Shona McCallin and England win gold at European Championship

Hockey star Shona McCallin emerged with a gold medal as an integral part of England’s successful European Championship squad.

England beat Holland in the final after coming back from 2-0 down to level 2-2. Keeper Maddie Hinch was the hero as England won a penalty shoot-out.

It was the first time England had won the competition in 24 years.

Former Newark Hockey Club player McCallin, 23, said the championships in London was the best atmosphere she had played in.

“It was incredible. I have never played in front of such a loud and vocal crowd before. It was a privilege to be involved in such a big event,” she said.

“I have played at big events before, but to have the home fans behind you was an amazing feeling.

“People talk about the crowd being a 12th member of the team, and it certainly felt like that for me.”

McCallin, of Dry Doddington, said going into the tournament she thought there was every chance they could get a medal.

“We are in a good place at the moment, and if we hadn’t made the medal positions I would have been disappointed,” she said.

“If you had said to me before the tournament that we would be in the final against the world number one I would have been overjoyed.”

McCallin started every match of the tournament, which began with pool victories against Scotland, Italy and Germany.

In the semi-final they beat Spain 2-1 before their victory against eight-time champions Holland.

McCallin revealed how her coaches helped keep her and the rest of the team calm before the big match.

“We are quite a focused group and take each game as it comes but obviously the final is a massive occasion in front of a big crowd and live on BBC2,” she said.

“Our coaches told us to play like we were at our training camp at Bisham Abbey, and that helped.

“I did my best to play it just as another hockey game and try not to think about the occasion.”

Going into the penalty shoot-out, McCallin said having goalkeeper Hinch in the team made her confident of victory.

“Maddie is the best goalkeeper in the world so as soon as it went to penalties I knew we were going to win,” she said.

One member of the crowd happier than most was 82-year-old grandmother, Eva Nullis, who saw her play for the first time.

“It was a fantastic atmosphere and crowd. The pace is so quick that I was delighted that Shona wore a red ribbon in her hair so I could tell who she was,” Mrs Nullis said.

McCallin has a three-week holiday before she heads back to Bisham Abbey to begin the early stages of training for the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro next year.