Fiorentina and Pisa lose on grim night for clubs fighting Serie A rel… — and more

PISA, Italy (AP) — Fiorentina went down to Udinese 3-0 and Pisa lost to Bologna 1-0 on an unhappy night for the relegation-threatened sides in Serie A on Monday.

In Udine, the home side went ahead after 10 minutes when Christian Kabasele nodded in a Nicolo Zaniolo corner.

Udinese's leading goal-scorer Kelman Davis made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the second half.

And Adam Buksa added a third in stoppage time to decisively halt Fiorentina’s recent revival and torpedo its hopes of winning three games in a row for the first time this season.

It remained fifth from bottom of the league, but equal on points with Cremonese and Lecce, the club occupying the third relegation spot.

One of the two teams below it, Pisa, lost at home to Bologna and remained joint last with Verona.

Pisa had three shots on target while Bologna had only one, but it was that 90th-minute strike from Jens Odgaard that decided the match.

The Danish forward hit the net from around 25 meters out to break the home fans' hearts and ensure Pisa was still looking for a second win in the league.

The result leaves it on the same points as bottom club Verona. Both are nine points from safety with 11 league matches remaining.

The win was Bologna’s third in a row and lifted it above Sassuolo into ninth place. It has not lost a league game at home to Pisa since February 1985.

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Lynda Hale, who played and scored in the first-ever official England women's fixture, has passed away, England Football has confirmed.

The team said Hale, who was born in 1954, had made ten appearances for England across her international career, scoring three goals.

At club level, she represented her hometown team, Southampton, with whom she won the Women's FA Cup a remarkable seven times.

FA Chair Debbie Hewitt MBE said Hale would "always be remembered for the part she played in our football history".

In a BBC TV report from the 70s Hale, who was an accounting machine operator playing for Southampton, said: "It's the same as any other sport - it's a hobby that you've got to be really keen to do."

Team England said that at just 18, she had started "the historic game" against Scotland at Ravenscraig Park in November 1972.

She then went on to make the scoresheet in a 3-2 victory for the Lionesses in Greenock.

"Alongside a number of her soon-to-be England teammates, she featured in the first-ever Women's FA Cup Final in 1971, as Southampton were crowned the competition's inaugural winners, beating Stewarton Thistle 4-1," the club's tribute reads.

In November 2022, she was recognised as the seventh player to represent the Lionesses when the FA allocated legacy numbers.

Her final game was against Switzerland, a 9-1 home victory in Hull.

Hewitt said she was "so deeply saddened to learn of Lynda Hale's passing".

"Whenever we talk about the success of our Lionesses in recent years, it is always with rightful recognition of those special players who paved the way," she said.

"Our first ever number No.7 and a goalscorer in the first official match for England women, Lynda will always be remembered for the part she played in our football history.

"On behalf of everyone at The FA and all connected to the Lionesses, our thoughts are with her family and friends."

The England team said it would wear black armbands in Hale's honour at Tuesday evening's FIFA Women's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine in Antalya, Türkiye.

The FA will also work with her family to pay tribute to her historic contribution to women's football at a forthcoming Lionesses' home game.

"Lynda will forever be remembered and celebrated as a trailblazer," the club said.

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