A late comeback by Scotland’s women in the second match of their three-game series against Italy was not enough to snatch a draw at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre yesterday.
Scotland had taken a 1-0 lead in the series with a 2-1 win in the opener on Tuesday but the Italians drew level following their win yesterday.
The first chance of the match went to Scotland and it was Hanna McKie from the top of the D who stung the pads of the goalkeeper with a powerful strike.
But a strong second quarter saw the Italians take full control of the match, with the opening goal coming from a short corner converted by Maria Socino low against the backboard.
Italy then went 2-0 up through a penalty corner rebound by Lara Oviedo before Sofia Maldonado finished from the right to make it 3-0.
Only two quality saves by Scotland keeper Lucy Camlin stopped a fourth goal as half-time approached but Scotland were facing an uphill struggle to claw back a three goal deficit.
However, the home team did not give up the fight and a strong start to the second half by Scotland saw them create a number of chances. At the start of the third quarter, Millie Brown got a goal back for the Scots before the Clydesdale Western got her second with just seven minutes remaining.
The Scots pushed for the equaliser but the Italians clung on for the victory, setting up a winner-takes-all decider at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre tonight.
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