Polish eves down Russia 4-2 to advance to the semis

New Delhi, 12 March 2015: In the third quarter final match of Hero FIH Hockey World League Round 2 (Women) being played at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi, Poland registered a much deserved 2-0 win over Russia to secure a seat in the semi finals of the League.

Poland eves started the game on a high and took an early lead when Oriana Walasek managed to successfully sneak in a brilliant field goal in the sixth minute of the match. With a near perfect field plan, Poland left no gaps for the opponent team to find the nets. Both the teams put in their best efforts to be able to score as well as restrict the opposite side but none could post any further goals and the first quarter ended with a score of 1-0 with Poland in the lead.

The second quarter saw the Russian women striving hard to score an equaliser but the strong defence of Poland confined Russia from reaching their goal post. Both the teams received penalty corner opportunities but could not convert them into goals for their side. In the closing minutes of the quarter, Natalia Wisniewska doubled the score for Poland when she effectively converted a penalty corner. The last minute deflection of the ball made it touch the nets announcing a goal for Poland. The half time closed in with a score of 2-0, Poland ahead of Russia.

The Russian women worked hard to make a comeback in the game but with a strong midfield and right positioning on the field, Poland women made sure none of the Russian players could breach their defence to score a goal. The Poland skipper Marlena Rybacha scored the third goal for her team by means of a penalty corner conversion to take the score to 3-0.

The last quarter was the most intense as the players of both the teams came out with all guns blazing and elevated their endeavours to score. Magdalena Zagajska scored a dazzling field goal in the 49th minute to give Poland an insurmountable lead of 4-0 over Russia. Unfazed by this pressure, the Russian women continued to look for scoring opportunities. 

The Russian eves scored two successive and quick field goals in the 55th and 59th minute through the sticks of Marina Fedorova and Kristina Shumilina respectively to narrow down the score gap to 4-2. However it was too late to make a comeback as the final whistle blew indicating a win for Poland over Russia with a score of 4-2 and an entry into the semi finals.

Speaking on today’s match, Coach of Poland Krzysztof Rachwalski said, “It was a tough match as expected to be in the quarter finals of the tournament and the last five minutes were very stressed. We did many mistakes at the defence during the last minutes of the game but I am very proud of the team and happy to have won the match.”

Remarking on the game, Russia Coach Oleg Potapov said, “According to today's result our preparation was not up to the mark. We will surely have to work hard for the upcoming matches. Today there was poor realization of scoring opportunities. We will try to bring better discipline in the next game and will target for a victory.”

HI Press release