FIH Pro League: Indian women impress against Dutch but pay for missed chances

Indian women played some of their most impressive hockey in recent times but ended up on the losing side against the Netherlands, going down 1-0 in Rourkela on Wednesday as scoring woes continued.

India’s defence kept the Dutch at bay for long periods in a game played at high intensity all through, frustrating them enough to force errors and even denying Yibbi Jansen five penalty corners, but the team’s inability to finish off attacks and get their shots on target inside the attacking circle continued to haunt. The Indian defence managed to hold on even after a bizarre suspension for India goalkeeper and captain Savita towards the end of Q3 for kicking the ball outside the circle on a day when she was otherwise outstanding.

It was for the first time in over two months that the Dutch women failed to score in the first quarter, and it needed a flash of brilliance from Felice Albers to trap a rebound at shoulder height and tap it in for them to score.

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India even took control and dominated the third quarter and parts of the 4th, creating multiple chances and a series of PCs, but the Dutch defence and goalkeeper Anne Veenedaal, tested for the first time this season, held firm as the Dutch took home a 10th straight win.

Australia, meanwhile, avenged its defeat to China in the Bhubaneswar leg of the competition with a 2-0 win in a game it dominated, so much so that China’s first real chance at getting a goal came only in the 30th minute when it earned the first of its three PCs but to no avail.

The results:

Australia 2 (Grace Stewart 29’, Stephanie Kershaw 57’) bt China 0; Netherlands 1 (Felice Albers 27’) bt India 0.