THREE Borders hockey players shared the agony and the ecstasy of European competition in Germany recently.

Janet Jack, Jackie Wilson and Carolyn Allison represented Scotland in the European Masters Championships at Krefeld Hockey Club.

Defender Janet, who plays for the Scotland 55s team, came away with a silver medal after a hotly-contested final with England.

And the Fjordhus Rievers player/coach was in the top three goal-scorers for the whole competition – a situation which left her “surprised”.

Janet said: “I obviously just found myself in the right place at the right time.

“It was great to win silver, one up from bronze last year at the World Cup.

“One of the main themes the coach worked on was trust – in the process and in each other. We all put in a lot of work, for ourselves, for our team and for our country, and that showed.

“We maintained our quality throughout the tournament. The work rate, and the work ethic was exceptional – we ended up being supported by all the other teams.”

Scotland won five out of six matches, scoring 19 goals and conceding only three during the tournament.

They lost the final 2-0 to England, who scored twice in the final seven minutes.

Scotland kicked off the tournament with a 7-0 thumping of GlobeDutch before recording a 2-0 win over Celtic cousins Ireland.

A 3-0 win over Germany put them in the quarter-finals against an Alliance team.

They notched up a 5-0 victory before a tough semi-final test against the Netherlands.

The Dutch scored first but Scotland equalised on the 25-minute mark. They had to wait until the 58th minute for a late strike to take them through to the final against England.

On the Saturday, the English came out the blocks and put Scotland under pressure, but the defence stood firm and then came slowly in to the game. It was end-to-end stuff until the last seven minutes when England converted a short corner and followed up with a well-worked goal to seal the gold medal.

Meanwhile, club-mates Jackie and Carolyn, suffered the disappointment of missing out on bronze in the 50s section, after a field goal in the 15th minute from Ireland was enough to see them secure the medals.

It was an impressive tournament run though, with three wins, one draw and two defeats in six matches.

Jackie said: “The whole European experience was fantastic. The highlight for me was the 2-0 win against Wales. The team played some brilliant hockey and linked together all over the pitch. Our hard work in training came in to its own, giving us the win we deserved to reach the semi finals.”

Carolyn got herself on the scoresheet with a field goal in the 2-1 win over Germany in the group stage.

Trials begin soon for selection for next year and anyone eligible to play for Scotland is welcome to attend.

For more information on the Masters programme see: http://scottishwomensmastershockey.uk/