43 minutes of deadlock in a closely fought game was only broken when Mi Seon Kim netted for Korea in the final of the women’s World Cup Qualifier in Rome this afternoon. The Koreans looked set to take the gold. But this revitalised England team under coach Danny Kerry (right) is showing some real fortitude and character. In the 59th minute a pass from Helen Richardson was deflected into the goal by Rebecca Herbert, bringing the sides on even terms. With the clock ticking down towards golden-goal extra time, Lucilla Wright drilled a ball in from the top of the circle, beating Ju Young Lim in the Korean goal. For much of the remaining five minutes England pinned the Koreans back in their own half, giving the England 2-1 victory and the gold medal. So England have qualified for the World Cup in Madrid, starting in September, and have done it in style. Although coach Danny Kerry is on record as saying that the timing of the Commonwealth Games was not good preparation for the qualifiers, many felt that winning their final match in Melbourne set the team up for the success of the last few days. In the June edition of TalkHockeyRadio we will be doing a retrospect on the women’s World Cup qualifiers, including interviews with some of those who were there.
Earlier today, Japan beat USA to take the bronze medal. China beat France and therefore take the fifth qualifying place for the World Cup.
