Heartache for Ward as men’s hockey team crash out
GREAT Britain’s men suffered a heartbreaking hockey quarter-final exit yesterday, beaten 3-1 by India as their Olympic journey came to a crushing end, writes Tom Harle, of Sportsbeat.
Defensive lapses led to goals in the first and second quarter and left them chasing the game, with a Sam Ward penalty corner late in the third unable to spark a late comeback.
It means Britain’s wait for a men’s hockey medal stands at 33 years and goes back to the gold medal at Seoul 1988.
“It’s just one of those days,” said 30-year-old Leicester hotshot Ward.
“The ball didn’t quite drop over the line, and the chances came, the nibbles and bits and bots didn’t go our way.
“Some days, the luck is not with you and that’s how it fell today.
“There are two sides of me right now. I’m upset but I’m incredibly proud to have been here in the first place.
“It’s one thing saying that but, at the end of the day, I’m here to perform with my team-mates and do them proud.
“We came here to win a medal and unfortunately we weren’t able to do that.”
Early impetus came from Team GB as Tom Sorsby won a penalty corner with drag flicker Ward seeing his effort charged down.
Britain will have been disappointed with the way they conceded the opening goal.
Ian Sloan tried to run the ball out from a deep position in the defensive circle but was robbed of possession by Simranjeet Singh, who fed Dilpreet
Singh to tuck between Ollie Payne’s legs.
They responded by enjoying good territory for the rest of the first quarter, with Liam Ansell coming close to connecting with Sreejesh’s kicked clearance after it ricocheted in the circle.
But the backline were caught cold seconds into the second quarter, with Liam Sanford’s pass picked off and Gurjant Singh teed up to drag home from close range.
The game settled into a pattern with Team GB driving the tempo but failing to create clear-cut chances in the third quarter.
The momentum shifted when they earned two penalty corners late in the third, with Ward’s first drag flick deflecting wide of the right-hand upright.
Ward capitalised on a second chance with his drag from a switchback corner routine bobbling over sticks, onto feet and past Sreejesh’s desperate dive.
Britain poured on pressure right from the start of the fourth quarter and within two minutes they tried the switchback again from a corner but Phil Roper’s shot was blocked.
They continued to mix up the routine and Liam Ansell then came close, flicking a shot on target and forcing Sreejesh to make a low leftfooted save.
India began to lose grip when Manpreet Singh clattered through the back of Chris Griffiths in an innocuous position and was shown a yellow card, leaving his side shorthanded.
From the resulting short, Ward got his flick away but Sreejesh was again equal to it.
When Ward gets his tail up few defences in world hockey can deal with him and the EuroHockey joint top scorer slapped just wide after Jack Waller’s barnstorming run.
The price to pay for their attacking commitment was high – when India launched a searing break, Hardik Singh had a slap shot saved and then pounded the loose ball past Payne.
Britain defended tigerishly having pulled goalkeeper Payne out to field an extra man in the final two minutes, forcing Vivek Sagar Prasad to miss an open goal to the right.
It wasn’t enough for a team, led by captain Adam Dixon who was part of the side that exited in the group stages in Rio.
“I know we’re not going to come away with a medal but it’s nice, on a personal note, to have gone one step further than we did in Rio,” said Dixon. “We learnt a few lessons from Rio: enjoy every single moment, enjoy every day, and I think that’s what we just tried to do.
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