With last week's 4 Nations title in Quilmes with a 3-1 defeat of South Africa in the final fresh under their belts, the Argentinean women laid the foundation for another successful campaign with a 3-1 win over India in their opening match at the 4 Nations tournament in Paraná. The Leonas dominated the initial phase of the match, taking initiative and playing offensively from the beginning, and Josefina Sruoga made the efforts count, tipping the ball in to finish off an attack over the left side. Argentina continued to dominate possession but struggled to penetrate the Indian circle, and it took a penalty corner in the 22nd minute to allow the world number 2 to extend their lead at the hands of Delfina Merino. India had some chances towards the end of the first half, but promising attempts by Vandana Karaiya and Ritu Rani eventually remained unfruitful.
Only minutes into the second half, Rani narrowed the gap with a spectacular goal, putting the ball over Laura del Colle, and the goal spurred the Indian Eves on to their best moments of the game, including a powerful penalty corner attempt from Jaspreet Kaur which the Argentinean defense could only just deflect wide. India kept attacking and put significant pressure on the home team in their half of the field, but Argentina established the final scoreline with a penalty corner deflection from Rosario Luchetti against the run of play. A great attack from Rani in the dying minutes of the encounter almost gave the Eves their second goal, but the Argentinean goalkeeper warded of the shot.
In the other encounter of the day, and inaugurating the brandnew turf at Club Paraná Rowing, South Africa and Ireland drew with two goals each in the 4 Nations opener. A goal by Aine Connery got the Irish on the scoreboard as early as the second minute of the match, and the Greenshirts held on to the lead until after the break. A few minutes into the second half, it was Kate Woods who sunk the equalizer, but joy was shortlived as Irish captain Alex Speers restored the advantage for Ireland only minutes later. However, South Africa were not done yet, and Tarryn Bright scored to salvage a point for her team this time after they defeated Ireland 2-0 in their previous clash last week in Quilmes.
At the end of day 1, Argentina thus top the table on three points, ahead of Ireland and South Africa on one point each, with India completing the table. The next round of matches takes place today Thursday, 15 December, with India taking on Ireland, and South Africa challenging the Argentinean hosts.
Source: Argentinean Hockey Confederation press release
