Auckland [New Zealand], Jan 27 : After getting off to a good start in the New Zealand Tour with a 4-0 win against the New Zealand Development squad, the Indian women’s hockey team lost a hard-fought match1-2 to the hosts here on Monday.
New Zealand were quick to get off to an attacking start as they created a penalty corner early in the first quarter. The opportunity was brilliantly converted by Megan Hull in the third minute of the match.
India overcame this early setback with a penalty corner created in the dying minutes of the first quarter. Salima Tete equalised to make the score 1-1.
Though India continued to play at par with New Zealand in the following quarters and denied the hosts potential shots on goal, a defensive error in the fourth-quarter saw them concede a penalty stroke. Megan Hull made no mistake in finding the net to put the hosts ahead 2-1.
“Today we created enough scoring opportunities but we were not productive enough. New Zealand was very successful in the little changes they brought into the match compared to our first game and they executed them well,” said chief coach Sjoerd Marijne after the match.
“It is not about how many opportunities you create but how effective you are. New Zealand were stronger than the first match today and in the beginning, we were struggling with that. But after the 1st quarter, we played much better. We created 8 shots on goal and 4 penalty corners today, we are definitely working on being more effective in the coming matches,” added Marijne.
India will next take on New Zealand on January 29.
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