ALAN FORSYTH, the Great Britain striker, has described scoring the goal that clinched the gold medal for Scotland at the European championships in Glasgow this weekend as “one of the best feelings of my life”, writes Craig Madden.
Derek Forsyth’s side had already sealed promotion to the European A division for the first time since 2005 by reaching the final but they then put the icing on the cake by beating Wales 2-1 to clinch the title in front of a jubilant home support.
With the match poised at 1-1 well into the final quarter, the ball fell kindly to Forsyth and the Surbiton striker lashed the ball past a stunned David Kettle in the Welsh goal for a fitting winner. The tournament turned out to be a personal triumph for the 25-year-old from Paisley who finished as top goalscorer with eight strikes from five games. He was also voted player of the tournament.
He said:“We made it hard for ourselves again but we knew that if we played our game we would win the match. When the ball came to me I just decided to hit it as hard as I could, it was one of the best feelings of my life when it went in. It’s amazing.”
The gold medal had looked a forlorn hope when the Welsh dominated the first half and turned round a goal ahead through a James Carson penalty corner strike. The Scots at that point were left chasing shadows having failed to muster a single shot at goal.
Early signs of the comeback came in the second half when Kenny Bain had two set-piece opportunities, the first cannoning off the bar while the next was well blocked on the line by a Welsh defender.
However, three minutes into the final quarter, Willie Marshall converted a penalty corner with a low shot that found its way into the net to put the Scots level. At that point the capacity crowd at Glasgow Green scented victory and it was fitting that it was Forsyth who stepped up to provide the winner.
The occasion was also a personal triumph for Alan`s father Derek, Scotland`s head coach, who led his side to five wins out of five and promotion to Europe`s top flight for the first time in 12 years. Derek said: “I think it is a fantastic end to an incredibly busy year for both the squad and the staff. To finish our programme by winning the Euros and gaining promotion to the A division is a just reward to everyone’s efforts over the last few months.”
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