Inconsistent India go down
TOUGH GOING India lose to lowerranked England 32; world No. 1 Argentina surprised by Belgium
BHUBANESWAR: Inconsistency continued to haunt India as they lost 2-3 to lower-ranked England in a Pool B match of the Hockey World League Final (HWLF) in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
The way India, the sixth ranked team in the world, played against world No. 1 Australia in their opening game for a 1-1 draw had raised expectations that the hosts would dominate world No. 7 England. But, the Indians couldn’t take control of the tempo of the match, while Sam Ward’s stunning goal in the dying minutes sealed it for England.
The match started with a dull first quarter with both the sides sitting back and no clear attacks on goal. India struggled from the very start -- poor trapping forcing them to lose possession -- something that haunted them in the second quarter as well.
Things changed dramatically minutes before the end of the second quarter as an unmarked David Goodfield found the first goal for England. Custodian Suraj Karkera almost saved the push, but it zoomed into the net after kissing his pads.
INDIAN TEAM’S POOR CONVERSION RATE OF PENALTY CORNERS PROVED COSTLY. IN THE OTHER POOL B MATCH
SECOND-HALF PUSH
There was some change in India’s approach after half-time. The hosts started to foray more into the English D and midfielder Chinglensana Kangujam had a clear shot from the top of the circle in the 34th minute. However England custodian Harry Gibson cleared the hit by diving to his right. Soon after, a defence lapse saw India go down 0-2. Sam Ward made no mistake in pushing the ball home, beating goalkeeper Suraj after last-line defender Harmanpreet Singh failed to intercept a long cross.
After wasting back-to-back penalty corners in the 43rd minute, India got one back through Akashdeep Singh, who pounced on a return from England goalkeeper Harry’s pad after a penalty corner hit in the 47th minute. Rupinder Pal Singh then equalised in the 50th minute. In the dying minutes of the fourth quarter, when the match looked like it was heading for a draw, Ward struck an amazing goal (57th min- ute), dodging a bunch of defenders. India’s poor conversion rate of penalty corners proved costly. In the other Pool B match, Germany and Australia split points with 2-2 draw.
DAY OF UPSETS
Earlier, the morning session brought out a couple of upsets as Belgium and Spain shocked Olympic champions Argentina and European champions the Netherlands respectively. In Pool A , Belgium brushed aside Argentina 3-2, while Spain surprised the Netherlands by a similar margin.
Loick Luypaert (9th), Amaury Keusters (51st) and Tom Boon (56th) scored the three goals for Belgium, while Maico Casella (52nd) and Gonzalo Peillat (57th) reduced margin for Argentina.