Match 1: Italy 3-1 Wales
Italy won the opening match of Women’s EuroHockey Championship II with a 3-1 victory over Wales.
It was a very competitive opening to the match with both sides looking to play their way into the contest. Wales perhaps edged the early chances but nothing clear emerged in the opening stages.
Italy went 1-0 ahead when Lara Oviedo struck from a penalty corner routine to score the first goal of the tournament.
Emilia Munitis doubled Italy’s lead with a close-range strike in the third quarter.
Federica Carta scored the third for Italy with a very skilful shot from an angle with help from a brilliant set up by her teammate.
A good fourth quarter for Wales saw them come in a number of opportunities. Izzy Webb grabbed a well-deserved goal when she squeezed the ball over the line to pull it back to 3-1.
Match 2: Poland 6-0 Turkey
Poland put in an excellent performance on day one of Women’s EuroHockey Championship II in Glasgow with 6-0 win over Turkey.
Natalia Wisniewska opened the scoring in the first ten minutes to get off to a great start in the contest.
Poland’s second goal was a good forward’s finish; opportunistic in the D Magdalena Zagajska slotted the ball home on the reverse to make it 2-0.
In the second quarter Turkey played some aerial balls to cause the Poles problems, but there was a succession of great interceptions and tackles from Poland.
There was a battle for the ball at the Turkish goal as the goalkeeper stopped the shot laying on the ground with a few defenders around her, but the danger was cleared.
Poland furthered their lead when they struck a goal by Paula Slawinska. The goal knocked the stuffing out of Turkey as they started to tire in the contest.
A penalty corner gave Poland another goal, this time struck by Dzesika Mazur.
Poland began dominating the game the longer it went on; Turkey was working hard however to battle them.
It was in the final quarter where the Poles struck a couple more goals. The first was by Amelia Katerla, 17 seconds into the 4th quarter, then Magdalena Zagajska finished off a penalty corner.
Match 3: Scotland 7-0 Ukraine
Scotland, cheered on by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and a full house of fans at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre, won their opening match of Women’s EuroHockey Championship II 7-0.
A double for Kaz Cuthbert and Lucy Lanigan; and goals from Charlotte Watson; Emily Dark; and Fiona Burnet gave Scotland an excellent opening result to the tournament.
Scotland got off to a flying start; Charlotte Watson opened the scoring after good build up down the right. The ball was cut back by Kaz Cuthbert who finished off by Watson for 1-0.
Lucy Lanigan came close a short time later when her shot in the D was well blocked. Lanigan wouldn’t be denied a second time when she slid the ball low past the goalkeeper for 2-0.
A good break by Scotland down the right had Sarah Jamieson turn well and smash the post with a powerful effort.
It went to 3-0 in the second quarter when captain Cuthbert smashed a rebound from a penalty corner low against the backboard for 3-0.
The Scots were rampant. Sarah Robertson ran half the length of the pitch and picked out Emily Dark at the far post, but she mishit the shot and it bounced clear.
Dark was heavily involved in Scotland’s fourth goal; a slick break down the right found Dark in the D who tried to force the ball home, her effort broke to Fiona Burnet and she made it 4-0.
Ukraine had a very good spell of pressure as they tried to play their way back into the match. Amy Gibson was forced into a quality save at her top right corner to keep the Ukrainians out.
The comeback was put down by a screamer by Emily Dark. Dark unleashed an absolute rocket into the bottom left corner of the net for 5-0.
Lanigan then bagged her double through a very good team goal by Scotland. A counter attack saw Jamieson produce some mesmeric skill to go past a couple of defenders, to find Lanigan to score from close range.
Cuthbert completed the scoring when she bagged her second when she popped up at the far post to prod the ball home and make it 7-0.
Match 4: Czech Republic 2-2 Austria
Two dramatic late goals saw the final game of the day end in a 2-2 draw between the Czech Republic and Austria.
The Czech Republic started the match well and prompted a good save by the Austrian goalkeeper who threw herself out well to block the attempt.
Both teams were deploying similar tactics, using the outside channel to dribble the ball and cause problems. Another Czech attempt to score just before the end of the first quarter came close but was unsuccessful.
In the second quarter, the Austrians did a good job to pass the ball around the Czech D to try and keep the pressure on.
The opening goal eventually came when the Austrians created a good chance, and finish, by Martia Laginja for 1-0.
Some good build-up saw the Czechs almost score a second but the goalkeeper and defence did a good job of keeping them out.
The Czechs really began pressing the Austrians, who were working hard to keep the ball out of their D, but there were no changes to the scoreline.
The third quarter saw a Czech goal struck by Veronika Novakova as they levelled the scores at 1-1.
Both teams were putting in full effort and were quicker on the ball, working hard for the win. A great save by the Austrian goalkeeper just as the horn sounded to end the third quarter prompted high fives amongst their team.
It was in the final quarter that the Czechs scored through Veronika Decsyova through a penalty corner late in the match.
The game looked done and dusted until Austria was awarded a penalty corner with three seconds to play.
The Captain Corinna Zerbs smashed the ball home for a dramatic equaliser and end the game in a 2-2 draw.
Tomorrow’s games 5th Aug: