Bengaluru: Player of the Match Lynda Kom Serto scored four goals on debut while Pyari Xaxa struck a hat-trick in a span of just eight minutes as the Indian women’s football team hammered Maldives 14-0 in an international friendly here on Monday.
The demolition meant India’s newly-appointed Swedish coach, Joakim Alexandersson, began his stint on a rousing note.
Xaxa found the back of the net in the seventh, eighth, and 15th minutes, and in between assisted Lynda in the 12th in what turned out to be a goal fest for the home team at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence.
Lynda was on target in the 12th, 21st, 29th and 52nd minute in a completely lop-sided match. The game faced a brief interruption after a linesman was attacked by bees and he was running across the pitch, forcing the players to take cover. The incident took place in the final minute before half-time, and the match restarted after 15 minutes.
Neha too marked her debut with a brace, scoring in the 16th and 45th minute, while Kajol D’Souza also struck twice, in the 59th and 66th minute. The other goalscorers were Sangita Basfore (51st), Sorokhaibam Ranjana Chanu (54th) and Rimpa Halder (62nd).
It was the first of the two friendly matches scheduled against the Maldives. The second game will be played at the same venue
on January 2.