Sports Bulletin Report
Lausanne (Switzerland):-It was a bitter sweet moment for USA's Lauren Moyer as she celebrated 100 international caps for her team but then suffered a 4-0 loss at the hands of an impressive India team. For the Eves this was a great result as it meant they finished their first season in the FIH Pro League in third place.
United States v India (women) – HC Rotterdam, Rotterdam (NED)
The first quarter was goalless although Devi Shamila had a golden opportunity to score when she received the ball with only goalkeeper Kelsey Bing to beat. Shamila scuffed the shot and USA breathed a sigh of relief. For their part, USA won two penalty corners were unable to convert.
The second quarter also remained goalless although India created a number of chances, mainly in the form of penalty corners. Three penalty corners in quick succession were all wasted as either the injection or the trap were not good enough to provide Gurjit Kaur with a clean shooting opportunity.
The breakthrough came in the 39th minute when Katariya Vandana was on the scoresheet for the second consecutive day. She got the slightest deflection to a Gurjit Kaur penalty corner strike. The shot was hard and on target and the touch from Vandana was just enough to send the ball home past Kelsey Bing.
That goal opened the door for India. There were two more goals in quick succession, firstly from Vandana and then Sonika. In both cases, the ball was played swiftly from player to player and the final pass put the striker in front of the goal.
The fourth goal came courtesy of a fabulous surging run down the Indian left hand side of the pitch by Nikki Pradhan. Her pass found Kumari Sangita, who only had the goalkeeper to beat. A good advantage by the umpire Bruce Bale, meant Sangita was able to continue the move and slot the ball home.
Player of the Match, Tete Salima (IND), said: 'That was a tough game. Today was our last [FIH Pro League] match so we wanted to finish well. The second half we played much better and the result was four goals.'
China v Netherlands (women) - HC Rotterdam, Rotterdam (NED)
The first half of the match between China and Netherlands was all about the Netherlands as they romped to a 3-0 lead. China were far less solid in defence compared to the previous day and they added to the pressure by repeatedly losing possession, often in their own defensive quarter.
The opening goal was scored by Maria Verschoor, adding to her goal from the previous day. That was followed just three minutes later when Felice Albers picked up the ball on the Netherlands' defensive 25 and then ran the length of the pitch before firing past Li Xinhuan who was starting in the China goal.
Frederique Matla scored the next three goals. The first was a fierce penalty corner in the second half and then the tall striker sent two beautifully taken penalty strokes into the goal at the start of the third quarter.
The pressure from the Dutch was unrelenting for the remainder of the third quarter. Only some great running at penalty corners by Li Hong prevented a stream of goals. Just before the final break China's woes were increased when the goalkeeper made the decision to try to challenge Lidewij Welten outside the circle. Welten inevitably nicked the ball, before rounding the stranded 'keeper and scoring an easy goal.
Player of the Match Felice Albers (NED) said: 'It was a great performance, we scored some nice goals. We discussed about defending on the right and we did that well today. Eva de Goede is a great player and we are very happy that she is back.'
Result: Women’s Match #70
USA 0, India 4
Player of the Match: Tete Salima (IND)
Umpires: Liu Xiaoying (CHN), Bruce Bale (ENG) Laurine Delforge (BEL -video)
Result: Women’s Match #69
China 0, Netherlands 6
Player of the Match: Felice Albers (NED)
Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL), Céline Martin-Schmets (BEL), Bruce Bale (ENG-video), Céline Martin-Schmets (BEL)
