A goal-filled first quarter and barren next three may not be the best indicator of the battle on field, but the 3-1 win for India against New Zealand for its first win kept the host in the competition and the race to a Paris ticket here on Sunday.
Coach Janneke Schopman had admitted on Saturday her girls had an off day as a group on the opening day of the Olympic Qualifiers, and it would be better today. And so it was, with a different India team turning up, stepping on the pedal from the start to go ahead 40 seconds into the match and keeping the pressure on all through. Salima Tete, nicknamed Ferrari, proved why, running away with the ball and putting fellow Jharkhand player Sangita Kumari through for the lead before the opponent – or the crowd – could even settle down.
India did concede a couple of penalty corners, the second one resulting in an equaliser for New Zealand in the 7th minute, but birthday girl Udita’s powerful whack off India’s fourth PC had no answer and two minutes later, Beauty Dungdung deflected Jyoti’s brilliant pass to make it 3-1.
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That no goals were scored thereafter was a lot due to a desperate New Zealand trying to minimise the damage.
They did try to move up and find goals through counter-attacks, but India’s defence was unshakeable. It was a visibly different team from the lethargic, erratic and clueless one that was on display against the USA.
Beauty was permanently parked upfront inside the circle, Monika pushed back to take turns with Nikki as deep defender, Udita played attacking defender on the right, Baljeet was pushed further up, and Salima and Sangita were seemingly given carte blanche to do their thing and not worry about the outcome. Lalremsiami and Neha, meanwhile, continued their form, creating PCs and finding gaps. And Savita was back in form, bringing off a couple of good saves to deny NZ. The team seemed to have realised their strengths overnight.
India had several more chances to increase the margin and even one more would have helped the team rise in standings. As it was, the result did not change Pool B with India third based on goals scored despite being tied on points and goal difference. It will all now come down to the result in Tuesday’s final pool matches – a win for table-topper USA against New Zealand will mean India can sneak through to the semifinals even with a draw against Italy. A win or draw for New Zealand draw will necessitate a victory for India, and a comprehensive one at that, depending on the margin required to leapfrog the Black Sticks.
Earlier, the USA won 2-0 against Italy to stay unbeaten in the competition despite missing seven penalty corners and having a penalty stroke saved.
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