Perth: The Indian men’s and women’s A sides notched up their maiden wins in the Australian Hockey League (AHL), here Tuesday. The men’s side defeated Australian Capital Territory (ACT) 2-0 in their final Pool B match to progress to the next round. In the women’s segment the eves rode on Sangita Kumari goal to scrape out a narrow victory over Tasmania.
The men’s A side dominated proceedings from the start and goals from Affan Yousuf (fifth minute) and Armaan Qureshi (46th) ensured a comfortable victory.
India started the match aggressively as they dished out attacking hockey in the early stages which led to Affan giving them the lead through an excellent field goal.
India’s defensive line maintained their shape throughout the first two quarters as they managed to maintain their slender lead till the interval.
ACT went on to waste several chances in the first three quarters and India took advantage of the same. Immediately after the start of the fourth quarter, the visitors produced entertaining hockey with some slick passing which saw Armaan scoring India’s second field goal of the match.
ACT tried to regroup, but all their efforts were met by a resolute Indian defence. India thus finished the engagements in Pool B with seven points to progress to the next round of the championships.
The women’s game was a closely-fought affair with both sides creating a number of goal-bound moves. The Indian eves got off to a good start as they controlled play in midfield throughout the first quarter. The win also enabled the eves to qualify for the next round where they will play Western Australia, Thursday.
At the start of the second quarter, the visitors pulled off a beautiful move which was finished by Sangita in the 19th minute as she deceived Tasmania’s goalkeeper Ruby-Rose Haywood with a deft flick to hand India the lead.
It was a rough third quarter as both the sides made some strong tackles which resulted in a yellow card for one player of each team.
Tasmania tried to prise open India’s back line but could not succeed as the defenders put up a spirited display.
India enjoyed their one-goal lead for the rest of the match and made several efforts to deny the Tasmanians the chance to equalise. The visitors showed fight in the fourth quarter to hang on to their one-goal lead and win their first game of the tour.
Press Trust of India