Azerbaijan defeated Italy 3-1 due to a great finish and qualified for tomorrow’s final against Japan. Belarus beat Wales 4-1 and play for the Bronze Medal against Russia. Italy and Wales compete for rank 5.

Belarus v Wales 4-1 (4-0)
Due to Azerbaijan’s victory Belarus had no chance of playing in the final anymore. Nevertheless they started with a lot of pressure into their last round-robin match. Already after a few seconds they gained their first great opportunity but Yulia Laptsevich missed the empty goal by centimetres. However Belarus took the lead when Yuliya Mikheichyk (4’) won possession near the circle line after a Welsh defender was unable to control the ball. She left goalie Margaret Rees no chance. Afterwards Belarus captain Volha Shyntar increased the lead (8’/10’) by scoring twice within two minutes making her the new top scorer in this tournament. Ten minutes before halftime Nadzeya Silitskaya made it 4-0 when she tipped in the rebound coming from Rees.

In the second half Wales converted their first attack. Emma Batten had a good run towards the circle and passed to Carys Hopkins who guided the ball over the goal-line. Afterwards Wales won another penalty corner but Tina Evans’ shot hit the crossbar. A few seconds later the umpires awarded a penalty stroke after the ball touched the body of a Belarus defender on the goal line. Leah Wilkinson’s flick was well saved by goalkeeper Yuliya Lashuk. Nevertheless Wales kept up their pace and created more opportunities. In the last ten minutes Belarus were the stronger team again and deserved the victory.

1-0 (4’) Yuliya MIKHEICHYK (FG)
2-0 (8’) Volha SHYNTAR (FG)
3-0 (10’) Volha SHYNTAR (FG)
4-0 (25’) Nadzeya SILITSKAYA (FG)
4-1 (39’) Carys HOPKINS (FG)

Italy v Azerbaijan 1-3 (0-0)
The situation was obvious; Azerbaijan needed a victory to safely qualify for Sunday’s final. Italy had no chance of playing in the gold medal match anymore because they had lost three games. A victory over Azerbaijan could have earned them a place in the Bronze Medal match.

At the beginning Azerbaijan tried to take control of the game but Italy had some good counter-attacks. After 20 minutes of play Italy won three penalty corners in row. Azerbaijan can thank their goalkeeper Viktoriya Shahbazova that Italy did not score. Shahbazova saved Francesca Faustini’s and Chiara Tiddi’s attempts very well. At the end of the first half Azerbaijan had more ball possession but were unable to create serious opportunities.

In the 39th minute Azerbaijan missed their biggest chance in this game so far. Mi Sun Safarova passed into the circle to Myungsoon Mammadova who deflected the ball towards goal but goalkeeper Paula Calvo playing her first game for Italy in this competition cleared for a long corner. Both goalies have performed well in this encounter. Shahbazova saved another shot from Chiara Tiddi and blocked Italy’s 6th penalty corner attempt. On the other side Azerbaijan’s Khatira Aliyeva (49’) had more luck. She converted their 3rd penalty corner for a 1-0 lead.
In the 61st minute Marina Aliyeva and Myungsoon Mammadova counter-attacked, combined well and increased the lead. Only two minutes later Zhun Mammadova (63’) made it 3-0. 81 seconds before the final whistle Jasbeer Singh (69’) scored for Italy.

0-1 49’ Khatira ALIYEVA (PC)
0-2 61’ Myungsoon MAMMADOVA (FG)
0-3 63’ Zhun MAMMADOVA (FG)
1-3 69’ Jasbeer SINGH (FG)