England 3 defeated Japan 0
Goals: ENG - Alex Danson FG 13m, Crista Cullen PC 35m, Jo Ellis FG 41m
England earned the top spot in Pool A with an impressive 3-0 over Japan.
Both England and Japan clinched spots in the World Cup earlier in the tournament, but England underscored its tournament dominance with a victory over the previously unbeaten Japanese team. England will be seeking to win consecutive World Cup Qualifier titles after winning the 2001 tournament in Amiens, France.
Continuing the form that has resulted in four straight wins at the tournament, England struck 12 minutes into the game when Alex Danson lifted a rebound off a Japanese stick high into the goal for a 1-0 England lead. Crista Cullen’s drag flick to the left side of the cage with time winding down in the first half gave England a 2-0 halftime advantage.
Jo Ellis added to the lead early in the second half when she softly tapped a bouncing pass into the right side of the Japan goal.
Japan had a chance to get back into the game with 17 minutes remaining, but Sashimi Iwao stepped on the ball before depositing it into an open England goal.
Both teams will have to wait until this evening’s USA vs. Korea match to determine their semifinal opponents. England will play the loser of the Pool B match while Japan will meet the Pool B winner on Thursday.
China 3 defeated France 1
Goals: CHN – Ma Yi Bo PC 13m, Ren Ye FG 39m, Chen Zhao Xia PC 57m; FRA – Celine Orefice FG 40m
China finished third in Pool A after a dominant if unspectacular 3-1 victory against France.
Despite their superiority, China struggling to find the net with a number of wasted chances and poor options inside their scoring circle ensuring the score was a lot closer than the pattern of general play indicated.
China was not helped by France pushing players behind the ball. Eighteen players were inside France’s defensive circle at various stages during the first half, making it almost impossible for China to produce anything constructive when in possession deep in opposition territory.
After a lone goal to Ma Yi Bo in the first half, the match became slightly more goal-friendly after the break with three converted.
China notched their second in the 39th minute before France took play almost from the restart into the circle to score through Celine Orefice and reduce the margin back to one.
However China assured victory with Chen Zhao Xia’s penalty corner strike with 13 minutes remaining and continued to attack without success until the full time siren.
China will play the fourth-placed team from Pool B in the 5-8 classifications, while France, who finished in fourth in Pool A, will play in the other crossover match against the team that finishes third in the other pool.
Ukraine 2 defeated Scotland 1
Goals: UKR - Maryna Vynohradova FG 56m, Tetyana Selenko FG 68m; SCO - Rhona Simpson PC 48m
Ukraine claimed its first win of the tournament with two late goals good enough to overcome Scotland 2-1 in the final match of Pool A.
In a match that reflected each team’s standing in the tournament, all goals were scored in the second half with Scotland taking the lead in the 48th minute before Ukraine responded to steal maximum points.
The match was played with an attacking mindset, with the space afforded by each team’s defence enabling their opposition room to move. Unfortunately the outcome didn’t always match the effort, with basic skill errors and a failure to convert attacking movements resulting in a disjointed spectacle.
After a scoreless first half, the deadlock was finally broken when Rhona Simpson found herself in the right spot to get a stick to Cheryl Valentine’s penalty corner shot.
Ukraine continued to attack and grabbed the equaliser 14 minutes from full time with a good effort from Maryna Vynohradova. As the match looked headed for a draw, Ukrainian captain Tetyana Selenko slotted a shot into the bottom left corner to give her team the victory.
The result means Ukraine finishes fifth in pool A and Scotland sixth, with both to contest the lowest ranking classification matches for positions 9-12 on Thursday and Friday.
Ireland 0 drew Azerbaijan 0
Ireland and Azerbaijan conspired to produce a listless scoreless draw to finish their Pool B commitments.
With both teams’ fates already secured, Ireland will play for 5th-8th place and Azerbaijan for the bottom four places, the match was riddled with errors.
The draw was Ireland’s fourth in five matches, with three of those scoreless contests. While they have only conceded two goals in the tournament, their attacking capability has been only slightly better, with three goals scored in four matches.
Although Ireland are through to the classification matches for positions 5-8, they will have to put the ball in the net at some stage to if they hope to qualify for the World Cup. Based on their performance in this match however, an inability to construct scoring chances will result in them struggling to overcome the other teams still in contention.
Azerbaijan was as guilty as Ireland of spoiling the spectacle and they finish the round play with five losses. Like Ireland, they had chances to score but didn’t have the composure or skill inside their attacking circle to take advantage.
Their next match will be against Ukraine on Thursday morning in the first of the cross-over playoffs for positions 8-12.
Korea 3 defeated USA 0
Goals: KOR - Jeong Sook Park PC 21m FG 70m, Kwang Min Ko FG 37m
Korea claimed top spot in Pool B with a comprehensive 3-0 win over USA to complete their round matches unbeaten.
In a match-up of Pool B’s top two teams, Korea emerged victorious with the crispness of their skills and speed around the pitch instrumental in helping them win the pool.
The match was 21 minutes old when Jeong Sook Park converted an easy penalty corner after she was left unmarked at the left post to undo some of the hard work that USA had put into the clash until that stage.
The decisive moment in the match came just after half time, with Ko Woon Oh given space on the right to find Kwang Min Ko who converted with a precise reverse stick deflection.
That goal gave Korea a two-goal advantage and from there USA was always going to struggle to bridge the gap.
USA continued to press throughout the second half but couldn’t capitalise on three penalty corners before conceding a goal with 20 seconds remaining with Park notching her second.
Korea will play Japan on Thursday night in the late semi final, while England will meet USA in the earlier clash.
New Zealand 5 defeated Italy 0
NZL: Diana Weavers PC 19m, Clarissa Eshuis PC 35m, Krystal Forgesson PC 37m, Elizabeth Ryan FG 52m, Stacey Carr FG 54m
New Zealand re-gained its internationally-ranked form at just the right time as the Kiwis claimed the No. 3 spot in Pool B with a 5-0 win over Italy.
The win gives New Zealand seven points in the tournament and a tie-breaker edge over No. 4 Ireland as a result of the Kiwis’ two tournament wins. New Zealand will face France in the 5th-8th crossover phase while Ireland gets the unenviable task of playing the world’s No. 5 ranked China team to stay alive for the fifth and final World Cup berth.
New Zealand took the lead midway through the first half when Diana Weavers knocked in the rebound off of her own penalty corner shot to give the Kiwis a 1-0 advantage. Weavers’ first shot was blocked by the Italy runner, but Weavers quickly reloaded and rifled a second shot into the Italian net.
New Zealand closed the second half with another penalty corner when Claissa Eshuis launched a shot past Italian keeper Roberta Lilliu for a 2-0 halftime lead.
New Zealand stuck again just minutes into the second half when Krystal Forgesson converted another Kiwi penalty corner for a 3-0 advantage.
Elizabeth Ryan and Stacey Carr added two spectacular goals in a span of two minutes as Ryan re-directed a long pass into the upper right hand corner of the Italy goal and Carr crushed a shot to the same spot just moments later.
With the loss, host Italy falls into the 9th-12th place bracket and will play Scotland in the first round of crossover play.
