India beats Spain to win Spanish Federation hockey tournament
Spain created some fine opportunities in the last five minutes of the first quarter but India captain and goalkeeper Savita kept the opponent at bay by producing some fine saves.
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BARCELONA: The Indian women’s hockey team produced a dominant performance to comfortably beat host Spain 3-0 and win the 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation - International Tournament here on Sunday.
Vandana Katariya (22nd minute), Monika (48th) and Udita (58th) were the goal scorers as India remained unbeaten in the tournament. Riding on the success of Saturday’s match against England, where Lalremsiami’s hat-trick helped it win 3-0, table topper India got off to strong start in the first quarter.
Spain created some fine opportunities in the last five minutes of the first quarter but India captain and goalkeeper Savita kept the opponent at bay by producing some fine saves.
India started the second quarter in a dominant fashion, showing clear intent to take the lead.
It built on a strong attack, with Sushila setting up a fine field goal opportunity in the 22nd minute. She assisted Neha Goyal with a swift pass in the top of the circle, but Neha’s shot bounced off the Spanish goalie Clara Perez’s pads.
Lalremsiami, the star of the match against England, picked up the rebound and smashed it past the goalie and Vandana was perfectly positioned to get a slight touch to push the ball past the goal-line.
The lead gave India the edge, allowing it to make confident forays into the striking circle.
It mounted pressure on Spain by dominating ball possession in the following minutes. India extended the lead in the 48th minute when Monika converted a penalty corner past Maria Ruiz, who had replaced Perez in the under the Spanish bar.
