Perth: In their fourth match of the Australian Hockey League, India beat Tassie Tigers 3-2 to score their third win out of the four appearances at the league. This was a game which saw goals only in the first and the last quarters.
Starting the game on offensive both teams traded early chances. And it was in the 10th minute of the match that Armaan Qureshi gave India the first inroad on the scoreboard with a field goal.
The Tassie Tigers however came back to equalize two minutes later, when James Dick with the goal. Just before the break India won a PC and this time, Varun Kumar made it count, slotting the ball home to wrest back the lead heading into the first break.
The second quarter went however silent as all the attempts towards the goal scoring was thwarted by agile defense of the two team. The teams went into halftime separated by the single goal, India leading 2-1.
Coming back from the half time break, the two team tried to sticking to a game plan that would nick them the points from the clash. India was content with keeping the ball rolling without any risks.
However, in the fourth quarter, in the 50th minute, the Tigers equalized via a William Shaw PC conversion. However, this tied score didn’t last long as Armaan scored his second in the 54th minute to fire India back into the lead. And this was the final score to be.
In the post match interaction, Indian coach Harendra Singh, while speaking about the win and overall performance, said, “The boys showed a lot of maturity in controlling the game and not giving away possession impatiently, in the periods where the Tigers were defending well. It was also this sort of mind-set that helped us bounce back immediately, each time we conceded an equaliser. Overall a smart performance.”
India is scheduled to play Western Australia Thundersticks on Oct 5 at 1600 hrs IST.