Bhubaneswar: Racing from the back, Spain edged out Indian men’s team by 3-1 goals in the FIH Pro League opener here at Kalinga Stadium on Saturday.
After the barren first quarter, Sukhjeet Singh drew the first blood in the 25th minute and the home team scripted a 1-0 lead.
The Spanish players changed their gears and Borja Lacalle, Ignacio Cobos and Bruno Avila contributed a goal each in the 28th, 38th and 56 minutes respectively and scripted a 3-1 goals win against India.
“After a long gap we played a match though we lost but played good hockey. We are not disappointed w2ill bounce back in coming matches. As per the planning we got an early lead but failed to maintain the tempo till the end. We had created many scoring opportunities but in the end we failed today, said Indian Captain Harmanpreet Singh.
“The team played well in the second half with more accuracy. During the first-half we opened four of five opportunities, however it’s not practical to score each and every chance you come across. India is a good team but our players played well tonight”, said Spain Coach Max Caldas.
Results: Spain 3 (Borja Lacalle 28 min, Ignacio Cobos 38 min, Bruno Avila 56 min) bt India 1 (Sukhjeet Singh 25 min).
