SCOTLAND’S women secured third place in pool B at the Unibet EuroHockey Championships when they notched their first win of the tournament, beating Italy 3-1 in torrential rain at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre in London.
Leigh Fawcett, Rebecca Merchant – who was earning her 100th cap – and Kareena Marshall got the goals for Gordon Shepherd’s side.
The Scots had a chance to take the lead at the start of the second quarter after Italy’s Maria Garraffo was yellow-carded. With their opponents down to 10 players they won a penalty corner but Emily Maguire’s reverse stick shot was scrambled off the line by Chiara Tiddi. The match was goalless at half-time but Scotland went ahead within a minute of the restart when captain Fawcett prodded home after a penalty corner.
The Scots looked a team transformed in the second half, playing with significantly higher intensity, and they doubled their lead when Merchant stabbed home five minutes later following a short corner.
Italy responded through Tiddi a minute later, scoring their first goal of the tournament, but Scotland restored their two-goal advantage after 39 minutes through a Marshall deflection after Aileen Davis rifled in a low drag flick.
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