There was plenty of drama at the Women’s U18 European Championships in Malta on Tuesday, as penalties were needed to separate Hungary and Italy, with the Italians ultimately prevailing after a fine save from goalkeeper Litizia Scibona. Elsewhere, Netherlands downed Türkiye to record their first win of the tournament, and Spain made it two wins from two after outclassing Greece.

Group A: Italy beat Hungary on pens, while the Dutch outclass the Turks

Hungary’s game with Italy was just like the good old clashes between these two powerhouses, played by young ladies with a lot of physicality, a grand tactical battle and the momentum shifting throughout.

The Magyars got off to the better start, but the Italians were up to the task and levelled three times. Then, with a couple of action goals, they took the lead at the end of the first and early in the second Malika Bovo’s brilliant action shot gave them a 4-7 advantage.

Italy even had a counter to go up by four, but the finishing lob was pulled away from the line by a covering defender, and a centre-shot at the other end kicked off the Hungarians’ comeback.

It was a huge battle and the next goal came after almost four minutes, with Kincso Kenez blasting one from the perimeter. The Italians were searching for their next goal after six barren minutes, and they set up Agnese Bianchi on 2m in their last six on five for 6-8, with 0:05 on the clock.

The third quarter offered an early exchange of goals, two apiece, then Bovo hit her fifth of the game and Margharita Minuto soon buried a penalty for an 8-12 lead.

Hungary were forced into a chasing game, but they didn’t lose their patience, and managed to quickly pull two back, then after killing a woman-down, Sara Keszthelyi brought them to 11-12, just before the last break.

They even had a shot at even early in the fourth, but it was blocked and Nausicaa Magaglio scored at the other end to reset the two-goal gap.

Hungary missed back-to-back six on fives, then they finally found Adrienn Hetzl in front of the goal and she pushed the ball in for 12-13.

The battle just intensified, and the Magyars seemed to have more in the tank, as the Italians – who lost Bovo after a third exclusion – couldn’t really penetrate their defence.

With 1:40 to go, Szentpali’s fine action shot from the wing finally put the Magyars back to even – and the remaining time didn’t see any more goals, so the decision was left to the penalties.

Letizia Scibona made a two-handed save in the first round, and even though the incoming Hungarian goalie Julia Daroczi also made a stop immediately, in the sixth round Scibona outsmarted Kinga Alaksza once more and that save landed two points for the Italians.

In the group’s other match, the Netherlands did a clean job to beat Türkiye, coming up with a powerful performance that saw them 9-2 ahead at half-time.

The Turks did their utmost to keep up with their rivals, but when it came down to finishes or woman-down defence, the individual qualities and physical power of the Dutch players prevailed.

The Netherlands were already 0-4 up when the Turks managed to score their first, after 9:37 minutes, and even though they could add one more soon, another 0-4 rush decided the game by half-time.

A better spell in the third saw Türkiye show glimpses of why they’re in the top division – though the Dutch focus levels had dropped by this stage.

While the same scenario led to a big defeat against the Hungarians a day earlier (5-7, then 2-8), this time it just meant the gap didn’t grow significantly, but the Netherlands’ win was never in danger. Their halves were 9-2 and 8-5, with three goals coming inside the last two minutes.

Group B: Spain down Greece with ease and advance to the quarters, Croatia ease past Israel

The top game, featuring title-contenders Spain and Greece, produced a fierce contest as expected. Though the Spanish buried two six on fives in the very first minute, the Greeks didn’t panic, as they also converted their first woman-up, and after some fine defending at both ends, they forced a penalty and scored that for 2-2.

Greece then had another six on five to take the lead, but missed it and Luna Vara’s deflected wing-shot put Spain ahead once more.

A penalty goal levelled things up for the Greeks early in the second, but Spain’s counters were working well – they scored, then earned a penalty for 5-3, while the Greeks’ wayward lobs were landing on the crossbar.

