PERTH: India 'A' hockey team suffered a 2-3 loss to New South Wales in a well-fought bronze medal play-off to end their Men's Australian Hockey League campaign at the fourth place, here today.
India scored two early goals through Simranjeet Singh (3rd minute) and Affan Yousuf (9th) which were eclipsed by New South Wales through Tom Craig (39th), Simon Orchard (55th) and Lachlan Sharp (56th).
India started the bronze medal match strongly as they pulled off a wonderful team move which saw Simranjeet score his first goal of AHL 2017 in the 3rd minute.
India had six attempts at the NSW goal within the first quarter and were constantly putting their defence under pressure.
Affan scored his third goal of this year's AHL when he beautifully finished a field goal in the 9th minute to extend India's lead to 2-0 with three quarters remaining.
The second quarter saw a similar story as India dominated possession but it was the New South Wales side who had more circle entries and shots at goal, but were kept out by the Indian defence.
In the third quarter, New South Wales stepped up their efforts and Australian International Tom Craig scored a field goal in the 39th minute. The teams ended the third quarter with India leading 2-1.
New South Wales continued their rhythm into the fourth quarter as they tried to get past the Indian defence. Finally, Simon scored a field goal in the 55th minute to level the scores at 2-2, and in the 56th minute, it was Lachlan Sharp who scored the winner for his team.