Scotland’s women made history as they stepped onto the pitch at a FIH Hockey World Cup for the first time in 24 years and put in a performance to be proud of over all six matches across Belgium and the Netherlands.

Highlights included back-to-back wins over Ireland and New Zealand as Scotland finished 12^th, never looking out-classed, even against the highest ranked opposition. There was also a huge personal milestone for Amy Costello as she earned her 100th cap for Scotland.

The opening group games saw the Scots go down 3-0 to Germany despite a committed performance, a narrow 3-2 loss to the USA after a fiercely contested match and Argentina ultimately securing a 2-0 victory, with plenty for the Scots to be proud of against the eventual tournament winners.

Next up were Ireland and there were hopes Scotland could carry the momentum from that impressive performance against higher-ranked Argentina, where they showed plenty of fight, determination and quality against one of the world’s leading sides.

Both teams showed strength in attack and defence, but Scotland held firm in a strong, impressive and dominant performance to see out a 2-1 victory over the Irish.

It was a score they repeated against New Zealand. Tied a one apiece at half-time, the Scots grabbed the winner in the third quarter through Heather McEwan’s first goal of the tournament.

Both teams pushed even into the final minutes, but Scotland managed to hold possession as the final whistle blew for the win and back-to-back victories.

With a second place in Pool H secured, Scotland travelled to Amsterdam for their final match against Japan.

Scotland dominated the game, but ruthless Japanese finishing was the difference as the Scots lost 2-1 to finish 12^th overall in the tournament. History made, a lot to be proud of and an appetite for more at this level.