11th Place Playoff
Ukraine 5 defeated Italy 0
Goals: UKR - Maryna Vynohradova FG 2m FG 23m, Zhanna Savenko FG 17m, Maryna Khilko FG 27m, Natalya Vasyukkova FG 30m
Ukraine finished in 11th place after belting a disappointing Italy 5-0 in the battle to avoid bottom spot.
The home team looked lethargic to the point of being disinterested in the first half as Ukraine piled on five unanswered goals, including three in seven minutes late in the term.
The Italian defence was non-existent as Ukraine used good passing and a lack of application from their opponent to open a match-winning lead before the break.
The second half was scoreless but Ukraine still had control, relishing the chance to dominate as they passed the ball freely and moved enthusiastically into space to receive possession.
The end of Italy’s World Cup qualification hopes started against USA and continued against Ireland, when they conceded late goals to lose in consecutive matches. Their next three matches all resulted in heavy losses as they capitulated in a tournament that offered promise at the midway point.
Ukraine’s campaign was essentially over before it began, with star Tetyana Kobzenko ruled out with a knee injury. Kobzenko, a world-class talent, would have had a huge influence on the performance of the Ukrainian team.
Whether she would have been able to lift them single-handedly into the World Cup is debatable, but it’s likely that Ukraine’s finishing position would have been higher if she had been healthy enough to display her skills.
9th Place Playoff
Azerbaijan 3 defeated Scotland 2
Goals: AZE: Zarifahon Zennalova FG 13m, Inoyathon Jafarova PC 42m, Nataliya Sidorova PC 56m; SCO: Samantha Judge FG 11m, Emma Rochlin PS 43m
Azerbaijan claimed the 9th place spot in the tournament with a 2-0 win over Scotland.
Nataliya Sidorvova connected on a penalty corner in to break a 2-2 draw to give Azerbaijan the win and send Scotland to defeat for the sixth time in seven tournament matches.
Scotland opened the match with promise when Samantha Judge scored off a pass from Julie Kilpatrick to for an early 1-0 lead. Azerbaijan roared back just two minutes later when Zarifahon Zennalova was left open in the circle and snapped a shot past Scotland keeper Debbie McLeod to tie the match at 1-1.
Azerbaijan took the lead early in the second half when Inoyathon Jafarova launched a shot from the upper right hand side of the circle through a crowded Scotland defence and into the left hand corner of the goal for a 2-1 advantage.
Scotland’s Emma Rochlin added a penalty stroke in the 43rd minute before Azerbaijan’s Sidorova connected for her eventual game-winning penalty corner goal.
Appearing in its first World level tournament, Azerbaijan finished the tournament on a high note going undefeated in its final three matches with two wins and a draw.
With its 10th place finish, Scotland concludes a disappointing tournament and misses qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1994 and only the third time since 1983. The team went 0-5 through pool play before showing some spark in a 5-1 win over host Italy in crossover play.
7th Place Playoff
New Zealand 2 defeated Ireland 1
Goals: NZL - Stacey Carr FG 44m, Clarissa Eshuis PC 54m; IRL Eimear Cregan FG 45m
New Zealand captured a bittersweet 7th place finish at the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Ireland.
The win was of little consolation for the world's 6th ranked Kiwi squad who were amoung the favorites to claim a spot in the World Cup.
Ireland suffered only two losses in the tournament - both in crossover and classifciation play - but four draws kept the team from rising any higher in the final standings.
After the teams battled to a 0-0 draw in their pool-round meeting, the classification match seemed to be headed to a similar fate after when the two teams still had not produced a goal in the first 35 minutes of play.
But in the second half, New Zealand's Stacey Carr trapped a ball in the circle and turned and fired a shot high into the Ireland net for a 1-0 Kiwi lead.
Ireland, who had played to three 0-0 draws in the tournament, quickly responded a minute later when Eimear Cregan connected with a blast from the right side of the circle at the 45 minute mark.
With the game apparently headed to an end-of-regulation deadlock, Clariss Eshuis fired a penalty corner shot off of Irish goalkeeper Angela Platt and into the net for the game-winning goal.
New Zealand's 7th place finish means the Kiwis will miss the World Cup for the first time since 1994 while Ireland's 8th place finish eliminates the team from a second straight World Cup appearance.
