The Ulster U18 Girls suffered a late defeat to Scotland in their third and final game against Scotland this morning.
Goals from Zara Hopkins and Lucie O’Hara Bouvet had Ulster level, before a late strike saw the visitors earn their win with the final phase of play.
A lively start saw both teams looking threatening, but it was Scotland with the first opportunity of the game, going 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper, before their forward fired high and wide of the goal.
Four minutes into the game, Scotland kept the pressure on, winning the first corner, but good running lines from the Ulster defence stopped a dangerous shot.
Ulster started to gain some momentum getting more pressure onto the Scotland midfield, turning them over and creating more opportunities.
At the end of the first quarter, Ulster began to grow into the tie, but couldn’t test the Scottish goalkeeper as the sides went into the break level.
At the start of the second period, a seven yard scramble in front of the Scottish goal with plenty of touches from both teams turned into a penalty corner for Ulster with the ball getting trapped under the Scottish keeper.
Half way through the second quarter their were plenty of opportunities for both sides, but neither side could break the deadlock.
With four minutes remaining on the clock in the second quarter, Scotland got their goal from a well worked corner varietion. The Ulster keeper got a touch, but not enough to keep the ball from rolling agonizly into the goal.
The hosts responded strongly winning a corner of their own with two minutes left on the clock, but the Scottish defence held strong blocking repeated attempts.
After another phase of play, Ulster won another corner on the final whistle before half time but a missed injection meant the quarter was over before they got a chance to put anything toward goal.
The second half begun with the same tempo that the first finished. Scotland created the first opportunity, but Ulster went down the other end and got on the scoreboard with a great team move being finished off by Zara Hopkins.
The third quarter came to a close with Scotland having a flurry of attacks, but the Ulster keeper had an excellent game keeping the score level at 1-1.
The home side were under pressure at the start of the fourth quarter, with Scotland attacking quick and some of the Uster girls scrambling into position whilst another corner for the visitors gave them the lead through a well worked variation.
After 54 minutes, Ulster drew level with a brilliant goal from Lucie O’Hara Bouvet.
The strike came from the 45 with a slight lift and pinging in off the far post, levelling the game with five minutes left and both teams pushing on for the win.
However, Scotland were stright back on the attack but they were unable to break down a stubborn home defence.
With the final play of the game, Ulster were unfortunately un-done by a training ground play from the Scottish forwards who ping pong the ball around the circle and into the far corner.