Braces from Gonzalo Peillat and Agustin Mazzilli guided Argentina to a narrow 4-3 win against Spain in their campaign opener of the Hockey World Cup 2018 at the Kalinga stadium here on Thursday.
In a see-saw Pool A contest, Enrique Gonzalez handed Spain an early 1-0 lead in the 3rd minute of the game before Mazzilli deflected a right wing cross perfectly to the net in the next minute to level the score.
Spain took a 2-1 lead after Josep Romeu found the back of the net in the 14th minute however, within 45 seconds of conceding the second goal, Argentina replied back as Mazzilli struck again, levelling the contest at 2-2.
Soon, the South American nation extended the lead to 3-2 as drag-flicker Gonzalo Peillat converted a corner in the 15th minute.
However, Vincenc Ruiz brought Spain back into the contest after a field goal in the 35th minute as the scorecard was once again tied at 3-3.
In the 49th minute, Peillat scored again for Argentina after placing a shot between two defenders which the Spanish goalkeeper Fred Soyez failed to save.
Both the sides then failed to score in the last 10 minutes of the game and Argentina clinched the nail-biting contest 4-3.
--IANS
kk/bg
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