Playing fast and attacking game, hosts Germany outplayed India 4-1 in the first of the two Women’s hockey matches at Wiesbaden on Tuesday. Nike Lorenz (6′, 59′) and Jette Fleschütz (14′, 43′) scored a brace each for the winners, Vaishnavi Vittal Phalke (29) was ‘the lone goal-scorer for the visitors.
The hosts were on the offensive mode as the match opened which put India on the backfoot at the very beginning. They scored back-to-back goals in the first quarter mounting pressure on India’s defence. Germany’s first goal came off Nike Lorenz’ well-executed penalty corner while the second goal came off a penalty stroke via Jette. Though the visitors tried to bounce back when they earned a penalty corner in the 11th minute, the chance could not be converted.
However, in the second quarter, the Indians regained their rhythm with a well-structured game. While they didn’t allow any goals by Germany, they successfully converted a PC in the 29th minute through Vaishnavi.
With the score reading 2-1 at half time, Germany returned to the pitch with a plan to test the Indian defence. While India lived up to the fight, an infringement by India’s defence while halting the German attack in the circle, saw them concede a PC. Jette made no mistake in converting the opportunity and help her team extend the lead to 3-1.
Though India found a few chances in the final quarter to score, the German defence was too strong to breach. Meanwhile, Nike scored the fourth goal for Germany in the dying minutes of the game
taking the final score to 4-1.