Indian eves lose 1-3 to Ladies Den Bosch

Goals from Ireen van den Assem (12th, 45th) and Imke Hoek (57th) were enough for the host to seal the win against the visiting side as Navdeep (47th) was the lone player to score for India.

The Indian team in action in Netherlands.

 

Defender Navdeep Kaur scored the solitary goal as the Indian women’s hockey team suffered a 1-3 loss to Ladies Den Bosch team in its third match of the Europe Tour here.

Goals from Ireen van den Assem (12th, 45th) and Imke Hoek (57th) were enough for the host to seal the win against the visiting side as Navdeep (47th) was the lone player to be on target for India.

The match saw both the teams locking horns mostly in the midfield as the focus was on defence.

In the first quarter, India started strongly as it held on to possession for the first ten minutes but a counter attack from Ladies Den Bosch saw it earn a penalty stroke in the 12th minute which was well converted by Ireen van den Assem to give the host a 1-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter saw some more action as both sides created opportunities inside the opposition’s half. Indian forward Lalremsiami came close to scoring in the 22nd minute, only to be denied by Den Bosch’s goalkeeper.

In the same minute, Indian goalkeeper Savita made a terrific save to keep the score down to 0-1. However, Ladies Den Bosch showed why nine players from its team play for the national team as it added to its goal tally when Ireen van den Assem beat Savita again in the 45th minute to take a 2-0 lead at the end of second quarter.

India brought on goalkeeper Rajani Etimarpu in the third quarter to replace Savita and the former was forced into action straight away as she made a diving save in the 33rd minute.

The visitor stepped up its efforts to make a comeback into the match as Captain Rani’s shot was saved by the Dutch goalkeeper in the 36th minute while another good team effort went wide of the goal two minutes later.

India started the fourth quarter swiftly as a brilliant team move saw defender Navdeep Kaur score in the 47th minute to make it 1-2. The visitor earned a penalty corner in the 50th minute but it was met with a diving save from the Den Bosch custodian.

India continued to put more pressure on the home side in the fourth quarter as chances went wide. In the 57th minute, the Dutch side pounced on the opportunity to score as it converted a penalty corner through Imke Hoek to make it 3-1 and secure the victory.

India will play the Belgium Junior Men’s team in its fourth and final match of the Europe Tour on September 18.