Indian eves, on Friday, cruised to a resounding 5-2 victory over Canada in the third match of their final preparatory tour of USA before the Olympic Games flag off in Rio de Janeiro next month.
As the encounter got underway at Manheim, Pennsylvania, it was the Blueskirts who saw more of the possession as forward Vandana Katariya made the domination count as she struck early as the 9th minute to give India the lead. Despite having dominated the game in the first quarter, India’s advantage got cancelled out soon after play resumed as Stephanie Norlander made it 1-1 for the Canadians in the 19th minute.
Several forward moves by either side fizzled out before the final third to keep the scores tied 1-1 at half-time. Little did we know how intense the second half would then turn out to be.
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It was Railways halfback Deepika’s field goal in the 38th minute that restored India’s lead over the North American outfit. But yet again, Canada pulled even when Brienne Stairs found the net in the 42nd minute to make it 2-2 with only the 4th quarter remaining to be played.
With nothing to separate the two sides after three-quarters of action, Deepika netted her 2nd of the match in the 49th minute to regain a 1-goal lead for India. Two minutes later, Vandana completed her brace from open play thereby doubling the margin which set a deficit too large to overcome for the Canadian women.
Haryana forward Poonam Rani joined the scorers’ list with two minutes left on the clock, as India settled at a comfortable scoreline of 5-2. A thoroughly encouraging display of attacking hockey thus ended with the Indian women securing a massive second win for themselves in this the tour against a relatively weaker Canadian side.
