Surprisingly, the English team is no longer the scarecrow of the first Ladies European Championship in Chantilly, everyone thought at first. Yesterday, Germany defeated the favourites from England with a tiny score of 3 to 2 ½. The reason why: a lack of uniformity in the English team, composed of two experienced players, Lottie Lamacraft and Lucy Coddington (both h5), but alongside two less experienced ones. Therefore, it came to control the two professionals, which Germany did perfectly. The German team which was much more balanced finally retains all chances of passing in to the final, if of course, they beat Italy on Friday (at 1:30 pm).
With the 8 to 4 victory over Italy, the French team now remains the only undefeated team in the tournament. It was thought that the doors to the final were open to them. But they did not count on the exploit of the Germans. So there is still one more step to take to reach the final on Sunday. It will be necessary to beat the English women on Friday (at 3 pm). Maybe the French could learn a lesson from the Germans: to control and offset both English pillars. A victory would mean a direct access to the final. A defeat would lead the tricolors to a penalty shootout session to decide between Germany (if they beat Italy), England and France who would count two victories and one loss each. A scenario that these ladies want to avoid at all costs.
There are still three more days of the Championship at Chantilly (Thursday for men, Friday for women and Saturday for the semi finals) before the two great Sunday finalscome up. A festive day for the public and with a surprise: a small equestrian show directed by Mario Lurashi, a stunt rider for films.
Team Germany: Laura Gissler-Webber (h3), Maike Hoelty (h3), Naomi Schroeder (h3), Tahnee Schroeder (h3)
Team England: Angela Robb (h0), Suzannah Harvey (h0), Lottie Lamacraft (h5), Lucy Coddington (h5)
Team France: Léa Siboni (h0), Caroline Anier (h5), Charlotte Garaud (h3), Adèle Renauldon (h1)
Team Italy: Costanza Marchiorello (h4), Maria Vittoria Marchiorello (h3), Ginevra d’Orazio (h3), Ginevra Visconti Bassetti (h1)
