Italy On Cloud Nine After Crushing Singapore 9-0

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- Women’s Hockey World League (WHWL) Round Two favourites Italy showcased another splendid performance to thrash minnows Singapore 9-0 at the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium, here Tuesday. The world number 15, continued their unbeaten run by dominating the match right from the start by setting a fast and furious pace, leaving the Singapore girls chasing shadows at times. Once the Italians took the lead through a penalty corner by Wybieralska Agata in the 17th minute, there was no looking back, as Tiddi Chiara added the second in the 20th minute. In the second quarter, the Italians added four more goals through Mastronardi Eugenia (26th min), Garraffo Maria (37th min), Mirabella Dalila (38th min) and Braconi Valentina (40th min) for a comfortable 6-0 lead. The Italians continued their dominance in the third quarter for Valentina to complete her hattrick by adding two goals in 44th and 59th minutes while Agata completed the rout in the 49th minute. The victory confirmed the Italians as Group A leaders with nine points from three wins in as many matches. Meanwhile, in another Group A match, Wales beat Thailand 3-0 in a very tense match played kin a wet pitch due to rain. Wales who dominated the game had to wait till the 28th minute to break the deadlock after Blyth Natalie excellently completed a penalty corner but had to wait until the third quarter to add two more goals, one from a penalty corner through Bingham Beth in 50th min and a field goal by Laity Eloise in the 51st minute to seal the victory. Wales head coach Kevin Johnson who was pleased with the victory that took them to second place in Group A, congratulated the team for playing good hockey. "I'm very satisfied with the performance shown by my girls today (Tuesday) ...This is our second win in a row, this is good for the team. We wanted to go as far as we can in this tournament besides playing against good teams like Malaysia, Italy and Thailand," said the Welsh coach. -- BERNAMA