Androniki Karagianni’s fine shot had more impact, but their six on fives weren’t clicking. They missed two more before half-time, and even though they also killed two in front of their goal, it was less painful for the Spanish, especially after Mari Duenas’ brilliant shot from the perimeter 34 seconds from time doubled their lead for 6-4.

Spain then kicked off the third with back-to-back action goals, with Marina Munoz on target after a brilliant set-up, and Vara hit another one from the perimeter for 8-4.

In contrast, the Greeks went on missing their extras – and their shots. The Spaniards, meanwhile, just had to wait for their moment, which arrived with a six on five and Vara put it away for 9-4.

Afroditi Bitsakou finally found the back of the net from distance, but Spain were still sitting comfortably in the driving seat.

The Greeks had a better spell in the fourth as they hit two pinpoint shots to come back to 10-7 in two minutes, then the Spanish tightened their defence once more, killing another woman-down before Lucia Rodriguez’s 8m blast bounced in from the bar, and at 11-7 there was no way back for the Greeks.

The remaining three minutes saw two goals apiece as Spain won with ease and they booked their place in the quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, Croatia justified what the opening-day performances had suggested. While Croatia had some promising moments during their loss to Greece 15-20, Israel were never at the races against Spain.

And the Croats highlighted the difference in skill and strength right away in the first period as they took a flying start and led 5-1.

The Israelis had a better spell in the second when they netted three in a row in 85 seconds for 6-4, but Nina Jazvin scored a fine action goal, just like Neli Jankovic 56 seconds later, and they also killed a woman-down in between – and Israel’s momentum as well.

Gili Borenstein pulled one back a bit later for Israel, but they missed their next extra shortly before the break and that turned out to be their last chance to stay close.

Tonka Rogulj and Neli Jankovic both buried a six on five early in the third, and just minutes later fired in back-to-back action goals from those two again. This 4-0 run did the damage and the Croats cruised to a well-deserved victory.

Group C: Serbia clinch first place, Malta survive 4min exclusion to stage a big comeback

The clash of Germany and Serbia produced the hottest battle in the morning session – in the pool and also in terms of playing under the scorching sun…

The Serbs were in control for most of the match, however, the Germans, as usual, never gave in and managed to come close from time to time before they faded in the fourth.

Serbia quickly jumped to a 0-2 lead, yet the first ended 2-2. Then the Serbs hit three in a span of 78 seconds, but the Germans regained some strength and climbed back to 4-6 by half-time and Maya Husselman netted a fine goal from extra to cut the gap to a single goal.

They even had a possession to go even once more, but the Serbs came up with back-to-back action goals for 5-8.

The Germans hit back once more, also scoring two from action to make it 7-8 with 35 seconds to go, but the Serbs had the last laugh as Jovana Radonjic’s blistering shot ended up in the net nine seconds from time.

Lucy Schussler’s bouncer kicked off the fourth, but Elena Cuk put away an extra to reset the two-goal gap. The Germans then missed their extra while Radonjic converted the next one for 8-11.

That proved to be decisive, as the German players were unable to outplay the Serbian defence despite playing six on five three more times. Those four missed woman-ups left them no chance for another comeback – though finally they could convert one, but only 47 seconds before the buzzer and the Serbs even replied to that, with Jana Pejic’s action shot to secure a happy ending, and their spot in the crossovers.

The evening match between Malta and Ukraine produced a series of twists in the first half. Ukraine jumped to a 4-1 lead, but soon the hosts caught a wave and scored four in a row to take over the lead.

Nevise Agius added another one 47 seconds into the second and Malta seemed to have the edge. They had a clear three on two, but missed it, though the Ukrainians also had one-on-ones, and a penalty, but 12-year old Maltese goalie Miia Clarke came up with some big saves.

Just reaching the four-minute mark, Anastasia Veremiienko halted her side’s eight-minute-long drought and that shifted the momentum. This couldn’t have been any sharper, as they kept on scoring while the Maltese missed all their chances, including two six on fives.

