FIH Pro League: China Triumphs Over England Women to Conclude Remarkable Year
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Lausanne (Switzerland), Dec 4 (NationPress) The host team China bounced back from their first defeat of the current FIH Hockey Pro League season by delivering an impressive 4-0 win against a developing England squad in Hangzhou on Wednesday.
Every goal scored in this match came from a different player, marking a successful conclusion to a remarkable year for the Chinese team, which included winning Olympic silver.
China capped off the year with a commanding 4-0 win over the young English squad, demonstrating effective pressing and excellent penalty corner deflections. The match kicked off excitingly as England made a clear scoring attempt in the very first minute, while China saw their penalty corners go over the bar in the third and seventh minutes, as reported by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Wednesday.
The hosts maintained greater possession throughout the game, with Zhang Ying having the best opportunity in the first quarter when a long pass found her unmarked at the circle's edge, but Miriam Pritchard skillfully shut down the angle, deflecting the ball wide of England's goal.
China struck first in the 17th minute as Chen Yang scored with a penalty corner deflection from the p-spot, getting the better of Pritchard. England had a few chances to equalize, including threading a pass between the goalkeeper and a diving striker at the back post in the 20th minute and having a penalty corner blocked by the Chinese defenders just two minutes later.
Following a near miss from a recycled penalty corner in the 24th minute, England quickly lost possession from a 16-yard hit, allowing Ying to tap in and increase their lead. He Jiangxin then extended China's advantage to 3-0 with another penalty corner deflection in the 28th minute, heading into halftime.
In the second half, China dominated the match, managing possession effectively and forcing England into mistakes. The English team found themselves in a defensive struggle, trying to fend off penalty corners in the 34th and 35th minutes, and they missed a crucial penalty corner in the 37th minute that could have provided a chance for a comeback.
Both teams struggled with penalty corner variations as the third quarter came to an end, and as the game progressed into the fourth quarter, China continued to hold sway. The final goal came in the 55th minute, with Chen Yi intercepting a poor overhead clearance and passing the ball to Zhang Wenli, who set up Chen Yujun behind the English defense for a tidy finish.
