Rotterdam: India once again failed to impress at the FIH World League Round 3 as they drew 3-3 against New Zealand here.
New Zealand drew the first blood when Marcus Child fired in the first goal just six minutes into the game. But after the initial strike goals were at a premium as the teams had nothing to show for their back-and-forth efforts. New Zealand was the better team of the half, but India stayed tough on defense and allowed just the one goal.
The second half was an entirely different story from the first as the goals started flowing on both sides of the field. India came out of the break fired up and immediately mounted a 2-1 lead with a field goal and penalty corner coming just a minute apart.
New Zealand reacted quickly and equalized the game at two when Stephen Jenness scored one of the best goals of the tournament with a diving deflection. But the stalemate lasted only two minutes when India’s Kothajit Singh took advantage of confusion in front of the New Zealand net to score the go-ahead 3-2 goal.
With seven minutes to go, New Zealand was given the golden chance to tie the game, but Dean Couzins penalty stroke was stopped by Indian goalie Sreejesh. But New Zealand quickly atoned for the missed chance when Blair Hilton scored the 3-3 goal two minutes later.
The Blair goal would stand through the last five minutes of play as the game ended in the 3-3 draw. Before the match Phil Burrows was honored for playing in his 300th international game with New Zealand.
Courtesy: http://www.fih.ch