Wales, Ireland, Belgium and Russia reach the semi finals of the Costa Cálida Pinatar Cup on Wednesday with victories at the Pinatar Arena and La Manga Club.
In the first matches of the day, Wales beat defending champions Scotland 3-1 at Pinatar Arena while Ireland beat Poland 2-1 at La Manga Club.
Jess Fishlock inspired Wales as they ended Scotland’s defence at the first hurdle. Lana Clelland headed the Scots in front in first-half added time but Wales quickly hit back through Fishlock’s penalty.
Sloppy defending led to Fishlock’s second early in the second period and Natasha Harding’s strike ensured a semi-final against Belgium.
Scotland will now compete in the 5th-8th place section of the tournament while Wales’ semi-final opponents will be Belgium after their 4-0 win over Slovakia.
Meanwhile Ireland defied the odds and pulled off a 2-1 comeback victory against Poland to book their semi-final spot against Russia who had to resort to penalties after their 2-2 draw with Hungary.
Ireland went behind after Paulina Dudek converted a second half spot kick given away by Niamh Fahey on her 100th appearance.
Just a few minutes later, Lucy Quinn curled in an excellent strike from her left foot to level things up with a half an hour to go.
The winner was secured by the other Quinn — Louise this time — as she powered in a header from a Katie McCabe cross in the 75th minute.
The Girls in Green then managed to hang on for the final 15 minutes to bag an excellent victory to kickstart their year.
The semifinals of the Costa Cálida Pinatar Cup will be played on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. when Wales will face Belgium at the Pinatar Arena and Ireland and Russia will meet at La Manga Club.
The beaten quarter finalists, Scotland, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary will fight for fifth place competition in this international women’s tournament that has now established itself as one of the most important in the world.
