New Delhi: France controlled possession in the opening sequences of play but Argentina pressed them very high, preventing any territorial advance. Argentina were prompt to jump on any loose ball to surge forward and Edgar Reynaud in the French goal was called into urgent action a few times in the first ten minutes.
Play was fast and furious, going at breakneck speed from one end to the next. France had a chance on penalty-corner but scrambled it and Argentina scored on a swift counter-attack that found Estanislao Perez Pesado unmarked in the circle with the easy task of blasting the ball in goal.
France came back in the 25th minute by Pieter Van Straaten, with a spectacular dive at the far post to deflect a high ball lifted by the foot of a defender. They used their momentum to force a second penalty-corner. They scrambled again their trap but recovered promptly to fool the Argentinean defense and take the lead by Theophile Ponthieu.
Umpires had to show a couple of yellow cards to cool the tempers and Argentina came back on the buzzer with a penalty-stroke by Gonzalo Peillat, sending the two teams back to back into the break.
The same Peillat had a chance on penalty-corner in the opening minute of second period but his low drag-flick was calmly saved by Reynaud. Pace of play remained very high, offering an entertaining display of attacking hockey, much to the pleasure of the large group of French fans. Les Bleus (ironically playing all in white today) took the lead in the 48th minute by Jean-Laurent Kieffer, turning around his defender and slotting a sweet reverse-stick lob over the diving goal-keeper.
This seemed to take some wind out of the South American sails and a period of French domination ensued. They could not capitalize and Argentina progressively came back into the game, setting the stage for a torrid end of match. Argentina replaced their keeper with a field player with three minutes to go, pushing France on their heels. But, buoyed by their vocal fans, the French managed to cling to their narrow lead, earning their second win of the competition and quarter-final berth.
Speaking on their entry in to the quarter finals, France Coach Foulard Gael said “our practice of last one year has paid off and we have been successful in entering the quarter finals. The game today was very close but the boys kept their focus on strategy and tactics. Today Edgar Reynaud the goalkeeper performed exceptionally well. Our next match is with Australia and, though we will have no pressure on ourselves while playing with them but we will still not take our game with them lightly”.
Speaking on their loss, Captain Gonzalo Peillat said “the boys managed to keep the ball in their control in the first half of the game but we lost the momentum in the second half. We are now focusing in our next match and hope to win the game”.
