She Kicks Magazine
·27 February 2024
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·27 February 2024
Tinja-Riikka Korpela of Finland saved two penalties in the Pinatar Cup final. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Scotland Women were edged 5-4 on sudden-death penalties by Finland at the Pinatar Cup Final in Murcia, Spain.
Martha Thomas fired narrowly over Tinja-Riikka Korpela’s crossbar from distance in the opening minutes but it was Finland who scored with their first real chance.
With 20 minutes played, Katarina Kosola’s cross was met with a powerful far-post header by Oona Sevenius, beating goalkeeper Sandy MacIver.
Neither Jenna Clark nor Sophie Howard could get a finishing touch to a dangerous cross after the break and when Thomas intercepted a pass outside the penalty area, Korpela was able to turn her shot out for a corner.
A long ball over the top saw Linda Sallstrom beat MacIver to it but her shot came back off the top of the bar, while moments later Natalia Kuikka fired just wide of the far post.
Scotland levelled with quarter of an hour to go, Thomas doing well to direct the ball across the keeper and in after Erin Cuthbert’s free kick was parried.
When Jamie-Lee Napier met a cross at the death, it bounced up off her leg onto her arm, bringing claims for a penalty from the Finns that were waved away.
The final went straight to a shoot-out, MacIver saved Finland’s third but Scotland’s fifth from Cuthbert was stopped by Korpela, who also turned away Nicola Docherty’s sudden-death penalty to win the cup.
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