India loses warm-up game in women’s tour

Ladies Den Bosch, a Dutch club, defeated India 1-0 thanks to a 33rd minute goal from Lieke Hulksen.

Good man-to-man marking by the Dutch side prevented India from equalising.

India was defeated 1-0 by Ladies Den Bosch in a closely fought warm-up game in the ongoing European tour.

The club, which consists of nine players who regularly turn up for the Dutch national squad, put India under pressure early when it won a penalty corner in the third minute. But goalkeeper Rajani Etimarpu was up to the task to ward off the opponents. She saved yet another penalty corner in the 17th minute to end the second quarter in a stalemate.

For India, Vandana Katariya and skipper Rani made promising forays into the striking circle. The duo even came close to converting a goal on two occasions but the Den Bosch custodian made diving efforts to deny India a goal. In the 33rd minute, a well-assisted Lieke Hulsken beat goalkeeper Savita - who had replaced Rajani in the second half - to score a splendid field goal and take a 1-0 lead.

Their defence line kept up the tempo in the following minutes of the match and kept a close check on the Indian forwards with good man-to-man marking to seal the match.