FIH Pro Hockey League: India men beat Argentina while Netherlands win on penalties vs Australia

(Hockey news) India men defeated Argentina 2-1 in their final game. The Australian women turned out the best possible response to a 7-2 trouncing at the hands of the Dutch three days earlier – playing a far better match and then getting on the same opposition by 2-1 in a shoot-out victory in FIH Hockey Pro League action in Eindhoven. 

Argentina vs India (1-2)

The Argentinian defence was slow to go ahead of the Indian attacking mindset and because of a slew of errors, India had no trouble scoring within the first two minutes of the match as it was an easy put-in for Akashdeep Singh from right in front of the goal. The Indians doubled their lead as they continued to attack and take over the Argentinian defense with less than a minute left in the opening quarter. 

Akashdeep and Vivek Sagar Prasad coordinated well to pass the ball through to a sliding Sukhjeet Singh in front of the goal to once again easily breach the Argentinian defence. Argentina enjoyed a stronger second half, but it was too late to get possession as they got only two and a half minutes left in the match when they finally found the breakthrough.

Nicolas Della Torre slipped the ball to Lucas Toscani off a penalty corner and fired in the first score for Los Leones’ side. While they pressured for the equaliser in the end moments, it was too late to prevent the 2-1 game for India in their final match of the FIH Hockey Pro League season. This leaves the Indians on the crest of the standings with 30 points by playing their 16 matches in the league. 

Vivek Sagar Prasad was named player of the match and said: “It was a really good match for us. This is our last match in the Pro League and we finished strongly with a win so that’s really good for us.  We need to now focus on what was good in this competition and, more importantly, on what we need to improve like PC conversion and more counterattacks.

Australia vs Netherlands 3-3 (SO: 2-1)

The First Dutch goal was created by Freeke Moes who worked her way along the right baseline and then passed it to Maria Verschoor to deflect in. The Aussies struck back strongly when they were awarded their first penalty corner just a matter of seconds before the first break. The shot was half-stopped by a Dutch defender on the line, but it popped out for Peris Brooke to slot in from the far post to get to the way of equaliser. 

Five minutes into the second quarter the Dutch delivered a clever penalty corner variation – Frédérique Matla looked like she was going for the drag but then sliding it to Jansen to drill it in. But the Australians once again worked their way back, earning another penalty corner. It was another great variation that led to Rosie Malone dragging it in all the way from the top of the D.

Australias’ next goal was scored on the countermove when the ball coming in from the right was put away by the keeper. But it went straight out to the top of the D where Grace Young picked it up and passed it to Maddison Brooks who fired in to push her side in front for the first time in the match.

The Dutch struck back immediately through Felice Albers leading from the front who picked up the ball just outside the circle and bulleted it over the keeper’s left shoulder. That saw the teams heading into the final break with the score of 3-3 and that’s the way it stayed.

The resulting shoot-out saw Jocelyn Bartram coming out for Australia in goal and proving to be the best contender of the team that afternoon by making three saves to secure the 2-1 win. It was not just the perfect fightback for the Aussies, but it handed the Dutch their first defeat in a shoot-out since the Rio Olympic final in 2016. 

Brooke Peris was named player of the match and said: “I feel really proud of the girls. We started off really tough, especially in the first game and to bounce back like that takes real resilience and strength and I couldn’t have asked for a better performance from my team.” 

FIH Pro League – 11 June 2023

HC Oranje Rood Stadium, Eindhoven (NED) 

Result: Women’s Match 47

Netherlands 3-3 Australia (SO: 1-2)

Player of the Game: Brooke Peris (AUS)

Umpires: Ben Goentgen (GER), Céline Martin-Schmets (BEL), Hannah Harrison

Result: Men’s Match 47 Argentina 2-1

India Player of the Game: Vivek Sagar Prasad (IND)

Umpires: Laurine Delforge (BEL), Sarah Wilson (SCO), Ben Goentgen. 

Also see: https://spogonews.com/india-beat-argentina-2-1-in-pro-league-hockey-end-on-positive-note/