India clinch bilateral series

Date :12-Apr-2019

KUALA LUMPUR:

Beat Malaysia 1-0

THE Indian women’s hockey team beat Malaysia by a solitary goal to complete a 4-0 win in the five-match bilateral series here Thursday. It was Navjot Kaur’s fine field goal in the 35th minute and a good defensive display that helped India win. India did well to create scoring opportunities with substantial circle entries but could not convert enough chances. “We need to work on converting goals,” stated Indian team chief coach Sjoerd Marijne who was not very pleased with the margin of victory in the final game.

“I am happy with the number of times we entered the opponent’s circle. We created enough opportunities with shots and PCs but we have to keep working on converting in small space,” he said. Speaking about the tour which saw India win 3-0, 5-0, draw 4-4 and win the last two matches 1-0 respectively, Marijne said, “This tour gave us more insight on how to play against a very defensive team like Malaysia.” “Also it was good that some of our young players experienced what it takes at international level and this will really help us to create depth in the squad.” The team will return from its successful campaign on Friday.