Chile and Belgium ride into FIH Women Champion Challenge II semi-finals: Hockey Recap
Chile and Belgium emerged victorious over Russia and Canada in the quarter-final games of the FIH (International Hockey Federation) Champions Challenge II, held in Vienna, Austria.
In the first game, the Chilean women edged past Russia by a single point, 3-2 and secured a spot in the semi-final stage. It was a cliff-hanging contest, where both the sides displayed a disciplined and mature game. However, the Chilean players scored a
goal in the final minutes of the match to carry their team into the medal round with a crucial victory.
The semi-final spot is not a surprising stage for Chile, as it opened the event by holding one of the lowest positions at the number 16. However, it will be a major drawback for Russia, who commenced the event as the third highest seed.
In the first half of play, the Chilean players demonstrated outstanding performances and took the ball under their control. They managed a two-goal lead in the very early minutes of the first half, when Manuela Urroz converted a penalty corner into a goal,
while Gabriela Retamales added a goal from the field effort. In the first half, the defenders from Chile played brilliantly and saved many attacks from the other side. With four minutes left in the first period, Ksenia Shamina managed a goal for Russia to
reduce the lead down to a single goal.
In the second half of play, the Chilean team expanded the lead up to two goals. Russia though obtained another score in the later time, but Chile rode away the field with a 3-2 victory.
In the second game, the Belgium and Canada demonstrated a hard-fought battle to decide the other semi-final berth. It was only Belgium that tasted the scoring and ultimately secured the spot in the semi-final round. The first half of play was filled with
lot of attacks and counter-attacks. However, no single goal was scored in the next 35 minutes.
Anouk Raes, the player from Belgium, took the game into their favour in the 55thminute of the match, when she converted a short-corner through a powerful flicking shot. Though, the Canadian girls played quite offensive game in the last fifteen
minutes, but to no avail. As the final horn sounded, the girls from Belgium won the game.
It was a big shock for the Canadians, who concluded the preliminary round at 2-1 record. It took the third spot, after making a draw that led them into the quarter-final stage. On the other side, Belgium also took a 2-1 score in the preliminary stage before
heading towards the medal round.
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