A RISING hockey star from Dollar has returned to the Classic Burgh with gold following a scorching European tournament in Turkey.

Jenny Walls was part of the Scottish U21 women’s team which recently returned from Avsallar in Turkey where they competed in the European Championships II tournament.

They bested seven other teams to clinch gold and were the only team not to lose a single match.

The thermometer stayed above 30C throughout, the hottest day recorded 39C in the dugout.

Not only did the girls have to overcome the heat, they also had to deal with food poisoning and transport delays.

This was not the first time Jenny came home with silverware as last year she was part of the U18 team that claimed gold at their European tournament in the Czech Republic.

With her at both events was fellow Dollar Academy pupils Eve Pearson from Dunfermline.

In Turkey, the Scottish team opened the tournament with a nervy game against Wales who were favourites to win.

It ended in 0-0, a decent outcome in a tough pool.

The next pool game was against the Czechs and the Scottish coach made a clear statement of intent by putting four strikers up front.

It was a brave move that led to fast-paced attacking play from the start and resulted in a confident 2-0 win.

The final pool-game was a must-win and the women duly took a 1-0 win, then going on to face Ukraine in the semi final.

It was an end-to-end battle in nearly 40C heat, but Scotland won 4-1, Jenny claiming a goal after picking up a spill from the opposition keeper and smashing the ball in.

The final, against Italy, was another display of attacking spirit and solid defence.

Scotland went 1-0 behind in the first quarter, but showed great composure to equalise by halftime.

They then put themselves forward in the third quarter and the final leg of the match sealed the deal.

At the start of the fourth quarter the Scottish team had a great run into the Italian defence to make it 3-1.

Jenny then ran the ball into the D, setting up for a teammate to tap in and make it 4-1 to claim gold.