Denning and the Jillaroos Edged by India

WAIS athlete Kate Denning and the Jillaroos have suffered a disappointing loss to India in round 1 of the 2009 Women’s Junior World Cup in Boston, USA after conceding a last minute penalty corner goal.

Despite scoring first and taking a 1-0 lead into the half time break, India made the most of their opportunities in the second half to score three goals and claim the victory.

Making the loss even more disappointing was the fact that the Jillaroos created far more opportunities than India, including 25 more circle penetrations and six more penalty corners throughout the match.

Casey Eastham, the veteran of the team having already played over 50 international matches with the Hockeyroos including games at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was first to score at the 31 minute mark via a penalty corner conversion.

India evened things up 10 minutes after half time, and then established a lead at the 53 minute mark.

The Jillaroos refused to give in, eventually making the most of their circle penetrations with Marnie Hudson scoring a field goal at the 60 minute mark.

The game seemed destined to be a draw, but a penalty corner conversion in the last minute of the match to India delivered a disappointing defeat to the Jillaroos.

“It was a very nervous start to the Junior World Cup and although we were able to create plenty of opportunities, we failed to convert,” said Jillaroos coach Katrina Powell.

The Jillaroos will be looking to bounce back against tournament hosts the USA on Tuesday 4 August.

– Hockey Australia