England will play for a medal on the final day of the Women’s Champions Challenge in Baku on Sunday, after their second win, a 1-0 victory over hosts Azerbaijan. Only two points separate the top four teams before the final set of round robin matches tomorrow. England will be first off. They play China, the tournament leaders, and will need to win to have a chance of making the final.
Meeting Azerbaijan for the first time, England were involved in yet another tight game. The hosts were still seeking their first point but were extremely competitive, forcing plenty of corners. Katy Roberts, in the England goal, needed to be at her best. For 11 minutes England were without key player Crista Cullen who took a severe body blow from the ball and later Hayley Brown was suspended. There was little reward for England’s patient approach play and an air of despair. That all changed on the hour, when midfielder Rachel Walker moved onto a ball fed into the circle and slid her shot just inside a post.
[Unfortunately there was an error in a table yesterday. Hopefully we have it right today.]
