LX for Gold.

28 June 14:30 Pitch 3 Southern Cross 4 Scottish Thistles 0 Bronze Medal match

With only 10 fit players, Scottish Thistles could not match Southern Cross and had to settle for fourth place. Netherlands won Gold with a penalty shoot out win over England LX.

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Great Grand Masters Tournament Trophy (Over 65)

The ten teams played in two pools of five. Scottish Thistles were in Pool B with Argentina, England LX White, Germany and Southern Cross B.

Pool B Matches

20 June 16:15 Pitch 3 Southern Cross Blue 6 Scottish Thistles 0

22 June 17:45 Pitch 1 Scottish Thistles 1 Argentina 4

24 June 12:30 Pitch 4 Germany 1 Scottish Thistles 0

25 June 11:00 Pitch 3 England LX White 9 Scottish Thistles 0

The teams finishing first and second in each pool played off for positions 1-4 in the standard semi-final/final format, and the teams finishing third and fourth played off in the same way for positions 5-8. The fifth place teams in each pool played each other twice, the aggregate result determining positions 9 and 10. Scottish Thistles finished in fifth place and played off against Alliance in a double header to decide ninth place. Thistles won both matches, 1-0 and 6-0, and finished ninth.

full results and reports     Altiusrt results and team information

Squads

Timetable of Events

17-19 June training slots on request to Organising Committee

17/18 June from 10:30 and 19 June 09:00-12:00 Passport and Equipment checks

19 June 11:00 Technical Officials Briefing
19 June 12:00 Umpires Briefing
19 June 13:00 Team Managers Briefing

19 June 15:00 Opening Ceremony

24 June (evening) TBA WGMA Extraordinary General Meeting

26 June 18:30-23:30 Tournament Party at Comics Station (in Antwerp centre) €67.50 including buffet dinner and all drinks

29 June 15:00 End of matches

tournament website   Information Sheet 1   Information Sheet 2   Information Sheet 3