Spain take lead after beating Indian women’s hockey team 4-1

Spain take lead after beating Indian women’s hockey team 4-1

The Indian women’s hockey team were beaten comfortably by a margin of 4-1 by the Spaniards as the home team took the lead in the five-match series with just one game to go. Lola Riviera starred for the hosts as Indian player Udita scored the only goal for the visitors in the 22nd minute.

The Indian women’s hockey team have endured a tough spell in Spain so far. After beginning their Spain tour with a humbling 3-0 loss to the home team in which forward Lola Riera scored a brace, the Indian eves could only manage a 1-1 draw in the second match as the visitors continued to search for a win in Madrid. Their efforts bore fruit in the third match of the five-match series as skipper Rani Rampal found the decisive goal in the final minute to hand the visitors their first win of the series and level the series at 1-1.

But the home team proved their superiority in the fourth match at the Consejo Superior de Deportes Hockey Stadium on Saturday as they beat the visitors by a scoreline of 4-1. India were second best on the day as Lola Riera continued her fine form as she scored another brace in the decisive encounter.

The Spanish side looked to dominate for the opening 20 minutes of the match, as they scored twice to put the visitors behind early on. Lola Riera converted a penalty corner in the 10th minute to give her team the lead. While the second goal was scored by Lucia Jimenez in the 19th minute as she finished a brilliant team move to put the hosts; ahead by two goals.

It was then that the visitors began to find their feet in the match and forced the Spaniards to play deep in their own half. The pressure paid off for the Indians in the 22nd minute when Udita found the back of the net after linking up with her teammates to score a field-goal.

The third quarter was dominated by the Spaniards as they began to thrust into the Indian defence with constant attacks. Riera scored her second of the day as she converted another penalty corner in the 34th minute. Another attack by the Spanish team in the 37th minute saw Carmen Cano deflect a cross from outside the striking circle into the back of the net, which brought the score to 4-1. The two teams will play their fifth and final match on Monday.

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