It was a win and a double whammy to boot. Not only did England beat the overnight leaders in Pool B, the three points earned against Lithuania will be carried over to the promotion pool which plays its first matches this afternoon.
England were magnificent. Any sign of nerves - and this was an important match - were not apparent as England came out fighting. They got onto the scoresheet early when Denise Marston-Smith converted a fifth minute penalty stroke. A minute later, Katie Long made it two with a long ranging run which ended with the ball in the back of the Lithuanian net.
There was a wobbly moment early in the second half when Ina Kenstaviciute scored twice in less than a minute to equalise, and English fans were on the edge of their seats for five minutes until Long found the net again. But overall, a brilliant performance against one of the better teams here. The mixture of experience and youth seems to have brought home the goods for England.
The final score of 3-2 puts England on top of Pool B. Details of the promotion pool matches will appear later.
Results and tables can be found on our main web site at www.TalkHockeyRadio.co.uk.
