Women’s Under-19 team defeat Scotland to qualify for Elite Round

Both Hungary and Scotland came into their match in Bük today on the back of victories in their first group games on Wednesday, the upshot being that victory today would virtually ensure qualification to the next qualification round.

Head coach Sándor Turtóczki had spoken before the tournament about Scotland being stronger than the other teams in the group in recent years, reaching the finals in Northern Ireland this summer where they were edged out of a World Cup spot by England after finishing third in their group.

The match began accordingly, Scotland enjoying much possession and forcing Hungary to rely on the counter-attack. A well-marshalled Hungary defence prevented the Scots from seriously threatening Luca Varga’s goal however, as the teams went in 0-0 at the break.

The second half continued in similar fashion, Scotland forcing Hungary on the back-foot but unable to create any clear-cut chances. With time running out it appeared that both teams would have to settle for a 0-0 draw, but two late goals would see Hungary jubilant and the Scots wondering how they’d managed to lose. First, Katalin Tolnai rose to head home a free-kick from the left by Adrienn Oláh in the 89th minute, and then three minutes later a corner on the left from Oláh was deflected into the Scotland net in off right-back Amy Muir.

Speaking after the match, a delighted head coach Sándor Turtóczki said that “The girls really do deserve the plaudits. We were highly motivated and played a highly disciplined game against a Scotland team who were physically stronger than us, and we found that little extra in the second half as well. Scotland and Turkey are strong teams who play a dynamic, quick aggressive game but we managed to compete with them due to our organisation. The girls have played with great heart in both matches; we simply wanted to succeed more than our opponents. Besides the two goals against Scotland I have to praise our defence; we hardly made a mistake at the back and managed to block six shots. We had a number of great performances today but the success belongs to the whole team”.

Hungary 2–0 Scotland (0–0) 
Goalscorers: Tolnai (89’), Muir (90+2', own-goal) 
Hungary: Luca Varga – Patrícia Fél, Laura Kovács, Eszter Csigi, Alexandra Fél – Ráhel Váradi (Nikoletta Böcskei 86’), Tímea Katalin Tolnai, Letícia Anda – Dóra Dorner (Fanni Králik 90+1’), Brigitta Pulins, Adrienn Oláh