A buzzer-beater from their own half stunned the goalie as well as the home crowd, as Ukraine were on a 6-0 run. It was expanded to seven right away in the third, while the home players were misfiring up front.

Another penalty stop from Clarke somewhat lifted their spirits and Amato could finally hit a backhander from the centre to end their scoreless run after 10 long minutes. That triggered something again, as the reply came immediately, with the Maltese managing to score from their next three possessions to come back to 12-10 in just 66 seconds.

And just when they got the ball and went to further reduce the gap, a clash in front of the referee ended in a 4min ejection for Marierose Tulli, which put Malta in a rather difficult situation.

The penalty was buried, but the Ukrainians weren’t really ready for this set-up, and the Maltese could force exclusions and Chloe Amato pulled one back from the centre.

A last-gasp distant shot, from Yelyzaveta Ashanina, then made its way to the net to give Ukraine a 14-11 lead before the last break.

The Ukrainians were still not looking comfortable playing six on fives, while the Maltese could force a five on four and score. Two more possessions went without a goal, so the hosts held the score at 2-2 in the four-minute woman-down.

Ukraine started losing their composure, as they had a four on three after an exclusion, but were unable to finish it off while the Maltese remained two on one at the other and pulled one more back for 14-13.

With 2:22 on the clock, it was even at 15-15 and just 20 seconds later, Amato took the lead back from a counter. The Ukrainians took too much risk and after another turnover, Amato’s pinpoint shot doubled the hosts’ lead with 1:38 on the clock.

This was her seventh goal, and this put an end to the contest as the Ukrainians missed two more six on fives. Indeed, the results by quarter really tell the story: 4-5, 6-1, 4-5, 1-6.

The win keeps Malta on track, but they face a mountain to climb, as they need to beat the Germans to have a spot in the crossovers.

Group D: Great Britain secure top spot as Perkins hits double figures again

The Brits woke up early and by 9.30AM had ticked the ‘mission accomplished’ box. In fact, the writing was on the wall for Czechia midway through the second period when Great Britain went 8-3 up.

The Czechs fought hard, but could never cut inside the four-goal gap. And as time went by, it was just growing thanks to the extraordinary shooting powers of Amelie Perkins.

The shiniest star of the Brits, who plays for Padova in Italy – not a usual career path for a 17-year-old from England – offered another outstanding performance rarely seen even at this level.

Individual heroics are common at age-group events, but players barely hit double digits in one match. Perkins has now achieved that feat twice in Malta, as she hit 12 against Bulgaria.

Perkins stopped at 10 against Czechia (taking her tournament tally to 34 goals in four games) before sitting out for the last few minutes, though the Brits also added more in that phase, as they rallied to a 6-0 rush in the fourth.

The result cemented Great Britain first place in the group and a spot in the crossovers. The Czechs now face a do-or-die battle against arch-rivals Slovakia, who stormed to an 8-0 lead in eight minutes against Bulgaria then switched to energy-saving mode, with the upcoming big match in their minds.

Romania, losing a bit of desire after being dropped from the race for the top two spots, did just enough to beat Switzerland, and at least made sure they would play for the 13-16th places.

Enjoy all matches live on our streaming platform – www.euroaquaticstv.com

Follow our livescoring site for results and more – https://results.microplustimingservices.com/ewpcU18w25/#/schedule-bydate/ASF

Women’s U18 Europeans, Malta

Results, Day 3

Group A

Hungary v Italy 13-13 (4-5 pens)
Türkiye v Netherlands 7-16

Group B

Spain v Greece 13-9
Croatia v Israel 18-10

Group C

Germany v Serbia 9-12
Ukraine v Malta 15-17

Group D

Great Britain v Czechia 20-9
Romania v Switzerland 10-7
Slovakia v Bulgaria 16-9

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics