Women's Hockey World Cup: Ireland beat India to enter quarters

Ireland sealed their place in the womens hockey World Cup quarterfinals with a game to spare after edging past higherranked India 10 in their second Pool B match at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre here on Thursday For World No16 Ireland Anna OFlanagans goal in the opening quarter was enough for them to outwit World No10 IndiaIndia who drew 11 with England in their campaign opener now face a daunting task of beating the US by a heavy margin on Sunday if they are to reach the knockouts The Indian team started the match well as they attacked the Irish team through the right flank creating a couple of chancesThe World No 10 team won their first penalty corner of the competition in the fourth minute through skipper Rani Rampal as she was stopped in her path by an Irish defender However the resulting dragflick by Gurjit Kaur was deflected away by the first Irish rusher Ireland started to maintain possession towards the latter stages of the first quarter and won themselves their first penalty corner in the 12th minute as Indias Deep Grace Ekka blocked an Irish forward in her tracksThe resulting dragflick by Deirdre Duke was deflected towards the left of Indian goalkeeper Savita by Anna OFlanagan to give the Irish the lead Moments later India were awarded their second penalty corner in the 14th minute but Gurjits dragflick was again stopped by the first Irish rusher as the World No 16 team took their lead into the breakThe second quarter saw the Ireland side attack their opponents again winning backtoback penalty corners in the 19th minute Indian goalkeeper Savita made a fine save on the second occasion after the first of the two dragflicks was blocked by an Indian defenderIt was a difficult period for the Indian team as the Irish defenders seemed happy to sit back with possession and wait to play longballs towards their attackers However in the 25th minute the Indian team were awarded their third penalty corner after Captain Rani created space for herself in the striking circle getting her shot away which came off an Irish footGurjit Kaurs dragflick was deflected away for a long corner by Irish defender Hannah Matthews on the line India had another opportunity in the next minute but Namita Toppos shot from the left flank was parried away by Irish goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran The Indian team started to create more opportunities but could not find an equaliser as Ireland took their onegoal advantage into the halftime breakIn the 34th minute Vandana Katariya had a glorious opportunity to shoot off the reverse but Irelands Watkins made an important tackle to clear the threat away The next minute saw Irelands OFlanagan make a darting run from the right flank but Savitas interception made sure that the Irish did not have a shotIndia won their fourth penalty corner in the 38th minute but Irelands McFerran made a diving save on her right to deny the Indian defender Gurjit Indias constant attacking saw them win another penalty corner in the next minute as the Irish Goalkeeper kicked the ball too high but Gurjits dragflick was adjudged to be dangerous as it hit the thigh of the first rusherIn the 44th minute the Indian team were awarded their sixth PC of the match but to Captain Ranis disappointment her dragflick was kept out by the Irish defence It was a crucial fourth and last quarter from Indias perspective as they desperately required to convert their chances to stay in the competitionThe starting few minutes saw India try to create opportunities but the Irish defence led by Shirley McCay held firm to deny the Indians In the 54th minute Ireland had a chance to extend their lead through Nicola Evans who found herself clear of the Indian defenders but failed to get her shot on targetOn the other end of the pitch India won their seventh penalty corner in the 55th minute but Irelands defence made sure that their opponents could not trouble their goalkeeper The 57th minute saw Rani wriggle away from the Irish defender to find herself free in the striking circle but her shot was saved by Irish Goalkeeper McFerran to keep Irelands lead intactThe final few minutes of the match were managed well by the Irish team as they registered their place into the knockout stages of the competition while India will have their task cutout in their last Pool B match against the USCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever