9-12 Classifications
Azerbaijan 4 defeated Ukraine 1
Goals: AZE – Nataliya Sidorova PC 5m, Inoyathon Jafarova PS 49m FG 62m, Dilfuza Mirzaliyeva PC 68m; UKR – Maryna Vynohradova PS 28m
Azerbaijan will play for ninth place at the women’s Samsung Hockey World Cup Qualifier after defeating Ukraine 4-1 in the opening match on day nine in Rome.
Inoyathon Jafarova scored a second half double as Azerbaijan slowly gained the ascendancy after an opening 35 minutes where neither team could assume control.
After the score was tied at 1-1 at the break, Azerbaijan withstood Ukraine pressure at the start of the second half before scoring three times in the last 21 minutes to secure the match.
Ukraine had multiple chances to increase their lead after half time but were incapable of taking advantage of their opportunities.
Azerbaijan was a little more productive in front of the net, and aided by very loose marking by the Ukraine defence, they were able to take the lead in the 49th minute before scoring twice before full time to cap a strong victory.
Scotland 5 defeated Italy 1
Goals: SCO - Rhona Simpson FG 11m FG 23m FG 33m FG 61m Holly Cram FG 65m; ITA - Mercedes Salessi PC 43m
Four goals to Rhona Simpson guided Scotland to a comfortable 5-1 win against Italy and book them a spot in the ninth place playoff tomorrow.
It was Scotland’s first win of the tournament, with Simpson scoring three goals in the first half to set up a match-winning lead.
Sam Judge was the architect of the opening two goals, setting up Simpson with a pair of perfect passes in the 11th and 23rd minutes for easy conversions.
Another shortly before half time to complete Simpson’s hat trick - this one a good piece of individual skill - gave Scotland a three-goal advantage.
After conceding a goal during a period of Italian pressure to start the second half, Scotland recovered and took advantage of loose Italian marking to secure the match and book their spot in the ninth place playoff tomorrow against Azerbaijan.
Italy will play Ukraine in a clash for the bottom two places.
5-8 Classifications
China 6 defeated Ireland 0
Goals: CHN: Zho Wan Feng FG 24m, Chen Zhao Xia PC 26m, Ma Yi Bo PC 39m, Chen Zhao Xia PC 47m, Gao Li Hua FG 50m, Song Qing Ling FG 57m
China kept its World Cup hopes alive with a convincing 6-0 win over Ireland. The win sends Korea into the 5th/6th place game and a chance to play for the final remaining World Cup qualifying berth.
The world’s No. 5 ranked team, China showed glimpses of returning to the form of its lofty ranking with a team tournament high six goals against an Ireland defense that allowed only two goals in five previous games.
Zho Wan Feng opened the scoring for China when she slapped a shot off and over Ireland goalkeeper Angela Platt for give her team an early 1-0 lead. Chen Zhao Xia added to the lead just two minutes later when her penalty corner blast deflected off of Ireland defender Jill Orbinson and into the Ireland goal to give China a 2-0 halftime lead.
It was all China in the second half as Ma Yi Bo opened the scoring with a smartly executed drag flick to the upper right corner of the Ireland goal before Chen, Gao Li Hua and Song Qing Ling scored three consecutive goals in a 10-minute span.
With the win, China moves on to face the winner of the New Zealand/France match for 5th place and the final World Cup qualifying spot. Ireland will face the loser of the New Zealand/France contest in the 7th place match.
France 1 defeated New Zealand 0
Goals: FRA - Muriel Lazennec FG 37m
The world’s No 21 ranked France team shocked No. 6 New Zealand 1-0 to remain alive for the final World Cup qualifying berth.
Muriel Lazennec’s diving deflection of a pass early in the second half gave France the only goal of the game and sent the squad to an improbable meeting with China in the tournament’s 5th/6th place game and a shot at a spot in the World Cup.
New Zealand, which entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed, dropped into the 7th/8th place game against Irleand and will miss the World Cup for the first time since 1994.
Both teams responded to the urgency of the crucial contest early in the first half as the teams rushed up and down the pitch. But the initial excitement gave way to more conservative play as the teams went into halftime deadlocked at 0-0.
But early in the second half, Lazennec made a diving stab at a pass from outside the top left of the circle and was able to deflect the ball into the Kiwi goal. The ball appeared destined to roll across the endline, but Lazennec’s dive was timed perfectly to give France the lead over a shocked New Zealand defence.
New Zealand had multiple chances in the second half including two penalty corner opportunities in the final eight minutes and a final frantic effort inside the France circle in the final minute of play.
But France goalkeeper Marion Rehby held on to save both penalty attempts and France cleared the danger in the final seconds to set off a French celebration on the pitch.
Semi Finals
England 1 defeated USA 0 (after extra time)
Goals: Chloe Rogers PC 85m
A dramatic goal after the siren to signal the end of sudden death extra time gave England a 1-0 win over USA and move them into the final on Saturday.
Chloe Rogers’ strike in the final play of extra time put the exclamation mark on a tough and highly competitive semi final.
The match looked headed for a penalty stroke shoot out before England were awarded a penalty corner with just eight seconds remaining in the second period of extra time.
After Crista Cullen's flick was saved, USA couldn’t clear the ball from the circle and Chloe Rogers gratefully slotted the ball into the net for a thrilling win.
Neither team could break the defence of their opponents with chances kept to a minimum despite the high tempo hockey played by both teams.
England had the better of general play but the USA defence was superb to deny a number of promising attacking chances. USA had opportunities of their own to win the match, especially during extra time, but they weren’t able to convert before England scored the winner.
Korea 1 defeated Japan 0
Goals: KOR - Mi Hyun Park FG 49m
Mi Hyun Park scored the game’s only goal as Korea advanced to the tournament championship game with a 1-0 win over Japan.
The win sends Korea into Saturday’s final against England while Japan will meet USA in the third place match.
Korea had the most of the chances in the first half, but could not convert and went into halftime deadlocked at 0-0.
But Korea finally unleashed its vaunted counter attack and in the 49th minute, Park launched a hard shot from the left side of the goal high into the Japan net to send Korea to the final.
The championship final features two former World Cup Qualifier champions with Korea earning top honors at the 1989 tournament and England winning the championship in 2001.
