PERTH: India 'A' men's hockey team today went down to New South Wales 0-1 in a closely fought encounter at the 2017 men's Australian Hockey League here.
India A, who had got off to a rollicking start with a 4-1 win over Western Australia in their opening match, gave their best today as well before going down by a solitary goal.
With the likes of Tom Craig, Blake Govers, Kieran Govers, Matthew Dawson and Ben Craig in the NSW squad -- all of whom have played for the Australian national team -- the Indians had to come with their best game plan.
Indians put up a strong defence to keep NSW forwards from making successful forays into their circle.
With goalless first and second quarter, the final 30 minutes of the match promised to be a tense battle.
NSW managed to net the ball in the 37th minute when Blake Govers beat the Indian goalkeeper Krishan Pathak, who was brought into the match in the second quarter, to score a field goal.
The final 15 minutes saw Indian forwards make desperate attempts to equalise but they failed to succeed. There was nerve-biting action with NSW keeping up the pressure and eventually walking home with the winners' points.
On Monday, India A will clash with Northern Territory in their next Pool B encounter.