London: Two quick goals, both scored at the beginning of the second and the third quarter were enough to ensure India won their first game of the Champions Trophy, beating the hosts Great Britain 2-1.
On his landmark 150th appearance in goal for India, PR Sreejesh was called into action early on, first to deny Great Britain through two PCs in the opening minutes, and then marshalling his defence to stop Great Britain’s attack from causing the damage early on.
In wet conditions, made worse by a soggy pitch, which led to a delayed start, India started slowly looking to defend deep and acclimatise. Great Britain held most of the possession and pressed India back into their half but were unable to break the deadlock. The two teams went into the first break with the game goalless.
India were the first to break through in the second quarter. Great Britain continued from where they left off, and poured forward in numbers, drawing out another great save from Sreejesh. There was the vulnerability though, that India could spring the counter and make it count, which is exactly what they did. Fashioned almost exactly like their goal against Germany yesterday, SV Sunil and Mandeep combined to score the opener. Sunil ran in from the right of the circle and drove hard to the baseline, before crossing back to Mandeep who tapped the ball in, after a defensive error by Adam Dixon smack in front of the hosts goal. India led 1-0.
After the goal, the play settled down into a pattern. Great Britain played more passes, India covered more turf. The stats said as much and so did the sensations. The sensation when India went forward was one of danger—corroborated by the fact they had more shots on goal—more so than when the hosts side did. The two teams went into halftime separated by Mandeep’s strike.
India had their first PC in the third minute of the second half, but Raghunath’s low flick to the left was saved by George Pinner in goal. In the aftermath of the save, a foul won India another PC. Raghunath drove to the opposite side now, with height only to be denied by Barry Middleton on the line. Unconvinced India asked for the referral and were rewarded with a stroke, after the third umpire deemed the ball had hit Middleton’s shoulder. Harmanpreet Singh struck home from the spot to double India’s lead.
A minute later though, Great Britain won a PC, and Ashley Jackson made no mistake, unleashing an unstoppable drive into the top corner past Sreejesh to reduce the deficit to one.
With five minutes left, Manpreet was awarded a green card, and almost immediately Great Britain made the man advantage count, Sam Ward missing from point-blank range. India held firm in defence and went into the final break in the lead.
The final quarter was played at a frantic pace, as both teams ran at each other furiously, the play direct and often breathtaking. Ward missed a chance to equalise, just before Mandeep missed one to double India’s lead. Great Britain had a final chance via a PC in the 57th minute, but Surender Kumar cleared off the line to ensure that they took home the points.
India next take on Belgium in on June 13, at 20:30 IST.
Courtesy: http://hockeyindia.org/
