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Women’s hockey Olympic qualifiers: Italy dominate Poland 4-1

By IANS,

New Delhi : Italy thrashed Poland 4-1 in the first match on the second day of the women’s hockey Olympic qualifiers at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium here Sunday.

Both teams played hard matches Saturday (narrow 1-2 loss for Poland against South Africa, hard fought tie for Italy 2-2 against Canada) and it took them a while to find their legs for their second game.

There was hardly any scoring opportunities in the first period, with play staying mostly in the midfield and unforced errors hampering the play of both teams.

Things started to heat up in second period, starting with a good run by the Pole Aleksandra Bugala on the right wing, shooting just wide of the Italian goal.

Immediately after, Giuliana Ruggeri collected the ball in the circle, managed to turn around in traffic and unleashed a reverse stick shot to open the scoring for Italy. Striker Alessia Doriana Padalino added two goals in quick succession.

Poland pulled a goal back but play slowed down again, and Italy maintained a strong grip on the proceedings. Padalino scored again, completing the first hat-trick of the tournament. Italy collected the three points for a thumping win.