BHUBANESWAR: Despite only 13 international matches under her belt, Dutch goalkeeper Julia Remmerswaal outshone her experienced counterpart Savita, who has 223 games against her name, to help the Netherlands women beat hosts India in the second match of the FIH Pro League here at the Kalinga Stadium on Saturday. The match went into a shootout after both the sides were locked 1-1 in the regulation time. The Dutch side won the shootout 3-1. India had won the first match 2-1 on Friday.Earlier, India made an aggressive start as it took them only 34 seconds to get the first goal of the day. Their attack from the starting whistle led to a penalty corner which was converted by Rajwinder Kaur.
Desperate for an equaliser, the Olympic champions Netherlands made relentless attacks but could manage to score only in the 53rd minute through captain Jansen Yibbi taking the match to the shootout. The visitors went first in the shootout and scored through Jensen. Jyoti and Neha missed the first two attempts for India while Fortuin Kyra scored the second attempt as well giving her team a comfortable 2-0 lead. Skipper Savita then saved Morgenstern Fiona’s attempt while Navneet Kaur scored to give India some hope. Barentsen Marente, however, scored the fourth attempt and another save by the Dutch goalkeeper sealed the contest.Speaking on the loss to the second-string Dutch side, Indian captain Savita said, “Shoot-outs are a bit of a coin toss, and Netherlands were very clinical in their attempts today.”
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