EC day 8: England fifth, Portugal take revenge on Turkey

Ten Portuguese goals in the second quarter

Inês Santos opened the scoring from a penalty after a minute and a half and, with Catarina Frade, made it 3‑0. Turkey came back to 3‑2 and 4‑3 through Simay Duman, Buse Argin and Gülsah Güner Dalar, but Portugal went into the second quarter at 7‑4. In that quarter Portugal scored ten times, four of them with a run-in from Frade, Santos, Hugo Fernandes and Celise Ribeiro, and pulled away to 17‑8. Ali Furkan Çetin made it 17‑9 in the final seconds before half-time.

João Almeida went off injured after just over thirteen minutes and was replaced by Vasco Diniz. After the break Turkey scored more often: Sarp İncekara hit two long shots in a row (18‑12) and Eylem Ozel made it 19‑13. In the final quarter substitute Ezgi Yurdagül scored twice and Yagiz Ozturk from a penalty, but Turkey got no closer than five goals.

Fernandes made it 22‑16 from a penalty and 24‑17 two seconds before the end. Turkey won the second half 8‑7. Santos was top scorer with six goals, Ribeiro scored four. Turkey, in the top eight for the first time, finish eighth.

England also win the second meeting with Catalonia

England beat Catalonia 15‑11, but the gap stayed small for a long time. Joseph Bedford scored the only goal of a first quarter that ended 1‑0. Shannon Jones and Ashley Warner put England 3‑0 up, after which Roc Margaix missed a penalty. After a goal by Temi Combis Julià, Miquel Gil Maeso scored twice (3‑3), and just before half-time he made it 5‑4.

In the third quarter England pulled away. Rachel Page missed a penalty, but ten seconds later Blake Palfreyman scored anyway (7‑5). Shane Buckland, who scored eight goals against Portugal on Thursday, scored twice; between those two goals Catalonia took a time-out. Warner scored her third (10‑5). All five Catalan goals up to that point had come from the men.

In the final quarter Catalonia came back. Margaix, who played on while limping, converted a penalty (11‑8); Catalonia had no men left on the bench. Julia Soriano Milián made it 12‑9 and 12‑10 within a minute and a half. Shortly afterwards Page had to go off injured after a fall; England took a time-out. Palfreyman then made it 13‑10 and 14‑10. Bedford, who scored three times, played his last match for England and was substituted with 24 seconds to play. Kathryn Brooks scored the 15‑11.

Still to come: the bronze and the title

At 13:30 Germany and the Czech Republic began the match for bronze, and at 15:15 the Netherlands and Belgium play the final.