HF Lorenzoni produced an amazing comeback in the final game of day two of the women’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Challenge I in Murska Sobota to be in pole position for the title on Sunday morning.
Facing Lisbon Casuals, the Italian side won a rollercoaster 5-4 as they fought back from 4-2 down to take the laurels and sit on 10 points, jumping above Copenhagen in the title chase.
The Portuguese side looked set to make their move when they scored four goals in a devastating four minute spell in the second quarter with Angel Lima scoring two.
And it continued to go in their favour until a similarly mad spell at the end of the third quarter when Alessia Anania inspired her side. She scored two and then a stroke from Rebecca Piccolo proved vital.
Lorenzoni go up to 10 points with Lisbon Casuals staying on two points where they are joined by Ukimerioni Kutaisi following their 4-4 draw with Copenhagen.
That came with a similarly amazing comeback. The Danish side looked to be cruising at 3-0 with four minutes to go and then 4-1 with three minutes left as Tamara Bos scored four.
But then the fireworks came with Viktoriia Mazurkevych and a double from Daria Sherstiuk scored three times in the last two minutes to snatch an unlikely two points.
It all means that Lorenzoni have the box seat and a draw against Copenhagen on Sunday morning would be enough for gold. The Italians have also got promotion already assured.
The second promotion spot, though, could be any of the remaining three sides; Copenhagen need a losing bonus point or better to get second but a three-goal loss could open the door for either Lisbon or Kutaisi.
Earlier in the day, Kutaisi reached the top four pool in the most dramatic of circumstances.
They needed a high scoring win to overhaul Partille SC to do it but fell behind in the 11th minute to a Klara Moberg goal.
It left them needing at least four replied which they duly picked off with Daria Sherstiuk getting a hat trick to add to one from Veronika Liapina.
Incredibly, this drew the Georgian side level with the Swedes on points, goal difference and goals scored with the decisive factor being the result between the teams.
It earned Kutaisi second spot in the group with HF Lorenzoni ending in top spot following their big 9-0 win over BKGDSE-Fasor, Sara Agrò scoring three of them. It meant they edged the group by a single point.
In Pool B, it was similarly tight with three sides ending on 11 points. Copenhagen did just about enough to stay ahead of FHC Akademik Plus Sofia on goal difference despite a 4-3 loss.
The Bulgarians needed a win by at least three goals to overhaul their Danish rivals and raced into a 3-1 lead but could not push on enough.
As it was, it meant they needed a huge favour from hosts HK Moravske Toplice but they were not able to provide it as they wered defeated by Lisbon Casuals. That result was enough to lift the Portuguese side to top spot on goal difference.
In Pool C, Partille look set for fifth place following the evening session. They beat Akademik 7-1 to move up to 10 points. Hungary’s Fasor got their first win with a narrow 2-1 success against Toplice.
** To see the fixtures and results, click here: https://eurohockey.altiusrt.com/competitions/328
