Bhubaneswar: After a tightly contested four quarters, Spain emerged victorious over India 1-0 in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2024/25 (Women) at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. Captain Marta Segu (49’) scored the only goal of the night for Spain. With this, Spain are on a four-game winning streak in the tournament.
The first two quarters were a cagey affair with both sides heading into the dressing room goalless at half-time. In the sixth minute, Spain received back-to-back penalty corners but both Lucia Jimenez’s shot after a routine and Berta Serrahima’s slap shot were saved well by Savita.
In the 15th minute, Vice Captain Navneet Kaur showed individual brilliance by dribbling along the baseline from the left and passing it on to Sushila Chanu in front of goal but unfortunately for India, she failed to control it. In the 18th minute Spain won another penalty corner but couldn’t convert it since Constanza Amundson’s strike went too high.
In the second quarter, India showed more attacking prowess but couldn’t find the equaliser. Baljeet Kaur won a loose ball from Spain as she dribbled ahead towards goal but misplaced her final pass to Sakshi Rana. Moments later, India received their first penalty corner courtesy of Navneet who also took the shot on goal but failed to reach the goal.
In the 29th minute, Florencia Amundson attacked from the right flank and won a penalty corner for her side. Jimenez took the shot but Vaishnavi Phalke, the first rusher, successfully blocked it to end the first half.
The third quarter saw Spain attack relentlessly in search of the opening goal. In the 33rd minute, Patricia Alvarez launched an attack from the right when she went past two Indian defenders with her 3-D skills and passed it to Amundson. The Spanish attacker took a strong shot from a tight angle and was almost awarded a goal but Savita made a goalline save at just the nick of time to keep the scores level.
Moments later, Manisha Chauhan brought down Paula Jimenez and gave away a penalty corner. Spain won four penalty corners on the trot but India’s strong defence ensured the game remained goalless.
Spain finally broke the deadlock in the fourth quarter. In the 49th minute, Captain Marta Segu was given too much space as she used her pace to dribble the ball down the left flank and fired a shot through Savita’s legs and into the net to give Spain the lead.
A goal behind, India started attacking aggressively and created two scoring opportunities. Neha played a witty through ball to tear Spain’s defence apart for Lalremsiami but the attacker couldn’t reach the ball in time. Seconds later, Rutaja Dadaso Pisal unleashed a shot, which was saved by the keeper after which Lalremsiami struck the ball on the rebound but the shot went over the post.
With ten seconds left on the clock, India received the final penalty corner of the night however, they couldn’t salvage an equaliser since Navneet’s shot narrowly missed the target. Spain were resilient with their defending and ensured they defended their slim lead and maintained their ongoing winning streak in the FIH Hockey Pro League.
(IANS)
