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Scotland

By Mike Stanger

Sam Judge and Catriona Semple were the heroines in En-Croute Western's convincing 4-2 victory over Ukraine side Dinamo Sumcharka in the opening round of the A Division of the European Cup Winners Cup in Cologne.

There was a flurry of early goals with Judge opening the scoring for the Scots with a fierce penalty corner volley. Diana Tahiyeva equalised within seconds, but Semple immediately restored the lead when she deflected home a Judge shot.

Despite numerous chances coming En-Croute's way, the scoreline remained at 2-1, but within two minutes of the restart Judge was again on target when she accepted a quick free hit from Lorna Dobbie, rounded the Ukraine goalkeeper, to score from an acute angle.

A lapse allowed Olena Derkach to put Dinamo temporarily back into the game, but with seven minutes remaining Kirsty Nolan beat two defenders, her shot was saved by the goalkeeper, and Semple was again on hand to slot home the rebound for a well earned 4-2 victory.

Pro-Life Kelburne rocked Gibraltar side Collegians in the B Division with a nine-goal romp in Vienna, the architect of victory being set-piece expert Mark Ralph with four goals.

Ralph opened the scoring to settle the Kelburne nerves within 10 minutes when he converted a penalty stroke following a needless foul by a Gibraltar defender.

Today could be more testing as Western face La Gantoise from Belgium, while Kelburne take on the experienced Swiss side Olten.

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