Spain\u2019s men wrapped up their FIH Pro League tournament with a late goal to finish 1-1 against India before taking the extra point in the shootout. And China\u2019s women also had to come from behind to draw 2-2 with Spain and then secured the shootout win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Women\u2019s) Spain 2 \u2013 2 China (SO: 3-4)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n China came from a goal down to draw 2-2 with Spain and then clinched the extra point with a 4-3 shootout win in Hobart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was the Spanish who struck first. A well-worked penalty corner variation in the fourth minute resulted in Candela Mejias knocking the ball home to give her side the early advantage. There were good saves at both ends as the tempo remained high, with both teams creating chances and testing the keepers. China continued to press in the second quarter and were rewarded in the 21st<\/sup> minute when they were awarded a penalty stroke for a deliberate stick tackle in the circle. Clara Perez was brought on in place of Maria Tello in the Spanish goal, but couldn\u2019t stop Yinh Zhang\u2019s sharp, low strike, and the first half ended 1-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n China broke the deadlock early in the third quarter. After struggling with their penalty corner execution in the first half, they finally made it count, with Zhang dragging in her second goal in the 32nd<\/sup> minute. But Spain weren\u2019t done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A brilliant counterattack finished by Patricia Alvarez in the 40th<\/sup> minute restored parity at 2-2, with the Red Sticks piling on plenty more pressure until the final break. The Spanish defence did well to keep out two late penalty corners in a final period which had belonged largely to the Chinese, who just couldn\u2019t find the winner. But they did prevail in the resulting shootout to secure the extra bonus point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Men\u2019s) Spain 1 – 1 India (4-3)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jarmanpreet Singh celebrated his 150th<\/sup> cap in what looked like it would be India\u2019s first win of the Pro League season before a late goal from Spain saw them sneak a draw and then edge ahead in the shootout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Spanish showed patience in their build-up and tested India with several promising attacks early on. Midway through the first quarter, Jos\u00e9 Basterra appeared to have given them the lead when he swatted in from a lifted ball, but the goal was overturned on review. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The rest of the period saw Spain create more chances, yet they struggled to find the final touch, while India\u2019s opportunities remained limited. Playing with more urgency in the second quarter, it was then the Indians who eventually broke the deadlock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hardik Singh made a great intercept and fed Maninder Singh, who unleashed a powerful reverse-stick strike from the top of the circle to give his side a 1-0 lead that they held into half time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The third quarter was a fierce end-to-end battle, with both goalkeepers kept busy, though neither side was able to find the back of the net. The Indians then also had a goal disallowed with just over five minutes remaining and later hit the post from a penalty corner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That proved costly, as Spain finally broke through in the 59th<\/sup> minute when Bruno Font fired a superb strike from the top of the D. The Red Sticks earned a late penalty corner with 13 seconds left on the clock, which was re-awarded several times, but India\u2019s defence held firm, sending the match to a shootout, ultimately won by Spain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Spain\u2019s men wrapped up their FIH Pro League tournament with a late goal to finish 1-1 against India<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9816,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[60],"class_list":["post-9815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-hockey"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t