London just around the corner

Narrow 1-0 win against Italy takes women a step away from qualifying for Olympics

A solitary 55th minute strike in their must-win game saw India beat Italy and book a place in the final. They now take on South Africa for an Olympic spot. For the hosts it wasnt quite a pretty outing by any stretch of the imagination. They missed penalty corners,faltered in their finishing and committed defensive blunders.

Coach CR Kumar conceded that the team gave an ugly performance, but added that they still got the job done. Winning by five goals or winning by one is no different. We needed three points and we got it, he said. India finished the league phase with 10 points,three behind South Africa but two clear of Italy.

Needing nothing less than a win,India tried to play an attacking game but they found the going tough against an ultra-defensive side which knew that a draw was enough for them to reach the final. On those rare occasions when the Indians found a way to avoid the defensive clasp,they were foiled by their own ineptitude. They missed chances to score field goals and the first five penalty corners were wasted.

Making things tougher for them was the Italian goalkeeper Roberta Lilliu,who played a stunning game. In the 20th minute facing two Indian attackers simultaneously,she first blocked Deepika Kumaris stinger and then lying fully sprawled pushed away the rebound which had been flicked by Poonam Rani. She would also block penalty corner strikes from Jasjeet Kaur and subsequently Kirandeep Kaur in the 9th minute.

With the scores level 0-0 at half time,desperation had crept into the Indian camp,and it began to show when their defence was left stranded on the counter in the 52nd minute,leaving goalkeeper Yogita Bali to effect a crucial save on the D just ahead of two unopposed Italian attackers. Indias all-important goal came just three minutes later off their sixth and decisive penalty corner.

Jaspreet Kaurs PC strike once again was faulty but the blocked hit looped up perfectly for an unmarked Ritu Rani to pull the ball into the goal. The team and crowds celebration seemed premature when the referees began discussing whether the stick was raised dangerously. There would be no respite for Italy and the celebrations continued.

Once the lead was earned,India did an Italy on the Italians. The Indians went back on their defence leaving just a couple of players upfront. Despite being pushed into unfamiliar territory the Italians managed to respond strongly. They earned three PCs in the last 15 minutes but each one was dealt with by a resolute and strengthened Indian defence.

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India will however have little time to celebrate the win. South Africa has the psychological edge thanks to their 5-2 win over the hosts earlier in the competition. But thanks to Indias scrappy performance they ensured they will at least live to fight until then.